Television Obscurities » Site Related

New Article – “My World and Welcome To It”

RGJ — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:44:55 +0000

I’m not sure if My World and Welcome To It, which aired on NBC during the 1969-1970, can be considered a “popular obscurity.” Quite a number of people remembering watching it, and have fond recollections of the show. Following its cancellation it won two Emmy awards, which may have led to some embarrassment at NBC. CBS aired select episodes during the summer of 1972. What interested me most while writing this article was learning about previous attempts to turn the works and life of James Thurber into a weekly television series. Two pilots were produced and broadcast in the late 1950s/early 1960s but neither was picked up. I’d love to see those. They’d make wonderful bonus material for a DVD release.

Here’s the summary for the article:

It took several tries before the life and works of James Thurber were successfully turned into a weekly television series. Two failed pilots, broadcast in 1959 and 1961, eventually led to NBC scheduling My World and Welcome To It on Mondays for the 1969-1970 season. The sitcom starred William Windom and featured a combination of live-action and animation. Despite many positive reviews, moderate Nielsen ratings led NBC to cancel the series after one season. It then went on to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series.

You can read the full article here and please leave any comments you have at the article itself.

Q & A: “The Movie Classics of David O. Selznick”

RGJ — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:07:42 +0000

I get a lot of e-mails from people asking me about television shows, made-for-TV movies or miniseries they remember from years or decades past. I try to answer each question as best I can. Every now and then I like to dig through my inbox and pull out a few choice e-mails to answer here at Television Obscurities for everyone to read. Keep reading for today’s questions and answers.

I am trying to pin down a recollection. In the early Seventies, one of the networks — I believe it was ABC — ran a summer series of classic black-and-white movies over several weeks. Two of them were definitely Portrait of Jennie and The Spiral Staircase. Can you or any of your readers help me identify which other films were screened in this series? It was my introduction to classic Hollywood as a young adolescent, and I have always been grateful for it.

-Patrick

I was impressed with Patrick’s memories of this short-lived summer movie series that did indeed air on ABC. The Movie Classics of David O. Selznick was broadcast over the course of four weeks during the summer of 1971, presenting a new film produced by Selznick each week. It was the first time any had been seen on television. The films ran from 8:30-10PM on Tuesdays, taking over the time slot usually held by The Movie of the Week.

Here’s the schedule for the series:

“Intermezzo”
Tuesday, June 22nd, 1971

“The Spiral Staircase”
Tuesday, June 29th, 1971

“Portrait of Jennie”
Tuesday, July 6th, 1971

“Made for Each Other”
Tuesday, July 13th, 1971

Martin Starger, ABC’s vice president in charge of programming, explained that “the great films of the past have usually been relegated to something other than primetime exposure on television. We are proud to present four of David O. Selznick’s great films on ABC this summer in primetime” [1]. Ruby Gentry was originally intended to be shown as part of the series but was ultimately replaced by The Spiral Staircase [2].

I assume the films were preceded by an introduction or at the very least a credit sequence.

Works Cited:

1 “Selznick Classics Slated.” Sumter Daily Item. TV Item Supplement. [Sumter, SC]. 28 May 1971: 7.
2 Ibid.

Broadcast Log: NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies, Season One

RGJ — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:15:55 +0000

NBC premiered The NBC Saturday Night at the Movies in September of 1961. It was the first regularly-scheduled network movie night. The network added The NBC Monday Night at the Movies as a mid-season replacement in February of 1963 and it returned for the 1963-1964 season. In September of 1964, NBC shifted its second movie night to Wednesdays from 9-11PM. The NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies premiered on September 16th, 1964 and ran for 29 weeks, ending on March 31st, 1965, followed by several months of summer repeats. Several of the summer repeats were actually movies that had premiered on The NBC Saturday Night at the Movies.

The October 7th, 1964 broadcast, See How They Run, is generally considered to be the very first made-for-TV movie. The November 18th, 1964 broadcast, The Hanged Man, is said to be the second. In September of 1965, NBC replaced The NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies with Bob Hope Presents and I Spy and began The NBC Tuesday Night at the Movie.

