ZANE GREY AND THE HORSE THIEF

It can be debated among literary connoisseurs whether Zane Grey was truly a legend of the Western story genre, but few can debate his stories of the American frontier did not leave behind a strong influence towards the writers that followed (including Max Brand and Ernest Haycox). His novels and short stories were given new life with motion-picture adaptations, and his name now command respect in the field where he dramatized through prose the adventures of cattle rustlers, ranchers and love on the plains. 

Every year I manage to find time to read one or two Zane Grey stories. The primary reason is because Fran Striker, who created The Lone Ranger radio program, could not have written so many western stories without having read some himself. His high school yearbook discloses The Desert of Wheat (1920) as his favorite novel, hence the connection. Curiosity has always been my vice, eagerly hoping to find some plot or character that Striker may have “borrowed” for the radio dramas, but to date I have found very little of anything beyond flimsy coincidence.

 

Personally, I found the writing of Zane Grey to be hit or miss. Sometimes the prose was magnificent (suggesting he took time to re-write and polish his novel or story multiple times) while other stories are written hap-hazard as if he was facing a strict deadline. Sometimes he wrote stories with Indians as the principal characters (Blue Feather, which I found intriguing at first and then dragged during the second half) while others were essays (Quaking-Asp Cabin which devoted too much time setting up the story before the story truly began). 

 

Recently, however, I discovered The Horse Thief (originally published as Outlaws of Palouse in Country Gentleman in 1934). This was not only one of the last of the magazine serials that Zane Grey published due to the Great Depression (magazines could no longer afford his prices, even though he agreed to take a lot less money than he had been being paid), but the best story I read in the last few years. This was a wonderful story set in the “Northwest,” the region of Washington/Oregon. Dale Brittenham was a young ranch hand who took it upon himself to fetch a number of prized horses that were stolen by horse thieves, ultimately killing the men responsible. This led to the revelation that one of the ranchers in the area was quietly hiring horse thieves to steal prime stock. Through a clever means of selling off the stolen goods from both sides of a valley, selling east to west and then west to east, Dale leads the charge against the guilty culprits – but not before being accused of the crime by the very individuals who (as respected citizens of the community) are stealing the horses. 

 

It turns out this story was adapted into a 1936 motion-picture, End of the Trail, starring Jack Holt, through Columbia Pictures. I have not yet watched the movie but I will place this Zane Grey story on the top of the list for good reads. All of which is a long-winded way of saying how it is a darn shame Zane Grey’s writing was all over the map and – like television anthologies – one has to go through four or five dismal stories to enjoy a great one. But that great one certainly made up for the time I spent reading the others.

 

My next venture will be Riders of the Purple Plains (1912), considered one of his best novels, and historically his best-selling novel.

 

BEAR MANOR MEDIA BOOK REVIEWS: From Dorothy McGuire to Betty Lynn

A box of books arrived on my doorstep from Bear Manor Media, a publishing house that is cranking out a number of great books, almost the equivalent of one a week. A few of them in the box warrant mention just in case these books slip under the radar. All four of these, in my opinion, are worthy of purchasing if the subjects are of interest to you.

ADAMANT: The Life and Pursuits of Dorothy McGuire

By Giancarlo Stampalia

Dorothy McGuire remains one of the most beloved stars of Hollywood. An actress of sincerity, dignity and natural beauty, she graced film, radio, television and theater for nearly half a century, delivering unforgettable performances in such classic movies as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and the suspense thriller, The Spiral Staircase. Yet no biography has been written about her—until now. Adamant is intended not as a definitive biography, but rather as an attempt, which investigates, reveals and examines, with microscopic tenacity, the many facets of McGuire’s personal and professional history, drawing on a wide range of sources, including personal reminiscences of friends, colleagues and family and the author’s own frequentation of the actress.

 

The reasons for the author’s self-deprecating definition of Adamant as an attempt hinge on the definition of exactly what one is attempting when one writes a biography. The loose strands of philosophical, literary and spiritual Leitmotifs that are woven through the book’s exploration and culminate in its unusual conclusion make it less a biography than a moral, or alchemical, study of Dorothy McGuire. This loving tribute takes the metaphysical route and makes observations not only about its immediate subject but also about the art of acting, personal evolution and virtues, and, most importantly, the act itself of writing a biography.

