I rather suspect that most people take Gunsmoke for granted. At most, they might know that it is the longest running American primetime show with continuing characters. There can be little doubt that many think, erroneously, that it was the show that started the Western Cycle on American television in the late Fifties. Regardless, it actually does occupy an important place in American television history.
Of course, the origins of Gunsmoke go back to radio. Among CBS Radios's most successful shows in the late Forties was The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. In fact, none other than William S. Paley, CBS chairman and founder, was a huge fan of the series. He then approached the CBS Vice President, director of TV and radio, Harry Ackerman (who would later be Vice President in Charge of Production of Screen Gems), with the idea of doing a "hard boiled Western." Ackerman brought in writers Mort Fine and David Friedkin to write an audition script. The end result, Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye was firmly in the hard boiled tradition and featured Rye Bradbury as Dillon. A lighter version of the script,done as a more traditional Western, was also recorded with Howard Culver of the radio Western Straight Arrow in the lead role. CBS preferred the version with Culver as Dillon. Unfortunately, Gunsmoke would not yet make it to the air. Howard's contract with Straight Arrow restricted him from doing any other Western show. The project was then shelved indefinitely.
This brings us to another predecessor to Gunsmoke. Norman MacDonnell and John Meston adapted an Ernest Haycox Western short story as "Pagosa," an episode of the radio show Romance which aired on August 8, 1949. "Pagosa" featured the voice of William Conrad as Jeff Spain, the prototype for Marshall Matt Dillon. Like Gunsmoke after it, it was very much an adult Western. The two later another adult oriented Western as an episode of the radio show Escape, "Wild Jack Rhett," which aired on the show on Dec 17 1950, also based on an Ernest Haycox story. MacDonnell and Meston came up with the idea of radio show that would be an adult Western, focusing more on characters than on gunfights or derring do called "Jeff Spain (after the lead character on "Pagosa." They soon learned, however, that CBS had already produced to audition scripts of "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye," scripts which were remarkably similar to their concept.
Fortunately, for MacDonnell and Meston, the sudden cancellation of the show Operation Underground left an empty slot on the CBS Radio schedule. Their new adult Western series was given the go ahead. Before it reached its first broadcast, however, it would undergo some changes. Harry Ackerman did not particularly care for the name "Jeff Spain" and renamed the character "Matt Dillon." As to the show itself, it became known as Gunsmoke. William Conrad, who had played Jeff Spain in "Pagosa," was cast as Marshall Matt Dillon. Howard McNear (best known as Floyd the Barber on The Andy Griffith Show) was cast as Doc Adams (named for cartoonist Charles Addams, as the character was originally somewhat ghoulish). Georgia Ellis was cast as Kitty Russell. Parley Baer (who played Mayor Stoner on The Andy Griffith Show and was the voice of Ernie the Keebler Elf) was cast as Chester, Matt Dillon's assistant. The format of the radio show would be familiar to anyone who has seen the TV series. Matt Dillon was a U.S. Marshall based out of Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870s. The show quickly became well known for its realism. In fact, many of the episodes were much more explicit than would be seen on the TV show, touching upon lynchings, massacres, various violent crimes, and even opium addiction. Although she was never called such on the show, it was clear Miss Kitty was a prostitute.
Gunsmoke soon became one of the most successful radio shows on the air. And, in fact, it soon proved to be the harbinger of a trend. Within months of its debut on April 26, 1952, an adult Western movie, High Noon, was playing in theatres. The following year another adult Western film was released, Shane. The radio show Gunsmoke preceded them both. Gunsmoke topped the ratings from the very beginning and received widespread critical acclaim.In the end it would run until June 18, 1961. Its demise was probably more due to the declining popularity of radio shows in light of television--it would be a little over a year later, September 30, 1962, that CBS cancelled its last remaining traditional radio shows (Suspense, Yours Truly, and Johnny Dollar).
The phenomenal success of Gunsmoke from the beginning also meant from the beginning there were those at CBS who wanted to adapt it to television. Norman MacDonnell himself has serious doubts about a television adaptation. He thought Gunsmoke was "...perfect for radio." He also feared that the television show, confined as it would be to a picture, would not be as authentic as the radio show was to detail. In the end, however, CBS decided to go ahead with a TV adaptation, with or without McDonnell and Meston. The man hired to adapt Gunsmoke for television was Charles Marquis Warren. Warren had directed such films as Little Big Horn, Arrowhead, and Seven Angry Men. Warren would also serve as the show's producer for its first two seasons. Meston was kept on the head writer while MacDonnell was a producer (he would become the show's primary producer until 1965, after Warren left).
MacDonnell and Meston had wanted to simply use the radio cast in the same roles on television, although Warren had other ideas. In particular, William Contrad was considered too heavy to play Matt Dillon. Contrary to popular belief, the role of Dillon was never offered to John Wayne, although he did introduce the first episode (Wayne knew Warren). Other actors were auditioned for the role, including Raymond Burr (later Perry Mason, he was also deemed too heavy), Denver Pyle, and Richard Boone (who would go onto play Paladin on Have Gun--Will Travel). John Wayne, who knew Warren,did recommend a young actor named James Arness, who had appeared with Wayne in Hondo and Big Jim MacLain. In the role of Doc Addams was cast Milburn Stone, who had played on Broadway and in any many small parts in films. Amanda Blake, who had made several guest appearances on TV and appeared in small films, was cast as Miss Kitty. Cast as Chester, Dennis Weaver was a relative newcomer. He had made his first film appearance in 1952 and had appeared in various Westerns before receiving his role on Gunsmoke.
For show that lasted 21 years, Gunsmoke had very few cast changes. While various other characters would come and go from the cast. the major cast more or less remained the same. Tired of playing Dillon's deputy, Weaver left the show in 1964 to play the lead in the short lived show Kentucky Jones. He was replaced by hillbilly deputy Marshal Festus, played by Ken Curtis. Blake left the show in 1974, after nineteen years. Both James Arness and Milburn Stone remained with the show for its full run, although Stone missed seven episodes in 1971 due to an illness and was temporarily replaced by Pat Hingle.
