Thor-Delta Reviews

Sydney Tonight (1956–1959)

My attempt at a review

[7/10 · 22 October 2014]

Given the wiping of that era, I don't know if any complete episodes still exist of this series.

However, I recently viewed a partial episode via a National Film and Sound Archive access copy (second half of the hour-long episode).

What struck me was the amount of advertising. Generally speaking, shows back then had less advertising than today's shows, so it was surprising to see a show so ad-filled.

The commercials are very different to those of the US in a way you might not expect. While 1950s Americans preferred a commercial break to consist of a single long commercial, the commercial breaks in the partial episode I viewed consisted of several short commercials. I do not know if this is typical of Australian TV of the 1950s.

As for the show itself, it isn't bad at all. The footage I viewed included several pop singers (such as Johnny Marco), a pianist performing some music, and a comedy sketch.

The sketch isn't particularly funny (too much like radio with pictures), though the audience seems to like it, while the songs are for the most part quite good. The pianist was a bit nervous, but performed well.

There was a contest where a photo of a celebrity when they were young was shown, with viewers sending in their ideas of who they thought it was.

The episode ended with a song about the election.

The sets were basic, camera-work acceptable but unstylish. Yet so much has changed since the 1950s that the show had a sort of atmosphere of a different era, which is a plus.

Robert Montgomery Presents: The Ringmaster (1952) Season 3, Episode 30

Not bad

[7/10 · 29 July 2014]

I disagree with the other reviewer about this having poor production values. This is a *live* television play, and while it isn't an outstanding example of the genre (there are far better shows of its kind), it isn't worth just one star.

Vincent Price gives a very good performance as a completely unlikable guy, the female co-star also gives a good performance. The production values are decent if nothing special, camera-work is adequate, the pacing is good, in fact the only bad things about this episode are the iffy attempts at British accents and the rather dull commercials for Johnson's wax, but there are only a few of them. Popular television personality Dororthy Collins also appears in the filmed commercial for Lucky Strike cigarettes, and sings the Lucky Strike jingle. Perhaps there is a couple of slipped lines during the drama, but again, this is live drama. There are only a few goofs in this drama. The actors in this drama are very experienced professionals who knew what they were doing.

This is a bit of a spoiler, but the title "The Ringmaster" refers to how one of the characters loves to manipulate the other characters for his own amusement. The final scene confirms this.

Shell Presents: Reflections in Dark Glasses (1960) Season 1, Episode 12

An entertaining drama

[8/10 · 16 July 2014]

I recently viewed this drama at the Melbourne Mediatheque via an NFSA access copy (a VHS tape, believe it or not).

This drama is about a disturbed woman who keeps searching for her young son (the title refers to the very dark glasses she repeated puts on). She tries to pick him up at school, but he isn't there. She insists that her husband took her son away, but is she correct? By the time she is threatening her ex-mother-in-law with a pair of scissors, it is clear she isn't well. The ending is a major twist, though not an unexpected one.

One scene I particularly liked is when the mother-in-law is switching between the channels on her TV set. Unhappy with the program she is watching, she switches to another channel, which is showing a program which sounds the same (the TV screen isn't shown, but we hear the audio of the program). She changes the channel again and we hear the narration of a rather dull-sounding documentary (presumably on ABC). She finally turns the TV set back to the channel she started with. This was a nice bit of comedy in an otherwise tense drama.

The commercials were missing on the copy I viewed. Running time was approx 48 minutes. The sets are quite decent, as is the camera-work.

Raising a Husband (1957–1958)

Early Australian TV series

[7/10 · 27 January 2014]

Australian television had to begin somewhere.

GTV-9's locally-produced offerings in 1957 were typical of the first year of Australian television. They included children's shows, variety shows, game shows, talk shows, sports shows, and women's shows. The mixed these series with many US series. Many of GTV's "local" offerings were actually kinescoped Sydney-produced series like "Leave it to the Girls", "Pantomime Quiz" and "Give it a Go" produced by station ATN-7. The two stations had an agreement to share programming with each other.

On the week running from 20 October to 26 October, GTV's locally-produced offerings (excluding ATN-produced series) were "Open House" (variety/talk), "Lovely to Look At" (fashion), "Happy Show" (children's), "In Melbourne Tonight" (variety), "Thursday at One" (women's show), "Raising a Husband" (game show), "In Melbourne Today" (variety), "Do You Trust Your Wife" (game show), and "Mannequin Parade" (fashion).

