Ripley's Believe It or Not (1949 TV series)

Last updated
Ripley's Believe It or Not
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseMarch 1, 1949 (1949-03-01) –
October 15, 1950 (1950-10-15)

Ripley's Believe It or Not is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from March 1, 1949, through October 5, 1950. [1]

Contents

Format

Ripley's Believe It or Not was an adaptation of the radio program Believe It or Not, which was broadcast in various iterations on four networks from April 14, 1930, through September 3, 1948. [2] Episodes of the TV program initially featured dramatizations of content of Robert Ripley's syndicated Believe It or Not newspaper comic feature. [1] Each early episode featured a live reenactment of an almost unbelievable incident along with films that Ripley took during his travels. [3]

Ripley was the host until his death [1] on May 27, 1949. [2] Bugs Baer was the host on the May 31, 1949, episode. [4] Robert St. John later became the permanent host. [1] Ming and Ling, "The Chinese Hillbillies", appeared on episodes [3] along with Peggy Corday and Fritz De Wilde. [5] Guests on the program included Charles Velo, who set an endurance record of riding a bicycle for 85 hours and 12 minutes. [6] The premiere episode featured Kuda Bux riding in a bicycle race while he was blinded by having "putty, lead foil, cotton, and yards of bandages" over his eyes. [7] Highlights of other episodes included the story behind "Taps", the bugle call played at military funerals. [8]

Beginning January 4, 1950, the format shifted to presentation of "mystery and horror yarns said to be based on authentic records". [9] Episodes broadcast in the revised format included "Murder in Duplicate" (January 25, 1950) [10] and "The Dead Will Speak" (September 12, 1950). [11]

Production

Douglas Storer was the packager. Producers included Richard Hurdle, Roger Muir, [12] and Harry Herrmann. Directors included Herrmann [10] and Richard Goode. Writers included Ben Kagen, [13] Bill Alley, [12] and Sam Cauter. [10] Sponsors included Motorola [14] and Ballantine Beer. [15] The program originated from WNBT. [12]

The program was initially broadcast on Tuesdays from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time. It was moved to Wednesdays from 10 to 10:30 p.m. E. T. in July 1949, and it remained in that slot through September 1949. In October and November 1949 it appeared at various times. In January 1950 it was moved to Wednesdays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. E. T.; during May 1950 it was seen on Thursdays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. E. T. [16] When it was canceled, it was replaced by The Peter Lind Hayes Show . [17]

Critical response

A review in the trade publication Variety said that in the premiere episode Ripley was "pretty wooden" and "plenty uncomfortable". [18] It added that the episode had too many segments, which resulted in diminished treatment of each element. Some of Ripley's explanations, the review said, "were sketchy and incomplete". [18] Overall, the review indicated that much needed to be done to improve the program. [18]

A review of the January 25, 1950, episode in the trade publication Billboard complimented the acting, direction, and camera work, although it noted one "grisly bit which might well have been omitted by imaginative direction." [10]

Audience measurement experiment

The August 24, 1949, episode of Ripley's Believe It or Not was used by Schwerin Research Corporation and NBC as the first in a series of tests related to TV programs. [19] The trade publication Variety reported, "the system is claimed to give prospective sponsors a method to test program ideas in advance and current sponsors a way of testing effectiveness of their shows and commercials." [20] Prior to the episode's broadcast, 2,000 New York City residents who owned TV sets received ballots to be used in the survey. A "split-signal system" made small numbers on the screen visible only to viewers in New York City, [20] so that the numbers on the screen would "cue viewers when to note their reactions". [21] Another component of the project had 300 people in a studio viewing a kinescope of the program. [20]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Arthur Murray Party</i> American TV variety series (1950–1960)

The Arthur Murray Party is an American television variety show that ran from July 1950 until September 1960. The show was hosted by dancers Arthur and Kathryn Murray, the show featured various acts and celebrity guests and acted as advertisement for their chain of dance studios. Each week, the couple performed a mystery dance, and the viewer who correctly identified the dance would receive two free lessons at a local studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFMY-TV</span> TV station in Greensboro, North Carolina

WFMY-TV is a television station licensed to Greensboro, North Carolina, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Piedmont Triad region. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Phillips Avenue in Greensboro and a transmitter in Randleman, North Carolina.

<i>Admiral Broadway Revue</i> 1949 American TV series or program

Admiral Broadway Revue is an American live television variety show that ran from January 28 to June 3, 1949. The show was notable for being "television's first full scale Broadway type musical revue."

And Everything Nice is an American fashion-themed television program that was broadcast on the DuMont Television Network from March 8, 1949, through January 9, 1950. The program was hosted by Maxine Barratt.

<i>The Plainclothesman</i> 1949 American TV series or program

The Plainclothesman was the first American police procedural series, and was broadcast on the DuMont Television Network from October 12, 1949, to September 12, 1954.

