For fans of classic television there’s no better name than Studio One. Many a big star got their start on the live television broadcast and this was in the day that television was looked at as an educational tool and not the idiot box. Some fine productions see the light of day again with this groundbreaking, historical set.
A short time ago, I got a really good deal on some sets of the Twilight Zone that I had been missing. One of the sets features a biographical documentary on Zone creator Rod Serling. Some of the clips used in the bio were from Studio One and it made me wish that a more comprehensive set of episodes would show up besides the few that had been currently released on DVD and VHS. Lo, the DVD Gods heard my pleas and this fine set arrived on my doorstep.
Well, it wasn’t that dramatic but it was welcome. Studio One was a dramatic series that started on radio in 1947 and made the leap to television in 1948. It would run for ten years, under varying titles, and would give rise to all number of stars as well as numerous Emmy nominations for the program.
Two of their productions would be so well received that they would make the leap to the big screen, Twelve Angry Men and Dino. Even better is that for years the Studio One production of Twelve Angry Men, which won three Emmys, was considered lost and was only discovered in 2003. It makes a triumphant return in this set.
The set also contains productions of 1984, An Almanac of Liberty, The Arena, Confessions of a Nervous Man, Dark Possession, The Death and Life of Larry Benson, Dino (with an Emmy nominated performance by Sal Mineo), Julius Caesar, June Moon, The Medium, Pontius Pilate, The Remarkable Incident at Carson Corners, The Storm, The Strike, Summer Pavilion, and Wuthering Heights.
In those days television was considered a teaching tool and a way to get culture to the people. It’s interesting that some of the productions are based on plays that were on Broadway at the time and television was being used as a tool to get a slice of culture out on the airwaves.
Many an actor got their big break on the show and the set features performances from Jack Lemmon, Sal Mineo, Charlton Heston, Elizabeth Montgomery, Lee Remick, Eva Marie Saint, and many others. There are many other stars referenced in the documentaries on this disc and one hopes, if those productions exist, that their shows might make it out in a second set.
I was also a bit disappointed that the previous releases from Studio One that have made it to DVD are not included in this set. Being that those titles, Sentence of Death, Laughmaker, the Defenders, etc., were from a different DVD releasing company that may be understandable, but I would’ve liked to have seen the productions included here so that the set would have all the titles available on DVD.
The pricey nature of the set would’ve definitely been made a bit more palatable if consumers could’ve gotten those previously released productions. Those niggles aside the set is a wonderful document of a bygone era of television production. The show tries to present a bit of culture on a shoestring budget.
The rare nature of these shows means that they’re in varying quality, but it’s wonderful for them to be seen again.
The Anthology is presented in fullscreen. Special features include a 52 page booklet detailing the history of the show with contributions by author Gore Vidal and others. I don’t know if you’d consider it a special feature but the shows are also presented with their original commercials.
There are also a seminar on the show from the Paley Center for Media (77 minutes), an excerpted (why not the whole thing?) interview with director Paul Nickell (11 minutes), “Voices from the Archives” (19 minutes) that interviews some of the famous faces that appear on the show as well as those behind the scenes, and a short featurette (10 minutes) about the history of the show (that appeared on the previous DVD releases).
I’m always fascinated by history, especially entertainment history, and this set delivers a wonderful look back at the age of live television. The price tag may be a bit high but those interested in looking back or seeing some stars before they were stars can gaze into the television once again.
Studio One Anthology is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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