While the TV series Gunsmoke was very realistic for a television Western of its time, it was not quite as realistic as the radio. Much of the subject matter covered on the radio show could not be covered on the TV show. As to Miss Kitty's profession, there was absolutely no clue that she was anything other than a saloon keeper except for the 1971 episode "Waste," in which a woman asks Matt how the law overlooks Miss Kitty's business. It seemed quite clear from this that she was a madam. Regardless, Gunsmoke dealt with some very serious topics, including racism, violence, religion, the importance of family, and so on.
Like the radio show Gunsmoke received critical acclaim and high ratings from its debut. By its second season, 1956-1957, it ranked number 8 in the top rated shows for the seasons. By the following year it would be the number one show on television, a position it would hold for four years. Here it must be stressed that Gunsmoke was not the show which started the Western cycle of the Fifties. In the 1955-1956 two other adult Westerns had also debuted. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp was actually the first debut on ABC on September 6, 1955. Gunsmoke debuted a few days later on CBS on September 10, 1955. The last of the three, Cheyenne, debuted on September 20, 1955. All three show did respectively well in the ratings, each one of them ranking in the top twenty for the year at one time or another. It was most likely the success of all three shows that led to the rush to make Western TV shows in the late Fifties.
As to Gunsmoke, its ratings would not remain so high forever. By 1961-1962, it had dropped to number three for the year, knocked out of the top spot by two other Westerns, Wagon Train and Bonanza. Gunsmoke slowly slipped in the ratings, first to #10 in the 1962 to 1963 season, then to #20 by the 1963-1964 season. It was for the ratings in the 1964 to 1965 season that it was not ranked in the top twenty for the first time in nine years. Gunsmoke would also make a major change. By the Sixties most dramas were now one hour long. Gunsmoke then expanded from a half hour to an hour in the 1961-1962 season.
Sadly, my the 1966-1967 season Gunsmoke had fallen drastically in the ratings. CBS executive then decided to cancel the already twelve year old oater. Most likely the decline in ratings was not due to the switch to an hour long format, but more likely the fact that the Western cycle of the Fifties had ended in 1961. A new cycle in the mid-Sixties had produced no truly hit shows. Westerns, with the exception of Bonanza and The Virginian, were on their way out. Regardless, Gunsmoke would not remain cancelled for long. CBS got many angry letters and call. Worse yet, Gunsmoke was the favourite show of William S. Paley's wife, and apparently he liked it a good deal as well. He basically told his executives to find Gunsmoke a new time slot or find themselves new jobs. Gunsmoke was then moved to a new Monday night time slot. To make way for the old Western, Gilligan's Island (which had occupied the spot) and a new sitcom called Doc (which hadn't even aired yet) were cancelled. Gilligan's Island was still getting very good ratings, but it was a show that Paley had always detested for the bad reviews it received.
The new time slot breathed new life into Gunsmoke. For 1967-1968 season it jumped to #3 in the yearly ratings. It remained there for a seven full years. It was in its final season, the 1974-1975 season, that the show was finally cancelled. The cancellation came as a surprise to the cast, who had expected it to run at least another season, maybe more. Regardless, by that point Gunsmoke had the set record it still holds--the longest running American TV show with continuing characters of all time (a full 21 years).
Gunsmoke would have five reunion movies, Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge in 1987. Gunsmoke: The Last Apache in 1990. Gunsmoke: To the Last Man in 1992. Gunsmoke: The Long Ride in 1992. And Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice in 1994.
By sheer virtue of its exceedingly long run, Gunsmoke could be the most influential Western TV show of all time. It was one of the three Western TV shows to start the cycle towards Westerns in the Fifties. Of the three shows it was the most successful, and perhaps the most influential as well. In the wake of Gunsmoke would arrive other intelligent Westerns, including Have Gun Will-Travel, The Rifleman, Rawhide, The Rebel, and others. It was Gunsmoke that largely took the TV Western away from shoot outs and saloon to fights to more cerebral fare.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
The Beatles Movie That Never Was
It is a well known fact that as their fame was on the rise, The Beatles made a three movie deal with United Artists. A Hard Day's Night and Help fulfilled part of this contract. The third movie would be the animated movie Yellow Submarine. What is not so well known is that there had been plans for a third live action movie to follow Help.
For the third film The Beatles considered various ideas, among them an adaptation of Lord of the Rings (for which United Artists held the rights at the time) or an adaptation of The Three Musketeers (which A Hard Day's Night and Help director Richard Lester adapted in the Seventies). Neither project ever got off the ground. Eventually a script was developed, in which The Beatles were portrayed as four aspects of the same man. Producer Walter Shenson (who produced A Hard Day's Night and Help), disliked the script, thinking it "dull." It was then decided to bring in popular playwright Joe Orton, who had written such plays as Entertaining Mr Sloane and Loot. Brian Epstein thought he might be the perfect man for the screenplay, while Paul McCartney was a huge fan of Orton's work. It was in January 1967 that Shenson called Orton's agent and told him about the script they had, which he thought was "dull." Orton agreed to look at the script. Orton basically liked the idea behind the script, but concurred with Shenson that the screenplay itself was "dreary." Orton then met with Shenson, and later Brian Epstein and Paul McCartney, then set about writing a whole new script.
