"Wide Wide World" (1955) TV series 1955-1958

Creator:

Sylvester L. Weaver Jr.

Seasons:

unknown

Release Date:

16 October 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Using 40 cameras and 12 mobile vans, this live Sunday afternoon programme broadcast events in North America...

Plot Keywords:

Informational

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Dave Garroway	...	Host (1 episode, 1956)
Lew Ayres	...	Himself (1 episode, 1956)
Robert Fryer	...	Himself (1 episode, 1956)
Alice Ghostley	...	Herself (1 episode, 1956)
Martyn Green	...	Himself (1 episode, 1956)
Harold Lang	...	Himself (1 episode, 1956)
Robert W. Sarnoff	...	Himself (1 episode, 1956)
Hannerl Melcher	...	Herself - Miss Austria 1957 (1 episode, 1957)
Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
James Arness	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Gene Autry	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Walter Brennan	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Gary Cooper	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Delmer Daves	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Gail Davis	...	Herself (1 episode, 1958)
John Ford	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
James Garner	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Frank Gruber	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Big John Hamilton	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Chuck Hayward	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Jack Kelly	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Clayton Moore	...	The Lone Ranger (1 episode, 1958)
Ben Piazza	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Rodd Redwing	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Chuck Roberson	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Maria Schell	...	Herself (1 episode, 1958)
Jay Silverheels	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
Jack L. Warner	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)
John Wayne	...	Himself (1 episode, 1958)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Melody Ranch - 24715 Oak Creek Avenue, Newhall, California, USA

Company:

National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Wild Wild World (1960)

A priceless time capsule

Along with Omnibus, one of the gems of TV's Golden Age. Pat Weaver (Sigorney's dad), the pioneer who invented the Today Show, plucked its host Dave Garroway to host this weekly Sunday special. As the description says, NBC made available crews to span the continent in search of interesting subjects and venues - live of course. The result, irreplaceable documents of America, it's culture, society and landscape (pre-interstate-highway). It also waxed philosophical, with Garroway's signature "Peace" preceded by the opening lines of Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Renascence" - probably over the heads of today's audience, dumbed down by a medium which during Wide Wide World's era sought to edify its audience rather than corrupt it.

The originals were superb quality; unfortunately, in those pre-tape days live broadcasts were recorded by the dreadful kinescope process, which consisted of a film camera pointing at a TV monitor. Nevertheless, even in this degraded form, a show like Wide Wide World (and Omnibus) highly deserves distribution. It's not only a priceless artifact in its own right but a wonderful document of an era.