The Bell System Science Series
The Bell System Science Series consists of nine television specials made for the AT&T Corporation that were originally broadcast in color between 1956 and 1964. Marcel LaFollette has described them as "specials that combined clever story lines, sophisticated animation, veteran character actors, films of natural phenomena, interviews with scientists, and precise explanation of scientific and technical concepts—all in the pursuit of better public understanding of science."[1] Geoff Alexander and Rick Prelinger have described the films as "among the best known and remembered educational films ever made, and enthroning Dr. Frank Baxter, professor at the University of Southern California, as something of a legend as the omniscient king of academic science films hosts."[2]
AT&T and its subsidiary Bell Telephone System had a history of sponsoring broadcasting such as the
Following their television broadcast, the films were made available free of charge for classroom use. J. B. Gilbert estimated that, by the mid-1960s, the films had been watched by five million schoolchildren and half a million college students; about 1600 copies of the film were ultimately distributed.[3] The films were later released on home video and DVD. Over the more than 30 years they were in popular use, Baxter biographer Eric Niderost estimates, the films were seen by some 200 million students.[4]
LaFollette notes, "Production approaches that are now standard practice on NOVA and the Discovery Channel derive, in fact, from experimentation by television pioneers like Lynn Poole and Don Herbert and such programs as Adventure, Zoo Parade, Science in Action, and the Bell Telephone System's science specials. These early efforts were also influenced by television's love of the dramatic, refined during its first decade and continuing to shape news and public affairs programming, as well as fiction and fantasy, today."[1]
The Capra films
The first four films of the series were produced and written by
Capra's screenplays called for two principal characters, "Dr. Research" and "Mr. Fiction Writer", who would interact both with each other and with animated characters specific to each film. Dr. Research mainly explains scientific matters. Matthew Gunter adds that the Fiction Writer "possesses many of the characteristics of the heroes in earlier Capra films" and "also acts like the audience's surrogate, often expressing a healthy skepticism or disbelief about the facts Dr. Research presents, asking questions to the scientist, and translating his technical verbiage into the language of the common people".[6]
Religious elements
From the beginning of the project, Capra had insisted that the films would explore the relationship of science and religion. In his autobiography, Capra paraphrased his early comments to a meeting of the scientific advisory board assembled by AT&T and N. W. Ayer: "If I make a science film, I will have to say that science research is just another expression of the Holy Spirit that works in all men. Furthermore, I will say that science, in essence, is just another facet of man's quest for God."[7] At a later stage in the project, Capra wrote that the films would have "the obligation to stress or at the very least to acknowledge the spiritual side of man's make-up—to acknowledge that all good things come from God—including science".[8]
The religious elements in the screenplays occasioned much discussion and some acrimony with the scientific advisory board and consultants such as
Casting and production
For Dr. Research, Capra selected
The films were done in Technicolor, and marked Capra's first use of color in filmmaking.[6] Cartoon animation was an important feature; the animated characters in the films interact directly with the live-action characters, which was an innovation at the time. Capra worked with United Productions of America (UPA) for the first film, Our Mr. Sun. At UPA, Bill Hurtz directed the animation for Our Mr. Sun; Hurtz had been the designer for the Oscar-winning cartoon short of Dr. Seuss' Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950) and would later direct animation for Jay Ward. In 1954, Hurtz moved to Shamus Culhane Productions, and the animation contract for the next three Capra films followed him there.[11][12]
Our Mr. Sun (1956)
Our Mr. Sun examines the Sun and how it works, the Sun's profound influence on life on Earth, and the possibilities for harnessing sunlight for solar electricity; solar cells had been demonstrated at Bell Laboratories in 1954 during the development of the film. For the screenplay, Capra first contracted for treatments by two prominent authors, Aldous Huxley and Willy Ley. Ultimately, Capra wrote the screenplay himself, subject to approval by a scientific advisory board put together by N. W. Ayer. The principal scientific source used for the screenplay was the book Our Sun (1949) by Donald Menzel, who also consulted with Capra about the screenplay. Menzel opposed most of the religious elements of Capra's screenplay, but many were included in the version that was produced.[14]
The film starred Eddie Albert and Lionel Barrymore, as the Fiction Writer and as the voice of Father Time, respectively. The film was Barrymore's last screen role, and was broadcast two years after the actor's death. It introduced Frank C. Baxter as Dr. Research; Baxter played this role in the next seven films in the series. Marvin Miller voiced the Sun. Sterling Holloway had a smaller part (uncredited) voicing Chloro Phyll.