 

 

BECOMING THELMA LOU

By Betty Lynn and Jim Clark

Long before becoming beloved by generations of Mayberry fans for her portrayal of Thelma Lou, the ever-patient sweetheart of Barney Fife, Kansas City native Betty Lynn lived a life filled with interesting adventures and fascinating people. Her role on television’s The Andy Griffith Show was cemented as a television icon because of her numerous appearances at film festivals and conventions, including her annual return visit to the Mayberry Days festival.

In her own words, augmented by 140 rare photos, Betty Lynn shares the sometimes bittersweet, often surprising, and always inspiring story of her remarkable life. From her wartime service in India and Burma to sharing the spotlight with entertainment royalty from New York to Hollywood, Betty always remained grounded in her Midwestern values and strong faith.

Her 26 appearances on The Andy Griffith Show are not the only thing documented in this book. The actress who played roles in Sitting Pretty (1948), Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) and Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), and performed on tour for the USO, is also remembered as Viola Slaughter on Disney’s Texas John Slaughter (1958-1962). This is her story. Fans of The Andy Griffith Show will want to have a copy of this book.

  

 

IDA LUPINO: Beyond the Camera

By Mary Ann Anderson

Ida Lupino did not want to be an actress; composing and writing were her major interests. The actress branched out into film directing and producing in 1949, becoming one of two women to enter the male dominated field. She was the only woman ever to direct an episode of The Twilight Zone, among other television programs. While her feature films were primarily aimed at a female audience, other films such as The Hitch-Hiker, based on the spree killer Billy Cook, written, directed and produced by Ida Lupino, has become a classic film noir. Life Magazine did a piece on the 60th Anniversary. "No one ever asked me to direct a love story!" Ida Lupino once remarked. 

 

There is not much available on the actress and this book helps contribute to her legacy. Mary Ann Anderson has written about Lupino multiple times and this book adds to that ever-growing library.

 

 

ELISSA LANDI: Cinema’s Empress of Emotion

By Scott O’Brien

I could not provide better praise for a biography than Scott O’Brien’s latest entry, a biography about Elissa Landi. If you were to ask me which Hollywood actresses needed a book documenting their personal life and screen career, Elissa Landi would have been on the top ten list. (Also on the list would be Helen Twelvetrees and Ruth Chatterton.) 

 

Cecil B. DeMille boosted the career of Elissa Landi in The Sign of the Cross (1932). Her leading men included Laurence Olivier, Fredric March, Cary Grant, and then Robert Donat in The Count of Monte Cristo (1934). After 33 films, Landi gave up on Hollywood, to focus on her career as a novelist. Did not know she wanted to write novels? Neither did I. 

 

Allegedly the actress was born the illegitimate granddaughter of the tragic Empress Elisabeth of Austria (a fact or fiction still in debate). She receive co-star billing in such films as The Masquerader (1933) with Ronald Colman, Enter Madame (1935) with Cary Grant, and After the Thin Man (1936) with William Powell and James Stewart. Because she was offered more trivial films than A-pictures during that decade of her career, Landi eventually abandoned Hollywood and returned to the stage where she starred in innumerable plays on Broadway, in London, and on tour. Far too young, she tragically died in 1948 from cancer.

 

Scott’s books have garnered positive reviews in such publications as Classic Images, Sight & Sound, and SF Gate. Three of O’Brien’s books have made the Huffington Post’s “Best Cinema Books of the Year.” And deservingly so. 

The Phil Harris and Alice Faye Restoration Project

The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, was a comedy radio program which ran on NBC from 1948 to 1954 starring Alice Faye and Phil Harris. Harris had previously become known to radio audiences as the band-leader-turned-cast-member of the same name on The Jack Benny Program  while Faye had been a frequent guest on programs such as Rudy Vallee’s variety shows. After becoming the breakout stars of the music and comedy variety program The Fitch Bandwagon, the show was retooled into a full situation comedy, with Harris and Faye playing fictionalized versions of themselves as a working show business couple raising two daughters in a madcap home. But what few do not know is that the comic adventures were – in some aspect – based on their real-life family adventures. The season opener of 1952-1953 had the narrator open with an explanation that Phil Harris had just returned from England with his new automobile and was working on the engine in the drive-way. Turns out Harris really was in England that summer and he did buy a roadster.

 

A few years ago over 2,000 photographs were scanned from an archive containing Phil Harris and Alice Faye’s family and publicity photos, including awards and achievements. We have been digitally restoring the images for a future book project. Below, for your amusement, are a few of those photos chosen at random. (Almost random. I did select the one with the roadster so you can see what it looked like.) The photos, by the way, were the initial scan and not the digitally restored renditions.