Along with an additional episode, NSFA lists an episode of "Raising a Husband" among their holdings, with a broadcast date of 24 October 1957, meaning it was from the above week. I recently viewed this episode via the Melbourne Mediatheque.

In this series, there are three married couples, each of which is quizzed separately. The husband is asked a series of questions related to their marriage, such as where he met his wife, where he first proposed, etc, while the wife is in a sound proof room. After this, the wife is brought in and asked a similar set of questions. After the first couple have done this, they then do this with the second couple, and then finally the third couple. After all three couples have been quizzed, a group of people then vote as which couple should be the winner. The series was sponsored by Bushells, with various ads for the product still intact in the episode I viewed. All contests receive tins of Bushells tea. The winning couple receive "Namco" cooking wear, which amused me. The show itself is very informal and casual. After each husband has been quizzed, he goes into the "doghouse", in which he wears a collar. I've noticed that, in 1957 Australian shows, there is often very odd camera-work. This was corrected later on in the 1950s. The episode I viewed ran over-time considerably, eventually running approx 37 minutes.

The Bert Newton Show (1959–1960)

Decent

[7/10 · 24 January 2014]

There isn't much to say about this pleasant show. I recently viewed an episode at the Melbourne Mediatheque via an NFSA access copy. The episode was under the "Bert Newton Show" title (the series was later re-titled "Hi-Fi Club"). The episode consisted of Bert Newton introducing various rock'n'roll and pop acts, who lip-sync their versions of popular songs of the day such as "Poison Ivy" and "Shout". They lip-sync the songs on simple sets (though one of the sets was kinda cool).

Apart from this, there is a segment where a jazz band does an instrumental, and another segment where well-dressed teenagers dance to some rock'n'roll music. Bert Newton's introductions to the acts are brief and done on a simple set. I wonder if this series was live, as there is a goof where cigarette smoke can be seen while Newton is introducing an act.

The show is notably more "square" than "Six O'Clock Rock", but is still entertaining. Commercials were deleted in the copy I saw. Per the closing credits this series was produced by GTV-9 itself, which is credited as "Channel 9" even then. Wouldn't mind seeing more of this series.

The Dulux Show (1957– )

Not bad, but still the weakest of Jack Davey's 1957 game shows

[6/10 · 24 January 2014]

Simple game show. I recently saw an episode of this at the Melbourne Mediatheque via a NFSA access copy. This was originally a radio show, and the television version was simply the radio show recorded with television cameras, though they did create a simple set which featured giant cans of Dulux paint.

This series was produced in Sydney, and contestants tried to win plane trips to places like Adelaide (flying via TAA). They were asked a series of questions related to particular locations (for example, one question asked which was the second smallest Australian state, another question asked which sea a particular foreign port was located at). Correctly answering several of these question got them the plane trip.

There was also a segment in which two contestants tried to win a plane trip to another country (flying via Qantas). In the episode I viewed, both wanted to take a plane trip to London. The first contestant is given two minutes to correctly answer as many questions as possible (questions such as what year did the Russian revolution start, what was Buffalo Bill's real name, etc.) while the second contestant is in a sound proof room. Then the second contestant is brought in and asked the same set of questions.

In 1957, Jack Davey hosted three game shows, the other two being "Give it a Go" and "The Pressure Pak Show". I've seen a single episode of each of these series, and based on that, "The Dulux Show" was the weakest of the three series.

Give It a Go (1957– )

Based on the episode I've seen, this was a good game show from the early days of Australian television

[7/10 · 2 December 2013]

This was a game show which was produced by ATN-7 in Sydney, and which also aired on GTV-9 in Melbourne. ATN-7, of course, was an important contributor to early Australian television, with such notable 1950s era series as "Sydney Tonight", "Hour of Music", "Autumn Affair", "Your Home" and "Astor Showcase".

It was hosted by Jack Davey, who was not as popular on TV as he had been on radio. It appears to have been a case of the voice not matching the face. Nevertheless, he makes a rather upbeat game show host.

I recently viewed an episode of this series via an NFSA access copy. The episode begins with a game, in which Davey picks two people in the audience. He then holds a banknote above them, and asks a simple question. The first person who grabs the note and answers the question correctly gets to keep the banknote.

The rest of the episode is a more standard quiz type format. Questions are asked, each worth more than the previous question. The contestants consist of pairs of people, either of which can answer the question.

