Philbrick was Here (was Re: real-life Vineland, cont'd)

[davemarc]

Let's go back to the Tubal days of yester-year....

>From The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, by
Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh:

I Led Three Lives
Syndicated Series
May 1953--mid-1956

This product of the McCarthy era contained what was perhaps the most
explicit political propaganda ever found in a popular dramatic series on
American television.  Today it stands as a genuine period piece, reflecting
the stereotypes that were all too prevalent during the Red Scare of the
1940s and early 1950s.  In this show, Communist spies really were behind
every bush, and anyone with liberal views was indeed suspect.

The program had a documentary flavor, opening with an announcer booming,
"This is the fantastically true story of Herbert A. Philbrick, who for nine
frightening years did lead three lives--average citizen, member of the
Communist Party, and counterspy for the FBI.  For obvious reasons the
names, dates, and places have been changed, but the story is based on
fact."

[snip]

In one episode a mother reported her daughter's boyfriend, Paul, because
she thought he had caused her daughter to start talking about how she hated
bombing and wars and such.  "Where did my daughter get the outrageous ideas
she's been expressing?" the mother worried.  Philbrick tracked down the
real Commie--an art dealer the daughter knew--and at the end noted with
relief that the girl was "not only safe and sound, but cured of her
Communist infection, a real dividend for her mother and Paul."

[snip]

Observers today might wonder how viewers in the 1950s could take so
seriously the idea that "your best friend may be a traitor" (as opposed to
the dangers of international Communism).  The series got much of its impact
from the fact that it was based on a true story, as told by the real
Herbert A. Philbrick in his best-selling book *I Led Three Lives*. 
Philbrick himself served as technical consultant.  The program even had the
approval of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, which reviewed all scripts.  In
later episodes, as the writers began to run out of material, the stories
strayed further and further from actual events.  One episode even had the
Commies plotting to undermine the U.S. guided missile program by converting
vacuum cleaners into bomb launchers.

[snip]

As for those involved in the series, they saw the program primarily as a
profit-maker.  "We're not trying to deliver a message," stated the
production company, Ziv.  "That's not our field.  Our chief purpose is to
find good story properties, turn them into good films, and sell them." 
[Series star] Richard Carlson, when queried, invariably rattled off the
financial advantages (he got a piece of the profits) and the benefits of a
filmed series in allowing him time for other pursuits.  "I'm just an
actor," he insisted.  "Philbrick is the guy who made the contribution, not
me."  Still, he admitted, he did see it as a "public service."  [Co-star]
Virginia Stefan expressed amazement at the seriousness with which some
viewers took the show.  "It's hard to believe, but people actually write us
and ask us to investigate Communists in their neighborhood."  The letters
were turned over to the FBI.

Most politically motivated was author Philbrick, whose new career as a
lecturer and writer on the Communist menace was boosted no end by this hit
series.  Philbrick continues to lecture to this day [1995], and currently
[1995] puts out a newsletter from Washington, D.C.

Whatever the motives of those involved, *I Led Three Lives* was one of the
major syndicated hits of television history.  Breweries were its most
frequent sponsors, but oil and steel companies, banks and utilities felt
that it was an excellent public-service program for their patriotic "image"
advertising and continued to sponsor reruns well into the 1960s.  Today,
however, *I Led Three Lives* is simply an especially interesting reflection
of a very different time. 

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davemarc