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History of Radio & Television Pages
• Page Two •
“All television is children's television.” — Richard P. Adler
Magic Lantern's History of Cinema Page
History of Cinema Timeline Page
Books About Hollywood & Cinema History
Old Time Radio
Old Time Radio Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
Old Radio Programs Dept.
on Old Time Radio Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
Nikola Tesla [1856-1943] - The Inventor of Radio
browse Old Time Radio books & audio & CDs at Amazon
radio drama shows {some modern} on audio CD at Amazon
 | "Listening In: Radio and The American Imagination - From Amos 'n' Andy & Edward R. Murrow To Wolfman Jack & Howard Stern" [1999] by Susan J. Douglas Univ MN Press 9x6 pb [2/2004] for $13.57 Crown 9½x6¾ hardcover [4/99] out of print/used |
 | "Radio In The Movies: A History and Filmography, 1926-2010" [2011] by Laurence Etling McFarland & Co. pb [5/2011] for $45.00 |
 | "Classic Commercials" on DVD [2005] The first disk has 9 chapters: Cigarettes & Cigars, Cleaning Products, Cosmetics & Medications, Clothes & Accessories, Appliances, Automobiles, Toys, and Public Service Announcements; the second disk has 4 chapters: Food & Drugs, Celebrities, The Drugstore, and Horror & Sci-Fi – over 200 'spots', almost four hours in all! Madacy color/b&w DVD [5/2005] 2 disks - out of prodn/used |
 | "TV Commercials: The Ultimate Collection" on DVD [2008] 613 nostalgic TV 'spots', running almost ten hours: classic car, food & beverage, celebrity, cigarette, and toy commercials, plus more! St. Clair Vision color/b&w DVD [8/2008] 6 disks - out of prodn/used |
 | "1001 Classic Commercials" on DVD [2009]
Mill Creek Ent. color/b&w DVD [7/2009] 3 disks for $4.99 |
 | "Retro TV Commercials of The 50s and 60s" on DVD [2009]
retro TV commercials for cereal, candy, cosmetics, automobiles & tires, appliances, soaps, tooth-paste, cigarettes & tobacco, gas companies, coffee, snack foods, soda pop, watches, beerbanks, dog food, – all of American commerce, including Baggies, Chiquita Bananas, Gillette Foamy, RCA Radios, and political commercials from the presidential campaigns of Eisenhower, Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and John Kennedy PR Studios DVD [2/2009] for $15.99 PR Studios DVD [1/2010] for $15.99 |
 | "Commercials From The 50s, 60s, and 70s!" [2010] retro TV commercials for cereal, candy, cosmetics, floor wax, automobiles, appliances, soaps, tooth-paste, cigarettes & tobacco, gas companies, insurance, soups, fast food, coffee, car rental, computers, snack foods, soda pop, banks, dog food, watches, beer, airlines – all of American commerce, including Arthur Murray, Aunt Jemima, Brylcreem, Coca Cola, Handi Wipes, Lady Sunbeam, Paper-Mate, Pepto Bismol, Polaroid, Tang, 3M Copiers, Texaco, Toastem Pop-ups, Vicks Vapo-Rub & Yuban coffee Volume 1: PR Studios DVD [7/2010] for $14.49 Volume 2: PR Studios DVD [8/2010] for $15.99 |
 | "Classic Cigarette Commercials" on DVD [2010] 116 minutes of people having so much fun smoking tobacco products! PR Studios DVD [2/2010] for $15.99 |
 | "Classic Car Commercials and Ad Shorts" on DVD [2010] commercials & 'news' shorts for many brands, including Chevrolet, Corvair, Corvette, Dodge, the futuristic Firebird, General Motors' Frigidaire, Hertz, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Renault Dauphine, and Volkswagon Beetle PR Studios DVD [3/2010] for $15.99 |
 | "Chevrolet, G.M., and The Golden Age of The American Car" TV ads [2010]
111 minutes of retro TV commercials and promo shorts, which seem to be all General Motors products PR Studios color/b&w DVD [10/2010] for $15.99 |
Videos & DVDs
{ in alphabetical order }
Untitled Comedy Feature Film [Fox 2000 release 2017?]
