Thursday, March 14, 2024

WORLD OF GIANTS: The 1959 TV Series

During a secret mission behind the Iron Curtain, a freak accident involving an exploding rocket shrinks American secret agent Mel Hunter (played by actor Marshall Thompson) to the size of six inches. But instead of ending his career, “The Bureau” he works for takes advantage of the pocket-sized operative to infiltrate areas closed off to the average G-man. Hunter is aided by his full-sized partner, Agent Bill Winters (played by Arthur Franz). 

 

World of Giants was a short-lived TV series that lasted a mere 13 half-hour episodes, too few to warrant reruns on television. As a result, the series fell into obscurity except from fans of science-fiction TV programs that made this program – over a period of time – a Holy Grail. Finding 16mm prints of this series was few and far between. Some collectors of vintage television will confess that over the decades they could only come across one or two episodes.

 

All of which makes this new DVD release something to jump for joy. Thanks to a company called ClassicFlix, all 13 episodes have been restored from archival prints and now available in gorgeous quality. I just spent the last two weeks watching these episodes, rediscovering how much fun it is to watch standard 1950s television production for syndicated series like World of Giants

 

Touting a $4,000,000 budget (according to Variety), CBS tapped prolific production company Ziv-TV to produce World of Giants, which started shooting in early 1958—with an expected fall network debut. Production was later halted when CBS was unable to obtain sponsorship for World of Giants, causing the network to delay the series premiere by a full year. But when shooting wrapped in 1959, World of Giants was still without a sponsor and CBS scrapped the idea of network distribution entirely which allowed the program to go into first-run syndication starting in 1961.

 

With production halted at one point in time, the format of the series went through an overhaul – and somewhat better than the earlier entries in the series. The initial four episodes followed the same formula week in and week out. Bill Winters, six-feet tall, would usually be knocked out by the criminal and subjected to some danger – such as the building caught on fire. Mel Hunter, six inches tall, would have to phone in to the department to fetch a rescue party, but often found himself defending against a wild animal. In one episode it was a cat, in another a dog, in another a possum… you get the idea.

 

After production resumed, an overhaul was devised to the program. Actress Marcia Henderson was added to the weekly cast as Miss Brown, a secretary for both secret agents, who maintained a doll house for Mel, fetching him coffee and food three times a day, and adding a comedic-romantic element to the series. 

 

World of Giants might have promoted high production values, but the average cost of each episode was $27,000. The episodes were directed by such luminaries as Nathan Juran (20 Million Miles to Earth), Jack Arnold (Creature from the Black Lagoon) and Byron Haskin (The War of the Worlds), even though they directed episodes of other TV programs. Production designer and art director Robert Kinoshita was involved. He was known for his creation of iconic sci-fi robots such as “Robby the Robot” (Forbidden Planet) and for art direction on Lost in Space.

 

Like many programs of the 1950s, supporting cast included the occasional surprise: Peggie Castle, Gavin MacLeod, Tom Brown, Berry Kroeger, Bill Walker, Pamela Duncan, Ziva Rodann, Douglas Dick, Maria Palmer, Narda Onyx, Edgar Barrier, Nestor Paiva, Gregg Palmer and Allison Hayes all make appearances. The episode with Allison Hayes was perhaps my favorite of the bunch. 

 

ClassicFlix went to considerable expense to gain possession of the 13 archival prints and then restore them to gorgeous quality and pay the licensing fees. For that reason, they deserve a boost in sales. Looking for a birthday gift to give a friend this year? Grab a couple of these from Amazon and help get those sales numbers up. 


https://www.amazon.com/World-Giants-Complete-ClassicFlix-Rare/dp/B0CDDF3W2J/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=world+of+giants+the+complete+series&qid=1708280439&s=movies-tv&sr=1-1


 

Thursday, March 7, 2024

THE LIFE OF RILEY (1949 movie)

For cinephiles, one of those hidden surprises comes in the form of a movie that turned out to be above average – and one the viewer was not expecting. A perfect example is The Life of Riley, a motion-picture produced in late 1948 and released in April of 1949. Based on the popular radio program starring William Bendix, Rosemary DeCamp, Lanny Rees and John Brown, who also agreed to reprise their roles for the big screen. 

 

Irving Brecher, who co-created the radio program in the early forties, and wrote most of the scripts, also directed this movie for Universal-International. The story concerns a well-meaning factory employee who is struggling financially and finding himself in scenarios that is embarrassing to his close friends. His career gets a lift when he receives a promotion, but this causes resentment among his fellow workers who believe it is due to the fact his daughter is engaged to the factory owner's son. When Junior, Riley’s son, discovers that the daughter’s happiness is at risk to the jerk of a wealthy son, Riley comes to the rescue. 

