Coronet Blue coming from Kino Lorber (1 Viewer)

[Neil Brock]

I watched the A Dozen Demons episode and there is no scene that the Amazon reviewer describes in it ("At the very end of the episode, a monk tells Alden a poem about Saint Anthony wrestling with the Devil and going to the city. It's only about 45 seconds, but it's missing"). For what it's worth, the episode on the Kino Lorber set clocks in at 49:55 in terms of length.

I have the episode off a black and white film print so I can check it out.

 

[Neil Brock]

Ah, one more point. The theme music is normally sung by Lenny Welch. However, at the end of episode #4, someone else sings the title tune over the end credits. Don't know why or if it's related to something in the episode.

What's the episode title? I can check it with my copy from my collection.

 

[Darby67]

I have the episode off a black and white film print so I can check it out.

Thanks, Neil; I appreciate you taking the time to looking into it.

 

[Harry-N]

I've watched three episodes to this point. We watched the first episode, the the second one on Disc One, and last night we did the fourth one on Disc One.

I noticed looking at the Wikipedia entry for this series that the episode order that CBS ran them was haphazard at best based on production order, which is why I skipped to the fourth episode, really #3 in Production order. I'll probably skip all the way to Disc Four now to pick up the second episode, then try to continue in production order, skipping #6, which I've already seen.

I also made an insert and moved the discs to a clear one so I could have the insert show through like most of the CBS sets do these days. The insert was composed of the text from Wikipedia, placed in the disc order with the episode #s clearly delineated. Here's that text:

DISC ONE



Episode #1 – A Time to Be Born
Originally aired: May 29, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 001
Writer: Albert Ruben • Director: Paul Bogart • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden), Joe Silver (Max Spier). Guests: Susan Hampshire (Alix Frame), Donald Woods (Paul Frame), Bernice Marsi (Margaret), Chester Morris (Dr. Michael Wilson), Jon Cypher (Ewan McBurney), James Nobel (Lt. Stevens), Robert Burr (Vincent), Louise Troy (Joyce), Jane Holzer(Herself).
A man called “Gigot” by an assailant is pulled from a river, but has no memory of his past except two words--"Coronet Blue". He is rehabilitated and gives himself the name "Michael Alden" and begins his trek to "find his past" but soon realizes he is targeted for assassination.


Episode #6 – The Assassins
Originally aired: June 12, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 006
Writer: Albert Ruben • Director: Lamont Johnson • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden), Joe Silver (Max Spier). Guests: Signe Hasso (Lucille Seller), Janet Margolin (Riva), Edward Binns (Lyle Seller), Cal Bellini (Omeran), John Vernon (Ali), Fred Scollay (Gunther).
Alden is reunited with people who claim to be his parents. But when certain things do not add up, he begins to wonder if they "really are" who they say they are.


Episode #11 – The Rebels
Originally aired: June 19, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 011
Writer: Robert Van Scoyk • Director: Sam Wanamaker • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden). Guests: Jon Voight (Peter Wicklow), Richard Kiley (Dr. Courtland), David Carradine (Walter Arnold), Candice Bergen (Enid Toler), Addison Powell (President Marshall), Ray Middleton (Chief Loomis), Anita Sheer (Myra Kingsley).
Alden gets between a revolutionary and the reaction.


Episode #3 – A Dozen Demons
Originally aired: July 3, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 003
Writer: Robert Crean • Director: David Greene • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden), Joe Silver (Max Spier), Brian Bedford (Brother Anthony). Guests: Lynda Day George (Jenny Straigh), Donald Moffat(The Rector), John Beal (Maurice Straigh), House Jameson (Manitee).
Brother Anthony is a young monk who may hold a clue to Michael Alden's real identity after he sees Alden's likeness in a painting.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISC TWO



Episode #4 – Faces
Originally aired: July 10, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 004
Director: Robert Stevens • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden). Guests: Hal Holbrook (Carey Thomas), Martin Huston (George Thomas), Mitchell Ryan (Oscar Davis), Phyllis Thaxter (Mrs. Barclay), Cec Linder (Vincent Schuster), Mart Hulswit (Carlton Hobbs), Michael Walker (Cooper), Joanna Roos (Mrs. Hope).
Alden is drawn to a town where it is certain he knew a young woman who was killed two years ago.


