There were actually a wide variety of successful anthology series during that era.
Some of the big hitters that immediately spring to mind are The Loretta Young Show, Desilu Playhouse (Of which the hour long 'I Love Lucy' episodes were separated and rebranded as the 'Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour' for syndication, as well as being notable for giving birth to the Twilight Zone and the Untoucheables), General Electric Theater (With ex movie star and future president Ronald Reagan as host), Playhouse 90, two successful Twilight Zone clones titled 'The Outer Limits' and 'One Step Beyond', and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
For some reason outside of the sci-fi stuff, the Lucy episodes of Desilu Playhouse, and Alfred Hitchcock's show, even the big hits saw little to no syndication, disappearing soon after their first run concluded.
A lot of hit black & white dramas in general for whatever reason weren't viewed as holding much syndication value from this era, with some obvious exceptions like The Twilight Zone and Perry Mason that have never left the air. The Defenders is a huge one that leaps to mind for a non-anthology tv drama from the b&w era that was extremely successful and then virtually disappeared from the airwaves upon cancellation.
Part of it was the switch to color that damaged the desirability of b&w programming, but it didn't do nearly the same amount of damage to the big sitcom hits for whatever reason.
Edit: I almost forgot one of my favorites, Disney's anthology tv series that during Walt Disney's life was first branded as Disneyland, then Walt Disney Presents, and then the Wonderful World of Color when it moved to NBC in the early 60's and started to be broadcast in color. Thankfully the Walt era run of the show (I never watched the later incarnations after the Wonderful World of Color) escaped the vault during the earlier years of the Disney Channel and saw a lot of airtime.
I don't know if this show quaifies as an anthology series, but I am currently watching the original "Untouchables" series. Each one functions as it's own story and isn't connected to the next episode. Each one is a one-hour film noir and features actors that we all know such as Lloyd Nolan, Jack Warden, Cloris Leachman, Jack Lord, James Coburn and many others and Neville Brand makes a credible Al Capone.
There are railroad scenes that are mostly stock footage except the one where Capone is transported to Alcatraz with the railroad cars moved there on a barge which is historicall correct. Seems like a lot of trouble to move prisoners, though but that's what they did.
There is stock footage of aircraft, mostly Boeing 247s and once a Curtiss Condor.
54light15I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this:
"The Fighting Sullivans." I've seen it, and it's pretty grim considering the outcome. As I understand it it wasn't a big hit when it was released, it just hit too close to home for a lot of people.
Sadly, the Navy DID have a regulation against multiple family members serving on the same ship but it wasn't enforced. After the loss of the Sullivans it was.
As were "sole surving son" regulations. Which from the stories I've heard, these regulations didn't prevent at least one Army sergeant from running into his son in Vietnam.
On my ship we had two brothers, both went on a Med cruise but the rules eventually caught up with them and one was transferred due to the Sullivan rule.
I had two uncles in a C-47 outfit that were separated prior to deploying overseas during WW2. They both yelled like hell over being split up but as they were told, "Them's orders boys, no brothers in the same outfit!"
Post-Sullivans obviously. Some people think there's a law on the books concerning this but it was actually a War Department directive. I believe it was carried over into the Department of Defense when that was established.
I agree that in some quarters, the military is looked down upon. Really though, it's history that most people don't care about. Unless it's to rewrite or spin it to fit someone's agenda.
The Sullivan brother's father, Thomas Sullivan was a conductor on the Illinois Central out of Waterloo, IA.
Jeff
True story. About a decade ago, a young man (son of a USMC Colonel) graduated from an exclusive private school (forgotten which one) in New England. The "problem" was that he had earned an appointment to the Naval Academy. You think the school would be proud of one of theirs qualifying for such an appointment. Wrongo! The Board of Trustees convened an "emergency" meeting with all the students' parents to discuss how they had "failed" in this student's education so that he would seek to become a career military officer
Hope the parents read the riot act to the school administration.
