I'm honored and delighted to be able to present here on the
WML channel the
WORLD (re-)PREMIERE of a unique piece of broadcasting history, a show not seen publicly since it originally aired on Oct 1,
1950!
This wouldn't have been possible without the never-ending, always-enthusiastic support of the fan community.
I've thanked a few specific folks in the credits at the end of the video, but I want to give a special shout out to
Stan Taffel, longtime film preservationist, for not only making sure we didn't lose the eBay auction through his bidding expertise, but also for having the technical means, skill, and love for the material to do an outstanding transfer.
Stan has a couple of websites which I hope folks will take some time to check out:
- To learn more about his screenings in the
Los Angeles area, and more generally, the film preservation projects he's working on:
http://hollywoodparty.org/
- And his personal website: http://stantaffel.com/
Note that this reel of
16mm kinescope film began with the tail end of the prior program, so it cuts off a few minutes before the end of the WML episode.
It's a shame we lost most of the 4th and all of the final round, but what preceded the WML show holds its own importance. It's the ONLY known surviving fragment from a series otherwise totally lost to history, "
Celebrity Time" hosted by
Conrad Nagel. Because this is of such great value, and because it featured
Kitty Carlisle on the panel, I've posted this fragment to the "
To Tell the Truth" channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6LVCbg_gfk
Information from WML producer
Gil Fates's production notes for the still missing segments of this episode can be found at tv.com here (with continuing thanks to
Suzanne Astorino for the inestimable time she spent creating these incredibly useful and detailed program notes for the whole series): http://www.tv.com/shows/whats-my-line/episode-18-92535/
Let's hope this is just the first of many more lost episodes to be discovered. These films don't belong buried deep in the bowels of archives like The
Paley Center that provide only the most limited public access, and only to those who visit in person. They certainly don't belong in the hands of a media conglomerate that will try to falsely claim exclusive ownership. These films belong to the *public*. The best way to reach the greatest number of people is to make the show available here on YouTube.
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COPYRIGHT & WATERMARK EXPLANATION:
I apologize if any folks are irked at the watermark added to the video. I was advised by people far more experienced than
I am that I should have watermarked the entire video AND placed my own new copyright on this version, but I decided against that.
Unfortunately, the realities of Youtube demand that
I be able to provide some concrete means of proving I was the original poster of this video. The watermark is very faint-- barely visible, really-- and pops up only for a minute or so at a time at the beginning and end of segments. I hope no one finds it overly distracting, but this is the least intrusive I could possibly make it without leaving myself vulnerable to theft of the video.
The above said, these shows are all in the public domain.
Everyone has a legal right to do whatever he wants to with public domain material.
The one exception here is anyone reposting this video to another
YouTube channel. I won't allow anyone to compete against me on YouTube using my own videos, in this case a film I spent a lot of money to acquire. Reposting to YouTube a video that's already on YouTube provides no value to anyone. That should be obvious, since the material is already available on YouTube. Here. On this channel. From the guy who first posted it.
Stealing other people's YouTube videos for your own YouTube channel is a violation of *YouTube policies*, copyright law notwithstanding. And it's frankly a low class, ungrateful, immoral thing to do. So don't do it.
I'd also gently ask, please, that folks refrain from reposting this video on any other platforms, out of respect for the coordinated efforts of many people-- not just myself-- to make this available here on the WML channel.
Please share the link to this video anywhere you want to-- anyone with an internet connection can see the show here, and for
FREE. Just please don't *download* the video in order to *repost it elsewhere*.
Thank you.
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Please click here to subscribe to the WML channel if you haven't already-- you'll find the complete
CBS series already posted, and you'll be able to follow along the discussions on the weekday "rerun" videos: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UChPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w?sub_confirmation=1
Join our
Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! https://www.facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/
- published: 25 Jan 2016
- views: 15692