Cook & Peary: The Race to the Pole

Plot Summary

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.

Top Cast

Richard Chamberlain Frederick Cook

Rod Steiger Robert E. Peary

Diane Venora Marie Fidele Hunt

Michael Gross James Troth

Samm-Art Williams Matt Henson