Fractured Flickers
Encyclopedia
Fractured Flickers is a live-action syndicated
half-hour television
comedy
show that was produced by Jay Ward
, who is otherwise known for animated cartoons. The pilot film was produced in 1961 (hence the 1961 copyright notice on the animated main title), but the series wasn't completed until 1963. Twenty-six episodes were produced; they were syndicated by Desilu Productions
and played for several years on local stations.
introduced short "flickers" pieced together from silent film
footage and from other older movies, overdubbed
with newly written comic dialogue and music. The voices for these were provided by fellow Ward mainstays Paul Frees
, June Foray
, and Bill Scott. The earliest episodes have careful dubbing
, with the actors and writers taking pains to synchronize the new dialogue with the actors' lip movements. Once the series had deadlines to face, however, the time-consuming dubbing was abandoned, and the later episodes don't bother with exact synchronization.
True to the Jay Ward brand of humor, the dialogue was loaded with pun
s and one-line jokes. (One silent vignette was retitled "The Barber of Stanwyck
", utilizing scenes from Douglas Fairbanks
' 1920 silent classic, The Mark of Zorro
.) Movies, television, advertising, and even the Fractured Flickers series itself were fair game for merciless kidding. (Conried quipped, "This is what we'll be doing for the next several weeks--or until someone finds out!") The show was at its funniest when desecrating early melodramas with "hip" reinterpretations, such as presenting Rudolph Valentino
as an insurance salesman or Lon Chaney, Sr.
's The Hunchback of Notre Dame
as "Dinky Dunstan, Boy Cheerleader." (Lon Chaney, Jr.
was not amused by the latter and attempted unsuccessfully to sue Jay Ward over it.) Many segments were vicious satires of television commercials; a typical "word from our sponsor" would have the announcer extolling the virtues of the item being advertised, accompanied by darkly humorous clips. A fly-by-night real estate development, for example, was illustrated with clips of buildings being destroyed by a cyclone (from Steamboat Bill, Jr. with Buster Keaton
). And "This moment of softness (explosions, wild parties, etc.) has been brought to you by Bee. Bee, the only tissue woven
in mid-air by bees!" Regular features were the "Minute Mysteries", featuring Stan Laurel
as master detective Sherman Oaks (his scenes "fractured" from his 1925 short comedy, Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde
), and the weekly "tributes" to some American city.
Each episode also featured a celebrity guest whom Conried would interview. Most were popular personalities of the 1960s such as Fabian
, Bob Denver
, Deborah Walley
, Rod Serling
, and Rose Marie
. Many of them caught the spirit of the show, and answered Conried's questions with tongue in cheek.
The films used in the show were then about 40 years old. Now, Fractured Flickers is even more removed from the present day, but the humor frequently holds up well, especially when the show dealt with universal themes: traffic jams, exercise programs, hobbies, careers, social pursuits. Many prominent figures of the 1960s were lampooned. A segment based on the Kennedy family
(and produced long before air time) was excised from all copies of the series when President Kennedy was assassinated so that it was never shown. This segment remains lost to this day.
The entire series is available on a DVD set from VCI Entertainment.http://www.vcientertainment.com/HollywoodLandProduct.aspx?id=572
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
half-hour television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
show that was produced by Jay Ward
Jay Ward
J Troplong "Jay" Ward was an American creator and producer of animated television cartoons. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, Peabody and Sherman, Hoppity Hooper, George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken...
, who is otherwise known for animated cartoons. The pilot film was produced in 1961 (hence the 1961 copyright notice on the animated main title), but the series wasn't completed until 1963. Twenty-six episodes were produced; they were syndicated by Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions was a Los Angeles, California-based company jointly owned by actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, who were married to each other from 1940 to 1960....
and played for several years on local stations.
Content
Host Hans ConriedHans Conried
Hans Georg Conried, Jr. was an American comedian, character actor and voice actor.-Early years:He was born on April 15, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland to Hans Georg Conried, Sr. and Edith Beyr Gildersleeve. His mother was a descendant of Pilgrims, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Vienna,...
introduced short "flickers" pieced together from silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
footage and from other older movies, overdubbed
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
with newly written comic dialogue and music. The voices for these were provided by fellow Ward mainstays Paul Frees
Paul Frees
Paul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
, June Foray
June Foray
June Foray is an American voice actress, best known as the voice of many animated characters...