Season One: 1964-1965

Ep. #	Movie Title	Airdate	Format

1.	To Catch a Thief	09/16/1964	Color
2.	Career	09/23/1964	B&W
3.	Green Mansions	09/30/1964	Color
4.	See How They Run (made-for-TV movie)	10/07/1964	B&W
5.	Torpedo Run	10/14/1964	Color
6.	Beau James	10/21/1964	Color
7.	But Not for Me	10/28/1964	B&W
8.	Gaby	11/04/1964	Color
9.	Sad Sack	11/11/1964	B&W
10.	The Hanged Man (Made-for-TV Movie)	11/18/1964	Color
11.	The Rack	11/25/1964	B&W
12.	Cry Terror	12/02/1964	B&W
13.	We’re No Angels	12/09/1964	Color
14.	Julie	12/16/1964	B&W
15.	Atlantis: The Lost Continent	12/23/1964	Color
16.	Elephant Walk	12/30/1964	Color
17.	This Could Be the Night	01/06/1965	Color
18.	Hell is for Heroes	01/13/1965	B&W
19.	The Brothers Karamazov	01/20/1965	Color
20.	Detective Story	01/27/1965	B&W
21.	The Angry Hills	02/03/1965	B&W
22.	Naked Jungle	02/10/1965	Color
23.	Submarine Command	02/17/1965	B&W
24.	Key to the City	02/24/1965	B&W
25.	Fancy Pants	03/03/1965	Color
26.	The Catered Affair	03/10/1965	B&W
27.	Fear Strikes Out	03/17/1965	Color
28.	The Last Voyage	03/24/1965	Color
29.	Hot Spell	03/31/1965	B&W
PRE-EMPTED: Presidential Address		04/07/1965

*Summer Repeats Begin*

REP	Houdini*	04/14/1965	Color
REP	The Last Hunt	04/21/1965	Color
REP	Cry Terror	04/28/1965	B&W
REP	Sad Sack	05/05/1965	B&W
REP	Last Train from Gun Hill*	05/12/1965	Color
REP	Julie	05/19/1965	Color
REP	Hell is for Heroes	05/26/1965	B&W
REP	Bad Day at Black Rock*	06/02/1965	Color
REP	We’re No Angels	06/09/1965	Color
REP	The Caddy*	06/16/1965	B&W
REP	Beau James	06/23/1965	Color
REP	This Could Be the Night	06/30/1965	Color
REP	Fear Strikes Out	07/07/1965	Color
REP	The Hanged Man (Made-for-TV Movie)	07/14/1965	Color
REP	Fancy Pants	07/21/1965	Color
REP	Key to the City	07/28/1965	B&W
REP	The Angry Hills	08/04/1965	B&W
REP	See How They Run (made-for-TV movie)	08/11/1965	Color
REP	Hot Spell	08/18/1965	B&W
REP	Adam’s Rib*	08/25/1965	B&W
REP	Torpedo Run	09/01/1965	Color
REP	Elephant Walk	09/08/1965	Color

*Originally aired as installments of The NBC Saturday Night at the Movies

Q & A: ABC Stage ’67, “The People Trap”

RGJ — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 02:50:11 +0000

Hi,

I am trying to find the name of a TV show that aired on 11/9/1966. It was about a contest where the prize was an acre of land. I never got to see it because my husband was in the hospital and I went to visit him. I have always wanted to see this show. I don’t even know what kind of story it would be considered. I think it was when environmental issues were just coming into the news. Any help you could give me will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

This was an installment of ABC Stage 67, an ambitious anthology series that included dramas, musicals and the occasional documentary. It ran for one season, on ABC, from 1966 to 1967, producing 26 episodes. Earl Hamner, Jr. wrote this particular episode, which was called “The People Trap” and was based on a short story by Robert Sheckley. In my opinion, the plot of the episode was right out of The Twilight Zone (Hamner wrote eight episodes of that series). In the year 2067, Earth is filled up, populated by 20 billion people and there just is not enough land to go around. Stuart Whitman starred as a history teacher whose wife, played by Vera Miles, was pregnant. The two lacked the proper license to have a child so, in order to keep his wife out of prison and their child from being confiscated, the teacher decides to enter a race for one of the last free acres of land in the United states (located in Yosemite National Park).

Connie Stevens played a fellow competitor in the race who romanced Whitman’s character. Lew Ayres, Estelle Winwood, Lee Grant, Pearl Bailey and Betty Furness and Michael Rennie all had cameo roles in the episode. Much like “Murder and the Android” (an installment of NBC’s Sunday Showcase) which I wrote about June of 2009, this is something I’d love to see. Thankfully, like “Murder and the Android,” the Paley Center for Media has “The People Trap” and all the other episodes of ABC Stage 67 in its collection.