I am trying to identify the man on the far right. Help!

the

Rare Old-Time Radio Photographs

Over the past two decades, I made it a habit of scanning photographs of old-time radio personalities from every archive I had access to. Recently cataloging the tens of thousands of photographs, labeling each photo accordingly, I came across a number of them that are truly rare and more than likely never seen in decades. So I wanted to take a moment to share them with you. 

Ben Bernie and Lupe Velez

Victor Moore

Virginia Jones

Hildegarde

Edgar Bergen

A young Gale Gordon.

John Houseman

Jackie Kelk

Mel Allen

Raymond Edward Johnson

Poison Gardner

Nila Mack of Let's Pretend

Shirley Temple

The "LOST" SERGEANT PRESTON OF THE YUKON Adventures

Initially titled Challenge of the Yukon, the Sergeant Preston radio program started out in 1939 as a 15-minute series with massive epics in serial format. By 1940, the series evolved into single adventures (and sometimes two-part adventures). Broadcast "live" over the Michigan Radio Network, the program could be heard in Chicago, northern Indiana and Ohio, and certain sections of Canada where radio receivership (and superb weather conditions) could allow someone with a superb radio set to pick up the broadcasts. The program never went national until 1947. It was not until 1943 that the radio broadcasts were recorded on transcription discs. All of which makes these 1940 plot summaries treasured. Over the years I have been reading those pre-1943 radio broadcasts to fill in the gaps, progressing to a complete broadcast log of each and every radio adventure. The plots below are from radio scripts where recordings do not exist. (The plots are rough draft, not final draft.)

By the way, it would not be until the broadcast of May 30, 1940, that Tom Dougall began assigning script titles. 

Episode #121 [NO TITLE LISTED]

Broadcast March 7, 1940

Copyright Registration D-69068, script received at Registration Office March 18, 1940.

Written by Tom Dougall.

Plot: Sergeant Preston and Pierre drove South on the Yukon from Lamont, on the trail of three men named Bart Hayden, Scar Reynolds and Lefty Mike who robbed a company store. Stopping at a cabin along the wide expanse of Lake Bartlett, they meet an old time named Pop Hanson. 

The old man helped guide our heroes to Windward Pass, where they could cut off the path, then asked for a favor. Mike is his son and the crime accused was the boy’s first. Mike loved a girl named Sally and her father was very ill. It was quite possible the boy stole the money to help the girl. Pop asked Preston to not hurt the lad. The criminals, however, attempted to thwart their pursuers by pushing a boulder off the cliff and starting an avalanche that roared down the steep side of the bluff. Before it reached bottom, Preston, Pierre and Pop found shelter. Risking his life, Preston climbed the bluff to reach Mike, who was alone fetching firewood. Upon learning the boy was a witness to the crime but never committed the act, and was forced to go along with the criminals, Preston handed Mike a gun to help assist with the capture. The confrontation led to a broken wrist and a wounded shoulder, but the Mountie got his men. As for Lefty Mike, he would receive the reward money – and the boy wanted to help Sally’s father.

 

Episode #122 [NO TITLE LISTED]

Broadcast March 14, 1940

Copyright Registration D-69284, script received at Registration Office March 26, 1940.

Written by Tom Dougall.

Plot: Sergeant Preston was working in Dawson for nearly six months when he returned to Beaver City, where he was assigned a new case from Inspector Conrad. Shortly after Preston left for Dawson, the Yukon Trading Company sent a new man to take charge of their post in the Lost River district. He was a crook. He robbed the company and he robbed the Indians. It was not until his assistant quit and came back to Beaver City that the Inspector learned what was going on. Miaku, the chief of the local Indians, however, did not like the idea of being cheated and the tribe went on the warpath. Manson managed to escape his post and fled, was arrested, tried and convicted. Miaku and his tribe were still on the warpath, a party of trappers were captured, and Miaku sent a warning: the next white man to cross Stormy Ridge will die. Preston and Pierre were the first white men to defy the new law. Miaku would not believe Preston’s insistence that the white man who cheated them is facing the law and our heroes are tied up. Condemned to die by fire, Preston asks for water as a last request and instead of drinking it, he used it to put out the fire. Further discussion convinced Miaku that the white man wanted to be friends. 

 

Episode #123 [NO TITLE LISTED]

Broadcast March 21, 1940

Copyright Registration D-69280, script received at Registration Office March 26, 1940.

