Category: News

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Operation Breadbasket Restored Film Can Now Be Seen!

Following of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1968, Robert Culp became very active with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s “Operation Breadbasket” program which used peaceful non-violent methods to gain economic equality for black communities.

He filmed the activities of the movement for what would become a documentary that he would produce, direct and narrate, titled simply “Operation Breadbasket.” He nearly went broke doing the project, as he footed the expenses for it himself and was otherwise unemployed for nearly two years while working on it.

His efforts, however, were not in vain. He successfully sold the documentary to ABC News, despite the fact that the networks at the time practically never bought documentaries produced outside their network news department. The documentary aired July 7th, 1969 as part of a series of documentaries by ABC News on race relations in the United States at the time.

Back in June of 2011, I posted that the film had been awarded a preservation grant from The National Film Preservation Foundation.  A few years later, in 2014, I posted that the preservation of the film had been completed and that a follow up documentary was in the works. 

Well I’m very happy to post that you can now view the restored documentary online at the George Eastman Museum website. The companion documentary, titled “Operation Breadbasket: A Civil Rights Legacy” is still to come but below is a promo video posted by Joseph Culp back in 2012. 

I’ve been curious about Robert Culp’s original documentary, along with the new one, for many years now. Indeed, this process has been going on for over 10 years! I look forward to watching the original documentary and posting a reaction.

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For Shame NBC

Once upon a time, NBC had guts.

Back in April of 1965 Pulitzer Prize winning author and syndicated columnist William S. White wrote: “NBC-TV has guts. The network, gambling that Dixie attitudes are changing, will pioneer with a 30-minute (sic) Wednesday evening show next season which co-stars a Negro actor, Bill Cosby, with a white one, Robert Culp. They will portray secret agents on even terms in a thriller called I Spy. NBC won’t know until late summer how many of its Southern affiliates will carry the program.”

NBC pioneered the interracial pairing of black and white characters on even ground at a time in America when race relations were less than harmonious. Did you notice the last line in that statement about the Southern affiliates? Yeah, there were a few who refused to air the show at the time it debuted and there was a lot of hand wringing at NBC’s offices.

This past weekend NBC celebrated its 90th anniversary and I SPY received no mention among the clips, salutes and tributes that were made. No mention whatsoever. The historical significance of what I SPY represented at the time it debuted and the impact it had was completely ignored.

Guts? It would appear that NBC no longer has any.

~Lisa Philbrick

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Trump Trackdown: Your Turn CBS

By now, most of you have heard of the “Trump Trackdown” video. For those of you who haven’t, a quick recap:

This past week, Snopes.com posted about the video, which was originally posted to YouTube back in November and consists of 4 minutes of various scenes from a 1958 episode Trackdown. In the episode, a con man named Walter Trump arrives in a Texas town and tells everyone that only he can save them from the end of the world, by building a protective wall around their homes (along with selling them parasols to shield them from a meteor shower).

Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman, played by none other than Robert Culp, suspects Trump is a fraud. At one point in the episode, Trump threatens to sue. Hoby doesn’t take any crap and eventually exposes Trump for the fraud that he is.


The Snopes article and video have since gone viral. This pleases me in several ways, not the least of which is the recognition and exposure Trackdown is getting, which currently runs on MeTV Saturday mornings (and also on the network Heroes and Icons) after having been absent from television for many years. The video has been shared and talked about on social media all week, with some 40,000 shares alone on Facebook as of the time of this posting. A lot of folks have never heard of the show. Many seem curious to learn more about it.

With that in mind, I wanted to point out a couple of things that I’ve noticed in comments and blog posts of recent days. First, Trackdown is NOT in the public domain. The show’s copyright and distribution rights are owned by CBS, which is the network it originally aired on from 1957 to 1959.

There is no official DVD release of the show. However, there is a DVD set that’s floating around out there, but the video quality is atrocious (to put it kindly). The source material was literally VHS recordings of the show from local TV stations and TVLand airings dating from the late 1980s. Those of us of a certain age know what VHS quality looked like.

