Wednesday, July 08, 2020

Video: James Thurber Unsold Pilot "Christabel"



Here's a rare half hour of TV from June 8, 1959. From Alcoa-Goodyear Theater, this is "Christabel;" an unsold pilot for a series that was to be titled "the Secret Life of John Monroe." It's based on a James Thurber story, and there's animated segments created by the UPA Studio.

UPA had animated Thurber before, for the animated short "The Unicorn in the Garden."


From Betagems:

"'Christabel' was written by Mel Shavelson, who ten years later created (and sometimes wrote and directed) the James Thurber-inspired series My World and Welcome to It, with a fourth episode called "Christabel" (10-6-69) that was very similar to the Alcoa-Goodyear version, right down to the cartoon dog in the credits. Directed by James Sheldon and also starring Georgeann Johnson, Susan Gordon, Charles Herbert, and Dabbs Greer. Music by Joseph Liebling. Alcoa Theatre was a half-hour anthology series that ran from September 30, 1957 through May 23, 1960. You can find more episodes of this and other vintage TV anthologies in the BetaGems playlist 'Anthology Television 1950s-1960s.'"




Hat tip to Steve Thompson!

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