Announced 9/2016: Fox 2000 purchased a new spec script by Mindy Kaling, with Emma Thompson attached to star; story has Thompson as star of floundering
late night TV talk show who hires her first female writer (Kaling); Scott Rudin & Mindy Kaling & Howard Klein will produce • not yet listed at IMDb
"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy"
[Apatow/DreamWorks July 2004] /tt0357413/
"Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues"
[Apatow/Paramount Dec 2013?] /tt1229340/
Announced 3/2012: Will Ferrell reported (in character as Ron Burgundy) on Conan O’Brien’s
late-night T.B.S. show that the sequel to “Anchorman” is a 'go' project.
5/2012 teaser trailer [1:18] at IMDb
"Beyond A Reasonable Doubt" remake
[RKO Pictures Sept 2004] /tt1183251/
TV reporters versus unethical district attorney; starring Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn & Michael Douglas
"Broadcast News" [Gracie/Fox Dec 1987]
 | A love triangle – between a female news producer who falls for the new pretty-boy anchor and the plain-looking news reporter who loves her – parallels the network's move from substance toward style. Co-produced, written & directed by James L. Brooks; starring William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter, Robert Prosky, Lois Chiles, Joan Cusack, Peter Hackes, Christian Clemenson, Jack Nicholson, Robert Katims, Ed Wheeler & Stephen Mendillo; Oscar nomina- tions for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Hurt), Best Actress (HH), Best Supporting Actor (AB), Best Cinema-tography & Best Editing; noms for DGA & WGA Awards
Fox widescreen color DVD [10/99] for $9.98 Fox color VHS [1/96] out of prodn/many used full credits from IMDb Oscar-nominated movie script by James L. Brooks Vintage pb [2/89] out of print/used |
"Channel News" [indep 2012]
 | Filmed in Apple Valley, Minnesota; real-life brother & sister portray two estranged siblings reduced to living together once again in their parent's Minnesota home. They discover home movies that they made together as kids, and after watching their old James Bond spoofs, talk shows, and 'Saturday Night Live' sketches, they are inspired to make 'The Sarah and Beau Show', a talk/variety show for the Internet.
Produced, written & directed by Jacob Kindberg; starring Jacob & Sarah Kindberg, with Adam Lynch & Joe Burger
Shami Prodns color DVD [3/2014] for $13.46 credits at IMDb • watch official trailer [1:56] online at Vimeo |
"The Day Today" [BBC-TV 1994] /tt0108740/
British spoof of British television news; six episodes in 1994, pilot episode of 2004
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_Today; not available on Region 1 VHS or DVD
"Desk Set" [Fox May 1957]
 | The research department of a New York City TV network is under siege by a computer engineer; the library's department head needs no 'electronic brain' to unmask his secret purpose, and the resulting battle of wits and witty dialogue pits her fear of losing her job against her dawning attraction to the man. Produced & co-written by Henry Ephron; directed by Walter Lang; co-written by Phoebe Ephron; based on the Broadway play by William Marchant; color cinematography by Leon Shamroy; starring Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Gig Young, Joan Blondell & Dina Merrill
Fox Studio Classics widescreen color DVD [5/2004] for $14.49 Fox color VHS [1998] out of prodn/many used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Episodes" TV series [BBC-TV/Showtime Jan 2011] /tt1582350/
about British sitcom writers in Hollywood; starring Matt LeBlanc, Tamsin Greig & Stephen Mangan
"Escape From The Newsroom" TV movie [Canada Oct 2002] /tt0328183/
http://www.amazon.com/Escape-Newsroom-Ken-Finkleman/dp/B0007UQ24Q/
"Father of Invention" [Europe 2010, USA Oct 2011]
 | Filmed around New Orleans, Louisiana; an eccentric inventor becomes an ego-maniacal infomercial guru, then loses everything when one of his inventions maims thousands of customers. After eight years in maximum security prison, he sets out to rebuild his billion-dollar empire. But first, he must convince his estranged 22-year-old daughter to let him live with her and her quirky, over-protective roommates. Co-written & directed by Trent Cooper; co-produced & co-written by Jonathan D. Krane; co-produced by & starring Kevin Spacey; also starring Camilla Belle, Heather Graham, Johnny Knoxville, Anna Anissimova, John Stamos, Red West, Michael Rosenbaum, Danny Comden, Jack McGee, Craig Robinson & Virginia Madsen