I was thrilled when Trackdown began airing on MeTV back in October of 2016. I’ve tried to watch at least one episode on Saturday mornings on MeTV (two eps run back to back) and the film quality is exceptionally better than the cruddy DVD copy I’ve seen. The show is much more enjoyable to watch.

Which brings me to my ultimate wish (well, one of them anyway!) I’m talking to you CBS. With curiosity and interest in Trackdown increasing the more the video and Snopes article is shared, this would be a wonderful time to look at putting Trackdown out on DVD before the end of 2017.

Whatya say?

~Lisa Philbrick

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Robert Culp Has Not Left Your Television. And It’s a Damn Good Thing!

With the return of Trackdown and The Greatest American Hero to TV screens it seemed appropriate to post an updated listing of where you can view these shows and others.

Trackdown

 

Trackdown can be seen on MeTV and on Heroes and Icons. Check your local listings for times and availability.

 

 

 

I Spy is currently not running on any television networks (although RetroTV still has a page for it on their website), but can be seen online via Hulu, Yahoo View and on the PROClassicTV streaming service.  Yahoo View is free (with occasional commercials during the episode) while Hulu and PRO require subscriptions. However, in the case of PRO, individual episodes can be viewed for .99 a piece.

 

Greatest_American_D1-0

The Greatest American Hero can be seen on Heroes and Icons and streaming on Hulu with subscription and for free on Yahoo View. Yes, the pilot episode is conspicuously absent from the online streaming services.

 

 

You can also find two of Culp’s Celebrity Bowling appearances at the PROClassic site, the first from 1973  and one from 1975.

 

 

 

Along with those shows are several shows that Culp guest starred on, such as Columbo (MeTV, Netflix), The Rifleman (MeTV, PROClassicTV streaming, Hulu and Yahoo View), Everybody Loves Raymond (TV LAND), Murder, She Wrote (COZI, Netflix) and many others. You can always check TV Guide’s online listing for upcoming episodes of shows featuring Culp.

You can also check out JustWatch.com, which currently lists where you can find 17 Culp films and TV series’ that can be viewed online or purchased. I consider it my civic duty to warn you to NOT waste your money on National Lampoon’s Movie Madness. Just don’t. Trust me.

Otherwise, happy Culp viewing!

~Lisa Philbrick

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Peter Rodgers Organization Launches New Online Streaming of Classic TV Series’!

 

The Peter Rodgers Organization (PRO), who currently own the distribution rights to I SPY, and many others TV series’ from the 50s through the 90s, has launched its own online streaming service as of March 1st 2016. Viewers at PROClassicTV.com can watch full episodes on any device for .99 each with NO commercial interruptions. Pricing for day and week passes for those who like to binge view are in the works.

PROClassicTV.com will offer great classic TV series’ including I SPY, THE RIFLEMAN, CELEBRITY BOWLING, PETER GUNN and THE SAINT among many others with full episodes and entire seasons of each show being available for viewing.

PRO’s mission “is ensuring iconic television shows perseverance and ability to entertain generations of TV viewers, past, present and future.”

Which means shows like I SPY will continue to remain available for viewing one way or another. And we’re happy to hear that!

You can check out more from the Peter Rodgers Organization at their website, on Facebook and Twitter.

~Lisa Philbrick

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Fox Reportedly “Bullish” on Rebooting The Greatest American Hero – For the Second Time

Greatest American HeroStop me if you’ve heard this before…

Oh. Yeah, you have heard this before. About a year ago, when Fox gave the green light to Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who wrote and directed THE LEGO MOVIE and also directed a big screen version of Stephen Cannell’s 21 JUMP STREET, to film a pilot for a new take on THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO. We’ve heard nothing more since then about a script, or actors or anything.

Frankly, one might have figured the project died, but according Deadline Hollywood, it’s still very much alive and Fox is reported to be “bullish” on getting this one to American TV screens.