The screenplay which resulted, Up Against It, ultimately used next to nothing from the original script. Instead, it drew ideas from a novel Orton had written with his lover, actor and writer Kenneth Halliwell, in 1953 entitled The Silver Bucket, and from his own novel Head to Toe (written in 1961, but not published until 1971). As was much of Orton's work, Up Against It was very dark. The script was set in a world dominated by an oligarchy run by women. The Beatles themselves not only become involved in trying to overthrow the oligarchy, but at different points in the plot dress as women, perform an assassination, and in the end wind up in bed with the same woman (an act of adultery at that). Orton also drew upon the first two Beatles movies, including witty one liners as in A Hard Day's Night and a battle scene like the one from Help.
Richard Lester had no problem with the dark nature of Orton's works, although he worried whether The Beatles could keep up with his dialogue. On the other hand, The Beatles and Brian Epstein may have had their own objections. It is fairly well known that The Beatles were not particularly eager to film another movie. None of them had particularly enjoyed filming Help, and disliked how the film had turned out. Lennon himself said of the film that they were extras in their own movie. John Lennon's experience with his part in Lester's How I Won the War may have played a role as well. John Lennon said that he found filming movies "boring." It must also be kept in mind that Brian Epstein was always protective of The Beatles' image. It seems unlikely that he would have approved of a film in which there were such scenes as The Beatles dressing as women, assassinating a prime minister, and getting into bed with the same woman.
Paul McCartney, in the book Beatles at the Movies by Roy Carr, gives another reason for objecting to the screenplay. He said that it wasn't that it was too way out or anything like that, but instead because "...it was gay. We weren't gay and really that was all there was to it."
Regardless, Joe Orton's script for Up Against It was returned to him within a few days of sending in to The Beatles. Producer Oscar Lewenstein (who had produced Richard Lester's movie The Knack...and How to Get It) optioned the work right away. Richard Lester was set to direct, while Ian McKellan and Mick Jagger were set to star, but then in August 1967 Joe Orton was murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell. By that time Orton had produced a second draught, but the project ended with his death.
This was not the end of Up Against It. Orton's second draught would be revised and adapted as a stage play in 1989, with Kenneth Elliott directing and Todd Rundgren providing the music. It ran for three weeks at the Public Theatre in New York City. The screenplay was later broadcast over Radio 4 in London on August 4, 1995. It was broadcast again on Radio 3 in the fall of 1997.
Having elected not to do Up Against It, The Beatles' obligation to United Artists would be filled by the animated film Yellow Submarine.
It is difficult to say how history would have differed if The Beatles had elected to do Up Against It. It is almost certain that Yellow Submarine would never have been produced. Of course, it is questionable how good the film would have actually been. While I have never read the screenplay, Todd Rundgren said that the script was "incoherent." Tom Ross, who adapted the screenplay as a stage production, called it "amorphous." He also found that in rewriting the screenplay he had to tone down much of the misogyny of the original work, so that the film, had it been made, may have not have dated very well. Regardless, Up Against It is an interesting footnote in The Beatles' history, the movie they never made.
For the third film The Beatles considered various ideas, among them an adaptation of Lord of the Rings (for which United Artists held the rights at the time) or an adaptation of The Three Musketeers (which A Hard Day's Night and Help director Richard Lester adapted in the Seventies). Neither project ever got off the ground. Eventually a script was developed, in which The Beatles were portrayed as four aspects of the same man. Producer Walter Shenson (who produced A Hard Day's Night and Help), disliked the script, thinking it "dull." It was then decided to bring in popular playwright Joe Orton, who had written such plays as Entertaining Mr Sloane and Loot. Brian Epstein thought he might be the perfect man for the screenplay, while Paul McCartney was a huge fan of Orton's work. It was in January 1967 that Shenson called Orton's agent and told him about the script they had, which he thought was "dull." Orton agreed to look at the script. Orton basically liked the idea behind the script, but concurred with Shenson that the screenplay itself was "dreary." Orton then met with Shenson, and later Brian Epstein and Paul McCartney, then set about writing a whole new script.
The screenplay which resulted, Up Against It, ultimately used next to nothing from the original script. Instead, it drew ideas from a novel Orton had written with his lover, actor and writer Kenneth Halliwell, in 1953 entitled The Silver Bucket, and from his own novel Head to Toe (written in 1961, but not published until 1971). As was much of Orton's work, Up Against It was very dark. The script was set in a world dominated by an oligarchy run by women. The Beatles themselves not only become involved in trying to overthrow the oligarchy, but at different points in the plot dress as women, perform an assassination, and in the end wind up in bed with the same woman (an act of adultery at that). Orton also drew upon the first two Beatles movies, including witty one liners as in A Hard Day's Night and a battle scene like the one from Help.
Richard Lester had no problem with the dark nature of Orton's works, although he worried whether The Beatles could keep up with his dialogue. On the other hand, The Beatles and Brian Epstein may have had their own objections. It is fairly well known that The Beatles were not particularly eager to film another movie. None of them had particularly enjoyed filming Help, and disliked how the film had turned out. Lennon himself said of the film that they were extras in their own movie. John Lennon's experience with his part in Lester's How I Won the War may have played a role as well. John Lennon said that he found filming movies "boring." It must also be kept in mind that Brian Epstein was always protective of The Beatles' image. It seems unlikely that he would have approved of a film in which there were such scenes as The Beatles dressing as women, assassinating a prime minister, and getting into bed with the same woman.
Paul McCartney, in the book Beatles at the Movies by Roy Carr, gives another reason for objecting to the screenplay. He said that it wasn't that it was too way out or anything like that, but instead because "...it was gay. We weren't gay and really that was all there was to it."
Regardless, Joe Orton's script for Up Against It was returned to him within a few days of sending in to The Beatles. Producer Oscar Lewenstein (who had produced Richard Lester's movie The Knack...and How to Get It) optioned the work right away. Richard Lester was set to direct, while Ian McKellan and Mick Jagger were set to star, but then in August 1967 Joe Orton was murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell. By that time Orton had produced a second draught, but the project ended with his death.