Several pairs of people play the game. The final segment consists of one of these people going through an unusual quiz. For each correct answer the contestant gives, they are given 10 boxes of Persil, a laundry detergent (or was it a laundry soap at the time?). If they manage to get 100 boxes of Persil, they receive a washing machine (complete with wringer!). Davey, realising the contestant in the particular episode was doing very well, gives several "gag questions" such as "what is my telephone number". I won't reveal whether the contestant wins the washing machine or not.

The episode I viewed is missing the commercials, and runs about 26 minutes. It's an enjoyable game show. The quality of the kinescope recording is quite acceptable. I would hope that this series gets a DVD release some day.

The Lorrae Desmond Show (1960–1964)

I recently saw two 30-minute episodes. Here are my thoughts

[7/10 · 22 November 2013]

This series was a music series, not a talk show as some believe. It ran from 1960 to 1964, although I believe Desmond also hosted a TV special by the same title in 1959. I recently viewed two episodes via a NFSA access copy.

The two episodes were broadcast in 1961, feature Lorrae Desmond singing songs. A vocal trio called The Escorts also sing songs in both of the episodes. There are also dance numbers performed by "The Channel 2 Dancers".

Most of the songs are traditional pop, with songs like "Singin' in the Rain" and "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd a Baked a Cake" But on occasion there is a comedy song. In the first episode I viewed, there was a pseudo-calypso song about television, and a very unexpected song. The latter starts off as a song about "dixie", quickly starts making fun of the southern US, with the lyrics mentioning things like lynchings, and by the end of the song the singer was dressed up as a KKK member. In the second episode on the tape, there was a number featuring a man dressed as the devil, singing a song about "the good old days" of the plague and the stock market crash, which is not as witty as it sounds. The song about television is also not as witty as it wants to be, plus it is dated: How many people these days would get a punch line about Buster Fiddess (who, BTW, was a performer on Bobby Limb's show).

But for the most part, the songs are straight, and there is sometimes a series of songs with a theme. The second episode on the tape, for example, featured a series of songs about rain, with the dancers dressed up in raincoats.

Based on the episodes I viewed, it appears this was a good series. The production values are very good, and the recording (kinescope I believe) is quite good.

Hit Parade (1957–1959)

A popular series despite an odd format

[7/10 · 20 November 2013]

This Australian TV series (which aired from 1956 to 1959) was a music series with an unusual format. The hit records of the week were played, and a group of people known as the "Hit Paraders" lip-synced them, sometimes acting out the plot of the song.

I recently viewed an episode via an NFSA access copy (listed as episode #40, though I believe this may be incorrect). In the episode, the set design consists of a street with a café, a butcher shop and other such shops. The "buildings" on the set are used as part of the miming of the songs, as I said above some of the songs are not just lip-synced, but woven into a simple form of storytelling. For example, a song called "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" is mimed by a woman holding a baby carriage, with people surrounding the carriage to see the baby. A song called "Boppin' in a Sack", which mocked the "sack dresses" of the era, is lip-synced by three men, surrounded by women wearing such dresses.

I would like to note that the episode is incomplete, missing the opening intro.

Despite the odd format and idiosyncratic production values, I found it to be quite enjoyable and very watchable. Over a dozen of the episodes still exist, I would like to see more.

The series appears to have been popular with viewers. Produced by HSV-7 in Melbourne, it was also shown on TCN-9 in Sydney.

Cafe Continental (1958–1961)

ABC variety series

[7/10 · 6 October 2013]

I would suppose that, like all variety series, the entertainment value would vary depending on the guests.

I recently viewed an episode of this (via a NFSA access copy) via the Melbourne Mediatheque, the episode being from 1960 (as such, it has a distinct 1950s feel to it). I quite enjoyed the episode.

The episode features various acts, two of which stick out in particular. There was a man from Malay(!) named "Chang" who performed a juggling act. He stumbled at first, but then did some impressive feats of balancing.

The other act which impressed me was a French duo of "apache dancers" named The Rivieras. Their act was quite humorous, and slightly risqué for the era.

The other acts were decent, but not up to the same level.

Czech-born host Hal Wayne, speaking with an obvious accent (not sure if he was exaggerating it or not), does some comedy of his own in his introductions of the acts.

The episode ran a full 30 minutes (this was an ABC show) and was recorded via the kinescope recording technology, which ABC preferred to call "telerecording" (kinescope is the US term, telerecording is the British term). This involved using a special 16mm camera synced to a TV monitor to film the television image. It sounds awful, but the picture quality is surprising good.