It’s been a year and apparently a change in writers, but a casting director has now been hired to scout out some talent. Nathan Fillion expressed some interest in playing the lead during a Q&A session at Chicago’s Wizard World Comic Con back in August, 2015.

GREATEST_AMERICAN_HERO_S2_D5-68It’s also unclear if the concept has changed. Originally, it sounded like Ralph, Pam and Bill were NOT going to be rebooted, that it would be all new original characters; an inner city teacher named Issac would be the recipient of the suit. Now, based on the recent Deadline Hollywood article, the script written by Rick Famuyiwa (DOPE), “is the story of what happens when great power is not met with great responsibility. An ordinary man, completely content with being average, wakes up with a superpower suit he never asked for and has to deal with the complications it brings his life.”

Given Hollywood’s penchant for lampooning and doing parody’s of original shows, it really doesn’t sound encouraging.

 

 

~Lisa Philbrick

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FOX Flies on a Wing and a Prayer with “Greatest American Hero” Reboot

Greatest American HeroIt’s been talked about for years, as either a feature film or a new TV series, but FOX appears to be the latest player in the attempt to bring back Stephen Cannell’s GREATEST AMERICAN HERO. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who wrote and directed THE LEGO MOVIE and also directed a big screen version of Cannell’s 21 JUMP STREET, have apparently been given the green light to film a pilot for a new series. Based on the brief description provided by Deadline.com, it sounds like the characters will be all new and will not be reboots of Ralph, Pam and Bill respectively.

Despite the rather dismal track record for TV reboots, Hollywood keeps trying. We’ll reserve judgment on this one until the pilot episode actually sees the light of a TV screen.

We’ll be watching this one closely. Stay tuned…GREATEST_AMERICAN_HERO_S2_D2-69

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I Spy Programming Note

What channel is I SPY on? I love that show! With the recent posts over on Facebook regarding CoziTV’s schedule for I SPY airings, I’ve learned it comes down to basically two things: The first being if your satellite or cable provider offers CoziTV, RetroTV or ASPIRE in their packages and the second being if the affiliate that broadcasts the channel follows the parent channel’s schedule (and doesn’t, say, run paid programming in place of a show, usually at the wee hours of the morning.)

In other words, you need a score card to keep track of where to find I SPY on TV these days!

So where can you watch I SPY on TV or online now? Well, as of May 8, 2014, here’s where you can find I SPY. As always, check the listings for you area to see if these channels are available and for time and schedule.

Television:

RetroTV: http://www.myretrotv.com/i-spy.html

Aspire: http://www.aspire.tv/shows/i-spy

CoziTV: http://www.cozitv.com/shows/weekday/I-Spy-251473811.html

Online:

Hulu.com – http://www.hulu.com/i-spy

I SPY was available via Netflix but has since been removed.

Is there any channel or online location I missed? Let me know in the comments below!

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Operation Breadbasket Restoration – Update

Robert Culp with Jesse Jackson on the cover of JET magazine, 1968Previously back in 2011 I posted that Robert Culp’s documentary “Operation Breadbasket” was awarded a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation to be preserved in a project being spearheaded by his son, Joseph Culp. I recently learned from Joseph that the restoration of the film is nearly complete and that they were working on getting funding to make a new documentary to follow up on the original. Possibly a Kickstarter campaign but more details to come!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I Spy: The Complete Series DVD Release Coming in June!

happykellyI recently learned that I Spy: The Complete Series is slated for release on June 24, 2014 from the folks at Shout! Factory and Timeless Media. This will be a complete box set of all three seasons of I SPY on 18 discs. Shout! Factory promises an official press release in the coming weeks with more details but the set is available for pre-order at Shout! Factory’s website and from Amazon.com.

