1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#81

Post by James Y »

Scenes from the TV series Longstreet (1971), starring James Franciscus and featuring Bruce Lee. Although not a '60s show, IMO, it's close enough. These scenes were definitely ahead of their time. One thing is for sure: None of the current TV shows would ever have scenes like this. Attention spans have shortened considerably.

https://youtu.be/2qvYa5t-JUc

Jim
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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#82

Post by JD Spydo »

James Y wrote:
Tue Jun 11, 2019 3:06 pm
Scenes from the TV series Longstreet (1971), starring James Franciscus and featuring Bruce Lee. Although not a '60s show, IMO, it's close enough. These scenes were definitely ahead of their time. One thing is for sure: None of the current TV shows would ever have scenes like this. Attention spans have shortened considerably.
Oh Jim!! I'm so glad you brought up Bruce Lee :) Because few people realize that when the original Batman series of the mid 60s was competed against immediately with another network doing the "GREEN HORNET". Actually myself I liked the Green Hornet better than I did the 1960s Batman show. And very few people remember that Bruce Lee stared in that show as the Green Hornet's assistant "Kato". Bruce Lee was truly great in that role and I heard that he did a lot of his own stunts as well.
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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#83

Post by James Y »

JD Spydo wrote:
Tue Jun 11, 2019 6:15 pm
James Y wrote:
Tue Jun 11, 2019 3:06 pm
Scenes from the TV series Longstreet (1971), starring James Franciscus and featuring Bruce Lee. Although not a '60s show, IMO, it's close enough. These scenes were definitely ahead of their time. One thing is for sure: None of the current TV shows would ever have scenes like this. Attention spans have shortened considerably.
Oh Jim!! I'm so glad you brought up Bruce Lee :) Because few people realize that when the original Batman series of the mid 60s was competed against immediately with another network doing the "GREEN HORNET". Actually myself I liked the Green Hornet better than I did the 1960s Batman show. And very few people remember that Bruce Lee stared in that show as the Green Hornet's assistant "Kato". Bruce Lee was truly great in that role and I heard that he did a lot of his own stunts as well.
Joe, I do remember The Green Hornet as a very young child and seeing Bruce Lee in it (during its original run), but at the time, I was only 3 to 4 years old, so obviously it failed to register, except I thought it was a ripoff of the Batman series (both had two guys who wore masks and drove big cars). I do recall there was a one or two-episode crossover where The Green Hornet fought Batman and Kato fought Robin.

Bruce was also on an episode of Here Come The Brides in a non-fighting role. The '60s Hollywood movies he was involved in were The Wrecking Crew (starring Dean Martin and Sharon Tate, and which had Chuck Norris in his screen debut in an uncredited role as a henchman), in which Bruce was the fight choreographer; and Marlowe, starring James Garner, Carroll O'Connor, etc., in which Bruce played a (not so smart) hired killer. Not surprisingly, he stole the show in Marlowe, too.

Chuck Norris owes his entire career in showbiz to Bruce Lee. It was Bruce who wanted Chuck to appear in The Wrecking Crew (along with karate champ Joe Lewis and Kenpo karate pioneer Ed Parker). Then of course, Bruce cast Chuck as his toughest opponent in Way Of The Dragon four years later. From what I heard, Bruce's first choice for that role had been Joe Lewis, but when Joe turned it down, Bruce asked Chuck. Without Bruce, Chuck would have probably lived his life as a little-known (to the general public) former karate champ and instructor. Unlike Bruce, Chuck never possessed natural onscreen charisma, even after Chuck went on to develop his own career. His original pedigree for getting in the door and becoming a star himself was his classic onscreen fight with Bruce Lee.

It was an interesting time period, that's for sure.

Jim
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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#84

Post by bearrowland »

This is a great trip down memory lane! Jonny Quest gets my vote for being way ahead of its time, but there's very few shows (or commercials) from that era that I don't like.
Barry

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#85

Post by James Y »

bearrowland wrote:
Wed Jun 12, 2019 5:55 am
This is a great trip down memory lane! Jonny Quest gets my vote for being way ahead of its time, but there's very few shows (or commercials) from that era that I don't like.
Oh yeah, some of the commercials were great, too.

Well, the following cartoon wasn't necessarily ahead of its time, but I almost forgot about Beany & Cecil, which (along with liking Quisp cereal) made me want to have a "Beany copter' cap, because I thought if I did, I'd be able to fly, LOL. My mom never did get me one.

https://youtu.be/qUUS63kkH-Y

Here's the commercial for it:

https://youtu.be/NxhzahiQshQ

Jim
Last edited by James Y on Wed Jun 12, 2019 9:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#86

Post by bearrowland »

I forgot all about that one!!
Barry

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#87

Post by The Mastiff »

Ultraman and Johnny Sokko and his giant robot. :)

Seems like the badguy was a gold spray painted plate armored knight. Maybe my memory is off. I also enjoyed the saturday afternoon monster movies with Godzilla, Rodan, Mothera and the gang. Classic stuff!

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#88

Post by James Y »

The Mastiff wrote:
Wed Jun 12, 2019 9:34 am
Ultraman and Johnny Sokko and his giant robot. :)

Seems like the badguy was a gold spray painted plate armored knight. Maybe my memory is off. I also enjoyed the saturday afternoon monster movies with Godzilla, Rodan, Mothera and the gang. Classic stuff!

Joe
Yep! I remember Johnny Sokko and his robot from Voyage Into Space, which I later learned was a patchwork from various episodes of the Japanese TV series. It always reminded me of the Gigantor cartoon.

My favorite of the Toho monster movies were:

Gojira (the original Godzilla)
The original Rodan
King Kong vs Godzilla
Mothra vs Godzilla
Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster
Destroy All Monsters

The most recent Japanese Godzilla, Shin Godzilla, was pretty good.

