Dan and Israel are in pre-Revolutionary Philadelphia (Israel is older than in some 1790's episodes, but oh well), and are confronted with two problems - by British decree, Boonesborough supplies can only be purchased with pounds, not furs, and Benjamin Franklin's (Fredd Wayne) printing press has been confiscated.
Two always-welcome Revolution-themed episodes in a row, and this one reverts to another DB urban adventure. The hour showcases Fredd Wayne, who enjoyed a sub-career portraying Franklin on stage and screen. I originally thought "1776's" Howard Da Silva had a corner on the role during the Bicentennial, but Wayne does a fair turn as a more soft-spoken Franklin. He is supported by a fairly realistic home set showcasing Ben's technical prowess. Englishman Peter Bromilow takes his third turn in DB as a British officer - all different characters, unfortunate he could not have been given a recurring role.
We see Darby Hinton angling for larger roles now that Israel is growing into adolescence; at a dinner table dialogue he questions Dan and Franklin about the ethics of using counterfeit money to fool the British. A precursor of what might have been had the series extended another 5-7 years. The local British garrison is the perfect foil for Dan's plotting, foppish and dense.
But with every Rev. War helping of eye candy, so comes the spinach of inauthenticity. In the run-up to the war's outbreak, Franklin was engaged in London as an agent for Pennsylvania; his Philadelphia press was never confiscated; there was no British garrison in Philly until midway through the war in 1777, and the British Army did not have a monopoly- or was even involved - in selling supplies for frontier settlements during the prewar period. Reference is made to British Gov. William Denny, but he was in office 1756-59, during the French and Indian War period.
But, expectations of a purist should be minimized when looking at a 1969 NBC production; the hour is well-paced and performed good service in introducing Bicentennial-era youngsters to Franklin and his works.
Two always-welcome Revolution-themed episodes in a row, and this one reverts to another DB urban adventure. The hour showcases Fredd Wayne, who enjoyed a sub-career portraying Franklin on stage and screen. I originally thought "1776's" Howard Da Silva had a corner on the role during the Bicentennial, but Wayne does a fair turn as a more soft-spoken Franklin. He is supported by a fairly realistic home set showcasing Ben's technical prowess. Englishman Peter Bromilow takes his third turn in DB as a British officer - all different characters, unfortunate he could not have been given a recurring role.
We see Darby Hinton angling for larger roles now that Israel is growing into adolescence; at a dinner table dialogue he questions Dan and Franklin about the ethics of using counterfeit money to fool the British. A precursor of what might have been had the series extended another 5-7 years. The local British garrison is the perfect foil for Dan's plotting, foppish and dense.
But with every Rev. War helping of eye candy, so comes the spinach of inauthenticity. In the run-up to the war's outbreak, Franklin was engaged in London as an agent for Pennsylvania; his Philadelphia press was never confiscated; there was no British garrison in Philly until midway through the war in 1777, and the British Army did not have a monopoly- or was even involved - in selling supplies for frontier settlements during the prewar period. Reference is made to British Gov. William Denny, but he was in office 1756-59, during the French and Indian War period.
But, expectations of a purist should be minimized when looking at a 1969 NBC production; the hour is well-paced and performed good service in introducing Bicentennial-era youngsters to Franklin and his works.
