Written by Gwen Bagni, Paul Dubov, Frances Spatz Leighton, and Lillian Rogers Parks
Directed by Michael O’Herlihy

Backstairs at the White House was filmed during the glory days of television mini-series when adaptations of novels such as Roots and The Thorn Birds were television events.  This mini-series aired over four nights and contains all four episodes spread out over four discs.  It was based on the memoirs of Lillian Rogers Parks who, with her mother Maggie, served on the White House staff through eight administrations, from William Taft to Dwight Eisenhower.

Leslie Uggams portrays Lillian Rogers Parks as an adult. Her story is told as a flashback as she’s listening to the inauguration of JFK, the ninth different President she remembers entering the White House.  It was during the Taft administration that her mother Maggie (portrayed by Olivia Cole) secured a job at the White House in 1909.  From then on, both her life and the lives of her two children seemed to be intertwined with those of the man who held the highest office in this country as well as the first family.

There are anecdotes aplenty about the Presidents and their family.  Mrs. Taft ran the White House with an iron fist, including her husband’s schedule and diet.  She was incredibly superstitious.  Charlie Taft makes friends with Lillian’s brother Emmet who works there briefly as yard help.  Maggie tries to balance her home life and her work.  This doesn’t work for Lillian, who Maggie has to send away to school with the nuns.  Lillian suffers from a handicap with her leg.  A wealthy patron helps Maggie get her an operation, but that will only stop the condition from getting any worse.  Lillian’s dream of being a dancer is dashed.

Back living at home, Lillian finds odd jobs, including sewing for her mother’s hairdressing clients. Meanwhile, Mrs. Taft suffers a stroke and President Taft deals with the possibility of Teddy Roosevelt running against him as he campaigns for a second term. This means the Tafts are leaving the White House and the Wilsons are moving in.

President Wilson shows from day one that he is against any sort of waste, turning off lamps he thinks are unnecessary.  Lillian begins coming to the White House to do mending jobs for items that need to be fixed and patched.  She observes the Wilson daughter playing jokes on the tours that come through and soon notices the affection her mother has for the girls.

The first Mrs. Wilson promised Maggie personally to do everything in her power to improve conditions for the negro in this country.  Unfortunately, she died before she could have any real impact.  The second Mrs. Wilson, whom the President marries rather quickly after the death of his first wife, doesn’t have the same concerns as her predecessor.

Besides giving a behind-the-scenes look at the various residents of the White House, there are some of the lives of the staff as well, although it primarily focuses on Lillian and Maggie.  Louis Gossett Jr. is Levi Mercer, a houseman at the White House and Robert Hooks portrays Mays who was a doorman and served as the President’s barber.  It’s surprising to see just a hundred years ago how differently the place is run in contrast to some of the things I’ve seen about the behind-the-scenes at the White House today. I can’t see one of the maids today giving the First Lady a haircut or styling her hair for her, nor the President for that matter.

The overall tone of the mini-series, though is how dedicated these people were to their jobs.  There really wasn’t much time for personal lives as they were on call virtually all the time.  Maggie does marry at one point but loses her husband as he feels he never sees her due to her dedication to her job.  Her brother, Emmet enlists in the army against his mother’s wishes.  He serves in Mexico and then in the First World War where he is gassed but survives.

Soon after the war, the President suffers a stroke.  The new Mrs. Wilson manages to keep his condition a secret.  It’s something of a transformation for her as she seemed so vapid and vain initially.

The next occupants are the Hardings.  They are a bit rougher as President Harding chews tobacco and has spitoons installed in the White House.  It’s also rumored that the President has several mistresses, including one whose child quite resembles him.  Mrs. Harding is a bit older than he is and enters the White House with various pets.  She compliments Maggie on her “psychic vibrations” and then proceeds to sit at the pianoforte and sing “Look For the Silver Lining.”  His was to be an administration marked by scandal and corruption.  The way he painted himself as an ordinary man and relied tremendously on advisors reminds me of the administration of Bush II.

When Harding dies in the middle of his scandal-ridden term, Calvin Coolidge is thrust into the job.  He is the polar opposite of Harding. He is involved in every area of managing the White House as well as the country.  He also is genuinely down to earth, not pretending to be to ingratiate himself with the public.

When Coolidge elected not to run for a second term, ostensibly because he could see what was coming on the horizon, Herbert Hoover and his family moved into the White House.  It’s during the height of the Great Depression that Lillian finally decides to follow in her mother’s footsteps and work at the White House full-time.  What they see during that time is quite difficult, especially while they are still working with the Hoover administration.

Although Franklin Roosevelt was the longest resident of the White House, it doesn’t feel like he gets more screen time.  His administration was one of the most pivotal in our country’s history, but there aren’t many insights into his life away from the public eye in the mini-series, other than a fondness for Maggie due to their both suffering a similar affliction.

One of the best bits of casting in this was Harry Morgan as Harry S. Truman.  It’s hard for me to picture President Truman any other way.  I was disappointed that one of his famous acts of going down to the servants’ area in the White House to tell the only people who were still around that the war with Japan was over wasn’t depicted here.

The casting of all of the Presidents and their wives was excellent.  Barbara Barrie as Mamie Eisenhower was a real hoot.  At the same time, it didn’t seem to be presenting any of them with their quirks in a derogatory manner.  They were just quirky.  The actors really seemed to get into the roles and tried to look as each of their characters did.  Some achieved this better than others, but Harry Morgan was way above everyone else in achieving the transformation.

There are no real dark, dirty secrets here.  The closest it comes to a huge revelation is confirming how the second Mrs. Wilson was essentially running the country while her husband recovered from his stroke.  The scandals of the Harding administration are glossed over for the most part.  The Hoovers are presented as being more concerned about parties than the country that was falling apart around them.  None of this is all that revealing.

As for the DVD itself, I was disappointed that there were no special features, such as a reflection of the cast & crew on making this production.  I was pleased, though, that the print seemed to have been cleaned up fairly well before being transferred to the DVD.  They didn’t do a complete remastering job as the images still seem to be the quality of a videotape, but at least they are clean with no interference or dirt.  The lighting did seem a bit dark at times, but I think that is the style in which it was filmed.  The score is beautiful as well and something to be enjoyed as I was immersed in the story.  It did well setting the tone for each of the families depicted.

I can’t recommend Backstairs at the White House enough, not just for its entertainment value but for the history lesson as well.  It’s one thing to read about those who have inhabited the White House over the years – it’s quite another to see them as something other than their public personas.  I also found it fascinating that during a time of segregation and extreme discrimination still prevalent in this country, the majority of the staff were African-American.  Overall, it’s an excellent series to watch if the video quality could have been a little better.