A Quinn Martin Production (1 Viewer)

[Flashgear]

On a positive note, I can tell you that a previously unavailable QM show was transferred within the past few weeks to a modern tape format. No other info as to what this means, be it for a DVD release or a TV sale. I'm sure it wasn't done for no reason so I'm sure we should be seeing it announced shortly as to where it will be going.

Thank you Neil Brock for that positive news...very good to hear, and it does lift the spirits...

 

[Flashgear]

I asked Warner Archive on Facebook about Banyon...their rep responded promptly last evening with "...clearance issues preclude a release of Banyon at this time"... In the realm of speculation, perhaps these issues relate to the show's creator Ed Adamson's estate (Adamson died during late production)...or perhaps the Leonard Rosenman or Johnny Mandel music presents some conflict...or some popular period copyright music used in the body of some episodes...or a literary source conflict in an adapted teleplay...in their responses about this or any other TV show or feature film, they never say never about giving up on securing clearances...when the issues arise from the terrible state of existing film elements, they say so... ( as they recently stated about 1969's Richard Thomas and Barbara Hershey film Last Summer, which is frequently asked about)...

I notice that The New Breed is apparently owned by Buena Vista Television...I hope that Kino-Lorber's coming foray into vintage TV becomes as active as their feature film output...they recently announced a deal with Disney/ABC for over 100 titles (most of these feature films and only a few thus far announced... some choice vintage Selznick films, '80s Touchstone)...even if they thought that such a rather obscure show as The New Breed had potential, the needed new transfers for 36 hour long episodes would be an obstacle...but this company does go the extra mile, just as long as it makes commercial sense...just musing...

Thanks to Neil Brock's encouraging information about the recent tape transfers of a previously unavailable QM show,...I would guess Tales of the Unexpected...only 8 episodes...but I think that is a show that fans would jump on...or it's Dan August...that would be good too...I can't imagine it would be the toxic Caribe, ha, ha...

 

[Neil Brock]

Rest assured, its not Caribe.

 

[swan4022]

This is not exclusive to QM Productions, but I have noticed at least three designations for QM actors: 1) Guest Stars, 2) Special Guest Stars, and 3) "And...As...." For example, I just watched a season 7 episode of The FBI, in which Earl Holliman, LQ Jones and Jim Davis were the Guest Stars, and Henry Silva was the Special Guest Star. A few episodes earlier, Jeanette Nolan had the billing, "And Jeanette Nolan as...." It's fun to notice these patterns. (I prefer to look away from the screen and turn the sound down during the star introductions, to see if I can guess them all myself, then after viewing the episode, I watch that part. That also increases the surprise when someone like, say, Ida Lupino shows up midway through an episode!)

 

[Doug Wallen]

Watched "Genesis" from The Invaders this afternoon. Episode reminded me a little of Invasion of the Body Snatchers/Frankenstein with the "pod/creature" being some type of created primordial ooze given life by stimulating this in a saltwater bath being hit by manufactured lightning. It was easy to tell who the aliens were in this one and who they were controlling. An interesting take on the basic story, just sort of pedestrian in the execution of the story.

Terriffic guest cast: Frank Overton, John Larch, Louise Latham, Phillip Pine, Carol Rossen and in a small role, Jonathan Lippe (Goldsmith)