Written by Tom Dougall.

Plot: While stationed in Beaver City, Sergeant Preston learned that the manager of the Yukon Trading company branch roused the post. Robbers had broken into his store during the night and stole $20,000 in gold dust, waiting for shipment to White Horse. Inspector Conrad put Constable Edwards on the case, to question all suspicious characters in town, check on all the trails and way cabins, etc. Preston was sent to Bitterroot Valley to deliver supplies and a bag of mail. The Sergeant and Pierre set out on the windswept trail for the north and along the way he stopped to deliver a letter to Matt. Outside the cabin, Matt insisted no one came through in the last few days, but takes a moment to read the letter from his friend. After Preston and Pierre leave and continue on their way, Matt returns to his cabin to face the two criminals who were hiding inside. Moments later, the door was busted open and King attacked one of the men while Preston handled the other. The crooks were Canora Pete and Al Maitland, both of whom have records. Matt tipped off the Sergeant not by what he said when he read the letter, but because he was blind and could not read – an oversight the criminals were not aware of.

 

Episode #124 [NO TITLE LISTED]

Broadcast March 26, 1940

Copyright Registration D-69403, script received at Registration Office April 6, 1940.

Written by Tom Dougall.

Plot: Sergeant Preston and Pierre were on the trail from Bitterroot Valley. They were forced to take shelter in an isolated cabin during a blizzard. After a few minutes, Preston discovers the two residents of the cabin, prospectors Jerry Carr and Slim Brandon, do not acknowledge each other’s existence. It seems they lived together for so long that even a whistle or a sneeze is a deliberate intent to be annoying to the other. In an attempt to cure them, Preston creates a scenario whereby he decides to abuse his position and orders the men to decide who goes out to fend for themselves. There is not enough food for the four of them and the blizzard rages on. He suggests they settle the dispute with a game of cards. The men, panicking, insist they have the right to stay – even crediting the good each has done for the other, reinforcing their friendship. When the prospectors discover the ruse, they laugh and shake hands.

 

Episode #125 [NO TITLE LISTED]

Broadcast April 2, 1940

Copyright Registration D-69439, script received at Registration Office April 10, 1940.

Written by Tom Dougall.

Plot: Information reached police headquarters at Dawson that a criminal who was wanted for a bank robbery in Regina was somewhere in the Yukon. Sergeant Preston and Pierre were sent North to Forty Mile to investigate. One the day they arrived they rented a cabin and while Pierre made the rounds of the cafes in town, the Sergeant treated one of the dogs who had gone lame on the trail. Pierre found Dan Morgan, the man they were seeking, in the Lady Luck café. Dan admits he was wanted in Regina, but asked Preston for the opportunity to teach young Tim a lesson. The youth just married and struck it rich with a vein and is gambling. Tim is striking good fortune and Dan fears the boy will go from a miner to a gambler. Preston agrees to a parlay and lets Dan teach the boy a lesson at the table. Tim returns home penniless whiel Preston agrees with Dan that he will find a way to get the money returned, knowing Tim and Sally have a future. Dan promises to take the difference in winnings and return it to the bank he stole it from, in the hopes that the courts will be lenient. 

The Lost Radio Adventures of "THE GREEN HORNET"

It was not until May of 1938 that The Green Hornet radio program was recorded on a regular basis. Prior, the radio broadcasts originating from WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan, were never heard again after the initial broadcast. No sooner did the broadcast conclude, the actors tossed their scripts into a box in the corner of the room and began rehearsals for the next drama (usually The Lone Ranger). As a result, the first two years of the program does not exist in recorded form. Thankfully we have the radio scripts to consult. Enclosed are plot summaries based on the script pages, "lost" adventures of the masked man and his faithful valet, Kato.

Episode #181 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Tuesday, November 2, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53101, script received at Registration Office Nov. 10, 1937.

Plot: Jack Preston, a junior member of his father’s investment firm, runs up a $5,000 debt in Gangloff’s Plaza Club, an underworld gambling joint. In order to pay off the liability he prefers his father not know about, young Preston is forced into making investments for Gangloff, using someone else’s collateral against his account. Mike Axford and The Daily Sentinel staff have been investigating Gangloff’s illegal and rigged roulette wheels and slot machines, but his indebted victims don’t care to talk. When Reid meets up with young Preston and learns he went into debt, The Green Hornet goes to steal the I.O.U.s that would incriminate the guilty parties — and get back Jack’s I.O.U.