This was not the end of Up Against It. Orton's second draught would be revised and adapted as a stage play in 1989, with Kenneth Elliott directing and Todd Rundgren providing the music. It ran for three weeks at the Public Theatre in New York City. The screenplay was later broadcast over Radio 4 in London on August 4, 1995. It was broadcast again on Radio 3 in the fall of 1997.
Having elected not to do Up Against It, The Beatles' obligation to United Artists would be filled by the animated film Yellow Submarine.
It is difficult to say how history would have differed if The Beatles had elected to do Up Against It. It is almost certain that Yellow Submarine would never have been produced. Of course, it is questionable how good the film would have actually been. While I have never read the screenplay, Todd Rundgren said that the script was "incoherent." Tom Ross, who adapted the screenplay as a stage production, called it "amorphous." He also found that in rewriting the screenplay he had to tone down much of the misogyny of the original work, so that the film, had it been made, may have not have dated very well. Regardless, Up Against It is an interesting footnote in The Beatles' history, the movie they never made.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Playwright and Screenwriter Luther Davis Passes On
Luther Davis, playwright and screenwriter who wrote the musical Kismet and the movie The Hucksters, passed on July 29 at the age of 91.
Davis was born August 29, 1916 in Brooklyn. He attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana and later Yale. \
Davis broke into Broadway providing production ideas for Crazy with the Heat in 1941. He received his first screen credit for having written the article upon which the 1942 movie The Mayor of 44nd Street was based. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, rising to the rank of major.
Upon his return, Davis resumed writing. He wrote the play Kiss Them For Me, which debuted on Broadway in 1945. Two years later, he provided the screenplay for the Clark Gable movie The Hucksters. Thereafter Davis divided his time between the stage and screen. He worked on such films as Black Hand, Kismet, Lady in a Cage, and Across 110th Street. He worked on such plays as Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952, Kismet (for which he won a Tony), Timbuktu, and the stage musical version of Grand Hotel. Starting in 1953 with an episode of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, he began working in television. Davis wrote episodes for such series as Bourbon Street Beat, 87th Precinct, Combat, and Ironside.
Luther Davis was a brilliant writer. Kismet stands as one of the more unique musicals to come down the pike, blending The Arabian Nights with Broadway kitsch. His episodes of Combat rank among the best of that series. He was also a prolific writer, writing five Broadway plays, several movies, and many television episodes. Even if he had only written Kismet, he would taken his place in history. As it is, he did so much more.
Davis was born August 29, 1916 in Brooklyn. He attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana and later Yale. \
Davis broke into Broadway providing production ideas for Crazy with the Heat in 1941. He received his first screen credit for having written the article upon which the 1942 movie The Mayor of 44nd Street was based. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, rising to the rank of major.
Upon his return, Davis resumed writing. He wrote the play Kiss Them For Me, which debuted on Broadway in 1945. Two years later, he provided the screenplay for the Clark Gable movie The Hucksters. Thereafter Davis divided his time between the stage and screen. He worked on such films as Black Hand, Kismet, Lady in a Cage, and Across 110th Street. He worked on such plays as Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952, Kismet (for which he won a Tony), Timbuktu, and the stage musical version of Grand Hotel. Starting in 1953 with an episode of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, he began working in television. Davis wrote episodes for such series as Bourbon Street Beat, 87th Precinct, Combat, and Ironside.
Luther Davis was a brilliant writer. Kismet stands as one of the more unique musicals to come down the pike, blending The Arabian Nights with Broadway kitsch. His episodes of Combat rank among the best of that series. He was also a prolific writer, writing five Broadway plays, several movies, and many television episodes. Even if he had only written Kismet, he would taken his place in history. As it is, he did so much more.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Answers to the Sixties TV Quiz
Here are the answers to the Sixties TV quiz from July 15:
1. What was the name of the road (and hence the TV series) down which Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock travelled in a classic Corvette?
Route 66
2. On what Sixties sitcom was one of the local eateries the Bluebird Diner?
The Andy Griffith Show
3. What was the name of the Cartwrights' cook on Bonanaza?
Hop Sing
4. What was the name of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin's superior on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.?
Mr. Alexander Waverly
5. What Sixties series made in Britian centred on superspy John Steed and whomever was his partner of the moment?
The Avengers
6. What 1966 sitcom featured a beach house located at either 1334 N. Beechwood or 1438 N. Beechwood (the number of the house mysteriously changed at one point)?
The Monkees
7. What Dr. McCoy's first name on Star Trek?
Leonard
8. How did Ironside become confined to a wheelchair on the show of the same name?
A sniper's bullet paralysed from his from the waist down.
9. On what series was a character only known as Number Six imprisoned in a place known only as The Village?
The Prisoner
10. On Laugh In what was the award which Dan Rowan and Dick Martin gave for dubious achievements in business, government, or by famous people?
The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award
1. What was the name of the road (and hence the TV series) down which Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock travelled in a classic Corvette?
Route 66
2. On what Sixties sitcom was one of the local eateries the Bluebird Diner?
The Andy Griffith Show
3. What was the name of the Cartwrights' cook on Bonanaza?
Hop Sing
4. What was the name of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin's superior on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.?
Mr. Alexander Waverly
5. What Sixties series made in Britian centred on superspy John Steed and whomever was his partner of the moment?
The Avengers
6. What 1966 sitcom featured a beach house located at either 1334 N. Beechwood or 1438 N. Beechwood (the number of the house mysteriously changed at one point)?
The Monkees
7. What Dr. McCoy's first name on Star Trek?
Leonard
8. How did Ironside become confined to a wheelchair on the show of the same name?
A sniper's bullet paralysed from his from the waist down.
9. On what series was a character only known as Number Six imprisoned in a place known only as The Village?
The Prisoner
10. On Laugh In what was the award which Dan Rowan and Dick Martin gave for dubious achievements in business, government, or by famous people?