Emergency (1959)

I'm not very good at reviewing titles, but I'll try

[7/10 · 25 September 2013]

In October 1958, ATN-7 in Sydney debuted the well-received soap opera "Autumn Affair", which was likely the first Australian-produced dramatic television series ("The Adventures of Long John Silver" was filmed in Australia, but was not produced for Australian television). In early 1959, GTV-9 in Melbourne tried their luck at a dramatic TV series.

I watched an episode of this recently (via a NFSA access copy that I viewed at the Melbourne Mediatheque). This series, it is said, was ended after it was savaged by a reviewer in a major newspaper.

The episode I viewed, however, was quite decent, if not particularly plausible.

In the episode, a man is hit by a car and is taken to hospital, though with only minor injuries. Suffering from a mental disorder brought on by over-work and his wife leaving him, he goes out a ledge at the top of the hospital building and threatens suicide, and it is up to the people at the hospital to save him from himself.

The plot is absurd, but the acting is quite decent, and the sets are better than those in early episodes of "Autumn Affair". "Emergency" was not live, rather it was kinescoped in advance. The episode I viewed also featured a fair number of filmed inserts.

"Emergency" is not a great TV series, but I feel it should have been given a chance. The episode I viewed was quite enjoyable regardless of its faults.

Autumn Affair (1958–1959)

Early attempt at Australian television drama

[7/10 · 1 August 2013]

I recently watched four episodes of "Autumn Affair" at the at the Australian Mediatheque in Melbourne. They were episodes #1, #10, #20, and #40.

To my knowledge, "Autumn Affair" was Australia's first regular dramatic TV series, one of the very few to have aired in the 1950s*. It was a simple soap opera about a middle-aged woman, a widow who wrote popular novels, who starts having romantic relationships again. Running from 1958 to 1959, the series featured a contemporary late-1950s setting.

The opening episode describes the main character as being in the "Autumn" of her life. Additionally, the series was set during Autumn.

In order to remind viewers what had happened in previous episodes, the series used an interesting gimmick. The episodes begin with a title card. This is followed by a shot of Julia Parrish, the main character, sitting behind a desk, writing something down (presumably for her next novel), while we hear her thoughts describing the events of the preceding episode(s). After this, there is a fade-out, and the episode itself begins.

The cast, who had little experience with TV acting, do a decent job, better than I was expecting them to. Muriel Steinbeck is the main star, playing the 43-year-old widow.

The production values are a mixed bag. The sets are decent for a 1958 soap opera, though are somewhat small. The camera work and camera angles are at times rather odd (but seem to improve as the series went on), and the incidental music which sometimes plays is often cut-off abruptly (in early episodes at least). In one of the episodes I viewed, Julia and a man (I forget which) were having a picnic, which was obviously done on a set on a sound-stage. Nevertheless, these faults are to be expected for such an early attempt at Australian television drama.

An interesting touch is that, during the closing credits, there are little drawings of autumn leaves.

The series aired in a 15-minute time-slot. The first episode runs about 11 minutes, the other episodes I viewed run about 13 to 14 minutes.

Despite its faults I found much to like about this series. I'd love to view the episodes in chronological order. Since most of the episodes still exist, I do hope it appears on DVD some day.

*Personally, I can only think of two other 1950s Australian dramatic TV series of the 1950s: hospital-set series "Emergency" (GTV-9, 1959) and a series-of-plays titled "Shell Presents" (ATN-7/GTV-9, 1959-1960).

The Pressure Pak Show (1957–1958)

Simple TV series, though entertaining. Some episodes still exist.

[7/10 · 27 July 2013]

I recently viewed an episode of this series at the Australian Mediatheque in Melbourne, along with 4 episodes of "Autumn Affair" (1958-1959 series that was Australia's first regular TV drama) and a 1959 episode of "The Bobby Limb Show" (a variety series).

Newspaper accounts from the 1950s confirm that Jack Davey, popular radio personality, was not a hit on TV. Why? Based on the episode I viewed he was a very good TV host, bringing considerable humor into this game show.

The episode I viewed (episode #7) began with the celebrities being introduced. After this begins the game itself. The celebrities, through a series of yes-or-no questions, have to determine a phrase. These are often quite humorous, such as "Jack Davey's Dimple", "A Vegetarian Beef-Eater", "The Second Hand of a Second Hand Watch". Later in the episode, a contestant plays the game though with somewhat different rules.

