Longines Chronoscope
| Longines Chronoscope | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Chronoscope[1] |
| Genre | Public affairs |
| Created by | Alan Cartoun |
| Directed by | Alan Cartoun |
| Starring | Frank Knight William Bradford Huie Larry LeSueur Henry Hazlitt |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 15 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS Television |
| Release | 11 June 1951 – April 1955 |
Longines Chronoscope, also titled Chronoscope, is an American TV series, sponsored by Longines watches, that ran on CBS Television from 1951–1955. The series aired Monday nights at 11 p.m. ET to 11:15 p.m., and expanded to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET after the first season. More than 600 episodes were aired, but only 482 survive, and these surviving kinescopes were donated by Longines to the National Archives.[2]
The series featured 15-minute episodes with interviews with notable people of the time, including Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Hubert H. Humphrey, Henry Wallace, Robert Moses, Richard E. Byrd, Joseph McCarthy, Earl Warren, Arthur Bliss Lane, John V. Beamer, Tadeusz "Bór" Komorowski and Clare Boothe Luce.[3] The show was hosted by William Bradford Huie, Larry LeSueur, and Henry Hazlitt.[3]
Journalist Frank W. Taylor and business affairs consultant Henry Hazlitt were regular members of the three-person panel. The third panelist for each episode was a guest selected for having particular knowledge related to the guest for that show. Frank Knight was the moderator.[4][1]
In February 1954, Clark Getts, former producer of Longines Chronoscope, sued CBS for $150,000, alleging that the network had caused Longines to break its contract with him.[5]
The program's demise resulted from a disagreement between CBS and the sponsor regarding control. Network officials felt that CBS should have control, because the program involved discussions of controversial public affairs; Longines executives felt that the company should retain control.[6]
In 1956, Chronoscope was included in a Congressional subcommittee's investigation of network operations. Getts, CBS executives, and a Longines-Wittnauer official were among the witnesses who appeared before the subcommittee headed by Representative Emanuel Cellar.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1988). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (4th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 152. ISBN 0-345-35610-1.
- ^ "Longines Chronoscope: 1952 Summer Olympics". C-SPAN. July 29, 2012. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012.
- ^ a b Shamley, Sarah L. (1990). "Television Interviews, 1951-1955". National Archives Trust Fund Board. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ "The Longines-Wittnauer Chronoscope" (PDF). Billboard. June 23, 1951. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "Getts in 150G Suit Vs. CBS" (PDF). Billboard. March 6, 1954. p. 4. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "'Chronoscope' To Quit CBS" (PDF). Billboard. May 2, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ "Networks, on Celler stand, tell of inside operations" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 1, 1956. p. 50. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
External links
[edit]
- “Television Interviews, 1951-1955: A Catalog of Longines Chronoscope Interviews in the National Archives”. Compiled by Sarah L. Shamley. National Archives and Records Administration, 1990.
- Yazbeck, Alessandro Balteo & Media Farzin. “Screen Play: Chronoscope, 1951, 11PM”. mitpressjournal.org (pp. 132–147)
- Longines Chronoscope at IMDb
- Chronoscope interview with Henry Wallace, broadcast 12/28/51, Retrieved September 10, 2013
- Chronoscope interview with Earl Warren, broadcast 4/11/52, Retrieved September 12, 2013
- Chronoscope interview with John F. Kennedy, broadcast 8/22/52, Retrieved September 12, 2013
- Chronoscope interview with Kenneth Younger, broadcast 10/19/53, Retrieved February 12, 2020
- Chronoscope interview with Humbert H. Humphrey, broadcast 12/2/53, Retrieved September 12, 2013
- Chronoscope interview with John V. Beamer, broadcast 3/10/1952, Retrieved February 18, 2015
- A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Arthur Bliss Lane (March 24, 1952)" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Arthur Garfield Hays (December 7, 1951)" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive