Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse Presents: The Untouchables, April 20 & 28, 1959

For the 1958-59 television season, Desilu Studios trotted out a new, hour-long anthology, The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse for CBS. While the majority of productions were only moderate successes, several productions pulled in spectacular ratings. Those top-rated shows were "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show", the Twilight Zone pilot (The Time Element) and this surprise 2-part production based on a true-crime novel by Elliot Ness, The Untouchables.

Many industry insiders were shocked that Desilu was tackling such adult and violent fare. Arnaz had stated publicly that his studio would never put anything but family programming on the air. Nonetheless, the studio believed in the project; and desperately needed improved programming for Desilu Playhouse, and bankrolled production on the Desilu lot with star Robert Stack, film-noir director Phil Karlson, producer Quinn-Martin and cinematographer Charles Straumer.

The first show aired April 20, 1959. The script told the story of Elliot Ness, the FBI treasury man who pursued Chicago mob man Al Capone at the height of prohibition. Violent and dark, the show was grounded by a voice-over by radio's Walter Winchell. The Untouchables destroyed the competition in the ratings; and,the week-long buzz about the first hour brought increased interest, and the April 28 conclusion climbed even higher in the weekly ratings.

With the huge success and critical acclaim brought great controversy. Italian-American's were incensed by the mob stereotype - even Frank Sinatra protested. Others were outraged over the excessive violence, and much debate followed the telecasts about the increasing violence on television.

The show won Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse Emmy awards for director, cinematography, and art direction. The Untouchables is the pioneer of modern day crime dramas featuring gratuitous and graphic violence, a hot topic that continues today. Robert Stack would later win an Emmy for the role.

Ironically, The Untouchables also began the downfall of Desilu Playhouse. When Desi Arnaz sold the show to ABC for $3 million, CBS was livid, and for the upcoming season, vengefully moved the Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse to the Friday night graveyard time slot, and soon after, reduced production to bi-weekly before canceling the anthology in spring of 1960.

The Untouchables ran on ABC for four seasons and 118 episodes, giving Desilu studio and ABC its most profitable show and hit. It also paved the way for Desilu to branch out into drama programming, which led to Star Trek and Mission Impossible. Desilu released the 2-hour pilot as a theatrical film after it spring 1959 TV success.

Desilu Playhouse credits for Untouchables, and Opening for 1959-1963 ABC run.....





Sources:
Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, written by Coyne Steven Sanders and Tom Gilbert

The Rerun Is Born: October 20, 1952

At the end of the 1951-52 television season, I Love Lucy had skyrocketed to the top of the ratings chart. In just its first season, 39 hilarious episodes were broadcast, each building on an audience that was breaking records. Like all other television shows, each broadcast was "watch it or miss it." Even filmed syndicated shows were limited to one run each. But in late spring, 1952, all of this was about to change.

As I Love Lucy ended the first season, it prepared to leave the air, like all network shows, for the summer. In Lucy's time slot, My Little Margie would run until the new fall season. It appeared, however, that the nations top show would not return in the fall, as Lucille Ball discovered she was pregnant.

In a landmark decision, producer and series creater Jess Oppenheimer decided to write her pregnancy into the show. This created a number of problems, the most significant was that Lucy would not be able to film enough episodes for the season's full run. Suddenly it dawned on Oppenheimer that Lucy existed on film, as it was not produced live as other television shows of the era. Those beautiful black and white prints and high production values were about to come in very handy. Oppenheimer realized he could pad out the season with re-broadcast of some of the first season shows, particularly the earlier ones that many fans had missed.

Several techniques are employed, including the cast creating new footage as a "flashback" technique, and other times the rerun being introduced by the announcer Roy Rowan as an audience requested repeat. Even the flashback technique is influential, creating a device used in many television shows to come (probably the most monumental being The Dick Van Dyke Show).

On October 20, 1952, just 6 episodes into the new second season, I Love Lucy reran "The Quiz Show", the fifth episode from Season 1. Ultimately, 9 episodes were rerun during the 1952-53 season. The remarkable popularity of these repeat broadcasts changed the way the entire industry viewed programming. It was no longer a one shot deal. In fact, the popularity of re-running I Love Lucy on CBS broadcasts kept the show out of syndication until the the fall of 1967! CBS purchased the show from Desilu in 1957 and reran the show exclusively on CBS until it was offered to local stations via syndication. CBS finally replaced I Love Lucy reruns with, of course, The Lucy Show, which was nearing its primetime run (1962-1968.)

Original Closing I Love Lucy credits


Original I Love Lucy Closing Credits and Opening Credits for 2nd Season Premiere, 1952

The Time Element, November 10, 1958

Desi Arnaz' desire to create another significant series saw limited success. The premiere episode of Desilu Playhouse, "Lucy Goes to Mexico" was a ratings bonanza. In general, the 13 hour- long Lucy shows sprinkled throughout this series, both in first run and re-broadcasts, kept the series afloat. The weeks with "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show" always landed the Desilu Playhouse show at the very top of the ratings; however, Lucy hours weren't the only important televised events for the show.

Episode 6 of the Desilu Playhouse had ramifications that still affect television today. "The Time Element" was essentially Rod Serling's pilot film for The Twilight Zone. CBS had declined the script, so Desi snapped it up for his new show. Starring William Bendix as Pete Jensen, ca 1941, it centered the story-line on his character's re-occuring dreams of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As Pete Jensen attempts to warn everyone in sight, including his psychiatrist, it becomes clear everyone is too busy having a good time to take him seriously. He is the bearer of bad news and impending doom. Of course, the bombing does happen, but with a twist, Mr. Pete Jensen dies in the bombing. The end of the show finds the psychiatrist alone in his office with an empty couch.

The buzz and ratings success created from the broadcast of this Desilu Playhouse episode re-energized CBS; and, Rod Sterling was signed to produce his series, The Twilight Zone for the following fall. Of course, the significance of the show cannot be over-stated, and is still one of the few early shows of televsion that is broadcast regularly today. It is also just one of the many, unique contributions to television by the much under-rated Desi Arnaz.