James Stockdale, a highest-ranking naval officer, was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, whilst Sybil Stockdale became a co-founder, and then later served as the national coordinator of the National League of Families, a nonprofit organization that worked on behalf of American Vietnam-era Missing in Action and Prisoner of War Families.

The screenplay was based on the book In Love and War: The Story of a Family's Ordeal and Sacrifice During the Vietnam Years, which was written by James and Sybil Stockdale themselves.

During his confinement in sub-human living conditions within such camps as the infamous "Hanoi Hilton", Stockdale, amongst other American prisoners, led a resistance group against the North Vietnamese, facing torture, isolation, and starvation in attempts to break their wills.

The film was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1988, for James Woods under the category "Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV".

But neither actor is served well by the fuzzy script, and when they do get to play a few brief scenes together, Mr. Woods and Ms. Alexander convey the unfortunate impression that they have just met in passing on the set.

"[16] Also on March 16, 1987, Jeff Jarvis of People magazine wrote a review of the film under the "Picks and Pans Review" section of the magazine issue, giving the film an A grade, stating "Not since Friendly Fire have I seen a movie that so effectively portrays the tragic pain and folly of Vietnam — and does so without a single battle scene.

"[17] On the day of the film's original American broadcast, Daniel Ruth of the Chicago Sun-Times gave a favorable review, stating "With marvelous performances from Woods, Alexander and Ngor, "In Love and War" may be another unpleasant reminder of one of our darker chapters.

"[19] In the 1995 book Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second by Jeremy M. Devine, the author spoke of the film, stating "The made-for-television features had also become sources of tape cassettes.

Despite a stellar cast including James Woods, Jane Alexander, and Haing S. Ngor, this Paul Aaron-directed feature was rather flat.