Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Let me begin this review by saying that the "Studio One" DVD releases from Canada's Video Service Corp. (VSC) set the standard by which all subsequent "Studio One" releases should be judged, at least as of this writing. VSC included the option of viewing the episodes with or without the original Westinghouse commercials and also included a short (10 minute) featurette about the series. The series began in 1948 and ran a full decade and, arguably, was the best of the live dramatic anthology series of the era. Only a small portion of the series has survived over the years via kinescopes, so when "new" episodes are brought to DVD, it's worth noting.
"Studio One Presents Suspense" is Alpha Video's second release of "Studio One" episodes. Their first release, titled "Mars Invades the Earth" included the docudrama "The Night America Trembled" that recreated the Orson Welles radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds;" that episode had previously been released on one of the VSC discs. The "Suspense" disc includes two murder mysteries from the second season of "Studio One." The better of the two is "Two Sharp Knives" adapted from a Dashiell Hammett story and originally broadcast on November 14, 1949. The episode was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner (billed as Frank Schaffner) who would go on to direct prestigious feature films like "Planet of the Apes," "Patton," and "Papillon." The episode starred Stanley Ridges, and well known character actors like Abe Vigoda, Len Lesser, and Frank Marth all had small, early roles in this episode. The second episode "There was a Crooked Man" was broadcast on June 19, 1950 and starred Robert Sterling who would go on to later fame as "George Kirby" in the television version of "Topper." This episode was directed by Paul Nickell, a prolific television director from the late 1940s through mid-1960s. Viewed today, neither episode is particularly exceptional, but they are noteworthy in that they showcase "Studio One" producer Worthington Miner's desire to keep the shows visually interesting via flowing camera movement . . . the live cutting from one scene to the next must have been a nightmare for the technical directors and crews and, occasionally, mistakes were made.
Alpha's visual presentation of the two episodes is fair . . . nothing to write home about, but watchable and the audio is very good for such an early series that was recorded on kinescopes. Both episodes omit the "Studio One" opening title sequence and all of the Westinghouse commercials, but include both opening and closing credits and have running times a little over 50 minutes, suggesting that these are complete episodes as far as the dramatic content is concerned. Strangely, during the episode "There was a Crooked Mile," an onscreen logo for "Mill Creek Entertainment" appears for a second or two, suggesting that Alpha may have "borrowed" this episode from another releasing company.
While the "Studio One" DVD releases from VSC are a better showcase for this series, those interested in television production from the medium's earliest days will find enough in this release to merit inclusion in their collections.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Studio One Presents Suspense (Two Sharp Knives / There Was a Crooked Man) (2007)
Two tales of murder and mystery from the Studio One dramatic anthology television series.
No comments:
Post a Comment