 

The Life of Riley radio program was originally conceived by Irving Brecher and Groucho Marx, a situation comedy originally conceived for Groucho to play the lead. The comedian went another direction, however, leaving Brecher to find another actor – William Bendix – to play the lead. 

 

At the time this movie was being produced, the television counterpart went up on NBC television with Jackie Gleason in the lead. The sponsor of the radio program, Pabst Blue Ribbon, wanted to expand the potential to television. Contracted for 26 weeks, Gleason played the role on television admirably, helping to boost sales for the beer company, while Bendix played the role on radio. A number of reference guides inaccurately claim Bendix could not get out of a studio contract at Paramount, but the real reason he was unable to play the role on television for that brief spell was because Bendix was busy filming the motion-picture. Following the completion of the 26 weeks, Gleason went off to do bigger, greater things, while Bendix made himself available for the television rendition, ultimately playing the role on both radio and television. 

 

The 1949 motion-picture has yet to be released commercially on DVD and this is a darn shame. The script is top-notch, not the type of story you expect from an adaptation of a radio situation comedy, with an ending that almost brings a tear to your eye. And, along the way, some radio in-jokes such as Howard Duff reprising his role as Sam Spade as Junior listens to a non-referenced radio detective program adds to the fun. If you can find this movie to watch, I recommend you make the effort. Your will be rewarded.

 

Interesting trivia: The screenplay was adapted into a hardcover novel, released in the same year as the movie, and is now a pricey collectible. 

 

Thursday, February 29, 2024

BOOK REVIEWS: Ray Danton, Herbert Marshall, Robert Horton, Arthur Penn

From time to time I receive a box of books from a publishing company for book reviews and the recent box from Bear Manor Media provided some entertaining reading in the past month. Biographies about Hollywood actors who cemented a legacy on celluloid on both the silver screen and small screen. I am pleased to say they are all great (the books that were not great I chose not to do a book review at all), so take a moment and check these out. 


RAY DANTON: THE EPITOME OF COOL

By Joseph Fusco

I know Ray Danton more for his guest appearances on Warner Brothers TV programs such as Hawaiian Eye and Maverick, not from his LP records. But for others, he was a songbird of huge proportion. Ray Danton was an actor who exemplified a particular Hollywood period even though he was not famous. He was a contract player during the demise of the studio system, a precarious time for the grooming of stars. Like the big stars of his time, Ray Danton earned his share of press and publicity puff pieces announcing business deals, vacation plans, personal appearances, industry parties and movie and television contract signings. His name had its time in bold tintype, especially in the late 50‘s through the mid-60‘s: the Eisenhower-Camelot eras.

 

Danton’s heyday was the Hollywood of slick hair, cigarette smoking, hard drinking and two-fisted negotiations. His sharp-edged baritone matched dark chiseled features, making him a natural for his roles as suave heroes or venal hustlers. He had the look of a sly fox and the smooth moves of a dancing thief. Ray Danton’s confident attitude, serpentine movements, switchblade stare, and silver-tongued voice gave his characters a touch of menace and panache. This book documents his career both in front of – and behind – the camera. 

 

 

IN SEARCH OF FLINT McCULLOUGH AND ROBERT HORTON

By Aileen J. Elliott

Robert Horton was born in Los Angeles, in July 1924. He came from a family peopled by professional men; lawyers, doctors and churchmen. His father was a highly successful insurance agent. The family was a large Mormon clan on both his paternal and maternal side, and Robert Horton never felt at home in it. From an early age he knew he was as unlike his relatives as chalk is to cheese. He rebelled against all its conformities and he only found his true vocation when he turned to the stage and decided to become an actor. Blessed with incredible looks, as well as a wonderful baritone singing voice, he pursued his dream with dedication and determination. His passionate drive was rewarded when he won the role of scout Flint McCullough on NBC’s fabulously successful Western series, Wagon Train. His portrayal of McCullough lasted for five years and brought international fame, making him one of the most famous stars on television.

When he walked away from Wagon Train to fashion a career for himself in musical theater, his fame gradually dwindled. There were many reasons for that, in and out of his control, but he subsequently claimed that the twenty or so years he spent treading the boards were as rewarding to him as he needed or wanted them to be. His marriage (fourth) to singer Marilynn Bradley lasted fifty-five years, until his death, and much was written in its early stages about their love and commitment to one another. After he retired in his mid-sixties, however, that changed, and though living comfortably in the suburbs of Los Angeles, the last years of his life were full of sadness, bitterness and remorse. Nevertheless, he continues to have a following of devoted fans and admirers and this book will help to inform them of his rich legacy, his life and his talents.