Episode #8 – Man Running
Originally aired: July 17, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 008
Writer: Art Wallace • Director: Sam Wanamaker • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden), Joe Silver (Max Spier). Guests: Juliet Mills (Margaret Crowell), Denholm Elliott (Roger Crowell, Imposter), Bramwell Fletcher (Roger Crowell), Carlos Montalbán (Raul Estrada), Rene Enriquez (Sanchez), Alan Ansara (Gomez), Ralph Thomas (Detective), Colleen Kelly (Waitress).
Alden unwittingly gets caught up in a plot to kill a political figure and his daughter.


Episode #9 – A Charade for Murder
Originally aired: July 24, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 009
Director: David Pressman • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden), Joe Silver (Max Spier), Brian Bedford (Anthony). Guests: Jack Cassidy (Spangler/Demier), Bernice Massi (Margaret), Brenda Vaccaro(Julie), Robert Burr (Vincent), Robert F. Lyons (Carl), Roy Scheider (Building Manager), Paul Sparer (Frisch), Richard Bright (Harry).
Anthony gets set up for murder when he is mistaken for Alden.







DISC THREE





Episode #12 – Saturday
Originally aired: July 31, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 012
Writer: Alvin Sargent • Director: David Greene • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden), Joe Silver (Max Spier). Guests: Doug Chapin (Walter), Miles Chapin (Lonny), Arthur Sussex (Sharp), Neva Patterson(Aunt Maggie), Charles Randall (the man), David Hartman (the waiter), Mark Kearney (Benjy).
Alden spends a Saturday with a boy who is facing the responsibilities of life.


Episode #13 – Presence of Evil
Originally aired: August 7, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 013
Writer: Robert Crean • Director: Sam Wanamaker • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden), Joe Silver (Max Spier), Brian Bedford (Brother Anthony). Guests: Joseph Wiseman (Nataseh), Viveca Lindfors(Kyra), Susan Tarr (Angele), Judi West (Nedda).
Alden and Anthony are drawn into a psychic's strange plot to kill Alden.


Episode #5 – Six Months to Mars
Originally aired: August 14, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 005
Writer: Stanley R. Greenberg • Director: David Greene • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden). Guests: Alan Alda (Clay), Patrick O'Neal (Perkins), Walter Moulder (Ross), Barbara Blake (Susan), Jock Gaynor, Billy Dee Williams (2nd technician), Dennis Patrick (Jackson).
Alden attempts to help an astronaut during an experimental project.






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DISC FOUR





Episode #10 – The Flip Side of Timmy Devon
Originally aired: September 4, 1967 on CBS Production Code: 010
Writer: Albert Ruben • Director: David Greene • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden), Joe Silver (Max Spier), Brian Bedford (Brother Anthony). Guests: Murray Kauffman (Big Hart), Dick Clark (Brunswick), Peter Duchin (Perry), Sally Kellerman (Polly), Bruce Scott (Devon), Pamela Toll (Paula), Gene Bua (First Figure).
Alden feels he may have a key to his identity when he knows the words to a song that has only just been released.


Episode #2 – Where You From and What You Done?
Originally scheduled to air: June 5, 1967 Production Code: 002
Writer: Edward DeBlasio • Director: Sam Wanamaker • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden), Joe Silver (Max Spier). Guests: Laura Devon (Ava Lou Springer), Haila Stoddard (Mrs. Winters), Vincent Gardenia (The Man), Martha Greenhouse (Phillie Woman), Tanya Elliot (Sis), Joe Bennett (Stanley).
Alden meets a strange young woman who swears she knows who he is but he suspects that she is not all she appears to be.


Episode #7 – Tomoyo
Originally Scheduled to Air: June 26, 1967 Production Code: 007
Writer: Waldo Salt • Director: David Greene • Regulars: Frank Converse (Michael Alden), Joe Silver (Max Spier). Guests: Keye Luke (Yaslito Omeko), Dan Travanty (Raffie), Cely Carrillo (Tomoyo).
Alden becomes caught up in a karate group with links to the Mafia when he recognizes a young Asian woman.

 

[Neil Brock]

The last 2 are I believe the ones that CBS never aired.

 

[Flashgear]

'Where you from and What you Done?' was never aired because of CBS breaking news live coverage of the Arab - Israeli Six Day War, which broke the same day, June 5, 1967. The war triggered a major crisis (DEFCON 2) between the USA, NATO and the Soviet Union. The crisis took weeks to settle down, Israel being victorious.

'Tomoyo' was never aired because of CBS breaking news live coverage of Operation Buffalo in Tay Ninh province, South Vietnam... the aftermath of Operation Junction City earlier in the year, which was the largest airborne operation of the war...and for a live Presidential Address... the bombing campaign (Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam, which LBJ had just ordered resumed...CBS News was really ramping up their CBS Reports live broadcasts, especially in the summer of 1967 as the crescendo of combat operations intensified in South Vietnam.