The film was first broadcast on November 19, 1956, at 10:00 p.m. to an audience estimated at 24 million viewers in the US and Canada, which was considered very successful at the time. Critical reaction was also favorable, and production of the next three films was authorized by AT&T and N. W. Ayer.[15]
Our Mr. Sun was broadcast on CBS (a rare "colorcast" for that network at the time); all other films in the series were shown on NBC.[16]
Hemo the Magnificent (1957)
Hemo the Magnificent is an examination of what the circulatory system is and how it works. It was written and directed by Frank Capra, and starred Frank C. Baxter as Dr. Research, Richard Carlson as the Fiction Writer, Mel Blanc as the squirrel, June Foray as the deer, and Marvin Miller as Hemo.
This film was first broadcast on March 20, 1957, at 9:00 p.m. This was a better hour for a family program than used for Our Mr. Sun, and the program had more viewers than those being broadcast on the two other major television networks.[17]
The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays (1957)
The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays is an examination of what
The Unchained Goddess (1958)
The Unchained Goddess examines what weather is and how it works.[20] It was the fourth and last film in the series that was produced by Frank Capra, who wrote the screenplay with Jonathan Latimer. Unlike the first three of the films, this film was directed by Richard Carlson, who also appears in the film.[11] The film was televised on February 12, 1958, with a disappointing audience share and many critical press reviews.[21]
Recent commentators have noted that this film exhibits an early concern with
The Warner films
The television ratings for these specials and the critical response to them were important to AT&T and to N. W. Ayer, which was apparently dissatisfied with The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays and Unchained Goddess. Capra had also become unhappy with the working relationship with his sponsors.[21] The fifth through the eighth films in the series were produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. The first screen in the credits for these films says, "Produced under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner". Owen Crump was the producer for the four films, and directed three of them, but (unlike Capra) he did not write the screenplays. Crump retained Frank Baxter as the host for the four films, but he dispensed with the Dr. Research/Mr. Writer pairing of the Capra films.
Geoff Alexander and Rick Prelinger have written, "From the perspective of overall cohesion, writing, and set design, Crump's Bell series films are superior to those of Capra. Crump did not overtly proselytize, relied less on animated characters interacting with Dr. Baxter, and utilized the set design as almost a character in itself, as exemplified by William Kuehl's sound stage set for Gateways to the Mind, and his madcap carnival-like set for Alphabet Conspiracy."[2] See the screenshot for one example of Kuehl's work. Marcel LaFollette has commented that, while the "spiritual tone" of the Capra films wasn't present in the Warner films, "overt appeals to religion also appeared in the four created by Warner Brothers".[24]
Ellis W. Carter was the cinematographer for three of the films; Mark Davis was credited for Thread of Life. The first two Warner films were edited by the Warner Bros. veteran Fred MacDowell, who died in 1960. Frank P. Keller returned to edit the third and fourth films.
Gateways to the Mind (1958)
Gateways to the Mind is about what the five
The Alphabet Conspiracy (1959)
The Alphabet Conspiracy examines
Thread of Life (1960)
AT&T and N. W. Ayer were apparently somewhat dissatisfied with the first two Warner films, and unsuccessfully approached Capra about bidding on production of Thread of Life and About Time.[21] Thread of Life is about heredity, DNA and how it works. The screenplay was by Rowland Barber, a writer perhaps best known for the 1960 novel The Night They Raided Minsky's. Owen Crump directed; Robert McKimson directed the animation.
About Time (1962)
About Time examines time. The screenplay was written by Richard Hobson, Nancy Pitt, and Leo Salkin. Owen Crump directed, with Phil Monroe directing the animations. The film starred Richard Deacon and Les Tremayne and featured Richard Feynman who was used as a consultant.
The Disney film: The Restless Sea (1964)
The Restless Sea examines the
Home video and public domain releases
- Our Mr. Sun. Internet Archive. Low resolution version. The copyright for Our Mr. Sun was not renewed, and it has entered the public domain.
- Frank Capra's Wonders of Life: Our Mr. Sun / Strange Case of Cosmic Rays (DVD (region 1)). Image Entertainment. September 30, 2003. Catalog no. ID0214FCDVD.
- Frank Capra's Wonders of Life: Hemo the Magnificent / Unchained Goddess (DVD (region 1)). Image Entertainment. September 30, 2003. Catalog no. ID0213FCDVD.
- Gateways to the Mind. Internet Archive. Low resolution, public domain version.