 

Episode #182 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Thursday, November 4, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53102, script received at Registration Office Nov. 10, 1937.

Plot: Police Commissioner Langdon is frustrated that an organization is forcing bums to pay a percentage for rights to panhandle in specific territories. The organization belongs to Ogden Jenks, whose goal is to have Langdon out of office so a new commissioner, one of Ogden’s type, will overlook larger rackets. When Britt Reid learns about a private entrance to Jenks’ office suite, he becomes The Green Hornet and overhears some of Jenks’ conferences. When Jenks tries to murder the commissioner in his secret office, having learned the newspapers won’t run a story against Langdon, The Hornet arranges for reporters and police to find the secret entrance to the private office.

 

Episode #183 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Tuesday, November 9, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53321, script received at Registration Office Nov. 19, 1937.

Plot: John Baldwin, an insurance racketeer, employs Jim Jaundell, former boss of a hi-jacking ring. Jaundell supposedly lives a respectable life, and try as they might, police can find nothing to criticize his conduct. Meanwhile, accidents involving trucks of Five State Corp. continue, but there’s no evidence leading to Jaundell. But Jaundell makes a mistake in attempting a shakedown of Baldwin by committing a murder, and The Green Hornet and Kato set out to stir things up, suggesting a double-cross between the crooks and exposing Baldwin’s insurance racket and Jaundell’s gang-land approach to murder.

 

Episode #184 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Thursday, November 11, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53322, script received at Registration Office Nov. 19, 1937.

Plot: Ormand Weeks operates Ancestors Inc., which charges a fee to prepare a genealogical table for his customers. Weeks profits by “unearthing” material that his high-priced clients do not want public, offering to withhold the information for a price. For those desperate to prove they are legal heirs of a deceased millionaire, he charges a hefty sum for the fake documents. The Green Hornet tries muscling into the racket and when Weeks attempts to trick the masked man into capture by the police, The Green Hornet seeks vengeance by taking letters Weeks wrote that establish his guilt and mailing them. Being merciful, the masked man orders Weeks to get out of town and go honest — or else.

 

Episode #185 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Tuesday, November 16, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53455, script received at Registration Office Nov. 26, 1937.

Plot: The Arnold and Gordon Corp. handles stock sales for Dr. Adrian, who developed an automobile headlight made with polarized glass. Through misrepresentation, crooked stockbrokers cheat investors, and when Britt Reid learns of it from Adrian, he and Kato set out to make Arnold and Gordon pay back every cent they’ve taken, with interest. The Green Hornet tricks the stockbrokers into buying all the stock they can with their own money, and the next day, they learn of its worthless value. Reid, however, plays the stock accordingly and profits enough to make a substantial contribution to a worthy charity.

 

Episode #186 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Thursday, November 18, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53456, script received at Registration Office Nov. 26, 1937.

Plot: Politician Max Miller is trying to profit from the state’s new flood control measure, even though the federal government is taking care of the project. Police Chief Higgens is against Miller’s attempts, so Miller goes public against Higgens. Meanwhile, Damon Pitcairn, head of a concrete construction business, who has profited from graft with previous state projects, gets involved because of what Miller has on Pitcairn. When Britt Reid learns of the ruse, by way of Mike Axford’s disappearance, he sets out as The Green Hornet to steal and extort in order to smash Max Miller’s game and save taxpayers money.

 

NOTES: These plot summaries were reprinted from The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television, by Terry Salomonson and Martin Grams, Jr.

 

William Moulton Marston and The Secret History of Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman, created in 1941, is the most popular female superhero of all time. Aside from Superman and Batman, no superhero has lasted as long or commanded so vast and wildly passionate a following. Like every other superhero, Wonder Woman has a secret identity. Unlike every other superhero, she also has a secret history. Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore has uncovered an astonishing trove of documents, including the never-before-seen private papers of William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman. She published her findings in 2014 in The Secret History of Wonder Woman, a book I highly recommend if you want to gain an appreciation for the fictional crime fighter.

Beginning in his undergraduate years of Harvard, William Moulton Marston was influenced by early suffragists and feminists, starting with Emmeline Pankhurst, who was banned from speaking on campus in 1911, when Marston was a freshman. In the 1920s, Marston and his wife, Sadie Elizabeth Holloway, brought into their home Olive Byrne, the niece of Margaret Sanger, one of the most influential feminists of the twentieth century. When his wife disapproved of Olive's residence in their home, he confessed they were lovers and drew a line in the sand. Ultimately, all three of them lived together under the same roof in extraordinary nonconformity. As an expert on truth, he invented the lie detector test. Do these fact surprise you? 