The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The 50th Anniversary of NASA
It was fifty years ago today that President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act which established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA. NASA would be responsible for the space programme, as well as civilian and military aerospace research.
The creation of NASA was the result of the Soviet Union's own space programme, which had successfully launched Sputnik on October 4, 1957. The United States Congress felt that this presented a threat to the U.S.'s status as the world leader in both defence technology and aerospace technology. For that reason President Eisenhower and his advisors decided that the creation of a new agency dedicated to space travel and aerospace research was needed. NASA would begin operations on October 1, 1958. The Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union was on.
In its early days NASA had its share of failures and successes. An example is NASA's Pioneer unmanned spacecraft meant to make flybys of the moon, collecting data and taking pictures. Pioneer 1, Pioneer 2, Pioneer 3, and Pioneer 4 never reached their intended destinations, although at least . Pioneer 4 provided NASA with important information on tracking objects through space. Of course, eventually NASA would have more than its share of successes.
Indeed, it would not be long before an absolute space craze would sweep the United States. On May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy gave his historic speech before a joint session of Congress in which he not only urged Congress to provide the space programme with more funds, but set the goal of landing a man on the moon. It was a little less than a year later, on February 20, 1962, that John Glenn would orbit Earth three times in Friendship 7. Between President Kennedy's speech and John Glenn successfully orbiting Earth, the United States was overcome by a mania for anything that had to do with space. In fact, the space craze of the Sixties could be NASA's biggest contribution to pop culture.
This is reflected in American broadcast television in the Sixties. The number of sitcoms which aired space oriented episodes is incredibly huge. Gilligan's Island was visited by a robot built by NASA for space exploration and Russian cosmonauts. The Monkees thwarted an alien invasion. Herman Munster thought he was talking to Martians on a ham radio (actually, it was a couple of kids). On Bewitched Aunt Clara inadvertently summoned aliens to Earth. And there there were sitcoms that either had space as a theme or touched upon space in some way: My Favourite Martian (on which a Martian became stranded on Earth), I Dream of Jeannie (on which Jeannie's master, Major Tony Nelson, was an astronaut), and It's About Time (in which two astronauts travel back in time to the Stone Age). The spy dramas would also touch upon space occasionally, as in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Love Affair (in which Solo and Kuryakin must thwart a THRUSH plot to build a spaceship)." There were also the science fiction series Star Trek and Lost in Space, which featured individuals travelling through space in the future.
Space would even play a role in commercials. The most obvious example of this is perhaps Tang. Around since 1957, the drink did not really become a success until it was used on the Gemini flights in 1962. Quite naturally, commercials for Tang mentioned that it was the drink of astronauts, using space oriented themes in their adverts well into the Seventies. Pillsbury developed "Space Food Sticks" for NASA, which it then sold to the general public. In 1965 Quaker Mills introduced the breakfast cereal called Quisp, whose spokesman was an alien with a propeller atop his head, named, appropriately, Quisp. The cereal itself was shaped like little saucers. Even products not associated with NASA or space used space themes in their commercials. In the late Sixties there was a commercial for Fritos in which the Frito Bandito attempted to con astronauts on the moon out of their Frito Corn Chips!
Quite naturally, space oriented toys were very popular throughout the Sixties. Perhaps the best known were Mattel's line of Major Matt Mason action figures. Introduced in 1966 to capitalise on the space craze, Major Matt Mason was phenomenally popular. The line of toys were produced until the early Seventies, ended by Mattel not because they had declined in popularity, but because Mattel felt that the space programme had. Marx produced their own line of astronaut action figures under the name "Johnny Apollo," from 1968 to the early Seventies. Colorforms manufactured a line of Outer Space Men, figures of aliens from outer space. Eldon produced an astronaut figure for younger kids called Billy Blastoff which only lasted a couple of years. There were also many toy robots. In 1968 Ideal produced a line of four battery powered robots called Zeroids. Topps produced a line of humorous toy robots called Ding A Lings, which also sold only for a couple of years. There were also many, many battery operated, tin robots on the market, such as the Horikawa Astronaut battery operated toy robot.
Motion pictures had gone through a cycle of science fiction films in the Fifties that even included such space oriented entries as Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide, and Forbidden Planet. Perhaps for that reason the movie industry did not embrace the space craze as other media had. Still there were a few films that either touched upon space or centred upon space, one of which was very influential. The 1963 sequel to The Mouse That Roared, The Mouse on the Moon featured the tiny country of Grand Fenwick attempting to beat both the Americans and the Soviets to the moon. In The Glass Bottom Boat Doris Day's character worked at NASA. Planet of the Apes used space travel as a means of throwing its hero into the far future. Perhaps the most famous, and certainly the most influential, space movie of the Sixties was 2001: A Space Odyssey. Released in 1968, it became a smash hit which would have a lasting influence on all science fiction films to come. Marooned, released in 1969, centred on three astronauts stranded in space. Doppelganger (AKA Journey to the Far Side of the Sun) was a live action film made by Supermarionation master Gerry Anderson and centred on a mission to a planet in Earth's orbit, but on the exact opposite side of the sun.
Of course, the space craze of the Sixties was perhaps when NASA was most popular. The broadcast networks covered both the rocket launches and splashdowns live in those days. And both always did very well in the ratings. During the Sixties the astronauts were household names. Indeed, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and Alan Shepard are still well known. There was enormous support for NASA in these days and the agency had little difficulty receiving funding.
Sadly, in the early Seventies, after Apollo 11, interest in the space programme died down. NASA would make even more achievements in the coming decades: Skylab, the Viking unmanned spacecraft to Mars, the space shuttle, the Mars Exploration Rovers, and others. Despite this, the average American probably rarely thinks of NASA or the space programme, and pays little attention to the agency's missions except in case of disasters such as Challenger and Columbia. Astronauts are no longer household names. Even Tang no longer mentions the space programme in its advertising. NASA has achieved much in its fifty years, but sadly it is not as popular as it was in its heyday of the Sixties.