Help Identify Movie Aired on November 22nd, 1973

RGJ — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:43:14 +0000

I received an e-mail from Bob, who is trying to identify a Western movie that he believes was broadcast on ABC, CBS or NBC in the early morning (it was on around 1AM) on Thursday, November 22nd, 1973 in Lewisburg, West Virginia. Unfortunately, the fact that it was aired on a network affiliate doesn’t necessarily mean it was a network broadcast and that makes things more difficult. I admit to not being very knowledgeable about network late night programming which is why I’m throwing this out to the masses. Based on television listings I’ve looked at, on Wednesday, November 21st at 11:30PM, ABC began an installment of ABC’s Wide World of Entertainment titled “JFK: A Time to Remember;” it ran until 1AM. On CBS was No Time for Sergeants, part of The CBS Late Movie, which aired from 11:30PM to 1:50AM. And NBC broadcast The Tonight Show from 11:30PM to 1AM followed by Tomorrow from 1-2AM.

Given that No Time for Sergeants cannot be called a Western, it seems that the movie Bob’s trying to identify had to have been a local broadcast that followed the aforementioned network programming. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to any local television listings for Lewisburg, West Virginia. Can anyone out there help Bob find the name of this movie?

Broadcast Log: NBC Monday Night at the Movies, Season Two

RGJ — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:30:54 +0000

The NBC Monday Night at the Movies premiered as a mid-season replacement in February of 1963. Its second season began on September 16th, 1963. A total of 29 movies were broadcast during the 1963-1964 season followed by 22 weeks of repeats. Several of those repeat broadcasts were actually films that had premiered on The NBC Saturday Night at the Movies. For the 1964-1965 season, NBC replaced The NBC Monday Night at the Movies with 90 Bristol Court and premiered The NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies.

Due to coverage of President Kennedy’s funeral on Monday, November 25th, The NBC Monday Night at the Movies was pre-empted. Singin’ in the Rain was scheduled to air; it eventually would be broadcast in January of 1964.

Season Two: 1963-1964

Ep. #	Movie Title	Airdate	Format

17.	Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing	09/16/1963	Color
18.	David and Bathsheba	09/23/1963	Color
19.	Executive Suite	09/30/1963	B&W
20.	The Wreck of the Mary Deare	10/07/1963	Color
21.	The Rains of Ranchipur	10/14/1963	Color
22.	The Mating Game	10/21/1963	Color
23.	Good Morning, Miss Dove	10/28/1963	Color
24.	White Feather	11/04/1963	Color
25.	Father of the Bride	11/11/1963	B&W
26.	The Reluctant Debutante	11/18/1963	Color
PRE-EMPTED: Coverage of President Kennedy’s Funeral		11/25/1963
27.	House of Numbers	12/02/1963	B&W
28.	The Wings of Eagles	12/09/1963	Color
29.	The Lost World	12/16/1963	Color
30.	The Power and the Prize	12/23/1963	B&W
31.	Kiss Me Kate	12/30/1963	Color
32.	Seven Cities of Gold	01/06/1964	Color
33.	Singin’ in the Rain	01/13/1964	Color
34.	Action of the Tiger	01/20/1964	Color
35.	House of Bamboo	01/27/1964	Color
36.	Phone Call from a Stranger	02/03/1964	Color
37.	Treasure of the Golden Condor	02/10/1964	Color
38.	The Safecracker	02/17/1964	B&W
39.	Prince of Players	02/24/1964	Color
40.	Underwater Warrior	03/02/1964	B&W
41.	The 39 Steps	03/09/1964	Color
42.	The View from Pompey’s Head	03/16/1964	Color
43.	The Racers	03/23/1964	Color
44.	The Pride of St. Louis	03/30/1964	B&W
45.	The Virgin Queen	04/06/1964	Color
46.	Never Let Me Go	04/13/1964	B&W

*Summer Repeats Begin*

REP	Seven Cities of Gold	04/20/1964	Color
REP	Father of the Bride	04/27/1964	B&W
REP	Good Morning, Miss Dove	05/04/1964	Color
REP	White Feather	05/11/1964	Color
REP	Phone Call from a Stranger	05/18/1964	B&W
REP	Count Your Blessings	05/25/1964	Color
REP	Singin’ in the Rain	06/01/1964	Color
REP	House of Bamboo	06/08/1964	Color
REP	Never Let Me Go	06/15/1964	B&W
REP	Underwater Warrior	06/22/1964	B&W
REP	The Wreck of the Mary Deare	06/29/1964	Color
REP	Pride of St. Louis	07/06/1964	B&W
PRE-EMPTED: Republican National Convention		07/13/1964
REP	Treasure of the Golden Condor	07/20/1964	Color
REP	Imitation General*	07/27/1964	Color
REP	Black Widow*	08/03/1964	Color
REP	House of Numbers	08/10/1964	B&W
REP	The Racers	08/18/1964	Color
PRE-EMPTED: Democratic National Convention		08/24/1964
REP	Man on Fire*	08/31/1964	Color
REP	David and Bathsheba	09/07/1964	Color
REP	The Lost World	09/14/1964	Color
REP	Wings of Eagles	09/21/1964	Color
REP	Ask Any Girl*	09/28/1964	Color

*Originally aired as installments of The NBC Saturday Night at the Movies

Q & A: The Canned Film Festival, Mr. Smith

RGJ — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:05:27 +0000

There was a syndicated b-movie show in the 80′s with Lorraine Newman that was set in an old theatre… Lorraine was an usherette there, and rather than talking over the show in a MSK3000 way, it was more like a comedy itself that cut back and forth showing the film. What was it called, and how many were made?

-Doug

The Canned Film Festival was a syndicated, late-night movie series that aired for 13 weeks during the summer of 1986. Sponsored by soda manufacturer Dr Pepper, the series presented B movies interspersed with comedic segments featuring Saturday Night Live alum Laraine Newman. Her character, also named Laraine, operated a run-down movie theater located in a small town in Texas where the B movies were offered in an attempt to attract patrons. Each week, Laraine screened a new movie for an audience of exactly five; these characters appeared alongside Newman in the comedy segments.

Advertising company Young & Rubicam created the series for Dr Pepper; it was produced by Chelsea Communications and distributed by LBS Communications to roughly 70% of the country [1]. According to Advertising Age, each episode featured eight national one-minute commercials for Dr Pepper and ten local one-minute commercials sold on a barter basis [2]. The series premiered on or about June 16th, 1986 and ran through September, typically airing at 11:30PM or later.

Mark Schwed of United Press International referred to The Canned Film Festival as “perhaps the least anticipated series in modern television history.” Among the movies shown on were The Slime People (1963), Robot Monster (1953), The Crawling Hand (1963) and They Saved Hitler’s Brain (1963).

I might be making up a memory, but wasn’t there a show in the 80s about an orangutan who was U.S. President? Can’t remember any actors…I think it was voiceover for the monkey’s thoughts. Was this real? What was it?

-David

He wasn’t quite the president but an orangutan served as an adviser/consultant to the United States government in a short-lived NBC sitcom called Mr. Smith. After escaping from his cage and drinking an advanced, super secret formula, the orangutan (named C.J. in real life) developed an IQ of 256 and the ability to talk. Ed. Weinberger, who co-created the series, provided Mr. Smith’s speaking voice. I wrote in 10 Of The Most Outlandish TV Concepts Ever that “the series was ridiculed by critics” but after reading more reviews it seems some critics were at least willing to give the show a chance despite the absurdity of the premise because of the creative talent involved. Viewers, however, didn’t feel the same way and NBC canned the show in December. A total of 13 episodes were aired.

Works Cited:

1 [Untitled]. Advertising Age. 16 Jun. 1986: 69.
2 Ibid.
3 Schwed, Mark. “The absolute pits.” United Press International. 4 Jun. 1986: BC Cycle.

Broadcast Log: NBC Monday Night at the Movies, Season One

RGJ — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:15:03 +0000

In the fall of 1961, NBC premiered The NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, the first regularly-scheduled network movie night. In February of 1963 the network added a second movie night, The NBC Monday Night at the Movies, as a mid-season replacement for its failed line-up of It’s a Man’s World and Saints and Sinners. A total of 16 films, most of them in color, were broadcast from February to May, followed by 15 weeks of repeats and one pre-emption.

Season One: 1963

Ep. #	Movie Title	Airdate	Format

1.	The Enemy Below	02/04/1963	Color
2.	The Bravados	02/11/1963	Color
3.	Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison	2/18/1963	Color
4.	King of the Khyber Rifles	2/25/1963	Color
5.	Hell and High Water	03/04/1963	Color
6.	Prince Valiant	03/11/1963	Color
7.	Boy on a Dolphin	03/18/1963	Color
8.	From Hell to Texas	03/25/1963	Color
9.	My Cousin Rachel	04/01/963	B&W
10.	April Love	04/08/1963	Color
11.	An Affair to Remember	04/15/1963	Color
12.	The Barbarian and the Geisha	04/22/1963	Color
13.	The Hunters	04/29/1963	Color
14.	Harry Black and the Tiger	05/06/1963	Color
15.	The Mudlark	05/13/1963	B&W
16.	Mardi Gras	05/20/1963	Color

