FRANKENSTEIN - broadcast live and in color on NBC TV, Feb. 5, 1957.
Starring Tom Tryon, Christine White, Vic Perrin, & Primo Carnera as the Monster.
Host for the series, John Conte. 50 Minutes. Commercials deleted.
FRANKENSTEIN - NBC TV - Feb. 5, 1957 - 8:23 min. excerpt
NBC's Matinee Theater aired LIVE on Television,
in COLOR, from October 31, 1955 to June 13, 1958.
There were 590 original broadcasts, and 81 KINESCOPE re-runs.
During this three year series run 7000 different performers were employed,
hundreds of talented writers and directors were engaged, benefiting from a 270
man staff, constructing over 4,200 sets, employing 210,000 props, & 15,000 costumes.
Over 4 million pages of reading material was created which if weighted would equal 30 tons.
With few exceptions, most of these MATINEE THEATER Broadcasts do not exist, in any form
(video or audio), having been "wiped" (erased) by NBC. And, those few that do exist are extremely challenging to access.
Since 1986 most extant surviving broadcasts have been stored at the Library of Congress as
separate negative audio tracks, with their corresponding separate 16mm negative picture kinescopes.
The cost to make composite prints are extremely costly, and therefore these productions
"sit" decades later, with the greater possibility that these fragile elements will become not viable for
transfer at all, and digitized, regardless of expense.
Currently, there are 20 stored composite kinescopes archived by UCLA Film & Television,
and only three extant broadcasts archived by The Paley Center for Media.
This rare COMPLETE AUDIO AIR CHECK broadcast of FRANKENSTEIN was restored
by Phil Gries, from an original 1/4" Reel to Reel audio tape TV Audio Air Check, discovered
and obtained by archivist / scholar Gary Rutkowski (www.savetv.tv). The audio is pristine.
The following audio stream contains the opening, and closing of the original broadcast as
hosted by John Conte, who interviews stars Tom Tryon, Christine White & Vic Perrin
at the conclusion of the telecast.
To search for a broadcast, please e
nter a Show Title, Personality, Airdate, Archive ID, Keyword or Phrase
into the Search textboxes at the top of the page:
PRESERVING & ARCHIVING THE SOUND OF LOST & UNOBTAINABLE ORIGINAL TV (1946 - 1982)
ACCREDITED BY GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS
"Preserving & disseminating important TV Audio Air Checks, the video considered otherwise lost."
-Library of Congress