The show is, in some ways, similar to the kind of shows that Goodson-Todman were doing in the USA such as "What's My Line", which itself saw an Australian version.

"The Pressure Pak Show" was fast-paced and lively, though the set design is very, VERY basic, consisting of a curtain and a couple desks.

Another thing I found interesting, was that the commercials were still intact in the episode I viewed, and were performed as part of the show (not uncommon in those days). The first ad was for Mortein fly-spray, the second was (I might be wrong) for Smoothex shaving cream, and the third was for Gossamer hair-spray (FYI: the "Pressure Pak" of the title refers to the commercials all being for products that were sold in a particular kind of spray can). The commercial for Smoothex was very strange, probably meant to be comical, and involved giving a guy a shave with an axe. Um....

Overall I would not complain if they ever put this series on DVD...at least 10 episodes still exist. It's surprised how entertaining a very modest 1950s game show can be, thanks to a solid host and a fun format.

The Bobby Limb Show (1959–1961)

Popular in its day

[7/10 · 27 July 2013]

This was a popular series in its day. Bobby Limb's series started as "Bobby Limb's Late Show" in 1959, became "The Bobby Limb Show" in 1960. In 1961 it became "The Mobil-Limb Show".

I saw an episode of this series recently via the Mediatheque in Melbourne, which I believe is the first episode of the 1960. This series is before my time, so some of the references were lost on me, but nevertheless I quite enjoyed it.

The episode features a mix of music, professional dancing, and comedy sketches, and begins by announcing which stations aired the series.

In one of the comedy sketches, there is a man who runs a very unusual employment agency. Another sketch was "The Adventures of Rob 'Em Good", a spoof of a popular British series of the era.

One thing that surprised me was a musical number (I think about autumn), which used a filmed insert depicting a father and his boy clearing up the fallen leaves. There was another filmed insert, a comedy sketch, set in a greyhound racing track. I was surprised that a 1959 Australian variety series would go to the effort of using filmed inserts, which suggests how quickly local television series evolved from the simple productions it started off with.

The rest of the episode included more comedy, dancing and music, and closed with music provided by the Sydney Male Choir.

One thing that is worth mentioning about the episode, is that the original commercials were intact. Of the 60-minute program, only about 9 minutes consisted of commercials. Compare that with today's 40-minute "hour" shows. Additionally, those 1960 commercials have quite a nice 1950s/early-1960s flavour to them.

Since a good amount of the series still exists (at least 20 episodes), it might not be a bad idea to give it a DVD release. The series is dated, perhaps, but that just adds to the charm.

The Marriage Lines (1961–1966)

Popular sitcom is incomplete in the archives

[8/10 · 20 April 2013]

I'm a very poor reviewer, so this review probably won't be very good.

"Marriage Lines" was a popular sitcom. In the first episode, George and Kate Starling, a newlywed couple, arrive at their apartment to discover that they have lost their front door key. The rest of the first series sees them facing the typical problems which face a newlywed couples. The episodes are lively, funny and well-paced.

The second series is lost.

The third series survives, and sees Kate pregnant with their first child. Episodes in the 3rd season derive their plots from this and the resulting birth of the child.

The forth and fifth series is lost except for a fragment from the episode "Big Business". This fragment does not appear on the DVD.

This was a very good sitcom, and it's nice to see it on DVD. Episodes typically run between 24 to 26 minutes, and appear to exist as telerecordings. I hope the success of the DVD release will result in more less-known (yet quality) 1960s BBC comedies coming to DVD.

Oh, Those Eyes (1912)

I Love Mabel

[7/10 · 30 December 2012]

Seemingly every man is in love with Gladys (played by Mabel Normand). Wherever she goes, man start following her with much enthusiasm. Two men at the place her father works want to marry her...both send her letters asking for such. She accepts both! Her father finds out and decides to play a trick on her. The ending of this short is very "random" and very unexpected, unless there's some cultural reference I didn't get. Very funny ending regardless.

I've seen several 1912 Biograph comedies directed by Mack Sennett, and some of them seem to consist of a series of scenes which are the lead-up to a final "punchline" (ending gag). Very different to his Keystone work. Mabel Normand is delightful as usual. Direction is decent, framing is good, acting is good, with the only bit of major over-acting making complete sense in the context of the film itself (the bit where a man pretends to be shot).

Design for Today (1965)

How am I supposed to review this?