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

Alan, the story of Tom Moore's letter being framed on the wall of Quinn Martin's office at Goldwyn Studios is found on page 32 of Jonathan Etter's book "Quinn Martin, Producer"...William Conrad might have said much the same thing to Quinn, but at least their relationship was one of close and collaborative friendship...as opposed to QM's combative relationship with ABC head of programming Tom Moore...he resented the exclusive long term development deal that Quinn had forged with the CEO and Board of the network...of course,none of it made sense, as at the time ABC was facing the fade of their many Warner produced Westerns and Detective shows and desperately needed some new hits...the same season that Moore botched the renewal of QM's The New Breed, he also faced a roasting in a FCC commission hearing in Manhattan Federal Court at Foley Square...called by a FCC broadcast standards and practices panel in October 1961...part of that row concerned some of the early season episodes of the new (and monumentally Excellent) show Bus Stop...that was nothing compared to the roasting he received upon recall to another FCC hearing in January 1962...in the aftermath of the complaints in congressional juvenile delinquency hearings by senators and representatives...all about the infamous teen psycho killer episode "A Lion Walks Among Us" with teen heart throb Fabian as the charismatic killer...Moore was thus highly sensitive to sponsor feedback to standards and practices about ABC shows...after cancelling Bus Stop, he considered not airing the last few episodes, but burned them off in April anyway...the very last being the immortal, chilling and for some, scary "I Kiss Your Shadow" with George Grizzard and Joanne Linville...this is all context and relevant to the contemporary cancellation of The New Breed...the sponsor feedback being a push for less violence and no controversial themes like teen pregnancy and "cool" juvenile delinquents...interesting that CBS and their sponsors found much less push back over season 1 of The Defenders, which pursued much the same themes, including the most open examination of Abortion yet seen on American TV...that very same spring of 1962...incidentally, CBS was roasted by the FCC over Alfred Hitchcock Presents, that same season...the infamous not to be aired episode "the Sorcerer's Apprentice"...you know, Diana Dors accidentally and for real cut in half...ha, ha...

It was NBC that had AHP and did not air "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in the series season 7, so Hitch took his show back to CBS the next season and became The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, of course!

 

[Jack P]

and in a small role, Jonathan Lippe (Goldsmith)

He greeted the aliens by saying, "Stay thirsty, my friends."

 

[Doug Wallen]

Took in "Vikor" from The Invaders this afternoon. This episode is much better than the one before it. Nice to see the story utilize the depression that returning vets feel (even from the Korean "police action"). As someone who has not served, I don't know if I will ever understand the readjustment failures that vets feel. Loss of a limb and diminished mental abilities canceled out Vikor's chances and set him on his quest for power. I feel this is the type of story that each episode should be, David getting caught up in the personal lives of others with the aliens providing the background. I felt for each of these characters, well not for Mr. Nexus.

Guest Cast: Jack Lord, Alfred Ryder, Diana Hyland and Richard O'Brien

 

[Flashgear]

Took in "Vikor" from The Invaders this afternoon. This episode is much better than the one before it. Nice to see the story utilize the depression that returning vets feel (even from the Korean "police action"). As someone who has not served, I don't know if I will ever understand the readjustment failures that vets feel. Loss of a limb and diminished mental abilities canceled out Vikor's chances and set him on his quest for power. I feel this is the type of story that each episode should be, David getting caught up in the personal lives of others with the aliens providing the background. I felt for each of these characters, well not for Mr. Nexus.

Guest Cast: Jack Lord, Alfred Ryder, Diana Hyland and Richard O'Brien

I like this episode too, Doug...I agree that Jack Lord is quite good in this...and Alfred Ryder is one of those guest stars that I always look forward to seeing...I'm not sure that I could fully describe why that is...he's very effective and reliably good in revisiting nearly the same prototypical role over and over again...really all he was allowed to do...but a lot of those characters were not one dimensional, being conflicted and sometimes vulnerable too...quite often, he was just the vaguely threatening, or even, creepy foreign guy...even though he was born in NYC...I'm sure he was often up against Nehemiah Persoff, Oscar Beregi, Oscar Homolka, John Van Dreelen, Albert Paulsen, David Opatoshu, and others in casting for his many TV appearances... he was a QM favorite...I'm sure all those guys were in the same filing cabinet in the casting agencies, ha, ha...but he was also understudy to Lawrence Olivier on Broadway in "The Entertainer"...and was Uncle to Sean Penn in real life...

I haven't watched The Invaders lately, was Alfred Ryder the only recurring Alien on that show? I know he was in 3 episodes at least...a lot of early b+w TV appearances come to mind for me...his fine work on Naked City and Route 66, especially "And Make Thunder His Tribute", one of the best episodes of that series...on Dr. Kildare in "The Glory Hunter"...his weird and wonderful work on One Step Beyond, "Devil's Laughter", "Forests of the Night"...Outer Limits "The Borderland"...Combat!, the vengeful German Officer in "The Hunter"...professor Crater in Star Trek's "Man Trap"....the "Phantom" on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, ... maybe the only recurring villain on that show too?...he had a high profile role in the John Wayne Oscar winning film True Grit...but he retired from film and tv in the '80s to devote his remaining years to the stage...