The creation of NASA was the result of the Soviet Union's own space programme, which had successfully launched Sputnik on October 4, 1957. The United States Congress felt that this presented a threat to the U.S.'s status as the world leader in both defence technology and aerospace technology. For that reason President Eisenhower and his advisors decided that the creation of a new agency dedicated to space travel and aerospace research was needed. NASA would begin operations on October 1, 1958. The Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union was on.
In its early days NASA had its share of failures and successes. An example is NASA's Pioneer unmanned spacecraft meant to make flybys of the moon, collecting data and taking pictures. Pioneer 1, Pioneer 2, Pioneer 3, and Pioneer 4 never reached their intended destinations, although at least . Pioneer 4 provided NASA with important information on tracking objects through space. Of course, eventually NASA would have more than its share of successes.
Indeed, it would not be long before an absolute space craze would sweep the United States. On May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy gave his historic speech before a joint session of Congress in which he not only urged Congress to provide the space programme with more funds, but set the goal of landing a man on the moon. It was a little less than a year later, on February 20, 1962, that John Glenn would orbit Earth three times in Friendship 7. Between President Kennedy's speech and John Glenn successfully orbiting Earth, the United States was overcome by a mania for anything that had to do with space. In fact, the space craze of the Sixties could be NASA's biggest contribution to pop culture.
This is reflected in American broadcast television in the Sixties. The number of sitcoms which aired space oriented episodes is incredibly huge. Gilligan's Island was visited by a robot built by NASA for space exploration and Russian cosmonauts. The Monkees thwarted an alien invasion. Herman Munster thought he was talking to Martians on a ham radio (actually, it was a couple of kids). On Bewitched Aunt Clara inadvertently summoned aliens to Earth. And there there were sitcoms that either had space as a theme or touched upon space in some way: My Favourite Martian (on which a Martian became stranded on Earth), I Dream of Jeannie (on which Jeannie's master, Major Tony Nelson, was an astronaut), and It's About Time (in which two astronauts travel back in time to the Stone Age). The spy dramas would also touch upon space occasionally, as in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Love Affair (in which Solo and Kuryakin must thwart a THRUSH plot to build a spaceship)." There were also the science fiction series Star Trek and Lost in Space, which featured individuals travelling through space in the future.
Space would even play a role in commercials. The most obvious example of this is perhaps Tang. Around since 1957, the drink did not really become a success until it was used on the Gemini flights in 1962. Quite naturally, commercials for Tang mentioned that it was the drink of astronauts, using space oriented themes in their adverts well into the Seventies. Pillsbury developed "Space Food Sticks" for NASA, which it then sold to the general public. In 1965 Quaker Mills introduced the breakfast cereal called Quisp, whose spokesman was an alien with a propeller atop his head, named, appropriately, Quisp. The cereal itself was shaped like little saucers. Even products not associated with NASA or space used space themes in their commercials. In the late Sixties there was a commercial for Fritos in which the Frito Bandito attempted to con astronauts on the moon out of their Frito Corn Chips!
Quite naturally, space oriented toys were very popular throughout the Sixties. Perhaps the best known were Mattel's line of Major Matt Mason action figures. Introduced in 1966 to capitalise on the space craze, Major Matt Mason was phenomenally popular. The line of toys were produced until the early Seventies, ended by Mattel not because they had declined in popularity, but because Mattel felt that the space programme had. Marx produced their own line of astronaut action figures under the name "Johnny Apollo," from 1968 to the early Seventies. Colorforms manufactured a line of Outer Space Men, figures of aliens from outer space. Eldon produced an astronaut figure for younger kids called Billy Blastoff which only lasted a couple of years. There were also many toy robots. In 1968 Ideal produced a line of four battery powered robots called Zeroids. Topps produced a line of humorous toy robots called Ding A Lings, which also sold only for a couple of years. There were also many, many battery operated, tin robots on the market, such as the Horikawa Astronaut battery operated toy robot.
Motion pictures had gone through a cycle of science fiction films in the Fifties that even included such space oriented entries as Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide, and Forbidden Planet. Perhaps for that reason the movie industry did not embrace the space craze as other media had. Still there were a few films that either touched upon space or centred upon space, one of which was very influential. The 1963 sequel to The Mouse That Roared, The Mouse on the Moon featured the tiny country of Grand Fenwick attempting to beat both the Americans and the Soviets to the moon. In The Glass Bottom Boat Doris Day's character worked at NASA. Planet of the Apes used space travel as a means of throwing its hero into the far future. Perhaps the most famous, and certainly the most influential, space movie of the Sixties was 2001: A Space Odyssey. Released in 1968, it became a smash hit which would have a lasting influence on all science fiction films to come. Marooned, released in 1969, centred on three astronauts stranded in space. Doppelganger (AKA Journey to the Far Side of the Sun) was a live action film made by Supermarionation master Gerry Anderson and centred on a mission to a planet in Earth's orbit, but on the exact opposite side of the sun.
Of course, the space craze of the Sixties was perhaps when NASA was most popular. The broadcast networks covered both the rocket launches and splashdowns live in those days. And both always did very well in the ratings. During the Sixties the astronauts were household names. Indeed, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and Alan Shepard are still well known. There was enormous support for NASA in these days and the agency had little difficulty receiving funding.
Sadly, in the early Seventies, after Apollo 11, interest in the space programme died down. NASA would make even more achievements in the coming decades: Skylab, the Viking unmanned spacecraft to Mars, the space shuttle, the Mars Exploration Rovers, and others. Despite this, the average American probably rarely thinks of NASA or the space programme, and pays little attention to the agency's missions except in case of disasters such as Challenger and Columbia. Astronauts are no longer household names. Even Tang no longer mentions the space programme in its advertising. NASA has achieved much in its fifty years, but sadly it is not as popular as it was in its heyday of the Sixties.
