Cook & Peary: The Race to the Pole

Synopsis

Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole is an unabashedly biased recreation of the controversy concerning the "conquering" of the North Pole. Robert E. Peary (Rod Steiger), a US Navy commander and shameless self-promoter, sets out through Arctic wastes in 1909 to discover the Pole, an expedition that many others have attempted but failed to complete. His principal rival is Dr. Frederick A. Cook (Richard Chamberlain), who insists that he'd already reached the Pole in 1908. Though the experts (and the US Congress) conclude that Perry was first, public opinion is firmly in Cook's corner--as is this TV movie.

Ratings

Key crew

• Robert DayDirector
• I.C. RapoportWriter

Cast

• Richard ChamberlainFrederick Cook
• Rod SteigerRobert E. Peary
• Diane VenoraMarie Fidele Hunt
• Michael GrossJames Troth
• Samm-Art WilliamsMatt Henson
• Louis NeginMaitre D'
• Walter MasseyTheodore Roosevelt
• Donald LiEtuk
• Donald PilonRobert Bartlett
• Timothy WebberHarry Whitney
• Vlasta VranaMurphy
• Tony VogelSkipper

Themes