Cathy Lee Crosby as Wonder Woman

Jill Lepore traveled to numerous depositories, both private and public. From the archives of Columbia University, Mount Holyoke College, the University of Minnesota, Saint Louis University, the Smithsonian, the University of Virginia, and the Library of Congress, among others, the author did the legwork and her finished product is top-notch as a result. While most people in this day and age believe in writing a book based on standard web browsing, in what academics refer to as "cut and paste," Lepore compiled what is the most comprehensive biography of William Moulton Marston, and a deeper understanding of the various elements that make up Wonder Woman. To understand the formation of the character is to understand the creator.

If you want to read the vintage 1944-1945 newspaper strip, which was short-lived, you have a chance to buy a copy of a hardcover compilation here:

http://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Woman-Complete-Newspaper-Comics/dp/1631400282/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458956791&sr=1-1&keywords=wonder+woman+newspaper

One of the more amusing entries in the legend and lore of Wonder Woman is the 1974 made-for-TV movie which is now available commercially on DVD through Warner. A review from Variety magazine is reprinted for your amusement. And they hit the nail right on the head.

The Secret History of Wonder Woman will be consulted in years to come by historians and with the addition of two other books focusing on the comic adventures of the Amazon goddess, make up the essentials for your bookshelves. This is the kind of book that needed the treatment Lepore provided and regardless of the fact that some fans of Wonder Woman may not find this book as entertaining as an encyclopedia documenting every facet of the comic adventures, required a wide distribution from Alfred Knopf. Not only can the untold story be brought to light, but through her efforts the details of Marston and the influence that became Wonder Woman is now preserved.  

PLAYHOUSE 90: A SOUND OF DIFFERENT DRUMMERS

Essay written by Robert E. Tevis and Martin Grams, Jr. 

Henry David Thoreau wrote that: “If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away.”

 

Writer Robert Alan Aurthur applied that concept to a 90-minute teleplay he wrote entitled “A Sound of Different Drummers,” which aired on the evening of October 3, 1957 on the weekly CBS anthology series, Playhouse 90. The title seemed appropriate as it told the story of a man, Gordon Miller, who loses step with his compatriots when he hears the music of the world he has been persecuting and learns of the error of his ways. The concept may also apply in this case to the writer, however, who may have also been waylaid by what he saw or heard “however measured, or far away.”

 

In the teleplay, Gordon Miller (played by Sterling Hayden) lives in a totalitarian future world in which society controls all messages, and where it is forbidden to possess or read books – under the penalty of death. Miller is an enforcer who is tasked with suppressing the illegal intellectual activity. He is a member of a corps of stormtrooper-like “book men” who use electronic devices to find books, execute “readers,” and confiscate their books for eventual destruction. Miller takes the confiscated books to the “library,” where the books are destroyed. He is smitten when he meets the new librarian, Susan Ward (played by Diana Lynn). He becomes conflicted when he sees her save a book. Will he turn her in or will he hear the sounds of her different drum and follow a new path?

Original and memorable teleplays made Playhouse 90 the most respected anthology series during the “Golden Age of Television.” The series would deservedly dominate the majority of television awards (both wins and nominations) and leave behind a legacy that has never been forgotten. For four television seasons, the curtain rose for Playhouse 90 every week with a different production. The goal, which it regularly achieved, was to establish prestige for the network and develop a following among both critics and the everyman who met to discuss the most recent presentation at the watercooler at work. Some of the original Playhouse 90 productions would later go on to become established stage plays and motion pictures including The Miracle Worker, Days of Wine and Roses, Requiem for a Heavyweight and Judgement at Nuremberg.

 

But was Aurthur’s teleplay original, or was he influenced by the sounds of another drummer?

 

Four years prior to Aurthur’s production, Ray Bradbury had written a novel, Fahrenheit 451, which told the story of a nightmare future in which “firemen” were issued orders by the government to seek out books and burn them. The title derived from the temperature at which books burn. Aurthur insisted that his story for Playhouse 90 was original. But Ray Bradbury was not convinced and filed a lawsuit against CBS.

