Action in the Afternoon
Encyclopedia
Action in the Afternoon is an American
western television series
that aired live on CBS
from February 2, 1953 to January 29, 1954. The series originated from the studios and back lot of WCAU-TV, Channel 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, and was broadcast Monday through Friday regardless of the weather. The half-hour series aired variously at 3:30 pm or 4:00 pm, throughout its run.
, a name derived from CBS executives Hubbell Robinson and Harry Omerle.
Action in the Afternoon is the only live outdoor western ever to appear on network television in the United States. Other live westerns existed, however Action in the Afternoon was the only one that did not include prerecorded film segments in the program. If things moved along too fast, or actors needed time to move between the indoor and outdoor sets, the time would be filled by Jack Valentine singing with The Tommy Ferguson Trio playing along.
Because the program was live and outdoors, music director
Richard Lester
made every effort to hide the sounds of the world beyond the back lot. The sounds of airplanes overhead and trucks backfiring
as they drove past the studio were covered with appropriate music. However, during one particular broadcast a very loud unscripted sound was heard, and was soon discovered to be a horse biting one of the many microphones hidden around the outdoor set.
Only a few video episodes of Action in the Afternoon remain. They can be viewed at The Paley Center for Media in New York City
. The show can also be seen on TVS Western.Com.
wrote that the "dialogue limps even more obviously than the camera" and that the series is "an experiment that needs a lot more work."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
western television series
Television Westerns
Television Westerns are a sub-genre of the Western, a genre of film, fiction, drama, television programming, etc., in which stories are set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West, Western Canada and Mexico during the period from about 1860 to the end of the...
that aired live on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from February 2, 1953 to January 29, 1954. The series originated from the studios and back lot of WCAU-TV, Channel 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, and was broadcast Monday through Friday regardless of the weather. The half-hour series aired variously at 3:30 pm or 4:00 pm, throughout its run.
Production
While ad-libbing his pitch for the series to the executives at CBS, Charles Vanda set the story in the fictional town of Huberle, MontanaMontana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, a name derived from CBS executives Hubbell Robinson and Harry Omerle.
Action in the Afternoon is the only live outdoor western ever to appear on network television in the United States. Other live westerns existed, however Action in the Afternoon was the only one that did not include prerecorded film segments in the program. If things moved along too fast, or actors needed time to move between the indoor and outdoor sets, the time would be filled by Jack Valentine singing with The Tommy Ferguson Trio playing along.
Because the program was live and outdoors, music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
made every effort to hide the sounds of the world beyond the back lot. The sounds of airplanes overhead and trucks backfiring
Back-fire
A Back-fire or backfire is an explosion produced by a running internal combustion engine that occurs in the air intake or exhaust system rather than inside the combustion chamber. The same term is used when unburned fuel or hydrocarbons are ignited somewhere in the exhaust system. A visible flame...
as they drove past the studio were covered with appropriate music. However, during one particular broadcast a very loud unscripted sound was heard, and was soon discovered to be a horse biting one of the many microphones hidden around the outdoor set.
Only a few video episodes of Action in the Afternoon remain. They can be viewed at The Paley Center for Media in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The show can also be seen on TVS Western.Com.
Reception
Three weeks into the broadcast, TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
wrote that the "dialogue limps even more obviously than the camera" and that the series is "an experiment that needs a lot more work."
External links
- 1953: Action In the Afternoon - Video Vault News Story - WCAU - Philadelphia - Includes a streaming episode of Action in the Afternoon.