- Gateways to the Mind / Thread of Life (DVD (region 1)). Warner Bros. November 20, 2007.
- The Alphabet Conspiracy. Internet Archive. Low resolution, public domain version.
- The Alphabet Conspiracy / Science Shorts (DVD (region 1)). Peter Rabbit Studios. March 5, 2008.
- Thread of Life. Internet Archive. Low resolution, public domain version.
- Bell Science: About Time (VHS (NTSC)). Rhino / WEA. 1991. OCLC 24789575.
- Bell Science: All four Capra films and four Warner Bros. films Laserdisc (NTSC) Rhino / WEA 1992
References
- ^ S2CID 144331760. No free online access.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-5870-7.
- ^ Gilbert, p. 223.
- ^ Niderost, Eric (2014). Sonnets and Sunspots: "Dr. Research" Baxter and the Bell Science Films. BearManor Media. p. 2.
- ISBN 978-1-60473-838-4. Reprint of 1992 book published by Simon and Schuster.
- ^ ISBN 9780786488285.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-306-80771-8.
- ^ Gilbert, p. 210.
- ^ Gilbert, p. 211.
- ^ Stewart, David (January 1996). "Frank Baxter, Television's First Man of Learning". Current. Current LLC. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-57806-617-9.
- ^ Solomon, Charles (October 13, 2003). "Science films of '50s not just a memory anymore". Los Angeles Times. p. E14. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
- ^ "Primetime Emmy Award Database". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
- ^ Gilbert, pp. 204–210.
- ^ Gilbert, p. 214.
- )
- ^ Gilbert, p. 216.
- ^ Gilbert, p. 219.
- ^ Gilbert, p. 221.
- ^ The actual film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqClSPWVnNE&t=53s
- ^ a b c Gilbert, p. 222.
- ^ Reilly, Michael (March 18, 2010). "Frank Capra: Most Prescient Film-maker of the 20th Century". Discovery Channel.
- ^ Jenkins, Amber (December 2, 2010). "Unchained goddess: Frank Capra knew". My Big Fat Planet. NASA.
- ISBN 9780226467597.
Sources
- Gilbert, James Burkhart (1997). "9. Almost a message from God himself". Redeeming culture: American religion in an age of science. University of Chicago Press. pp. 199–224. ISBN 9780226293219. One chapter of Gilbert's book is devoted to the religious elements that Capra introduced into his four films of the Bell series.
Further reading
- Anonymous poster. "YouTube - 1958 Global Warming - It's NOT newly known". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-09-03. Extract from The Unchained Goddess.
- LaFollette, Marcel Chotkowski (2008). Science on the Air: Popularizers and Personalities on Radio and Early Television. University of Chicago Press. p. 236. ISBN 9780226467597.
In the Bell programs, viewers were courted, attracted, and enticed, to learn about science. With the best of intentions, in such broadcasts scientists and popularizers helped to construct an expectation of entertaining illusions.
- Niderost, Eric (2014). Sonnets and Sunspots: "Dr. Research" Baxter and the Bell Science Films. BearManor Media. OCLC 936505495. This work includes a biography of Dr. Baxter, interviews with individuals involved in the series, and many associated images.
- Smoodin, Eric Loren (2005-01-13). Regarding Frank Capra: Audience, Celebrity, And American Film Studies, 1930-1960. Duke University Press. pp. 220–222. ISBN 9780822333944.
But rather than just serving as an indication of the corporation's continuing interest in a variety of telecommunications media, the science series also demonstrated the manner in which science corporations during the cold war interacted with the education and entertainment industries to consolidate their influence in the national economy and on governmental science policy.
- Sporn, Michael (November 30, 2007). "Our Mr. Sun". Retrieved 2008-06-11.
The shows play a bit like Ward Kimball's Tomorrowland episodes of the Disneyland television show. Perhaps these are a bit less joke oriented. The animation is just as limited and design oriented. This format has forever affected many who grew up watching them. Check out the new Pixar 2D piece, You're The Rat, currently on YouTube (it'll probably be removed soon.) There's an obvious link.
In addition to Sporn's comments on the animation of Our Mr. Sun, the page also includes his selection of images from animated portions of the film. - Templeton, David (September 23–29, 1999). "Weird Science". Sonoma County Independent. Retrieved 2008-06-11. Article about Frank Baxter and the Bell Laboratory Science Series.
External links
- "Best "Bell System Science Series" Titles". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2012-04-30. Links to the IMDb listings for the nine films.