Monday, July 28, 2008
The Archie Andrews Radio Show
Archie first appeared in Pep Comics #22, December 1941. The creation of Bob Montana, Archie is the archetypal seventeen year old, living in Riverdale and attending Riverdale High. Archie proved to be such a success that he would eventually share the cover of Pep Comics with the magazine's star The Shield and would eventually shove him off the cover completely. Archie would receive his own title in Winter 1942, only a year after his first appearance. Eventually MLJ would change its name to Archie Comics and would even discontinue their superhero line entirely. Archie would even receive his own newspaper comic strip in 1946. A radio show was a natural extension of this success.
Archie Andrews debuted as a 25 minute, five day a week show on NBC's Blue Network on May 31, 1943. This was a mere 18 months after the character's debut in Pep Comics. The initial incarnation of Archie Andrews only lasted until December 24, 1943. The show was not off the air for long, however, as it returned on the Mutual Broadcasting System as a 15 minute programme on January 17, 1944. This incarnation only lasted until June 2, 1944. This time Archie Andrews would be off the air for an entire year, returning on June 2, 1945 as a 30 minute show that was broadcast once a week on NBC. This time the show lasted until September 5th, 1953.
Over the years Archie was played by a number of different actors. Charles Mullen played Archie in the initial Blue Network run. Jack Grimes played the role while it was on Mutual. Grimes would later provide the voice of Goofy in a few cartoons and later Jimmy Olsen on the Sixties Superman cartoon and additional voices on Speed Racer. At some point Burt Boyar played Archie, but I don't know if that was late in the Mutual run or early in the NBC run. I definitely know that on the NBC run Bob Hastings played Archie. Hastings would have a long career in television, guest starring on shows from Gunsmoke to Murder She Wrote. He played Lt. Elroy Carpenter on McHale's Navy and Tommy Kelsey on All in the Family. He was the voice of Commissioner Gordon on Batman: the Animated Series.
In all, counting the various breaks in its run, Archie Andrews would run about a total of nine years. This was a very healthy run for a radio show. Ultimately, it was one of the most successful radio shows based on a comic book character (although not nearly as successful as The Adventures of Superman, which ran from 1940 to 1951).
Having listened to a couple of episodes from the NBC run of Archie Andrews, it is easy to see why it was a success. It is a very funny show. Archie Andrews is a classic situation comedy, starting out with a situation (Archie wants to get Veronica a bottle of bubble bath for her birthday, Archie's father is trying to stay cool during a heat wave), upon which complications are piled until everything reaches a head in a very hilarious climax. If you are a fan of old time radio or of Archie, I recommend you give the radio show a listen sometime. Archie Comics has several episodes available on their official site.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
The Phenomenon That is The Dark Knight
This weekend The Dark Knight made another $75,630,000. Its total now stands at $314,245,000. That broke the record the biggest 10 day opening. It is also just short of the summer's highest gross so far, that of Iron Man, which stands at $314,905,000. In other words, in a day or two The Dark Knight will be the top grossing movie of the summer.
The question of course is why The Dark Knight is doing so phenomenally well. Many will point to the death of Heath Ledger. And there can be no doubt that has played a major role in the success of the film. Heath Ledger was a wildly popular star. His death made headlines for days. It would be a surprise if the film featuring his last completed role would not be a roaring success.
That having been said, I am not sure that accounts for The Dark Knight being a veritable phenomenon. Consider this, Rebel Without a Cause was released less than a month after James Dean's death. And the film did very well at the box office. And yet it wasn't even the top grossing film of 1955, which was Lady and the Tramp, which took in a whopping $93,600,000. Dean's final role would appear in the film Giant, released in 1956. The film also did very well, grossing $35,000,000. And yet it was only the third highest grossing film of the year, after The Ten Commandments and Around the World in 80 Days. If we were to expect The Dark Knight to follow the same pattern as the movies made by James Dean released in the wake of his death, then it seems to me that it would not be nearly as successful as it is.
It would then seem to that there are other factors at work behind the phenomenon of The Dark Knight. Among these I believe is the intrinsic appeal of the character of Batman. Unlike Superman, Batman is a mere mortal. He can wounded. He can be killed. This makes him more accessible to the averager person who is not a comic book fan and thus easier for them to identify with than the Man of Steel and other superheroes. Not only is The Batman physically vulnerable, but in some respects he is also psychologically and emotionally vulnerable. The Dark Knight has his share of inner demons. Indeed, his parents were brutally murdered in a mugging which he saw with his own eyes. The tragedy gave young Bruce Wayne not simply the desire to fight crime, but nearly a compulsion to do so. While it is true that other superheroes have had tragedies that started their careers--Spider-Man's Uncle Ben was similarly murdered--but Batman was the very first. As a hero born of tragedy, he is then all the more easier for the common man to sympathise with and identify with.
Indeed, the phenomenon of The Dark Knight is nothing new. In 1966 the TV show Batman debuted to phenomenal ratings and resulted in an absolute craze for the Caped Crusader. In 1989 the film Batman became the top grossing film of the year and still ranks number nine in the list of worldwide top grossing films when adjusted for inflation. It too resulted in Batmania. In many respects, then, history is simply repeating itself.
Of course, The Dark Knight would not be the phenomenon it is if it was not for the fact that it is a great film. Had it been absolutely horrible, it would probably still be a success, but it would not be the success it is. Indeed, The Dark Knight features some of the best performances not only of any superhero film, but of any film in recent history. Most notable is Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker, which is chilling in a way that even Hannibal Lector was not. Although Ledger has received the most praise, every one of the cast turned in great performances. Indeed, Christian Bale's turn as Batman is easily the best of his career.