Anchor Bay widescreen color Blu-ray [10/2011] for $13.77 Anchor Bay widescreen color DVD [10/2011] for $15.49 full credits at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Good Night, And, Good Luck"
[Warner Independent Oct 2005]
 | TV newsman Edward R. Murrow airs a story about a man discharged from the Navy without a trial. Murrow is accused of being a 'Communist sympathizer', and the C.B.S. news team goes on the offensive. "See It Now" airs a series of shows detailing the lies and un-Constitutional tactics of Senator Joe McCarthy, leading to McCarthy's censure by the U.S. Senate. Co-written & directed by & co-starring George Clooney; starring David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow, Patricia Clark-son, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., Frank Langella, with Joseph McCarthy via archive footage; Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Script, Best Actor {DS, of course), Best Cinematograpy & Best Art Direction
Warner widescreen b&w DVD [3/2006] for $14.99 full credits from IMDb; official moviesite |
"The Hour" series [BBC-TV 2011-2012]
Hour-long drama series set on a British news show in 1956, with personal stories alongside the Suez Canal crisis; two 6-episode seasons
http://www.amazon.com/Hour/dp/B005ELEN26/
http://www.amazon.com/Hour-Season-Two/dp/B009VXWIDY/
"International House" sound feature [Paramount May 1933]
 | Inventor Prof. Wong offers his new 'radioscope' (television) to bidders who appear in person at the International House Hotel in the remote city of Wu-Hu, China. Assorted wacky characters converge there, the American breaks out in a rash and gets the hotel quarantined, and Prof. Quail (Fields) arrives in his gyrocopter; the new invention shows old vaudeville and then-popular radio acts, including Cab Calloway performing 'Reefer Man'. • Directed by A. Edward Sutherland; screenplay by Francis Martin & Walter DeLeon from a story by Neil Brant & Louis E. Heifetz; starring W.C. Fields, Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Rudy Vallee, Stuart Erwin, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Sari Maritza, Bela Lugosi, F. Chase Taylor {as Col. Stoopnagle}, Budd (Hulick), Cab Calloway and his orchestra, 'Baby Marie' Osborne, Franklin Pangborn, Edmund Breese, Lumsden Hare, Sterling Holloway, Lona Andre & Harrison Greene
Universal Studios b&w VHS [10/96] for $19.69 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia available on DVD as part of "W.C. Fields Comedy Collection - Volume One" 5-film box set [2004] Universal Studios b&w DVD set [11/2004] 5 disks for $41.99 available on DVD as part of "W.C. Fields Comedy Favorites Collection" 10-film box set [2013] Universal Studios b&w DVD set [4/2013] 3 disks for $12.49 |
"The Late Shift" [1996]
"The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit"
[Fox April 1956]
 | A WWII veteran takes a temporary job at a New York tv network for the increase in pay, but is soon miserable. Adapted & directed by Nunnally Johnson, from the 1955 novel; music by Bernard Hermann; starring Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Fredric March, Marisa Pavan, Lee J. Cobb, Ann Harding, Keenan Wynn, Gene Lockhart, Gigi Perreau & Portland Mason
Fox widescreen color DVD [8/2005] for $10.99 Fox color VHS [10/97] for $18.98 Bernard Hermann soundtrack CD [9/99] for $17.98 full credits at IMDb |
 | classic novel [1955] by Sloan Wilson [1920-2003] Four Walls Eight Windows 8¼x5½ pb [9/2002] for $11.58 Buccaneer Books hardcover [12/91] out of print/used "The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit II" [1984 sequel] Arbor House hardcover [3/84] out of print/used |
"Max Headroom" TV series [Warner/ABC-TV 1987-88]
full credits at IMDb •
series entry at Wikipedia
 | "Max Headroom: The Complete Series" [2010] 14 episodes made in U.K. for U.S. television; in the future, the television networks and executives rule the U.S. government, while the computer avatar of comatose rebel journalist Edison Carter and his allies expose their unethical activities. Starring Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays, Chris Young, Jeffrey Tambor, George Coe, Charles Rocket, Lee Wilkof, William Morgan Sheppard & Concetta Tomei Shout! Factory color DVD [8/2010] 5 disks for $32.99 |
