John Gunther's High Road

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John Gunther's High Road
Written by
  • John Greene
  • Phillip Shuken
Presented byJohn Gunther
Country of originUnited States
Production
ProducerJerry Stagg
Production companyBlue J. Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 7, 1959 (1959-09-07) –
September 17, 1960 (1960-09-17)

John Gunther's High Road is an American television travelogue series that was broadcast on ABC from September 7, 1959, through September 17, 1960.[1]

Format

Author John Gunther, who traveled the world, was host of this series and narrated it.[1] The show ranged "from Manhattan to the Himalayas in search of program material".[2] Subjects of episodes went beyond geographic locations to include topics such as jazz music and space travel, leading Gunther to summarize the series as "inside everywhere".[3] Producer Jerry Stagg said the main theme of the series was "the story of man, or men, in the never-ending struggle to conquer obstacles in his environment or relations with other people."[3] Guest hosts on episodes included Cesar Romero, Herb Shriner, and Walter Winchell.[3]

Production

Stagg and Blue J. Productions produced John Gunther's High Road, which was sponsored by the Ralston-Purina Company. John Greene and Phillip Shuken were the writers.[4] Some of the films shown in the series were made on Gunther's trips. Most were made by others, but they showed places that he had visited.[1] Those other sources included the Soviet Union[5] and the United Nations.[6]

The show was initially broadcast on Mondays from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time, replacing Bold Journey.[7] Beginning with the September 26, 1959, episode, it was moved to Saturdays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. E. T.,[8] where it remained until the series ended.[1] Bourbon Street Beat took over the Saturday slot, and Jubilee, U. S. A. vacated the Monday slot to make room for John Gunther's High Road.[8]

Opportunities for teachers

Ralston-Purina made program-related teaching guides available for educators to use in their classrooms. That effort was supplemented by awards from the company to "teachers who made imaginative use of the program in their classroom teaching".[9] The company awarded educational tours to 84 teachers in 1960, with many of the tours providing college credit for the recipients.[10]

Episodes

Partial List of Episodes of John Gunther's High Road
Date Episode
September 7, 1959 "Song Of The Congo"[11]
September 14, 1959 "Russia's Next Rulers"[5]
September 21, 1959 "Togoland"[8]
September 26, 1959 "Cuba[8]
December 19, 1959 "Jamaica"[12]
March 12, 1960 "Tanganyika Today"[13]
April 9, 1960 "The Forgotten Land"[14]

Critical response

A review in the trade publication Broadcasting found several flaws in the premiere episode and said that only occasional moments came "anywhere near to offering the absorbing sort of television held out by the idea of exploring with John Gunther."[15] The review said that presenting the story behind the African Ballet "was a passable and possibly good idea", with some of the dances being "fascinating".[15] Eventually, the review added, the dances became repetitive, and it suggested that editing should have reduced the showing of dances to provide "a better explanation of how the many problems of molding talent from 20 diverse tribes into a dependable ballet company had been achieved."[15]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1
    . Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  2. ^ Shanley, John P. (September 6, 1959). "A New TV Season: : Many Big Productions Planned by Networks". The New York Times. p. X 11. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  3. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  4. Newspapers.com
    .
  5. ^ a b Shepard, Richard F. (August 31, 1959). "TV Role Is Barred by Mrs. Roosevelt". The New York Times. p. 43. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  6. Newspapers.com
    .
  7. ^ "This Week -- Network Debuts & Highlights". Ross Reports. September 7, 1959. p. 73. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d Shepard, Richard F (September 12, 1959). "Truman to Give Show on Wilson". The New York Times. p. 43. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  9. ^ Adams, Val (June 6, 1960). "TV Sponsor to Aid Local Education". The New York Times. p. 59. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  10. Newspapers.com
    .
  11. ^ "Radio-TV". Jet. September 10, 1959. p. 66. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  12. Newspapers.com
    .
  13. ^ "Radio-TV". Jet. March 17, 1960. p. 66. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  14. Newspapers.com
    .
  15. ^ a b c "John Gunther's High Road". Broadcasting. September 28, 1959. p. 46. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
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