What colour videotapes from 1958-1960 period exist?

[Aussie Bloke]

Here's some more questions on early television shows, do any of you's know what colour videotapes of the 1958 to 1960 era still exist and which ones are available on DVD?

So far I know that these colour tapes exist:

Dwight Eisenhower speech [early 1958]
An Evening With Fred Astaire [October 1958]
Playhouse 90 "The Nutcracker" [late 1958]
Peter Pan [1959] (one of you's mentioned this show)
Bell Telephone Hour [1959] (Some pianist DVD is available with excerpts from the Bell Telephone Hour from 1959 to the late 60s)
Richard Nixon Kitchen Debate [1959]
Howdy Doody Show [August 1960] (The last episode 1 hour special available on DVD with 3 B&W kinescope episodes)
Dinah Shore Chevy Show (I assume there are some colour videos of that show from as early as late 1958 or 1959 to 1961 as I've seen excerpts on the Biography Channel when they did a bio on her)

If anyone can add more existing colour videos of that era to the list that would be fantastic!

Cheers
Troy

[Indian Head]

"Another Evening With Fred Astaire" from 1959 still exists on videotape.

[Aussie Bloke]

Cool. Is it in colour or is it in B&W?

Cheers
Troy

[Joel Cairo]

It's actually both, since the best restored version had to use excerpts from the backup film kinescope to patch some spots where the original quad tape signal was not able to be recovered. That only happened in about 4 spots, and the sections are fairly brief.

These are some other programs that I know still exist as color tape:

- "Astaire Time", Fred's 3rd special from 1960
- Red Skelton's "Freddie & the Yuletide Doll", a 1961 episode of the Red Skelton Show
- Gene Kelly's NBC music/dance special from about 1959
- an episode of Milton Berle's "Kraft Music Hall" from 1959

...but for many others (B&W and color), you might want to look here:

http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/allTV.html

...just to name a few.

-Kevin

[Aussie Bloke]

As mentioned on the B&W video question, thanks for the info and putting me onto that UCLA site. Great to know more colour tapes from the late 50s and early 60s still exist.

Now another question, had a quick look at the listings in the UCLA archives and saw quite a few Dinah Shore Chevy Shows, now the ones from 4/5/59, 5/31/59, 10/4/59, are they colour videotape recordings? I have some bits of her show from her bio on the Biography Channel.

Cheers
Troy

[Joel Cairo]

Well, I don't have a guide myself, but several of those Dinah Shore programs are color tapes... many clips were used for the compliation tape titled "MWAH! - The Best of the Dinah Shore Show", which you can find here:

http://www.lslproductions.com/shows.htm

...along with some other video goodies!

-Kevin

Although I don't believe they were in color, there are at least two episodes of Twilight Zone that were shot on tape. One in which Johnathon Harris (Dr. Smith from Lost in Space) plays a Doctor (of all things!)

And another which starred Art Carney (Ed Norton from the Honeymooners) as a drunken department store Santa who somehow saves the day.

Anthony

[charliesheen]

man i cant stop re playing the fred astair show on king of the road's website,the music is so tight and goes great with the peacock.when i was 8 or 9 me and my mom were in toys r us,and at the checkout counter they had video tapes for sale and i picked up one full of old car commercials,the one i remember most was of betty and charlie white for the 59 dodge,it was about 6 mins long and what got me was the "seats that swivle out to greet you,seats thats swivle in to meet you".for the longest i always thought the song was "plymouth star with the four word look", but it was "plymouth star of the forword look",either way both commercials will stay with me til the end,just thought id share with you and ask if any of you have seen that commercial of betty and charlie white.
charlie

I know of Betty White but not Charley (her hubby at the time? she was later married to Al Ludden of Concentration game show fame)

Chrysler corp scored a homerun with their later 50's finned creations.....these were literally at least one design generation ahead of everyone else in the industry, hence the slogan "Forward Look" although many bemoaned their backward quality control....these sold so fast that the factory literally couldn't produce them quick enough and shoved them out the door partially incomplete and with LOTS of problems which the dealers had to correct.

Anthony