 

This is one of those tribute books that is worth reading if you are a fan of the actor, or a fan of Wagon Train

 

 

HERBERT MARSHALL: A BIOGRAPHY

By Scott O’Brien

What better compliment can bestow a book than a foreword by Kevin Brownlow? Scott O’Brien wrote a great biography about Herbert Marshall, the character actor who rarely received top billing but certainly deserves more attention than he has received. Whether embracing the silky essence of Kay Francis in Trouble in Paradise (1932), or enduring the machinations of Bette Davis in The Little Foxes (1941), Herbert Marshall was the essence of smooth, masculine sensitivity. Dietrich, Garbo, Shearer, Stanwyck, and Hepburn eagerly awaited to be, as Shearer put it, “so thoroughly and convincingly loved” on screen by Marshall. While many knew that the actor had lost a leg in WWI, he preferred audiences to concentrate on his acting. Even so, he volunteered hundreds of hours to hospitals encouraging amputees during WWII. 

 

His legacy as a versatile actor, and morale booster is as compelling, as it is complicated. “Marshall’s personal story,” noted the late Robert Osborne, “is a fascinating one.” Herbert Marshall is Scott O'Brien's seventh biography of classic cinema legends and he continues with his high-quality and thorough research. 

 

 

ARTHUR PENN: American Director

By Nat Segaloff

First published to acclaim in 2011, Arthur Penn: American Director was the first biography of the acclaimed director of The Miracle WorkerLittle Big ManAlice’s RestaurantThe ChaseMickey OneThe Missouri Breaks, and, of course, the motion picture that fired the first shot in the film revolution, Bonnie and Clyde.

 

Born in Philadelphia to immigrant parents in 1922 and raised in Dickensian circumstances, Penn (and his older brother, Irving, who became the innovative fashion photographer) found himself behind the German lines at the Battle of the Bulge, a student in the formative years of Black Mountain College, in the director’s seat at the beginning of the Golden Age of television, and at the blossoming of the Actors Studio, all of which influenced his filmmaking. 

 

Arthur Penn: American Director charts his personal and artistic odyssey. Written with Penn’s intimate participation, it was completed days before his death in 2010. The book features interviews with dozens of his collaborators and is brought back into print by Bear Manor Media with an all-new Afterword containing tributes by his peers and a stunning revelation about the mysterious woman who educated young Arthur in the arts. As a fan of live television drama, this is one of those books that I personally thank the author for assembling. 

Thursday, February 22, 2024

DICK TRACY ZOOMS IN (2023)

In 1990, Warren Beatty made a movie based on the comic strip of Dick Tracy. In general, fans of the comic strip love the film. There are so many ways one could make a live action film based on a newspaper strip but with so many colorful villains, it was difficult to get all of the popular villains into one movie. The 1990 movie was spectacular on many levels. (If anything, the film’s publicity was overshadowed by the fact that singer Madonna was playing a role.) The movie also accomplished something of a grand feat – it reintroduced the newspaper strip, 1960s cartoons and 1940s movies to a generation that never grew up with the character and became lifelong fans afterwards. (Full disclosure: I was one of them.)

Sadly, the studio heads and copyright holder would not let Warren Beatty make a sequel, and the copyright holders even tried to do create a television show without him. Beatty took this personal and with the assistance of his lawyers, found a loophole in his contract by locking up the screen rights so the rights holder cannot produce additional movies. 

Under the contractual stipulation, every couple of decades, Beatty makes a no-budget 20+ minute television special where he plays the role of Tracy, in costume. The terms of the contract is that if he did not produce another film with himself as Dick Tracy (in costume), the rights would revert back to the Chicago Tribune. So, once again, Beatty made another television special where he complains to Leonard Maltin about making movies today, the new tastes of youngsters watching movies on their smart phones… and criticizes his 1990 movie. 


Last week, at 85 years old, Beatty premiered his new one, called Dick Tracy Zooms In. Beatty had himself filmed from his office and the editors assembled all the footage. And, yes, these productions were ruled in a court of law as sequels. Beatty does this solely so that no other studio can use the character for another movie.


As someone on Facebook remarked: “This is art. This is some A+ Andy Kaufman-level trolling. I will never watch either of these specials, because the whole point is that they are unwatchable, low effort, and awful enough to be a middle finger to some bean-counting whipper snapper who made Warren Beatty mad in the 90s. But I am so happy they exist. I'd rather know these bird flips by an old man taking a grudge to the grave are in the world [compared to] a Dick Tracy Disney+ show starring Chris Pratt.”

 

I am providing a link for this new 25-minute television special for you to view and judge for yourself. Take it for what it is worth.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwKncYwtec4&t=477s




And if you want to see the prior television special, the link for that one is below.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdFbiRK-UaY