Margaret DrainFilmography

American Experience: Transcontinental Railroad

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Michael Murphy

Synopsis: Documentary filmmakers offer a fascinating look at one of the most spectacular engineering feats of the 19th Century as the story of the Transcontinental Railroad comes to life in a film that's sure to appeal to historians and railroad enthusiasts alike. As legions of tireless workers toiled for Read More

American Experience: The Murder of Emmett Till

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Andre Braugher

Synopsis: In August 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black youth from Chicago, was visiting relatives near the town of Money, MS. Leaving a small grocery store, Emmett allegedly whistled at the white woman behind the counter. Though he didn't know it at the time, the teenager had broken a cardinal rule in Read More

American Experience: Seabiscuit

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Laura Hillenbrand, Gene Smith, Norah Christianson, Jack Whitaker, Farrell Jones

Synopsis: Acknowledged as one of the greatest thoroughbred racehorses of the 1930s, Seabiscuit is the archetypal example of the extreme long shot who made good. Too squat, knobby-kneed, disheveled, and off-colored, the horse would have been written off as a total loss by anyone except the triumvirate of Read More

American Experience: Bataan Rescue

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Scott Glenn

Synopsis: This PBS documentary covers the daring 1945 commando raid to free 513 survivors of the 1942 Bataan death march in the Japanese-occupied Philippines. Penned up in the hellish Cabanatuan concentration camp for three years, the emaciated, disease-ridden prisoners (originally tens of thousands in Read More

American Experience: War Letters - Stories of Courage, Longing and Sacrifice

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: One commonality that seems to link every modern war is that soldiers almost invariably write their families and loved ones on a regular basis and their correspondence covers a broad range of human emotions -- funny camp stories, reassurances to worried folks at home, confessions of fear, anxieties Read More

American Experience: Ansel Adams - A Documentary Film

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: David Ogden Stiers, Josh Hamilton, Barbara Feldon, Eli Wallach

Synopsis: Ansel Adams chronicles the life and art of one of America's best-loved photographers. Raised by a doting father who encouraged Adams' eccentricities, the young boy focused his intense energy on becoming a concert pianist. Adams discovered his life's work, however, when he visited Yosemite Valley Read More

American Experience: A Brilliant Madness - The Story of John Nash

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Liev Schreiber

Synopsis: A Brilliant Madness chronicles the life of mathematician and Nobel Prize winner John Nash. Born in Bluefield, WV, the eccentric Nash joined the prestigious math department at Princeton in the late '40s. In 1950, at the age of 21, he developed the Nash Equilibrium, a challenge to traditional game Read More

American Experience: Public Enemy #1

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: John Dillinger was a no-good bank robber in Indiana who captured the public imagination with his bravado and humor. Perhaps it was the Great Depression and the practices of many banks that made the populace root for the man who robbed banks and sent postcards saying "Wish You Were Here" to the Read More

American Experience: Mount Rushmore

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: Mount Rushmore narrates the story of the one of America's most beloved monuments and the artist who crafted it. Driven by ego and self-confidence, sculptor Gutzon Borglum made a reputation for himself by carving a bust of Lincoln that Teddy Roosevelt displayed in the White House. When offered a Read More

American Experience: Abraham and Mary Lincoln - A House Divided, Vol. 1

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: David Morse, Holly Hunter

Synopsis: This is the first part of a three-video, six-hour program that originally aired February 19-21, 2001, as part of the acclaimed PBS series The American Experience. The program focuses on the marriage of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, and is one of the first documentaries to do so. This Read More

American Experience: Abraham and Mary Lincoln - A House Divided, Vol. 2

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: David Morse, Holly Hunter

Synopsis: This is the second part of a three-video, six-hour program that originally aired February 19-21, 2001, as part of the acclaimed PBS series The American Experience. The program focuses on the marriage of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, and is one of the first documentaries to do so. This Read More

American Experience: Abraham and Mary Lincoln - A House Divided, Vol. 3

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: David Morse, Holly Hunter

Synopsis: This is the final part of a three-video, six-hour program that originally aired February 19-21, 2001, as a presentation of the acclaimed PBS series The American Experience. The program focuses on the marriage of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, and is one of the first documentaries to do so. Read More

American Experience: Rescue at Sea

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: David McCullough narrates this heroic story of Jack Binns, a courageous young man who attempts to save the lives of more than 1,500 people trapped aboard a sinking ship. Jack Binns learned the art of wire-tapping when he was only a boy and by the time he was 26 he was working for the White Star Read More

American Experience: Meltdown at Three Mile Island

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: Just days after Hollywood released The China Syndrome, a film about the possible meltdown of a nuclear power plant, life closely imitated art and a reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power facility near Harrisburg, PA, suddenly overheated. Tension, panic, and fear embroiled the area for a Read More

American Experience: Lost in the Grand Canyon

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: John Wesley Powell was a Civil War veteran dedicated to surveying one of the last uncharted territories in the United States: the Grand Canyon. His expedition established the Grand Canyon as a national landmark and -- not without scrutiny -- changed the country's attitude toward the West. American Read More