, and Bill Scott. The earliest episodes have careful dubbing
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
, with the actors and writers taking pains to synchronize the new dialogue with the actors' lip movements. Once the series had deadlines to face, however, the time-consuming dubbing was abandoned, and the later episodes don't bother with exact synchronization.
True to the Jay Ward brand of humor, the dialogue was loaded with pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s and one-line jokes. (One silent vignette was retitled "The Barber of Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
", utilizing scenes from Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
' 1920 silent classic, The Mark of Zorro
The Mark of Zorro (1920 film)
The Mark of Zorro is a 1920 silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Noah Beery. This genre-defining swashbuckler adventure was the first movie version of The Mark of Zorro...
.) Movies, television, advertising, and even the Fractured Flickers series itself were fair game for merciless kidding. (Conried quipped, "This is what we'll be doing for the next several weeks--or until someone finds out!") The show was at its funniest when desecrating early melodramas with "hip" reinterpretations, such as presenting Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
as an insurance salesman or Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
's The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American film directed by Wallace Worsley and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg. It stars Lon Chaney, Sr., Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, Brandon Hurst. The film is the second most famous adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel,...
as "Dinky Dunstan, Boy Cheerleader." (Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
was not amused by the latter and attempted unsuccessfully to sue Jay Ward over it.) Many segments were vicious satires of television commercials; a typical "word from our sponsor" would have the announcer extolling the virtues of the item being advertised, accompanied by darkly humorous clips. A fly-by-night real estate development, for example, was illustrated with clips of buildings being destroyed by a cyclone (from Steamboat Bill, Jr. with Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
). And "This moment of softness (explosions, wild parties, etc.) has been brought to you by Bee. Bee, the only tissue woven
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
in mid-air by bees!" Regular features were the "Minute Mysteries", featuring Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel
Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
as master detective Sherman Oaks (his scenes "fractured" from his 1925 short comedy, Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde
Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde
Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde is a 1925 silent, black-and-white comedy film, directed by Scott Pembroke and Joe Rock .The film iself is both a spoof of the previous Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde films Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde is a 1925 silent, black-and-white comedy film, directed by Scott Pembroke and Joe...
), and the weekly "tributes" to some American city.
Each episode also featured a celebrity guest whom Conried would interview. Most were popular personalities of the 1960s such as Fabian
Fabian (entertainer)
Fabiano Anthony Forte , known as Fabian, is an American teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 listing.-Early life:Fabian was the son of Josephine and Domenic...
, Bob Denver
Bob Denver
Robert Osbourne "Bob" Denver was an American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.-Early life:Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in...
, Deborah Walley
Deborah Walley
Deborah Walley was an American actress.-Biographical Information:Deborah Walley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Ice Capades skating stars and choreographers Nathan and Edith Walley. She attended Central High School in Bridgeport. At fourteen she was playing summer-stock theatre. She...
, Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
, and Rose Marie
Rose Marie
Rose Marie is an American actress. As a child performer she had a successful singing career as Baby Rose Marie....
. Many of them caught the spirit of the show, and answered Conried's questions with tongue in cheek.
The films used in the show were then about 40 years old. Now, Fractured Flickers is even more removed from the present day, but the humor frequently holds up well, especially when the show dealt with universal themes: traffic jams, exercise programs, hobbies, careers, social pursuits. Many prominent figures of the 1960s were lampooned. A segment based on the Kennedy family
Kennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
(and produced long before air time) was excised from all copies of the series when President Kennedy was assassinated so that it was never shown. This segment remains lost to this day.
The entire series is available on a DVD set from VCI Entertainment.http://www.vcientertainment.com/HollywoodLandProduct.aspx?id=572
Guest stars
The following stars, listed in order of appearance by episode number, conversed with Conried during the guest segments.- 1: Rose MarieRose MarieRose Marie is an American actress. As a child performer she had a successful singing career as Baby Rose Marie....