*Summer Repeats Begin*

REP	The Enemy Below	05/27/1963	Color
REP	The Bravados	06/03/1963	Color
REP	Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison	06/10/1963	Color
REP	King of the Khyber Rifles	06/17/1963	Color
REP	From Hell to Texas	06/24/1963	Color
REP	Hell and High Water	07/01/1963	Color
REP	Boy on a Dolphin	07/08/1963	Color
REP	An Affair to Remember	07/15/1963	Color
REP	The Barbarian and the Geisha	07/22/1963	Color
REP	Prince Valiant	07/29/1963	Color
REP	My Cousin Rachel	08/05/1963	B&W
REP	April Love	08/12/1963	Color
REP	The Hunters	08/19/1963	Color
REP	Mardi Gras	08/26/1963	Color
PRE-EMPTED: “American Revolution of ’63″		09/02/1963
REP	Harry Black and the Tiger	09/09/1963	Color

Q & A: Can You Identify These Shows, Part 13

RGJ — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:30:50 +0000

I get a lot of e-mails from people asking me about television shows, made-for-TV movies or miniseries they remember from years or decades past. I try to answer each question as best I can but often recollections are hazy at best and thus impossible to identify, despite my best efforts. Hopefully, by posting these questions here at Television Obscurities for everyone to read someone will come up with the answer. Keep reading for today’s unidentified shows.

I saw a show on PBS once, where Francisco Franco and his wife & daughter made statements addressing the people of the United States. The whole thing may have been 5 minutes long. I haven’t been able to track this footage down on the internet or find anyone else who knows about it.

Do you have any ideas? It wouldn’t seem too interesting except that Franco’s eyes and teeth seemed to bulge out, and reminded me enough of Andy Kaufmann’s “Latka” character to think that’s where he got the idea, a testament to the guy’s perverse sense of humor.

-Carl

I’ve found PBS programming especially difficult to research due to the fact that programs aired at different times on stations across the country and did not necessarily air on all stations. Any thoughts?

Hey this is a great website, very informative. I am hoping you can help me find the title of an old show.

I can’t remember any of the words in the title or the names of the actors. All I can remember is a group of bored suburban housewives decide to solve a crime that has occurred in their town and then start a detective agency. I think it was an hour long program on NBC(?) around 1990(?) and it aired once or twice. I don’t know anyone who remembers the show and would appreciate any help you can give.

Thank you, Steve

This may not have been a weekly television series. It could have been a made-for-TV movie or a miniseries.

New Article: “Willy”

RGJ — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:30:34 +0000

I’ve long wanted to write about Willy, believed to be the first prime time series to feature a female lawyer, and the death of star June Havoc back in March finally pushed me to actually get it done. Havoc played Willa “Willy” Dodger, a newly minted lawyer in a small town in New Hampshire who later moved to New York City. The sitcom ran for 39 episodes on CBS from 1954-1955 and, after being repeated in syndication for a few years, seems to have been completely forgotten. Unfortunately, that has led to some confusion about the series. For example, sources vary on who played Willy’s father. As I mention in my article, Wheaton Chamber is credited in the first episode, but Lloyd Corrigan seems to have taken over the role at a later date. Or maybe he didn’t. I don’t really know. I’ve also come across conflicting information about the name of the company Willy worked for in New York City.

Admittedly, these are minor issues, but they’re the sort of thing that I find frustrating. I’ve only seen the premiere episode of the series and to be honest it wasn’t very good. I doubt it got any better. None of the episodes are held by any of the big museums/archives, as far as I can tell, but are likely gathering dust in a warehouse somewhere. Will they ever see the light of day again? Again, I doubt it. Here’s the summary:

June Havoc starred in this CBS sitcom about a small town lawyer. It was the first prime time series to feature a female lawyer but didn’t catch on with viewers. Reworking the premise of the series — moving the action to New York City — in mid-season didn’t help, nor did shifting it to a new day and time. After a single low-rated season, the series was canceled. Repeats went into syndication right away and remained on the air for several years before the series faded away into obscurity.

Feel free to leave any comments at the article itself, which you can find here. If anyone has an old TV Guide or a newspaper that can shed some light on the question of who played Willy’s father, please let me know. I’ll rest easier having that mystery cleared up.