'A Dozen Demons' was also not seen at all in some network time zones, and especially so for CBS owned stations, some of which may have aired it later on the night of July 3...some affiliates postponed it's airing to another night later that week...the reason for all this being CBS breaking news coverage of the battle of Con Thien in South Vietnam...the worst single day casualties (Killed in Action and Wounded) for the US Marine Corps in the entire War...

June-July 1967 was full of dramatic breaking International news...and that summer saw the widespread race riots in urban America too...and then with MLB and even NFL preseason football bumping Coronet Blue to a much later airtime, or even another night throughout the summer... especially with CBS affiliates in the East... So, continuing with the irony, even KL's DVD release was postponed this summer...a cursed show, it would seem.

I have the new KL set and am thrilled with the transfers...as far as there being some scene near the end of 'A Dozen Demons' being absent from the KL transfer, but being present on the old TV Land broadcast, I must say I'm still confused..comparing them, it's the KL transfer that is fully complete (except maybe, 'bumpers'), nothing is missing as the TV Land airing was cut...I don't know if the theme song heard over the closing credits is indeed a different vocalist or perhaps just an alternate arrangement also recorded with the same singer, Lenny Welch...who knows?

Here's another unanswered question...I wonder if CBS's hesitation to schedule Coronet Blue for the fall of 1965, and then again for the summer or fall of 1966 despite being a color show, had something to do with CBS's very successful summer airings of the Great British ITV import, Secret Agent with Patrick McGoohan? (April to Sept. 1965, Dec. 1965 to Sept. 1966) ...As much as I love the cool vibe and effective intrigue of Coronet Blue, Secret Agent is by far the superior 'Spy' show...and one that probably cost CBS a lot less than even a half season order of Coronet Blue...

 

[Bob Gu]

I remember reading it was a regime change at CBS, and the last minute renewal of SLATTERY"S PEOPLE, knocking CORONET BLUE aside. All the other series, on CBS, from the Coronet Blue production company, Plautus, were cancelled by fall of 1965, THE DEFENDERS, THE DOCTORS AND THE NURSES, and FOR THE PEOPLE. Plautus's ESPIONAGE on NBC was also gone by fall 1965.

 

[Ian K McLachlan]

My copy of this finally arrived yesterday after being delayed somewhat. I enjoyed the interview with Larry. This is a series I never knew existed but seems to be something along the lines of The Prisoner and Nowhere Man both series of which I really enjoyed. I wonder if it was ever screened over here in Britain? There were so many excellent shows made in America in the 1960s. And I far prefer them to what is made in Britain and America today (with a few exceptions). I would be interested to know the views of people who are seeing this for the first time. Is it what you expected? Is it better or not so good as what you thought that it would be...? Thanks.

 

[Harry-N]

I remember liking the series back in 1967, and other than the theme that sticks in your head, I don't recall *any* of the stories, so it's playing like a new show for me. Someone else upthread mentioned THE PRISONER as a similarity, and I'm beginning to see that. Some of CORONET BLUE's camera moves and colorful settings are somewhat reminiscent of THE PRISONER, and I can't deny that NOWHERE MAN is sort of a latter-day inverse.

It was popular in the '60s and '70s to have a main character in a series develop amnesia for a time, so having CORONET BLUE's protagonist have that for the entire run isn't all that unusual.

Currently I'm still only three episodes in and will be jumping to the production #2 on the fourth disc next.

 

[JohnHopper]

I would be interested to know the views of people who are seeing this for the first time. Is it what you expected? Is it better or not so good as what you thought that it would be...?

I just discovered the series and watched the first four episodes. It's a very strange and exciting series with an erratic sense of pace.
Sometimes, it plays like an espionage paired with a college student version of The Fugitive.
I really like “The Assassins” because of the plot that involves fake parents and a fake girlfriend: the theme of simulacrum.
Some stories are very intimistic and touchy despite the fragmented framework.
I'm impressed by the exterior shots of New York: it looked so real and gave the impression to watch a documentary.
I didn't expect anything: I bought it by sheer curiosity and above all, because it was very rare.
The transfers are crisp and clean. Too bad, they omitted English subtitles.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

I watched a couple of episodes of Coronet Blue, back when TV Land ran it, many years ago, but most of these are new to me, including the pilot episode. So far, the show is very much in the same tonal neighborhood as The Fugitive, Route 66, Run for Your Life and The Invaders, with the espionage and amnesia being its unique hooks for this sort of drama. It shares the paranoia (along with The Fugitive and The Invaders), mind games and some of the quirkiness of The Prisoner, but Coronet Blue's "Michael Alden" gets out and about far more than does The Prisoner's "Number Six", in his rather self-contained, restricted world.