As far as a Quinn Martin Production coming to blu-ray soon...I'm really looking forward to having QM's one and only theatrical feature film on blu...Kino Lorber is releasing The Mephisto Waltz (1971) on April 18...the chilling and effective horror film staring Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Parkins and Curt Jurgens...QM favorites William Windom, Bradford Dillman and Antoinette Bower are in this also...this movie scared the hell out of me as a teenager, what with the Satanic rituals, Soul exchange, Hell Hounds and sexy nudity knocking me all over the map emotionally...the Great Franz Liszt music with un Godly and un nerving sounds in the night interspersed among the Great classical piano concerto...Great Music composed for the film by Jerry Goldsmith too...being a theatrical film, it is a lot more explicit and violent then anything QM could do on TV , of course...and stuff like this is usually not my cup of tea, but this is very well done and essential to a QM collection...some elements seen here in The Mephisto Waltz turn up again in QM's short run supernatural and science fiction show Tales of the Unexpected in the late '70s...the Hell Hounds with glowing red eyes in the episode "The Devil Pack"...still scary for me, even with it being toned down for TV...I'm a scaredy cat, I guess...

 

[Carabimero]

Kino Lorber is releasing The Mephisto Waltz (1971) on April 18...the chilling and effective horror film staring Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Parkins and Curt Jurgens...QM favorites William Windom, Bradford Dillman and Antoinette Bower are in this also...

I'm looking forward to seeing this soon...

 

[Rick Thompson]

I've been watching the Season 1 (volume 2) episodes of The Untouchables, and have been surprised at how good the show was. I'd forgotten (haven't seen volume 1 for a while). It's got all those QM production values, even though Quinn was then working for Desilu Productions as exec producer. Particularly impressive is the two-part "The Unhired Assassin."

 

[Doug Wallen]

Forgot to add this to my post on The Invaders - "Vikor" yesterday. Episode aired in 1967, right before Jack Lord became McGarrett on 5-0 in 1968. In this episode, David Vincent using an alias is hired as a chauffeur driving a big black Lincoln . Just a trifle ironic to me.

 

[Doug Wallen]

The Invaders - "Nightmare"

Rather pedestrian MOW involving enhanced/programmed insects. Shades of North By Northwest with all the activity in the fields. Sinister townspeople (aliens) wary of strangers.

One thing I have noticed is that no one from earth takes David seriously, but the aliens sure do. His mere presence seems to scare them into making bad choices. Why does David have such a hard time gaining allies? Seems like he encounters at least one X-File every week, someone should be out there "wanting to believe". I guess Mulder hasn't had his sister abducted yet.

Seriously, each week he has an unexplained encounter, you would think that some government official would begin putting 2 + 2 together. I guess that was just the era this was produced in, win one or two each week but truly unable to advance the overall arc to have more believers.

Oh well.

Guest cast: Robert Emhardt, Jeanette Nolan, Kathleen Widdoes, James Callahan, William Bramley

At least the next episode looks to be much better based on the opening act.

 

[Doug Wallen]

I'm down to the last episode of The Invaders disc 2, "Doomsday Minus One" starring William Windom and Andrew Duggan (where is Lancer by the way?). This episode is so much better that the previous one. Once again, a small anti-war sentiment plays out with the General's motivation - trying to figure out which is more humane: changing the earth's orbit over prolonged nuclear war. A choice for Solomon being made by a disillusioned General.

Probably should have seen more soldiers attacking the enemy in the desert and the anti-matter explosion seemed a bit lackluster for something that was to have changed the earth's orbit. Special effects on a 60's tv budget just didn't go very far.

Great way to end the second disc.