"Modern Marvels: Television - Window To The World"
[History Channel undated]
 |
A&E Home Video b&w/color DVD [4/2005] for $21.99 not listed at IMDb |
"Morning Glory" [Paramount Pictures Nov 2010]
 | An aspiring network TV producer is given the job of saving a failing national morning show by controlling its two feuding anchors, who are wise and aging and talented veterans. Directed by Roger Michell; written by Aline Brosh McKenna; starring Harrison Ford, Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, John Pankow & Ty Burrell
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Murder By Television" [Cameo/Imperial Oct 1935]
 | An inventor of a new television system refuses to sell the rights outright, and sets up a demonstration from his home. The first broadcast is successful, but during the second the inventor falls dead. Murder suspects include the inventor's assistant, a corporate agent who tried to bribe the assistant, a television engineer, and a rival TV scientist. Co-produced & directed by Clifford Sanforth; starring Bela Lugosi, June Collyer, Huntley Gordon, George Meeker, Henry Mowbray, Charles Hill Mailes, Claire McDowell, Hattie McDaniel, Allen Jung & Charles K. French
Alpha Video b&w DVD [2/2003] for $7.65 Synergy Ent. b&w DVD [5/2007] for $9.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
watch "Murder By Television" [54:03] free online at Internet Archive
"My Favorite Year" [1982] /tt0084370/
Directed by Richard Benjamin; starring Peter O'Toole
"Network" [M.G.M. Nov 1976]
  | Aging network news anchor Howard Beale is fired, and his on-air tirade – "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" – causes a sensation among his viewers, so he is rehired and given his own show. Directed by Sidney Lumet; written by Paddy Chayefsky; starring Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall, Beatrice Straight & Ned Beatty; won Oscars for Best Script, Best Actor [Finch], Best Actress [FD], Best Supporting Actress [BS], nominated for Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Actor [WH], Best Supporting Actor [NB], Best Cinematography, Best Editing; won BAFTA for Best Actor [Finch], nominated for 8 more; won W.G.A. Award for Best Original Script
Warner Home Video color Blu-ray [2/2011] for $9.69 Warner widescreen color DVD [2/2006] 2 disks for $10.91 M.G.M. color VHS [5/96] for $6.99 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia novelization by Sam Hedrin Penguin movie tie-in mass pb [11/76] out of print/used |
"Newsflash" [2019?] 
/tt7736460/
On November 22, 1963 C.B.S. newsman Walter Cronkite reports on live television about President John F. Kennedy's assassination in Texas.
Directed by David Gordon Green; written by Ben Jacoby; starring Seth Rogen, Mark Ruffalo, Logan Lerman
"The Newsroom" [H.B.O. June 2012]
 | Initial title "More As This Story Develops"; 10-episode mini-series centering on goofy anchor Jeff Daniels, with Sam Waterston as the president of the news division, Jane Fonda as owner of the network, and Emily Mortimer as the exec producer; other regulars include Alison Pill, Dev Patel, John Gallagher Jr., Olivia Munn & Thomas Sadoski; created, co-written & co-exec produced by Aaron Sorkin; added 4/2013: second season will air beginning in July 2013
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • full credits at IMDb • series entry at Wikipedia |
"Quiz Show" [1994]
Directed by Robert Redford; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110932/
"Ribbons In The Sky" [China]
 | Apparently a Chinese-language B-movie; as the financial crisis of the 1990s sweeps across Asia, the three color television magnates from China, Japan, and Korea ally and yet compete with each other • not listed on IMDb Guangzhou Beauty Culture Commns. color DVD [3/2007] for $15.99 |
"Soap" TV series [1977–81] /tt0075584/
"Soapdish" [1991] /tt0102951/
starring Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Robert Downey Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Cathy Moriarty
http://www.amazon.com/Soapdish-Sally-Field/dp/B00005QTAV/
"El Fuego Caliente (The Hot Fire)" remake of "Soapdish" [Paramount 2015?]
