For more than a decade, the most creative talent and productions were often found on television--from the early days of TV to about 1960. During this time, several shows brought home audiences live full-length dramas--often written for TV. The writers and actors you see in these teleplays are astounding when you see them today. Rod Serling got his start here and many of these teleplays went on to be Academy Award-winning and classic films when Hollywood remade them for the silver screen (such as "Marty" and "Requiem for a Heavyweight").
This particular installment of "Studio One" is among the very earliest of these productions and it's not surprising that the production and despite this, it is well-made. Fortunately, when these programs were broadcast live, they were often copied using a Kinescope so that they could be re-shown later on the West Coast (due to the time zone difference). Now the copies are far from beautiful--with such primitive equipment, the results were a bit blurry and hard on the eyes. But, despite this, we are lucky to have even these copies--so many of these early productions are gone.
Apart from featuring Jack Lemmon and Eva Marie Saint before they were stars, there isn't a lot to recommend this particular episode--though, as I said, there were many wonderful productions. The story seemed awfully clichéd and rushed--and just never felt all that real. It's the story about a nice young guy who wants to gain fame in the big city as a song writer. On the way, he meets a sweet young lady. However, and wow have we seen this before, the attractions of this new life result in him losing track of this lady--and falls in the clutches of an evil lady who only wants him for his new fame and money. And, naturally, by the end he realizes he's been an idiot and his old lady friend takes him back (why?!) and they live happily ever after.
I sure can respect the work that went into this production--too bad the writing wasn't up to snuff. And, don't let the dullness of this one fool you--"Studio One" was a wonderful show and even such a fine show can have a letdown.
This particular installment of "Studio One" is among the very earliest of these productions and it's not surprising that the production and despite this, it is well-made. Fortunately, when these programs were broadcast live, they were often copied using a Kinescope so that they could be re-shown later on the West Coast (due to the time zone difference). Now the copies are far from beautiful--with such primitive equipment, the results were a bit blurry and hard on the eyes. But, despite this, we are lucky to have even these copies--so many of these early productions are gone.
Apart from featuring Jack Lemmon and Eva Marie Saint before they were stars, there isn't a lot to recommend this particular episode--though, as I said, there were many wonderful productions. The story seemed awfully clichéd and rushed--and just never felt all that real. It's the story about a nice young guy who wants to gain fame in the big city as a song writer. On the way, he meets a sweet young lady. However, and wow have we seen this before, the attractions of this new life result in him losing track of this lady--and falls in the clutches of an evil lady who only wants him for his new fame and money. And, naturally, by the end he realizes he's been an idiot and his old lady friend takes him back (why?!) and they live happily ever after.
I sure can respect the work that went into this production--too bad the writing wasn't up to snuff. And, don't let the dullness of this one fool you--"Studio One" was a wonderful show and even such a fine show can have a letdown.