[9/10 · 26 July 2012]

This 15-minute short subject (was it shown in cinemas?) starts off with a narrator, who informs us that good design speaks for itself. As such, the rest of the film has no narration and instead is accompanied by pleasantly dated music. This continues until the closing credits, with the narrator speaking the names of all those credited with the production of this film.

The short itself consists of various scenes and shots of 1960s design, including household products, outdoor products, office equipment, manufacturing equipment, cars, buildings, etc etc. The "plot" is that we are supposedly seeing the products seen during the day by a particular person, from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to sleep.

This film is retro in the best way possible. It has old style phones, reel-to-reel tapes, a Jaguar E-Type, a record player, and lots of other retro products. Nearly every product has very mid-1960s styling. Most of the shots are pretty short, lasting for a few seconds before moving on to the next product or device, allowing for a montage-like effect.

Recommended.

The Bob Crosby Show (1953–1957)

For a daytime variety show, this is excellent

[9/10 · 28 May 2012]

I recently viewed an episode of this series (a 30-minute episode) on the Internet Archive website. I jokingly posted a review saying I showed it to an "professional back-stabbing assassin" who I mentioned as having liked it.

All kidding aside, seeing the old episode of this series was fun. The episode I saw contained a mix of musical segments (including an unusual rendition of the popular standard "Dream"), plus some light-hearted game show segments which incorporated music in some respect. For example, in one of the game segments, the wives played a version of charades where the husbands had to guess the song title.

Production values of the episode were good for a daytime series, but not spectacular. The kinescope recording was in good condition, though the upload on the Internet Archive has somewhat heavy digital compression. I believe the 16mm kinescope print itself is held by archivist Ira Gallen.

I don't know how many episodes of this series survive in the CBS vaults or elsewhere. I've since viewed another episode of this series, plus a partial episode. Both were excellent as well.

Smiley Gets a Gun (1958)

Well, that was interesting - 7.5/10

[8/10 · 28 May 2012]

The DVD release of this film was botched...the opening is in CinemaScope, but the rest of the film is in pan-and-scan. In this modern day, this is not acceptable.

As for the film itself, it was much better than I was expecting. The "Smiley" character is far more likable than one might presume, partially thanks to the child actor playing him.

Production values are more than acceptable, and the "colour" of the film print is very nice, unlike another 1950s film "Jedda" which (while in some respects a better film overall) has very dodgy colour.

The plot line is simple enough. The character "Smiley" is promised to be given a "nick" (or more) marked on a tree for every good deed he does. 8 "nicks" and he will be given a rather nice-looking rifle. A bad deed sees a "nick" removed from the tree bark. But there are troubles involving goats in a church, a bushfire and stolen gold that danger his attempts at getting "nicks" through good deeds.....or so it seems! The film is enjoyable, harmless stuff and it is a shame that the DVD release was screwed-up with a pan-and-scan transfer.

Hold That Camera (1950– )

Hold That Show!

[7/10 · 6 May 2012]

Network: DuMont Format: Variety (originally a game show) Worth seeing?: Yes Any offensive moments or segments?: Not in the episode I saw

This was originally a game show hosted by Jimmy Blaine. After a short time, it switched to a variety show format hosted by Kyle MacDonnell. Confused? Good. Same thing happened with a show called "On Your Way" and those weren't the only times format-switching happened on early television.

The episode I viewed (from December 1, 1950) is in very bad condition, with at least 4 minutes of the episode missing from the print, along with the live commercials. Opening titles and some of the closing titles are also missing from the episode.

A 2nd episode, from October 20 1950, also survives.

The episode I viewed (of the variety format) is pretty good. The setting is a night-club. Other DuMont shows to use a similar setting included the well-preserved "The Morey Amsterdam Show" and the completely lost "Café de Paris").

The fragmented episode starts off with a Ballerina said to be from Austria, who does lots of spinning and stuff. This is followed by host Kyle MacDonnell singing a quick song. Character actor Roscoe Karns pops up, holding a gun, dressed up like a detective, and shoots an off-camera person. He is actually promoting a series called "Inside Detective", which later changed title to "Rocky King, Dectective". Great crime series, fairly well-preserved for a DuMont series. A male singer then sings two songs, including "That Old Black Magic", which is followed by a violin duo performing "Hot Canary". This itself is followed by a more standard violin performance. The final segment consists of Kyle singing "I'm In the Mood for Love".