Announced 9/2010: Paramount will film a Latin-themed remake of the 1991 cult comedy that takes place
on the set of a telenovela, with hitmaker Rob Reiner set to produce •
latest info at IMDb
"Switching Channels" [1988] /tt0096203/
Directed by Ted Kotcheff, starring Christopher Reeve, Kathleen Turner, Burt Reynolds
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004X63SKQ
"Television: The First 50 Years"
 | 2-hour TV special
containing film clips, newsreels, stills, and exclusive interviews with television greats such as: Steve Allen, James Arness, Tom Arnold, Ed Asner, Adrienne Barbeau, Ernest Borgnine, Carol Burnett, George Burns, Edd Byrnes, Joan Collins, Walter Cronkite, Joyce DeWitt, Angie Dickinson, David Duchovny, Dale Evans, Jamie Farr, Norman Fell, Lou Ferrigno, Anne Francis, Robert Fuller, Peter Graves, Linda Gray, Shecky Greene, Larry Hagman, Monty Hall, Tom Hanks, Johnathon Harris, David Hasselhoff, Charlton Heston, Ron Howard, Ted Knight, Bernie Kopel, Jay Leno, Art Linkletter, Harry Morgan, Hugh O'Brien, Carroll O'Connor, Maury Povich, Victoria Principle, Tony Randall, Carl Reiner, Isabel Sanford, Tom Selleck, bandleader Doc Severinsen, Jerry Springer, Robert Stack, Rod Steiger, Jerry Stiller, Larry Storch, Gale Storm, Lea Thompson, Dick Van Patten, Robert Vaughn, Dennis Weaver, Henry Winkler, Alan Young; plus film clips from "The Steve Allen Show", "Milton Berle", "Red Skelton", "I Love Lucy", "Your Show of Shows", "Art Linkletter", "Gunsmoke", "Colgate Comedy Hour", "Jack Benny", "Mickey Mouse Club", "Jackie Gleason", "Howdy Doody", "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Cisco Kid", "One Step Beyond", "Untouchables", "WKRP in Cincinnati", "Saturday Night Live", "Burns and Allen", "Donna Reed", "Leave It To Beaver", "Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea", "You Asked For It", "Dobie Gillis", "Dallas", "Dragnet", "Shindig", "Batman", "Star Trek", "Hee Haw", "BayWatch", "Laugh-In" — and Many More!
full credits at IMDb • Passport Video 100-min. b&w/color DVD [4/2003] for $12.99 |
"Television: Window To The World" TV documentary [History Channel 1999]
episode of the "Modern Marvels" TV series [1993-2015]
 | Quite thorough history of the television industry, although David Sarnoff's evil business deeds are minimized • Series creator Bruce Nash; exec producer Charlie Maday; co-written & co-produced by Josh Hanig & Chuck Hayes; featuring narrator Harlan Saperstein, broadcast historian Laurence Bergreen, Sarnoff biographer Ken Bilby, broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite, director Michael Ritchie, with archive footage of John Logie Baird, Alexander Graham Bell, Milton Berle, Allen B. DuMont, Thomas A. Edison, Philo T. Farnsworth, Herbert Hoover, Bob Hope, Charles Francis Jenkins, Jerry Lewis, Guglielmo Marconi, Dean Martin, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Marilyn Monroe, Earl Muntz, Edward R. Murrow, William Paley, David Sarnoff, Harry S. Truman, Charles Van Doren, Orson Welles, Vladimir K. Zworykin
A&E Home Video color DVD [4/2005] for $9.43 episode credits at IMDb • watch full episode [8/2017 upload; 44:56] online at YouTube |
"There's ... Johnny!" comedy series podcast [Hulu Original Nov 2017] /tt6483198/
seven episodes produced by Comedy Dynamics; young Andy becomes a gofer at "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", circa 1972 Hollywood;
starring Ian Nelson & Jane Levy •
watch 11/2017 official trailer [2:07] online at YouTube
"31 Minutes" aka "31 Minutos, la Película" [indep March 2008]
 | In Spanish with English subtitles; based on the very popular Chilean parody television series of 2003-2005; when the news producer is kidnapped by evil millionaires, the whole Muppet-like '31 Minutes' Action News Team embarks on a quest to rescue him • Co-written & co-directed by Alvaro Díaz & Pedro Peirano; co-written by Daniel Castro & Rodrigo Salinas; with Tulio Treviño, Juan Carlos Bodoque, Juanin Juan Harry, Patana Tufillo, Policarpo Avendaño & Mario Hugo DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb • official movie site |