 

I SPY previously was released on DVD in season sets back in 2008 from Image Entertainment. The only extras included at the time were audio commentaries from Robert Culp, attached to the episodes he wrote, and used previously in a DVD release of episodes packaged by common theme. Although the Image Entertainment season sets were “newly remastered” the film was not exactly digitally remastered. The master tapes used were excellent but there are specks and dust noticeable from time to time. With 2015 marking the 50th anniversary of the show’s debut, a digital remaster of the episodes would be wonderfulness.

Although I SPY fans will be wise to not set their hopes too high for new extras or digitally remastered episodes, if you’re watching Shout! Factory, fans will nonetheless have some great expectations for this set.

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An Evening with Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice…and Paul & Joe

Bob & Carol & Ted & AliceLooking for something to do this Saturday night (3/15/14) in LA at 5pm? How about heading on over to Cinefamily theatre and taking in a double feature of BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE with DRINKING BUDDIES. And, if that wasn’t enough, directors Paul Marzusky and Joe Swanberg will be in person for the screenings of their respective films.

The Cinefamily website notes that this screening of BCTA will be the “world premiere of new DCP restoration!” DCP being Digital Cinema Package. In layman’s terms, it’s basically the conversion of print film as we’ve known it into the digital age and into digital formats. DCP provides for sharper images and better sound quality, reportedly even more so than Blue-Ray or HD.

Tickets are $14 and the event begins with BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE at 5pm.

Insight!

 

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Hickey & Boggs Part of AFI Silver Theatre Film Series

Hickey & Boggs

AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, in partnership with The National Building Museum, has been presenting the film series “Overdrive: LA Modern, 1960-2000” which looks at the legacy of Los Angeles architecture and use in film. The series began February 8th and runs through April 17th, 2014 with several films being screened as part of the series, including Robert Culp’s sole big screen directorial effort “Hickey & Boggs” from 1972.

AFI Silver accurately describes the film as a “neo-noir to end all noirs” and recognizes the films broad use of known LA locations, such as the Los Angeles Coliseum and Dodger Stadium, along with street scenes in LA’s core, topless bars, homes with freeways in the front yard and other once fine homes falling off cliffs along the ocean.

The film will be screened Sunday, March 9 at 4:00pm, Monday March 10 at 9:30pm and Tuesday March 11 at 9:15pm. General admission tickets are $12.

The March 9th screening will be introduced by National Building Museum’s assistant curator Deborah Sorensen.

AFI Silver Theatre is located in Silver Spring, MD. For more information check out AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center – Overdrive: L.A. Modern, 1960-2000 and The National Building Museum Event Calendar.

 

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DVD Release: Sky Riders

I’ve just discovered that Shout! Factory (a descendant of the old Rhino records company) will be launching an official release for the 1976 film “Sky Riders” tomorrow (January 17)! The film is part of a double feature set with another James Coburn film, “The Last Hard Men.”

As regular readers know I did my capapalooza write up for Sky Riders previously based on a copy of the film obtained from Modcinema.com. With this official release, the film is no longer available at Modcinema.

My screen caps can attest that the copy from Modcinema was pretty decent, all things considered. But Sky Riders was originally released in wide screen format, as the opening titles and first scene show.

After that, the film is “formatted for television” and there are a couple of scenes in the film that look odd with having been cropped, such as this one where the actors seem to be standing so far apart.

But since Culp looked sooo good looking so worried in this film, it’ll be great to see it in its original wide screen format and with re-mastered clearer picture. So let me give a big shout out to Shout! Factory for releasing this one!

Shout! Factory’s Action Double Feature: The Last Hard Men / Sky Riders  is available for pre-order at Amazon.com. (Disclosure: If you purchase through the provided link, I receive compensation. Click here for details.)

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DVD Release: Shaft – The TV Movie Collection

Can you dig it?! Another great MGM release is being done via the Warner Archive MOD format:  Shaft – The TV Movie Collection. The official release date is today, September 13.

What does Shaft have to do with Robert Culp you ask? The very first of the tv films, “The Executioners” (aka “The Enforcers”) features Robert Culp as a guest star!