I'm trying to watch these in production order, and the plot of the second episode I've watched, "Where You From and What You Done?", could just have easily happened to the protagonists of Route 66, The Fugitive or Run for Your Life. Since I did see a couple of episodes earlier, I sort of knew what to generally expect (human drama with some small bursts of action/ suspense), and since I like the shows I've name-checked here, and love '60s espionage series, this set at the very least meets my expectations, unless there are any clinker episodes awaiting me that I'm currently unaware of.

 

[JohnHopper]

I'm now at disc 3 and the series is too off-topic and vain.
The writers tend to stay away from the original concept and merely focus on Michael Alden's new friends.
We never know how does the friendship with owner of the bar Max start? It's too rushed from time to time.
It gives the series a futile orientation.

 

[disctrip]

I remember liking the series back in 1967, and other than the theme that sticks in your head, I don't recall *any* of the stories, so it's playing like a new show for me. Someone else upthread mentioned THE PRISONER as a similarity, and I'm beginning to see that. Some of CORONET BLUE's camera moves and colorful settings are somewhat reminiscent of THE PRISONER, and I can't deny that NOWHERE MAN is sort of a latter-day inverse.

It was popular in the '60s and '70s to have a main character in a series develop amnesia for a time, so having CORONET BLUE's protagonist have that for the entire run isn't all that unusual.

Currently I'm still only three episodes in and will be jumping to the production #2 on the fourth disc next.

Yes, I loved the theme. I also am a fan of Lenny Welch. When the show aired you could get the theme on his L.P. "Two different Worlds" and also on a 45 rpm. For those of you old enough to know what a 45 is. The 45 is hard to find but the album is available on Ebay.

 

[Guy Foulard]

I remember reading it was a regime change at CBS, and the last minute renewal of SLATTERY"S PEOPLE, knocking CORONET BLUE aside. All the other series, on CBS, from the Coronet Blue production company, Plautus, were cancelled by fall of 1965, THE DEFENDERS, THE DOCTORS AND THE NURSES, and FOR THE PEOPLE. Plautus's ESPIONAGE on NBC was also gone by fall 1965.

I've been enjoying this short-lived show a lot. Too bad they didn't manage to wrap it up!

One detail that makes sense for a 1967 show that was actually filmed in 1965: Broadcast episode 3, The Rebels, with Jon Voight, David Carradine, and Candice Bergen was a loose fictionalized version of the UC-Berkeley Free Speech Movement sit-ins from late 1964, with Voight playing a blond version of Mario Savio. If it had been shown in fall 1965, it would have been very on-trend. By Summer 1967, Vietnam would have been a much bigger issue on campus.

 

[JohnHopper]

I see Coronet Blue as part of a “1960's format about a man with a quest” that was first initiated by
the series The Fugitive and ended up with The Invaders, also created by Larry Cohen: what a funny coincidence?

Unfortunately, Coronet Blue tends to be a teenager-oriented series and not a true blue espionage series.
Coronet Blue suffers from the abundances of digressions that don't help in the solving of the identity case.

 

[Mark Tay]

I watched the A Dozen Demons episode and there is no scene that the Amazon reviewer describes in it ("At the very end of the episode, a monk tells Alden a poem about Saint Anthony wrestling with the Devil and going to the city. It's only about 45 seconds, but it's missing"). For what it's worth, the episode on the Kino Lorber set clocks in at 49:55 in terms of length.

This video starts with the missing footage from the Kino Lorber DVD:

 

[Neil Brock]

I just watched the episode last night, A Charade for Murder, which is one I don't recall having seen. Really strange episode. Converse isn't in it for the first half of the episode and the wrap-up is really weak. They discover that an actress was in on trying to set up Alden for murder. Two of the agents who are after Alden try to kill her and Alden and his friends save her and the agents get away. Then it cuts to the three of them sitting with her at the bar and having a good laugh. That's how it ends. So what if those people are still out there and will try to kill to kill her again. Have a drink, episode over!

 

[Purple Wig]

A friend just told me Decades is having an N.Y.P.D. marathon next weekend. I have a gray market set of this great series but I hope this means we might get an official release.

 

[Purple Wig]

 

[Neil Brock]

Do we know we that scene at the end of A Dozen Demons is missing on the DVD?