"Tootsie" [1982] /tt0084805/
"Trapped By Television" [Columbia Pictures June 1936]
 | A combination of sci-fi and comedy; a scientist hoping for financial backing for his television invention tangles with a crooked businessman and gangsters. Directed by Del Lord; starring Mary Astor, Lyle Talbot, Nat Pendleton, Joyce Compton & Thurston Hall Alpha Video b&w DVD [8/2004] for $7.98 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
watch "Trapped By Television" [1:03:37] free online at Internet Archive
"TV Golden Age Theater" TV dramas on DVD [2005-2009]
    |
Volumes 1-6 DVD Box Set [2007]
Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD set [8/2007] 6 disks for $32.49 - save $15.39 over disks 1-6 below contains 24 b&w half-hour TV drama episodes from "Cavalcade of America" NBC series, "Four Star Playhouse" CBS series, "General Electric Theater" CBS series hosted by Ronald Reagan, "The Star and The Story" series hosted by Henry Fonda, "TV Reader's Digest" ABC series hosted by Hugh Reilly, and "Telephone Time" CBS series hosted by John Nesbitt – see below for disk details Volume 1: Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [12/2005] for $7.98 contains 4 half-hour episodes from “General Electric Theater”: “Feathertop” Dec 1955 starring Natalie Wood, John Carlyle & Carleton Carpenter; “Let it Rain” Dec 1955 starring Ronald Reagan & Cloris Leachman; “The Honest Man” Feb 1956 starring Jack Benny, Charles Bronson, Zsa Zsa Gabor & Jack LaRue; and “The Golden Key” May 1956 starring Joe E. Brown, Kenny Delmar & Van Dyke Parks Volume 2: Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [12/2005] for $7.98 contains 4 half-hour episodes from “General Electric Theater”: “Estaban's Legacy: Jan 1956 starring Ricardo Montalban, David Colmans & Sid Cassel; “In Summer Promise” Jan 1956 starring Joan Fontaine, Scott Marlowe & Betsy Palmer; “The Easter Gift” April 1956 starring Macdonald Carey, Robin Lawson, Michael Allen & Edward Brian; and “The Hat With Roses” May 1956 starring Gisele MacKenzie, Margaret Barker & Joseph Sullivan Volume 3: Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [8/2006] for $7.98 contains 4 half-hour episodes: "A Place of His Own" from "Four Star Playhouse" Oct 1953 starring Charles Boyer, Ralph Moody, Jeanette Nolan & Ellen Corby; "The Adolescent" from "Four Star Playhouse" Oct 1954 starring Ida Lupino, Hugh Beaumont & John Doucette; "The Brainwashing of John Hayes" from "TV Reader's Digest" Nov 1955 starring Vincent Price & Steven Geray; and "The Golden Junkman" from "Telephone Time" April 1956 starring Lon Chaney Jr., Leslie Dennison & Corey Allen Volume 4: Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [12/2006] for $7.98 contains 4 half-hour episodes: "Dark Stranger" from "The Star and The Story" Jan 1955 starring Edmond O'Brien & Joanne Woodward; "The Wild Bunch" from "Four Star Playhouse" Feb 1955 starring Charles Boyer, Natalie Wood, Barbara Stuart & Tommy Cook; "America's First Great Lady" from "TV Reader's Digest" March 1955 starring Gloria Talbott, John Stephenson & Richard Ney; and "Payment In Kind" from "The Star and The Story" Jan 1956 starring Howard Duff, Beverly Garland & Hal March Volume 5: Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [12/2006] for $7.98 contains 4 half-hour episodes: "A String of Beads" from "Four Star Playhouse" Jan 1954 starring Angela Lansbury, George Macready, Nigel Bruce, hosted by Ronald Colman; "The Bomb" from "Four Star Playhouse" Feb 1954 starring David Niven, John Dehner & Anthony Marsh; "The Boy Nobody Wanted" from "Cavalcade of America" May 1956 starring Johnny Crawford, Virginia Gregg & James Nolan; and "Don Marshall's Brat" from "Cavalcade of America" March 1957 starring Russell Johnson, Patty McCormack & Paul Fix Volume 6: Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [4/2007] for $7.98 contains 4 half-hour episodes