Don’t let Culp’s smile fool you. He’s a bad moutha shut-yer-mouth in this one!

I have seen the episode, but I’ll definitely be getting the DVD set to add to my ever growing Culp Collection. Yet another reason why I loooooove the Warner Archive! Thanks WB!

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DVD Release: Hickey & Boggs

Finally, finally, finally!! Hickey & Boggs is being release on DVD August 23rd under the MGM Classics Collection (manufacture on demand) and will be available through Screen Archives. You can pre-order now (I already have!). Granted, I downloaded the movie from iTunes and have watched it several times already but having it on DVD ensures two things: 1. My future cap n’ yap on this movie will be easier to do. 2. When I’ve burned through five computers (I’m on #3) I won’t have to worry about losing any “permissions” to continue to watch the movie on any future computers.

Thank you MGM!

 

 

 

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Operation Breadbasket Film to be Preserved

The National Film Preserrvation Foundation announced on Wednesday that it has awarded preservation grants to save 64 films, including the Robert Culp produced, directed and narrated 1969 documentary “Operation Breadbasket.”

“Breadbasket” tells the story of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s economic arm and its efforts to improve economic conditions for black communities. It’s said that Culp essentially went broke producing this film, but did so because it was important to him.  He succeeded in selling the film to ABC and the network aired it not once but twice in 1969 to critical acclaim.

Naturally, I’m curious to know if there might be a DVD release, even a limited one. I’d be interested in seeing the film.

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DVD Release: PT 109

Have I mentioned I loooooooooove the WB Archive?? I’ve just learned that PT 109, the film that recounts President John F. Kennedy’s experiences in the Pacific during WWII will be released through the Warner Archive MOD format on May 10, 2011. You can pre-order the PT 109 (DVD) at the WB site. (Disclosure: If you purchase through the provided link, I receive compensation. Click here for details.)

I just watched “Sunday in New York” this past weekend and had wondered if PT 109 would find its way into the Warner Archive MOD format. And it has! Woohoo!

Thanks again WB!

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DVD Release: Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday

I’ve just learned that Great Scout And Cathouse Thursday is being released tomorrow, 3/29/11, through 20th Century Fox’s MGM Limited Edition Collection. The release is being done “MOD” (Manufacture on Demand) but unlike Warner Brothers, where you can buy directly from WB through their archive, you can order the Fox/MGM DVD through online retailers such as Amazon, MoviesUnlimited, ect.  (Disclosure: If you purchase through the provided link, I receive compensation. Click here for details.)

Yeehaa! Another DVD to add to the growing Culp Collection!

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I Spy on Hulu.com

While working on a future post of screen caps for an I Spy episode, I discovered that as of February 15th episodes will no longer be available for free on Hulu and will be moved to Hulu’s subscription service, HuluPlus. The cost is $7.99 a month. The benefit of the subscription service is you can have access to the episodes on more devices, everything from your gaming console to your iPad to your sneaker phone.

Although I lament the loss of the free viewing on the web, I suppose the HuluPlus subscription is a better deal than your basic cable bill (ours runs about $60 a month).  And I’m glad to see shows like I Spy and The Greatest American Hero available through this format. As of this time TGAH is still available through the free Hulu service but I would predict that it too will be moved to HuluPlus (I’m predicting everything will be moved to HuluPlus at some point).

Since I don’t have the multiple devices and have just my DVD player, I’m content with sticking with my DVDs.  Besides, you can’t tell me watching Robert Culp on a dinky little screen on your iPhone is all that satisfying…

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DVD Release: Sunday in New York

The Warner Archive has released via their DVD on demand, the 1963 Jane Fonda film “Sunday In New York“.  Robert Culp, of course, is also in it. I’ve seen various photos and movie stills from this movie and have read about and have lamented not being able to find it on DVD.

I just loooooooooooooove the Warner Archive! Thanks WB!

 

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