 

[BobO'Link]

Boy, Doug... you're really making me want to get out my "unwatched" S2 set and dig in! I've had both seasons since shortly after they came out but just haven't made time for S2, although since it's a old favorite I really should have watched it by now. I know I missed a few of those episodes during the original run and part of my foot-dragging is simply that once I've watched it I'll not have it waiting to enjoy. I know that sounds somewhat contradictory but I've always had a "Save the best for last" mentality about stuff. The "new" books/comics/music/movies I want to read/hear/see most I usually save for last. My deeper problem is that I add stuff faster than I can consume it so am always behind. Based on that I really need to change that "best for last" mentality as if I keep it I may never get to some things.

 

[Carabimero]

I'm down to the last episode of The Invaders disc 2, "Doomsday Minus One" starring William Windom and Andrew Duggan (where is Lancer by the way?). This episode is so much better that the previous one. Once again, a small anti-war sentiment plays out with the General's motivation - trying to figure out which is more humane: changing the earth's orbit over prolonged nuclear war. A choice for Solomon being made by a disillusioned General.

Probably should have seen more soldiers attacking the enemy in the desert and the anti-matter explosion seemed a bit lackluster for something that was to have changed the earth's orbit. Special effects on a 60's tv budget just didn't go very far.

Great way to end the second disc.

DOOMSDAY MINUS ONE is probably my favorite episode of the series. Glad you're enjoying the show!

 

[JamesSmith]

It's funny after reading all this, I really want the Manhunter series out.
--James

 

[Doug Wallen]

Well, finally found the time to start disc 3. It started off with a bang - "Quantity: Unknown".

A really great cast certainly elevated this episode. I was surprised to see William Tallman (Hamilton Burger???) guest starring as an alien!!! Then you add in James Whitmore, Milton Selzer, Susan Strasberg, Barney Phillips and Douglas Henderson. WOW.

It was such a strange scene where Vincent is accused of being an alien. Great retelling by Whitmore of his family's encounter with the aliens. Whitmore's character seems to have been fighting the aliens longer than David. Who can he trust. Great suspense in this one. I am not buying Whitmore's act. What a double cross, Vincent as an unwitting pawn, until the last minute. Good job selling the relationship between guard and David. Amazing waterfall fight and fiery conclusion to the cylinder. Excellent episode.

For David Vincent, every friend is a potential enemy. His enemies understand this. Someday, perhaps, his friends will, too.

 

[Doug Wallen]

Episode 9 - "The Innocent"

Starring William Smithers (Capt. Merick and Jeremy Wendell), Michael Rennie (Klaatu), Paul Carr, Frank Marth, Dabney Coleman

Another stellar lineup of guest stars. The story is a mash up of "It's A Wonderful Life" and "North by Northwest". Benevolent aliens making all of David's dreams come true and all for the good of the human race. I think they added to many "good" things to David's dream (the girl). Glad he was able to see his way out of that. Great character by Smithers as a man concerned for his family. Dabney Coleman give a nice turn as a military person seeking out David Vincent. There must have been a secret underground info board ... "Seen an alien, call David Vincent 555-????"

Nice to see David safely control the car in the direct rip off from NxNw.

Another fine episode of this show.

A trip to a nightmare world. A committee disbanded. Another defeat, another hope lost for David Vincent - maybe. Or maybe it's a hope begun.

 

[Doug Wallen]

The Invaders - Episode 11 - The Betrayed

Ed Begley, Norman Fell (Mr. Roper), Laura Devon

At least in this one David has been working for Carver Oil for three months as an architect (constructing a factory building). I was glad to see that his employment was addressed. At least we know he is able to finance his adventures. Always nice to see Ed Begley pop up in these QM shows. Such a fine character actor. Liked the maguffin in this episode (the tape). Always good to see Norman Fell (we really need Dan August!). He gives a very good supporting performance.

Intriguing episode. Having more trouble finding time to slide this show in with my shrinking available tv time. A more personal story this time around. A fairly good episode to me. I like these personal stories.

David Vincent has found proof that the Invaders are here. Minutes after dawn, he seeks out Simon Carver, owner of the enormously successful Carver Oil Company. Now, finally, three months of waiting and watching are about to pay off.

A girl's life. For David Vincent, a very personal reason why the war must go on, why the world must be alerted, why the Invader must be destroyed.