So nice to hear of others who truly appreciate this story... so well written by Stuart Woods. A very good social-history/crime/drama very cleverly woven. I believe this was the best mini-series ever. Great casting and acting!!! I wish more people had seen this story! The thread about casting an updated remake is very interesting. Perhaps we'll see that one day! I'm starting to read some other Woods books. Very good continuity of the characters and themes. I'm a big fan! So nice to hear of others who truly appreciate this story... so well written by Stuart Woods. A very good social-history/crime/drama very cleverly woven. I believe this was the best mini-series ever. Great casting and acting!!! I wish more people had seen this story! The thread about casting an updated remake is very interesting. Perhaps we'll see that one day! I'm starting to read some other Woods books. Very good continuity of the characters and themes. I'm a big fan!

This film was made at a time when the big networks, in this case CBS, took pride in making tv movies and mini-series. Excellent attention to detail in just about every aspect of this 3 part movies. As the film movies from the 1920's to the 1940's and eventually the 1960's the viewer gets to see the town of Delano Georgia grow and change. It almost seems as though Delano is a real town. The costumes, settings and props for each time setting are well done.This mini-series stick very close to the original story written by Stuart Woods. During a 40 year time frame 3 different police chiefs try to solve the various and ongoing murders that are taking place in the vicinity of Delano. Young male transients are being kidnapped and sexually assaulted before they are murdered. Racial tensions run high in Delano and add to the difficulty in solving the murders. Good acting by all who participated. Charlton Heston, Paul Sorvino, Brad Davis and Billy Dee Williams were at the top of their acting game in this mini-Series. I was able to tape the original 3 part mini-series when it was first aired and despite some drop in quality due to age this mini-series is a favorite of mine and viewed at least once a year. For those who enjoyed the film they may want to read and or watch the story and film GRASS ROOTS. This story continues to follow the Lee family as one of their members attempts to become a U.S. Senator. During the race another racially motivated murder in Delano complicates matters.

This was one of the best mini series I have seen. The plot was well written, and had a great cast. Charlton Heston was outstanding as Hugh Holmes, the man behind the town of Delano. It is a small southern town in need of a police chief. the mini series is in three parts, covering three generations. The first part is 1924. A meeting is held, and there are only two candidates for the job. One is a well known farmer, Will Henry Lee. The other is a World War I veteran named Foxy Funderburke. Foxy is breeding dogs, but a lot of people in the town think he is strange. Will Henry Lee is a fair man, and well liked. He has to deal with a county sheriff named Skeeter Willis. Willis is very bigoted, and has the backing of the Ku Klux Klan. Will Henry investigates a death, and leads him to begin an investigation of disappearing young men. As is turns out, they are being murdered by Foxy. Will Henry dies after being shot by a man that has malaria. The man mistakenly shoots Will Henry, and sends his son away before being executed for his crime. The second part takes place in 1945. Many of the towns soldiers are returning after the war, including a very bigoted Sonny Butts, who becomes police chief. He is involved in the beating of a returning veteran named Marshall Peters. Peters was set up in business by Hugh Holmes, and befriended by Will Henry Lee's son, Billy. Butts happens upon the investigation that Will Henry Lee began 20 years before, and goes to visit Foxy. Foxy kills Sonny, and buries him and his motorcycle. The third part takes place in 1962, and Delano is again in need of a police chief. Billy Lee is running for governor, and suggests a retiring army officer named Tyler Watts be given consideration for the job. Watts gets the job, and it is revealed that he is the son of the man that shot and killed Will Henry Lee almost 40 years before. Again young men are disappearing, and Tyler Watts begins an investigation of his own. He runs into trouble when he wants to search Foxy's property, but eventually does get permission to search the property. One of the agents there trips over what he thinks is a pipe, but it turns out it is the handlebar of Sonny's motorcycle buried almost 20 years before! Foxy gets his rifle and shoots Tyler, and then is shot by agents. More than 40 bodies are unearthed on his property. Billy, Tyler, and Hugh are saddened by what they have found out. In the end, Billy is elected governor, and Tyler reveals his true identity to Billy by recalling a conversation they had almost 40 years before. Billy is brought to tears as he realizes it is his long lost friend.

One little correction to a previous comment, the story begins in the early 1920's and goes through the mid 1960's. Although the murders are the thread that ties the 3 generations together, it is the evolution of a town, the growing pains of a culture, and the ultimate acceptance of those once rejected that makes the story. Charlton Heston is superb in his role as he "ages" through the generations, as is Keith Carradine.One word of caution, if you haven't seen it be sure you get an uncut version. The full movie (originally a TV mini series in 3 parts)is about 4-1/2 hrs. There are several commercially produced versions out there of varying lengths. Some are so badly chopped up you miss key elements of the show.