Colgate Theatre is a 30-minute dramatic television anthology series telecast on NBC from 1949 to 1950.

<i>Okay, Mother</i> 1948 American TV series or program

Okay, Mother is an American daytime variety/game show which originally aired on WABD in New York City in 1948.

Television Screen Magazine, also known as TV Screen Magazine, is an NBC Television Network series which debuted 17 November 1946, airing Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET, and ended on July 23, 1949.

Front Row Center is the title of two American television programs with different formats that were broadcast on different networks.

Hands of Murder is an American mystery anthology series that aired on the DuMont Television Network from August 24, 1949, through December 11, 1951.

The Ed Wynn Show is an American variety show originally broadcast from September 22, 1949 to July 4, 1950, on the CBS Television Network. Comedian and former vaudevillian Ed Wynn was the star of the program's 39 episodes, which were the first shows broadcast live from Hollywood, and transmitted via kinescope to New York.

<i>The Alan Dale Show</i> 1948 American TV series or program

The Alan Dale Show is an early American television program which ran on the DuMont Television Network in 1948, and then on CBS Television from 1950-1951.

The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre is an American anthology series that aired live on NBC Mondays at 8 pm EST from September 27, 1948 to June 26, 1950. The program presented both news headlines and live dramatic performances of either original plays or works adapted for television from the stage. Sometimes the show was referred to as Chevrolet on Broadway or The Broadway Playhouse; particularly when the program was presenting an adapted stage work from New York City's theatre scene.

<i>The Silver Theatre</i> American anthology TV series (1949–1950)

The Silver Theatre is an American television series that was broadcast on CBS from October 3, 1949, to June 26, 1950, and was hosted by Conrad Nagel. It was also known as Silver Theater.

<i>Suspense</i> (American TV series) American anthology TV series

Suspense is an American television anthology series that ran on CBS Television from 1949 to 1954. It was adapted from the radio program of the same name which ran from 1942 to 1962.

Dinner Date, also known as Dinner Date with Vincent Lopez, is a musical variety show that was broadcast on the DuMont Television Network on Saturdays from 8 to 8:30 pm ET from January 28, 1950, to July 22, 1950 or July 29, 1950.

Lights Out is an American television anthology series that featured dramas of thrills and suspense. Broadcast on NBC from July 12, 1949, until September 29, 1952, it was the first TV dramatic program to use a split-screen display.

Armchair Detective is an American television game show that was broadcast on CBS from July 6, 1949, through September 28, 1949. It was the first CBS TV program to originate on the West Coast and be shown in the East and Midwest via kinescope recordings, and it was nominated for the Most Popular Television Program Emmy Award in 1949.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 84. ISBN   0-14-02-4916-8.
  2. 1 2 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 76–78. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3.
  3. 1 2 "Ripley on Television" . The Commercial Appeal. Tennessee, Memphis. February 27, 1949. p. IV 9. Retrieved September 20, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Hawes, William (November 16, 2015). Live Television Drama, 1946-1951. McFarland. pp. 253–254. ISBN   978-1-4766-0849-5 . Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Indian Fakir Tops Ripley Show on TV Tonight" . Buffalo Evening News. March 22, 1949. p. 23. Retrieved September 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Charles Velo, Famed 'Cyclist, Rides 35 Miles in Bound Brook" . The Central New Jersey Home News. New Jersey, New Brunswick. August 9, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved September 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Stretch, Bud (March 1, 1949). "Air Waves" . Evening Courier. New Jersey, Camden. p. 23. Retrieved September 20, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Gunthrup, Gerald (Gunny) (March 14, 1951). "The Gunny Sack" . The Oneonta Star. p. 11. Retrieved September 20, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 88. ISBN   978-0-7864-8641-0 . Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Morse, Leon (January 28, 1950). "Believe It or Not". Billboard. p. 10. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Thursday, September 21". Ross Reports. September 16, 1950. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 "NBC". Ross Reports. July 17, 1949. p. 11. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Tele Chatter". Variety. June 28, 1950. p. 30. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  14. ↑ Brandschain, Herman (March 28, 1949). "Kinescoping". Broadcasting. p. 54-C. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Ballantine Buys 'Believe It Or Not'; Bouts Out?". Billboard. November 5, 1949. p. 7. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  16. ↑ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. pp. 1155–1156. ISBN   978-0-307-48320-1 . Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  17. ↑ "CBS-TV Sellout Snafued on Time". Variety. October 25, 1950. p. 27.
  18. 1 2 3 "Believe It or Not". Variety. March 9, 1949. p. 33. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  19. ↑ "This Week ---- Debuts, Highlights, Changes". Ross Reports. August 21, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  20. 1 2 3 "Schwerin's Tele Testing System To Be Unveiled for Trade Tomorrow". Variety. August 17, 1949. p. 38. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Schwerin, Starch Entries Into TV Cues Increased Ad Interest in Field". Variety. August 24, 1949. p. 41. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.