from “General Electric Theater”: "Man On The Train" Jan 1953 starring David Niven, Alan Napier & Gordon Richards; “Sound Off, My Love” Feb 1953 starring Merle Oberon, Barbara Billingsley & James Seay; "House For Sale" Dec 1953 starring Ida Lupino, George Macready & Howard Negley; and “The Story of Emily Cameron” March 1956 starring Ida Lupino, Scott Forbes & Arthur Space Volume 7: Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [4/2008] for $7.98 contains 4 half-hour episodes from “General Electric Theater” starring Ralph Ballamy, Joe Louis, Alan Ladd, Harry Belafonte & Ethel Waters Volume 8: Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [11/2009] for $7.98 contains 4 half-hour episodes from “Crossroads” starring Jeff Morton, Richard Denning, Richard Carlson & Vincent Price Volume 9: Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [11/2009] for $7.98 contains 4 half-hour episodes from “Four Star Playhouse” starring Charles Boyer, David Niven, Chuck Connors, Barbara Billingsley & William Schallert Volume 10: Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [12/2009] for $7.98 contains 4 half-hour episodes from “Crossroads” starring Pat O'Brien, Robert Montgomery, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef & Martin Milner |
"The TV Set" [ThinkFilm April 2007]
 |
A comedy about the stressful process of getting a television series sold and aired.
Written & directed by Jake Kasdan; starring David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Judy Greer, Fran Kranz, Lindsay Sloane, Justine Bateman & Lucy Davis Fox widescreen color DVD [9/2007] for $17.99 full credits from IMDb |
"U.H.F." [Orion Pictures July 1989]
 |
A compulsive gambler wins a near-bankrupt UHF TV station in a poker game and hires his loser nephew to manage it. But Channel U62 becomes a success, and when the uncle decides to sell to a competitor to pay off new gambling debts, the station staff rebel.
Co-written & directed by Jay Levey; co-written by & starring 'Weird Al' Yankovic; also starring Michael Richards, Kevin McCarthy, Victoria Jackson, David Bowe, Stanley Brock, Gedde Watanabe, Billy Barty, Fran Drescher, Anthony Geary & Trinidad Silva
M.G.M. widescreen color DVD [6/2002] for $7.99 Orion Home Video color VHS [6/94] out of prodn/used Volcano Records soundtrack CD [7/89] 12 tracks for $11.98 full credits from IMDb • official movie site |
"Wrong Is Right" [Columbia April 1982]
 | Positively prescient satire of television news reporting, anticipating by more than a decade the rise of ruthless tabloid TV, that has an ace reporter trying to hunt down two missing suitcase-size nuclear bombs that are for sale on the black market • Co-produced, adapted & directed by Richard Brooks; loosely based on the Charles McCarry novel "The Better Angels"; starring Sean Connery, George Grizzard, Robert Conrad, Katharine Ross, John Saxon, Henry Silva, Hardy Krüger, G.D. Spradlin, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Webber, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dean Stockwell & Rosalind Cash
Sony widescreen color DVD [3/2004] out of prodn/used Columbia/Tri-Star color VHS [7/2002] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
 | "The Better Angels" [1979] by Charles McCarry Thirty-plus years ago, the author predicted that a lantern-jawed Eastern liberal would lose to a cowboy with ties to oil in a stolen election for the U.S. presidency; the plot also involves Islamic terrorists intent on obtaining nuclear weapons Overlook Trade 8x5½ pb [1/2010] for $11.66 Fawcett mass pb [3/82] out of print/used Overlook 9x6 hardcover [3/2008] for $19.72 Dutton/Hutchinson hardcover [7/79] out of print/many used |
movies with background of old time or modern radio
at Spirit of America Bookstore
Magic Lantern's Television & Radio Networks Page
Magic Lantern's History of Cinema Page
Books About Hollywood & Cinema History
here on Magic Lantern's History of Radio & TV Pages
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