 

Columnist Hal Humphrey of The Los Angeles Mirror News was among the first to break the news – weeks after the initial telecast: “Author Ray Bradbury doesn’t believe TV writer Robert Alan Aurthur when he says he never read Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury has turned the matter over to his attorneys, who will decide if Aurthur borrowed too liberally from Fahrenheit 451 when writing ‘A Sound of Different Drummers’ which was produced on the CBS Playhouse 90 drama series recently. Bradbury says his agents were approached by Aurthur in the spring of 1955 and that he wanted to negotiate for a telecast of Fahrenheit 451 for The Philco-Goodyear Playhouse, for which Aurthur was then story editor.”

Aurthur went on the defensive by speaking to columnist Hal Humphrey, whose syndicated column ran in numerous papers across the country. “I never read Mr. Bradbury’s book,” Aurthur claimed, “but I understand that there were some similarities with my story. For example, in both, reading was against the law. But that is like saying that no two Western stories with a dishonest sheriff should be written.”

Indeed, in April of 1955, Bernard Wolfe, who wrote a few teleplays for The Philco Television Playhouse, approached Robert Alan Aurthur with a proposal to write an adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 for television, believing there was material in the novel for a superb television drama. During story discussions, Aurthur insisted that there were technical problems involved which prevented the program from producing such a story. There was, therefore, no reason to secure the television rights. Producer Gordon Duff, however, read the novel and disagreed with Aurthur. As a result, Aurthur addressed a letter to Don Congdon, Bradbury’s agent, with a proposal and an offer to adapt Fahrenheit 451 for television. An exchange of communications between Duff, Aurthur, and Congdon took place in May of 1955 for potential licensing of television rights.

 

According to Aurthur, when giving testimony in court, his story arose out of an incident told him of a member of one of Hitler’s elite SS, who suddenly discovered that he was married to a non-Aryan, and was therefore confronted with the conflict between his duty to her and to that of his elite corps. Bradbury, however, offered a list of 22 claimed similarities including book burners called “firemen” in Bradbury’s novel, although, Aurthur referred to his enforcers as “book men.”

 

Ray Bradbury’s suit sought $50,000 in damages for the perceived plagiarism. The court heard from both sides and then had to decide whether there was too much similarity between the Ray Bradbury novel and the Playhouse 90 telecast. Thrown into evidence was Aurthur’s seven-page plot synopsis for Playhouse 90 titled “Plague of Darkness,” dated March 27, 1957, and the second draft of the teleplay dated September 5, 1957. 

 

On the afternoon of June 15, 1959, Federal Judge Leon R. Yankwich found that Aurthur’s play did not infringe, in whole or in part, on Bradbury’s works and that no plagiarism was shown. The case was subsequently brought for hearing before an appeals court.

 

On January 20, 1961, the appeals court reversed Judge Yankwich’s decision, holding CBS and Aurthur guilty of copyright infringement on Bradbury’s novel. CBS attorneys then petitioned for a re-hearing. On March 22, 1961, the San Francisco Court of Appeals denied CBS’ petition for a re-hearing of the January 20 ruling. After litigating through three courts to the highest tribunal, writer Ray Bradbury won his case. According to a court of law, Aurthur had indeed been unduly influenced by the Bradbury novel.

 

In early August 1961, the matter was settled for an undisclosed amount in an out of court agreement. 

NOTE: It should be noted that an out-of-court settlement is an agreement between two parties that resolves a dispute and does not include the court’s involvement, except to ratify the agreement and end the proceedings. Out-of-court settlements can have no merit of innocence or guilt, based on the written agreement, but are merely financial transactions to resolve a dispute.

 

BEFORE LYNDA CARTER: WHO’S AFRAID OF DIANA PRINCE?

Following the splashy premiere of 20th Century Fox TV’s Batman on ABC-TV, many Hollywood producers began hunting for comic book vehicles which might be converted to weekly programs. However, a degree of uncertainty was apparent at the top echelon of studios also, with some biding their time on comic books for series, and a few flatly closing the door on them, in the belief that Batman would not develop a trend. 

 

At Fox, which with Bill Dozier’s Greenway Productions initiated the most talked about show of the time, production chief William Self commissioned Dozier to commence negotiations for other comics properties such as Wonder Woman and Dick Tracy. ABC-TV quickly optioned Wonder Woman for a potential series for and a television pilot was made. To keep the budget down, however, a full 25-minute episode was not filmed. Instead, only a five-minute preview of what the series would look like was produced… with Ellie Wood Walker in the lead.