Similarly, the script is wonderfully complex, adding depth to the characters and addressing deeper issues than any superhero film before it. Not only does the film address the themes of good and evil found in many superhero movies, but it also addresses such issues as the delicate balance between order and chaos, the fragility of human nature, and even to what extremes the fight to defeat evil itself can itself become an act of evil. These deeper themes no doubt speak to many viewers.
That is not to say that the film cannot be enjoyed as an action movie. The Dark Knight has some of the most spectacular action scenes ever seen on film. In fact, Christopher Nolan shows an outright gift for such scenes. Of course, over all Nolan's direction on the film is the best of his career. Parts of the film were shot using the IMAX process, and Nolan put it to good use. There are wide angle shots, hand held shots, and virtually every other camera shot known to man. Christopher Nolan and cinematographer Wally Pfister deserve kudos for a job well done.
The fact that The Dark Knight is a great film probably does owe to a lot of its success. Viewers see the movie and then often see it again. There can be no doubt that The Dark Knight is receiving a lot of repeat business. Many viewers will no doubt tell others about the movie, with the result that many will go see The Dark Knight who might not otherwise see a superhero movie. Word of mouth is then probably driving much of the film's business. While the quality of a movie does not always mean it will be a success, it can certainly help in being so.
The Dark Knight is then a phenomenon for more than the fact that Heath Ledger died. Much of its success may be due to the intrinsic appeal of The Batman, a character who perhaps appeals more to the average person than other superheroes. Its success is also due to the fact that it is a great film, with standout performances, great action scenes, and outstanding direction. Had The Dark Knight been a lesser film, then, it might not be breaking box office records.
The question of course is why The Dark Knight is doing so phenomenally well. Many will point to the death of Heath Ledger. And there can be no doubt that has played a major role in the success of the film. Heath Ledger was a wildly popular star. His death made headlines for days. It would be a surprise if the film featuring his last completed role would not be a roaring success.
That having been said, I am not sure that accounts for The Dark Knight being a veritable phenomenon. Consider this, Rebel Without a Cause was released less than a month after James Dean's death. And the film did very well at the box office. And yet it wasn't even the top grossing film of 1955, which was Lady and the Tramp, which took in a whopping $93,600,000. Dean's final role would appear in the film Giant, released in 1956. The film also did very well, grossing $35,000,000. And yet it was only the third highest grossing film of the year, after The Ten Commandments and Around the World in 80 Days. If we were to expect The Dark Knight to follow the same pattern as the movies made by James Dean released in the wake of his death, then it seems to me that it would not be nearly as successful as it is.
It would then seem to that there are other factors at work behind the phenomenon of The Dark Knight. Among these I believe is the intrinsic appeal of the character of Batman. Unlike Superman, Batman is a mere mortal. He can wounded. He can be killed. This makes him more accessible to the averager person who is not a comic book fan and thus easier for them to identify with than the Man of Steel and other superheroes. Not only is The Batman physically vulnerable, but in some respects he is also psychologically and emotionally vulnerable. The Dark Knight has his share of inner demons. Indeed, his parents were brutally murdered in a mugging which he saw with his own eyes. The tragedy gave young Bruce Wayne not simply the desire to fight crime, but nearly a compulsion to do so. While it is true that other superheroes have had tragedies that started their careers--Spider-Man's Uncle Ben was similarly murdered--but Batman was the very first. As a hero born of tragedy, he is then all the more easier for the common man to sympathise with and identify with.
Indeed, the phenomenon of The Dark Knight is nothing new. In 1966 the TV show Batman debuted to phenomenal ratings and resulted in an absolute craze for the Caped Crusader. In 1989 the film Batman became the top grossing film of the year and still ranks number nine in the list of worldwide top grossing films when adjusted for inflation. It too resulted in Batmania. In many respects, then, history is simply repeating itself.
Of course, The Dark Knight would not be the phenomenon it is if it was not for the fact that it is a great film. Had it been absolutely horrible, it would probably still be a success, but it would not be the success it is. Indeed, The Dark Knight features some of the best performances not only of any superhero film, but of any film in recent history. Most notable is Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker, which is chilling in a way that even Hannibal Lector was not. Although Ledger has received the most praise, every one of the cast turned in great performances. Indeed, Christian Bale's turn as Batman is easily the best of his career.
Similarly, the script is wonderfully complex, adding depth to the characters and addressing deeper issues than any superhero film before it. Not only does the film address the themes of good and evil found in many superhero movies, but it also addresses such issues as the delicate balance between order and chaos, the fragility of human nature, and even to what extremes the fight to defeat evil itself can itself become an act of evil. These deeper themes no doubt speak to many viewers.
That is not to say that the film cannot be enjoyed as an action movie. The Dark Knight has some of the most spectacular action scenes ever seen on film. In fact, Christopher Nolan shows an outright gift for such scenes. Of course, over all Nolan's direction on the film is the best of his career. Parts of the film were shot using the IMAX process, and Nolan put it to good use. There are wide angle shots, hand held shots, and virtually every other camera shot known to man. Christopher Nolan and cinematographer Wally Pfister deserve kudos for a job well done.
The fact that The Dark Knight is a great film probably does owe to a lot of its success. Viewers see the movie and then often see it again. There can be no doubt that The Dark Knight is receiving a lot of repeat business. Many viewers will no doubt tell others about the movie, with the result that many will go see The Dark Knight who might not otherwise see a superhero movie. Word of mouth is then probably driving much of the film's business. While the quality of a movie does not always mean it will be a success, it can certainly help in being so.
The Dark Knight is then a phenomenon for more than the fact that Heath Ledger died. Much of its success may be due to the intrinsic appeal of The Batman, a character who perhaps appeals more to the average person than other superheroes. Its success is also due to the fact that it is a great film, with standout performances, great action scenes, and outstanding direction. Had The Dark Knight been a lesser film, then, it might not be breaking box office records.
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