American Experience: Race for the Superbomb

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: This two-hour documentary uncovers the U.S.-Soviet race to build the hydrogen bomb and describes the fear of destruction that ensued. More powerful than the atomic bomb, the hydrogen fusion (or "super") bomb was used as a political weapon during the Cold War. This documentary also shows the Read More

American Experience: The Richest Man in the World - Andrew Carnegie

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: The Richest Man In the World is a thoughtful portrait of one of history's most complicated men. Andrew Carnegie was a study in contrasts, a walking contradiction. He was a great philanthropist who endowed nearly 3,000 libraries, but he was also a ruthless businessman who dealt savagely with Read More

American Experience: Truman

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: Upon the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, Harry Truman became the 33rd president of the United States. This video captures the exciting details surrounding Truman's later race for re-election against Dewey, along with many other important historical moments. Viewers are reminded Read More

American Experience: Hawaii's Last Queen

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: Before Hawaii was a hot spot for honeymooners and surfers, prior to its petition by American sugar growers for annexation to the United States, the Kingdom of Hawaii was an independent monarchy. Queen Lili'uokalani was its last queen. Succeeding to the throne in 1891, Lili'uokalani's focus was to Read More

American Experience: TR, The Story of Theodore Roosevelt

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: Viewers will find a historical review of the lives of both Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt on these two tapes that constitute part two of this series on the American presidency. Teddy Roosevelt's long years of public service are noted prior to his becoming the President in 1901 when Read More

American Experience: The Wright Stuff

Crew: Senior Producer

Synopsis: Written, produced, and directed by Nancy Porter, this documentary chronicles how the eccentric Wright brothers overcame their own sibling bickering and the skepticism of the world to build the first successful flying machine. As Tom Crouch of the National Air and Space Museum explains in an Read More

The Battle Over Citizen Kane

Crew: Producer

Synopsis: Arguably the greatest film ever made, Citizen Kane almost never saw the light of day. In this documentary from directors Michael Epstein and Thomas Lennon, the story behind the legendary film is told, highlighting the attempts by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst to kill the thinly-veiled Read More

Driving Passion: America's Love Affair with the Car, Part 2 - America Takes to the Road in Style

Crew: Executive Producer

Driving Passion: America's Love Affair with the Car, Part 4 - Fast Track to the Future

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: Driving Passion documents America's fascination with the automobile. Beginning with the introduction of the Model T, the documentary traces the history of four-wheeled transportation. Hosted by Richard Crenna, The Fast Track to the Future looks at the modern problems plaguing car owners. From the Read More

Driving Passion: America's Love Affair with the Car, Part 3 - Golden Age of Detroit

Crew: Executive Producer

Driving Passion: America's Love Affair with the Car, Part 1 - Birth of the Automobile

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: Modern transportation has come a long way. From the introduction of Henry Ford's quirky invention to the technically sophisticated constructions of modern times, cars have had an interesting history. Richard Crenna hosts this four-part series that follows the automobile's evolution. The Birth of Read More

American Experience: Geronimo and the Apache Resistance

Crew: Senior Producer

Synopsis: Direct descendants of the legendary Native American leader Geronimo aid in telling the story of the Apache medicine man, who, along with his followers, resisted white settlement. When the United States government attempted to move the Chiricahua Apache people to San Carlos Reservation from their Read More

American Experience: The Donner Party

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: In 1846, a group of over eighty Westward-bound pioneers were headed to the coast of California from Illinois, which had itself only recently been brought up to "civilized" status. They made it to a pass high in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California when they were halted by a truly monstrous Read More

American Experience: Last Stand at Little Big Horn

Crew: Senior Producer

Synopsis: This episode of The American Experience investigates an event that has become American folklore. By carefully considering the evidence available from both white and Native American accounts, the video reaches conclusions that are more complex than those commonly held. Custer emerges not as a fool Read More

American Experience: George Washington - The Man Who Wouldn't Be King

Crew: Senior Producer

Synopsis: When George Washington, general and commander in chief of the Continental Army, led his troops to victory, absolute power was within his grasp. Washington could have used his power to establish a military dictatorship or become king, a notion not without support from his own army. Remarkably, he Read More

American Experience: Ishi, The Last Yahi

Crew: Senior Producer

Synopsis: In 1911, an Indian wandered out of the hills of Northern California, unable to speak a word of English, and clad in the ancient manner. His discoverers, who found him hiding in a barn, didn't know what to make of him and sent him to San Francisco to be studied like some rare animal by the young Read More

American Experience: LBJ - A Biography

Crew: Executive Producer

Synopsis: This film profiles the life and political career of the powerful United States senator from Texas Lyndon Baines Johnson, who became president of the United States when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The documentary considers this tragic figure in American history, whose social legislation Read More

American Experience [TV Documentary Series]

Crew: Executive Producer