The production values are basic (most obviously during the performance of "That Old Black Magic", done using a single static close-up of the singer), but this is enjoyable, entertaining early television. It's on the Internet Archive website if you want to check it out.

You Asked for It (1950–1959)

Sort of a 1950s YouTube

[7/10 · 29 April 2012]

For those who have never seen it, here are some examples of what aired in this series: A fire-eater, a performance by jazz pianist, a reunion of the cast of "Our Gang", pin-up models, a race between an abacus and a then-modern calculator, the secrets of phony spiritualists, Buddy Epsen dancing with his sister, a wrestling chimpanzee, the largest sapphire in the world, world's tallest man, the secrets of card sharks, a man shot while wearing a bullet-proof vest, an old French clown act, a kendo demonstration, Buster Keaton doing a sketch from an old silent comedy....

To say the least, this series was a real mixed bag. Some segments are still interesting today, while others are not. On a side-note, this series originally aired on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network, before moving to ABC (was the move in January 1952? I'm not sure!). Episodes from both versions survive. Amazingly, one of the public domain budget DVD publishers put several episodes of this series (largely from 1951) on DVD a few years ago, which is the source for the most of the above listing of example segments.

Play! Girls (1937)

My rating is actually 7.5/10

[8/10 · 30 March 2012]

Fun musical short. We start off with an act consisting of females doing acrobatics/dancing...very generic, but kinda fun. A character (a producer) is sick of seeing all the talent that is auditioning, and wants to get away from it all. He is invited to have dinner at the house that an employee is living at (actually the house of a relative of that employee). The wife of that employee decides to stage a little talent show when the producer arrives, consisting of the staff that work at the house. We see an all-female band (including a nice singing trio), followed by a fun novelty-dancing act consisting of two African-Americans, then a generic (but decent) female singer, and finally the wife herself does some tap-dancing while using a lasso! None of this is exactly ground-breaking, but it has a fun 1930s-flavor that is quite appealing. The short is public domain and should hopefully be on YouTube by the time you read this!

Office Etiquette (1950)

Not bad

[7/10 · 29 March 2012]

A lot of those 1940s/1950s training/educational films about being a secretary or something like that haven't aged well. Many come across as condescending. This one is above-average and much of the film still holds true today. The film starts off with a teacher telling her students the "golden rule" needed to work in the office-place. We then see an example student (also the narrator) going through and learning about working as a secretary. The film includes a memorable sequence showing "bad etiquette" (eating while typing, using office hours for typing personal letters, reading a newspaper while one is supposed to be doing their job). By the end of the film, the main character has been promoted to a higher position and a new secretary from the same teacher is shown entering the same job.

Most viewers today will find it interesting to merely see the 1950 clothes, old telephone and typewriters, which are a large reason that many of these films are preserved, as they are very useful as stock footage.

The Golden Years (1960)

Useful as stock footage

[7/10 · 25 March 2012]

This short film seems to have been created to get people interested in starting their own Brunswick bowling alley. It promotes the various populuxe designs for equipment, the various colour schemes possible, and the designs possible for the alley itself. Also shown: Designs for the locker rooms (seperate for men and women), and some gimmicks like a sensor that can tell when someone steps over the line (goof: the sensor didn't go off when a little boy trips and gets a strike!). The film shows an example family (man, women, daughter, son) enjoying the populuxe bowling alley, which is promoted in the film as a wholesome place for family entertainment. The film was created for a specific purpose (get more people starting Brunswick franchises), and today it has nostalgic value. The film is very useful as stock footage, and can be easily found online on websites such as YouTube and the Internet Archive.

Those Two (1951–1953)

Light comedy and music - Sitcom

[7/10 · 25 February 2012]

The other "review" of this has nothing to do with the show. This show was a 15-minute (with ads...laundry products in the episode I saw) series featuring a light, fluffy sitcom story combined with the occasional song. In the episode I saw (probably the only episode to survive on kinescope), Vivian Blaine is having her piano tuned by a piano tuner. Pinky Lee (playing a man who plays the piano while the Vivian Blaine sings) comes in, sees the piano tuner, and thinks that Vivian Blaine no longer wants him to accompany her on the piano. He leaves. Cue song performance by female. Pinky Lee's character comes in, returning many strange items he had borrowed from her, including months-old vegetables. The next bit of the broadcast seems to be missing (probably lost forever). (I am terrible at writing, so my review probably doesn't make the slightest sense).