 

Walker grew up in Kentucky, attended Maysville High School, played clarinet in the MHS band and was crowned prom queen her senior year in 1953. Ironically, this would not be the last time we would see her in a tiara. After graduating, Walker left Maysville to attend Northwestern University in Chicago. She went on to leap tall dreams in a single bound and landed a career in show business as one of the June Taylor dancers.

 

In 1962, she married actor, Robert Walker, Jr., who is perhaps best remembered for his role as Charles Evans in the original Star Trek series episode, “Charlie X.”

 

Along with her work as a dancer, Walker acted in summer stock productions and would eventually land roles in films such as the cult classics, Targets and Easy Rider.

 

Meanwhile, beneath stately Wayne Manor, Batman producer William Dozier decided it was time to bring another comic book hero to the small screen. This looks like a job for… Ellie Wood Walker! And history was in the making. Even though the pilot was never televised, she won the coveted role of the world’s first Wonder Woman for the screen!

 

“At the time, I thought it was an audition, but we ended up filming immediately,” Walker recalled. “My step-father-in-law, David Selznick, promoted me, having seen me in an off-Broadway show. He was a fan and friend of William Dozier, the producer of Wonder Woman.” On a casting trivia note: the scene in which Wonder Woman admires herself in the mirror is not a mirror. A double was used for that shot: Linda Harrison, also dressed as Wonder Woman, who would soon go on to play the iconic role of Nova in Planet of the Apes (1968).

 

Filming of the five-minute TV pilot took place at Greenway Studios in 1967. Unlike the sophisticated camp of the successful Batman series, the tone of the Wonder Woman pilot was downright goofy. Despite the brief film, a 14-page story was written by Mad magazine writers Stan Hart and Larry Siegel, to ensure the proposed series would be different from other television programs. Stanley Ralph Ross then wrote a 45-page teleplay, “Who’s Afraid of Diana Prince?” Had executives at ABC-TV given a green light, this teleplay would have become a two-part adventure to serve as the premiere episodes of the weekly series.

 

A second attempt to bring Wonder Woman to television was through an animation studio, Filmation, where executives considered making an animated series based on Wonder Woman. They licensed the rights in 1968 but, sadly, the only thing to come of it was an appearance by Wonder Woman – voiced by Jane Webb – in a 1972 episode of the animated series, The Brady Kids. 

 

Proving the third time was the charm, an animated version of Wonder Woman finally made it in a regular television series as a founding member of Super Friends, in 1973, produced by Hanna-Barbera. Shannon Farnon voiced the female superhero not just in this incarnation, but all other animated renditions from this point until 1983. Farnon got her television break (uncredited) in an episode of Burke’s Law in 1965, followed by roles as a stewardess, a nurse, an island girl, and a neighbor girl on such programs as My Favorite Martian, I Dream of Jeannie, and Bonanza.  

 

A second live-action pilot, simply called Wonder Woman, was filmed in late 1973 and televised as a made-for-TV movie in March of 1974. Actress and tennis pro Cathy Lee Crosby played the title role. The movie served as a proposed pilot but executives at ABC-TV would not agree to a weekly series. The movie does contain a pop-cultural oddity in that it’s based partly on the brief five-year period of the comic book when Diana Prince temporarily lost her super powers, as well as her classic costume, and she was re-imagined as a non-super-powered, mod-dressing Emma Peel-esque adventurer. This pilot is also partly a precursor of the direction that the later TV series would eventually take during seasons two and three: Diana Prince being revamped into a James Bond-like ace operative of a top-secret spy organization.

 

A year and a half after the Cathy Lee Crosby movie aired on television, ABC-TV televised another made-for-TV movie, aptly titled The New Original Wonder Woman. While the title might appear an oxymoron, the movie lived up to the title with a new rendition… based on the original concept. After a dogfight with a Nazi plane, U.S. Air Force Steve Trevor crash lands on an uncharted island in the Bermuda Triangle. Paradise Island is inhabited only by women, and their existence has been kept a secret for thousands of years. Learning of the Nazi threat to humanity, the Amazon princess, Diana, is chosen to accompany Trevor back to the United States to battle the Third Reich. Garbed in a skimpy red, white & blue costume and armed with a magic lasso that forces anyone within its grasp to tell the truth, Diana uses her powers as Wonder Woman to battle the forces of evil. Lynda Carter played the role and this time the pilot movie sold and the resulting series would ultimately bring Wonder Woman to the small screen for three consecutive seasons.