Author Topic: My Visit To MTR (Read 4769 times)

RMF · « **on:** August 03, 2005, 06:33:45 PM »

This last Sunday, I made my first visit to the MTR in Beverly Hills.

First off, a note on MTR's contents: They are up to four episodes of the 1950's "Name That Tune". Most interesting of these (although, due to time, I didn't view it) was a Red Benson episode with (according to the program note) a young Bernadette Peters.

Of the four programs I viewed at MTR, two aren't germane to this board (the 9/4/50 "Camel News Caravan" and 20 minutes of the 4/21/58 "Today"- a mistake, but I digress). However, the other two programs are of note. These were the 10/19/49 episode of "Break the Bank", and the "High Rollers" from the Warhol collection, neither a program that I (a 20-year-old non-tape trader) have seen before.

Some notes that I made:

The kinescope of the "Break the Bank" episode held up relatively well, except for a moment early on when it went black for a few seconds.

It was fairly obvious that this was a program simulcast on radio, as, with the exception of a couple of visual questions and a large Ipana Toothpaste (the sponsor) sign, there was little in the way of visual stimuli on-set.

Strange- they make a point of having a paying teller, and yet, we never see any of the contestants collect. (BTW, no one broke the bank this episode.)

I've heard a radio episode of "Break the Bank", and I've noticed that Bert Parks is more tolerable when you only hear him than when you can see and hear him.

As for "High Rollers", my notes are three-fold:

1) Tape quality was poor, but, seeing as it's a dupe of a c.1975 home recording, that's no shock.
2) A gripe: I don't care for the fact that a contestant can win (as occurs on this program) without having the dice rolled.
3) A question for those who remember seeing the program: Was Ruta Lee always somewhat ditzy, or was this a bad day for her?

More commentary, if it is requested.

clemon79 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 03, 2005, 06:37:09 PM »

[quote name=\'RMF\' date=\'Aug 3 2005, 03:33 PM\']3) A question for those who remember seeing the program: Was Ruta Lee always somewhat ditzy, or was this a bad day for her?
[/quote]
Ruta played ditzy, because it was the 70's and that was somewhat expected of female co-hosts in that day and age. She was actually, if you ever get the chance to see her on Hollywood Squares (or that episode of To Say The Least that is floating around the circuit), pretty smart.

Carol Wayne got the same rap on Celebrity Sweepstakes, except she made it into a cottage industry.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #2 on:** August 04, 2005, 01:32:11 PM »

[quote name=\'RMF\' date=\'Aug 3 2005, 06:33 PM\']First off, a note on MTR's contents: They are up to four episodes of the 1950's "Name That Tune". Most interesting of these (although, due to time, I didn't view it) was a Red Benson episode with (according to the program note) a young Bernadette Peters.
[/quote]
Cool. Were any of them Bill Cullen episodes? UCLA has one of his, with Johnny Olson as the announcer. I'd love to know if others survived.

[quote name=\'RMF\' date=\'Aug 3 2005, 06:33 PM\']2) A gripe: I don't care for the fact that a contestant can win (as occurs on this program) without having the dice rolled.[/quote]
The flaws behind High Rollers are legion for such a successful game. The remake addressed some of it, but still, it was always a show where the goal was to put yourself in a position to NOT play, and it virtually always ended with someone losing the game, not someone winning.

alfonzos · « **Reply #3 on:** August 04, 2005, 02:23:48 PM »

The Beverly Hills MTR has most of the game shows catalogued under 'quiz shows'. It used to have three episodes of Concentration but at my latest visit in 2001 they were gone. There was a partial episode of Knockout (Arte Johnson).

RMF · « **Reply #4 on:** August 04, 2005, 08:11:59 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Aug 4 2005, 12:32 PM\']Cool. Were any of them Bill Cullen episodes? UCLA has one of his, with Johnny Olson as the announcer. I'd love to know if others survived.
[/quote]

As a matter of fact, one of them was, with a date of sometime in 1954. (I didn't have my pen when I was looking at that in the database, and I live 375 miles north, so I can't get back immediately.)

RMF · « **Reply #5 on:** August 04, 2005, 08:16:29 PM »

[quote name=\'cool245\' date=\'Aug 4 2005, 01:15 PM\']I went to the MTR once but they were getting ready to close for the day so I didn't have time to watch anything. I am hoping to go back soon. Any suggestions on what to watch?

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[/quote]

Do you have any specific interests, either game or non-game related?

RMF · « **Reply #6 on:** August 04, 2005, 11:32:05 PM »

[quote name=\'cool245\' date=\'Aug 4 2005, 09:16 PM\']Any game shows not available on the trading circuit or shown on GSN are preferred. I believe I remember someone mentioning some 60s Match Game episodes one time. Any details on those?

[snapback]93331[/snapback]

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They have (though I didn't check, as I didn't use the Archives) three: Two are the GSN ones, but the third's a color 1969 episode.

If you stay in the general collection, there are two things that you can try: One is that they have some b/w game shows from 1949 and the fifties (such as the BtB episode I saw and the NTT episodes that I mentioned). The other is the Warhol Vintage Television collection, which includes several 1975-vintage game shows (warning: If the "High Rollers" episode I saw is any guide, the quality is what you expect from a home-video recording of the era- ghosts, color bleeds, etc.)

As mentioned above, I forgot to check the Archives, but they should have more of interest.