BEAUSABRETrue story. About a decade ago, a young man (son of a USMC Colonel) graduated from an exclusive private school (forgotten which one) in New England. The "problem" was that he had earned an appointment to the Naval Academy. You think the school would be proud of one of theirs qualifying for such an appointment. Wrongo! The Board of Trustees convened an "emergency" meeting with all the students' parents to discuss how they had "failed" in this student's education so that he would seek to become a career military officer
If this is in fact a true story - and from only a decade ago - there should be a legitmate media story and link to that story available to back up the assertion.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BEAUSABRE a young man (son of a USMC Colonel) graduated from an exclusive private school
All those years in that tony prep school and the good Colonel had no idea what he was paying for? At any rate whatever they were selling obviously the kid wasn't buying. I'm guessing the son just kept his mouth shut and went along with the program figuring he couldn't win anyway. Sometimes that's the best course.
Is it a true story or just a story? Seems improbable to me.
Rick
rixflix aka Captain Video. Blessed be Jean Shepherd and all His works!!! Hooray for 1939, the all time movie year!!! I took that ride on the Reading but my Baby caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride.
I'm not sure why Annapolis (or West Point, or Colorado Springs, come to think of it) are any less prestigious than their academic peers elsewhere.
Overmod I'm not sure why Annapolis (or West Point, or Colorado Springs, come to think of it) are any less prestigious than their academic peers elsewhere.
They shouldn't be. My brother, USAF Academy Class of 1978, said getting in was the "easy" part. As far as the curriculum was concerned STAYING in was the hard part!
Back in my brother's time when you graduated one of the service academies you graduated with a degree in engineering. Whether that's still the case I don't know. At any rate there's a LOT more to the academies than learning how to blow things up and kill people. There's a lot of VERY well educated young people that come out of West Point, Annapolis, and Colorado Springs.
No disrespect to the Coast Guard Academy. I don't know where that one is.
Ah, the Coast Guard. One day in 1976 I was getting out of my car at the base in Norfolk. I drove a 1960 Nash Metropolitan. A guy came over to talk about it as he had one too. He said how he was in the Coast Guard and that there was a real rivalry between them and the Navy guys. I didn't have the heart to tell him that we never thought or talked about the Coast Guard at all. Not once.
54light15He said how he was in the Coast Guard and that there was a real rivalry between them and the Navy guys.
A friend of mine in the Corps was a graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point NY. He said there was a HELL of a rivalry between the Navy and the MM as to who were the better seamen. Of course that was then, I don't know about now.
On the other hand several years ago I was watching an episode of "Whale Wars" and there was a knock-down drag-out argument between two of the bridge crew over the finer points of ship handling, one was ex-Navy and the other ex-Merchant Marine.
Personally I wouldn't sail with that bunch at all, they were crazy!
Yet the British do just fine with Sandhurst, which doesn't grant a degree at all.
Backshop Yet the British do just fine with Sandhurst, which doesn't grant a degree at all.
Right, Sandhurst is strictly military. They expect all applicants to be well-educated to begin with, "education" isn't their mission.
The course of Sandhurst is less than a year in fact, 44 weeks.
Flintlock76 54light15 He said how he was in the Coast Guard and that there was a real rivalry between them and the Navy guys. A friend of mine in the Corps was a graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point NY. He said there was a HELL of a rivalry between the Navy and the MM as to who were the better seamen. Of course that was then, I don't know about now. On the other hand several years ago I was watching an episode of "Whale Wars" and there was a knock-down drag-out argument between two of the bridge crew over the finer points of ship handling, one was ex-Navy and the other ex-Merchant Marine. Personally I wouldn't sail with that bunch at all, they were crazy!
54light15 He said how he was in the Coast Guard and that there was a real rivalry between them and the Navy guys.
Considering the number of incidents that have happened to Navy vessels in recent years, as a civilian, I cannot find much solace in the Navy's seamanship.
Step son was chief in navy. Every thing too hot or too cold. Had to wear coat in computer room no matter where sailing.
I couldn't say anything about ship handling since I was down in the engine room. I never met any merchant sailors except one from a USNS ship who told me I could make four times the money on his ship. Once I got out, I pursued it but I kind of got used to dry land and never did follow up.
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