Children of the Dust (miniseries)

Children of the Dust is an American Western television miniseries, based on Clancy Carlile's 1995 novel of the same name.^[1] Featuring an ensemble cast led by Sidney Poitier, Children of the Dust was originally broadcast by CBS on February 26 and 28, 1995.^[1]

Children of the Dust
Also known as	A Good Day to Die
Genre	Western
Based on	Children of the Dust by Clancy Carlile
Teleplay by	Joyce Eliason
Directed by	David Greene
Starring	Sidney Poitier Michael Moriarty Joanna Going Hart Bochner Regina Taylor Billy Wirth Robert Guillaume Farrah Fawcett
Composer	Mark Snow
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Joyce Eliason Frank Konigsberg
Producer	Harold Lee Tichenor
Production location	Alberta, Canada
Cinematography	Ron Orieux
Editor	Tod Feuerman
Running time	240 minutes
Production companies	The Königsberg Company Vidmark Entertainment
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	February 26 (1995-02-26) – February 28, 1995 (1995-02-28)

Plot summary

In the Oklahoma Territory of the late 1880s, Gypsy Smith (Poitier) is a bounty hunter of African American and Cherokee descent. Smith helps African American homesteaders to settle the territory under the specter of Jim Crow. Meanwhile, a young Native American raised by Whites (Wirth) must choose between the woman that he loves (Going) or his Cheyenne heritage.

Cast

• Sidney Poitier as Gypsy Smith
• Michael Moriarty as John Maxwell
• Joanna Going as Rachel Maxwell
• Hart Bochner as Shelby Hornbeck
• Regina Taylor as Drusilla
• Billy Wirth as Corby White / White Wolf
• Shirley Knight as Aunt Bertha
• Grace Zabriskie as Rose
• James Caviezel as Dexter
• Robert Guillaume as Jolson Mossburger
• Farrah Fawcett as Nora Maxwell
• John Pyper-Ferguson as Sonny Boy
• Katharine Isabelle as Young Rachel
• Byron Chief-Moon as Chief Walks-The-Clouds
• Jesse Lipscombe as Clarence

DVD

On September 20, 1999, the miniseries was released on DVD, under the title A Good Day to Die. However, it was pared down to 120 minutes, and significant portions of the production were omitted.^[2]