- 2: FabianFabian (entertainer)Fabiano Anthony Forte , known as Fabian, is an American teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 listing.-Early life:Fabian was the son of Josephine and Domenic...
- 3: Gypsy Rose LeeGypsy Rose LeeGypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act. She was also an actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy.-Early life:...
- 4: Allan ShermanAllan ShermanAllan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer , became the fastest-selling record album up to that time...
- 5: Annette FunicelloAnnette FunicelloAnnette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
- 6: Edward Everett HortonEdward Everett HortonEdward Everett Horton was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons. He is especially known for his work in the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Isabella...
- 7: Paula PrentissPaula PrentissPaula Ragusa , better known by her stage name Paula Prentiss, is an American actress well-known for her film roles in Where the Boys Are, Man's Favorite Sport?, The Stepford Wives, What's New Pussycat?, The Black Marble, and The Parallax View and her co-starring role in the television situation...
- 8: Sebastian CabotSebastian Cabot (actor)Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was an English film and television actor, best remembered as the gentleman's gentleman, "Giles French," opposite Brian Keith's character, in the 1960s sitcom Family Affair. He was also known for playing Dr...
- 9: Roddy McDowallRoddy McDowallRoderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
: Reappears briefly after the following flicker, the only guest to reappear. - 10: Vivian Della ChiesaVivian Della ChiesaVivian Della Chiesa was an American lyric soprano who achieved a high level of popularity in the United States singing on the radio during the 1940s and the early 1950s. She performed a wide variety of classical and popular works from opera to musical theatre, jazz, and popular songs...
opera singer - 11: Connie StevensConnie StevensConnie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
- 12: Rod SerlingRod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
- 13: Connie HinesConnie HinesConnie Hines was an American actress, best known for playing Alan Young's wife, Carol Post, on the 1960s syndicated and then CBS sitcom Mister Ed.- Biography :...
- 14: Cesar RomeroCesar RomeroCesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
- 15: Diana DorsDiana DorsDiana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
- 16: Bullwinkle J. MooseBullwinkle J. MooseBullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character in the 1959–1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, often collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle, produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott...
(in the form of a hand puppetHand puppetA hand puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by the leg or face that occupies the interior of the puppet. Glove puppets are a variation of hand puppets...
) - 17: Deborah WalleyDeborah WalleyDeborah Walley was an American actress.-Biographical Information:Deborah Walley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Ice Capades skating stars and choreographers Nathan and Edith Walley. She attended Central High School in Bridgeport. At fourteen she was playing summer-stock theatre. She...
- 18: Paul LyndePaul LyndePaul Edward Lynde was an American comedian and actor. A noted character actor, Lynde was well known for his roles as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched and Harry MacAfee, the befuddled father in Bye Bye Birdie...
- 19: Anna Maria AlberghettiAnna Maria AlberghettiAnna Maria Alberghetti is an Italian-born operatic singer and actress.Born in Pesaro, Marche, she starred on Broadway and won a Tony Award in 1962 as Best Actress for Carnival! .Alberghetti was a child prodigy. Her father was an opera singer and concert master of the Rome Opera Company...
- 20: Ruta LeeRuta LeeRuta Lee is a Canadian actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers...
- 21: Barbara EdenBarbara EdenBarbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
- 22: Bob DenverBob DenverRobert Osbourne "Bob" Denver was an American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.-Early life:Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in...
- 23: Pat CarrollPat Carroll (actress)Patricia Ann “Pat” Carroll is an American actress. She performed in numerous stage productions, and portrayed the roles of "Bunny Halper" on CBS's The Danny Thomas Show, Shirley Feeney's mother on ABC's Laverne and Shirley, and is the voice of the villainous Ursula in The Little Mermaid film...
- 24: Bob NewhartBob NewhartGeorge Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
- 25: Ursula AndressUrsula AndressUrsula Andress is a Swiss actress and a sex symbol of the 1960s. She is known for her roles as Bond girl Honey Ryder in Dr...
- 26: Zsa Zsa GaborZsa Zsa GaborZsa Zsa Gabor is a Hungarian-born American stage, film and television actress.She acted on stage in Vienna, Austria, in 1932, and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style", with a personality that...