...but I loved them all, at least through the 1960s. I actually like the old Japanese man-in-a-monster-suit and scale model buildings movies more than the current American all-CGI versions. Those original scenes were extremely difficult to set up and capture just right on film, and it was extremely hard (and dangerous) work for the men in the monster suits. Especially when I watch the final battle in Destroy All Monsters now, I can really appreciate the difficulty and complex artistry that went into it.

Jim
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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#89

Post by bearrowland »

Go go Godzilla!!
Barry

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#90

Post by Mad Mac »

Davy Crockett was a one hour five part serial from 1954-55.
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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#91

Post by bearrowland »

We have some of the dvds of the Davey Crockett show. They're great, light hearted fun.
Barry

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Do what you can, where you are, with what you have! Theodore Roosevelt

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#92

Post by James Y »

Anybody else remember Rocket Robin Hood?

https://youtu.be/MXmNHOaZM-4

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#93

Post by JD Spydo »

Mad Mac wrote:
Wed Jun 12, 2019 12:26 pm
Davy Crockett was a one hour five part serial from 1954-55.
I had a coonskin cap and wore it everywhere.
If you loved the old "Davey Crockett series then how could you not love the show they had in the mid to late 60s about Daniel Boone. The show starred Ed Ames and Fess Parker. While it was running all of my school friends and me included made it a point to watch that Daniel Boone show. I guess I'm a bit prejudice because the real Daniel Boone made a lot of his historical accomplishments right here in the Great State of Missouri :cool: We even have a pretty big town/city named Booneville which is just about hour and a half from where I'm living now.

Yeah Booneville and "ArrowRock" are two towns that are rich in history of the old west. Not to mention that Jesse James was born and raised about 40 miles from where I'm living now up in Kearney, Missouri. Yeah a lot of the events and important people out of the old west many of them were right here in the state of Missouri. The older I get the more I like the great State of Missouri.

Lewis & Clark started their awesome trek right here in Missouri as well right where the Missouri River meets the Mississippi River just south of St. Louis.

But do check out that old Daniel Boone show. Ed Ames the guy that played the Indian friend of Daniel Boone was actually significantly more popular than Fess Parker who played Daniel Boone himself. Ed Ames also had a notable music career as well. I would have not thought about that Daniel Boone show until you mentioned Davey Crockett :)
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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#94

Post by James Y »

IMO, this 1967 Hanna-Barbera cartoon is still the best representation of the Fantastic Four on either the small screen or big screen. It pretty much captured the spirit (albeit simplified for the screen) of the original comic books, and (to me) was much more entertaining than any later onscreen representations, whether animated or live-action. In this era of live-action superhero movies, for some reason, they just never got The Fantastic Four right.

https://youtu.be/Eue8XngYdzM

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#95

Post by JD Spydo »

Hanna Barbera cartoons were quite different from Looney Tunes, Woody Woodpecker, Tom & Jerry and others. But their cartoons were probably more timeless than most others from that time period that I can remember. But few cartoons out of that era could make me laugh as hard as the Looney Tunes characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, and the great Porky Pig :rolleyes: :D

It always amazed me how Bugs could get out of almost any situation and keep his cool even during the most strenuous of times :cool:
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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#96

Post by James Y »

I got to meet Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, etc., at the 1976 San Diego Comic Con. Before that, he was part of a discussion panel, and someone asked him why the Looney Toons/Merrie Melodies cartoons (especially the pre-1950s ones) used so many jokes that would have gone over the heads of most children. Mel Blanc said it was because they didn't make those cartoons for children; they made them for themselves (the makers), and included some in-jokes among themselves. In general, they were aimed more towards adults anyway. He also said that to make the sounds of Bugs Bunny eating carrots, he actually had to chew real carrots, and they kept a waste basket next to him to spit the carrot bits out between takes.

Compared to the Hanna-Barbera and other TV cartoons, the Warner Brothers/Looney Toons ones had far more sophisticated animation, facial expressions and body language, so the characters appear more "rubbery".

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#97

Post by bearrowland »

I love the Looney Tunes cartoons, but they are definitely geared towards the adult audience. I laugh my head off!
Barry

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Do what you can, where you are, with what you have! Theodore Roosevelt

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#98

Post by James Y »

bearrowland wrote:
Fri Jun 21, 2019 10:13 pm
I love the Looney Tunes cartoons, but they are definitely geared towards the adult audience. I laugh my head off!
This particular episode was one of my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons as a kid. Later, as a young adult, I moved to Taiwan for nearly a decade, and never saw a Bugs Bunny cartoon on TV there (not that I watched much TV in those days). Interestingly enough, this very cartoon from my childhood was showing in the waiting area on a big screen at Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport as I was leaving Taiwan for the last time.

https://youtu.be/YOuDjdN2csw

Jim
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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#99

Post by bearrowland »

😂. I love Bugs!
Barry

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Do what you can, where you are, with what you have! Theodore Roosevelt

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Re: 1950s/60s TV Shows That Were Truly Ahead Of Their Time

#100

Post by JD Spydo »

The one show I just still love is the reruns of is the "Wild, Wild West" with Robert Conrad. For those of you who don't remember that show it was a high tech Western depicting two Secret Service Agents of the mid 1800s. They were kind of like the James Bond of the old West. And who could forget the midget bad guy in that show known as Dr. Miguelito Loveless played by Michael Dunn. Again I still watch reruns of that show at least twice a month.

Another forgotten Western of the 60s I liked was "The Guns Of Will Sonnet" played by Walter Brennan and Dack Rambo. A most unusual but interesting Western.
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