Studio One (TV Series) An Almanac of Liberty (1954) User Reviews

an allegory on the rights of man

[didi-5 · 7/10 · 19 November 2008]

This Studio One production, set almost completely in a town hall (apart from one pre-title scene) in a small American town, looks at what happens when a town's people start looking so inwardly that they forget about their rights and the rights of others.

John Carter, a stranger, has come looking for work, but in fact finds hatred, fear, and suspicion. The nominal leader of the town, Wilkinson, has men and women alike bowing down to his will - and only the local newspaperman Phillips has the nerve to question his authority.

When all the townsfolk come together for a meeting that no one remembers being invited to, things start to go strangely. Only by taking a step back and looking at the situation from an outside perspective can the normal pace of life reassert itself.

A fascinating period piece, 'An Almanac of Liberty' uses words and characters to put a powerful point across. Well worth watching.

Flawed But Interesting Twilight-Zone type play - An Almanac of Liberty

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 17 June 2021]

Talk about missed opportunities. This play is interesting, but could have been much better with two elements; a lessening of the preaching about the Constitution (some references are fine, but too many and too long make it sound like preaching), and more importantly, the undeveloped identity of the stranger. Let me see; if I was writing this character, I would have spent at least ten to twenty minutes more on him by creating some parallels to Jesus Christ. After all, isn't he a carpenter looking for work? Isn't it December 15? If one allows for some changes in the calendar and an adjustment for time references within 10 days over 2000 years,, would'nt that be another coincidence if it were December 24 at midnight?

Wouldn't have Christ approved of the US Constitution? I am sure he would have. And most people can't disappear at will, either. But Christ might have been able too. I believe the author was too timid to make these inferences in the play and took the safe way out, otherwise it would have been rated much higher.

Self -Righteous political morality play.

[westernone · 2/10 · 15 December 2014]

This apparently quickly put together one-act play may be rightfully forgotten today but it seemed to be shooting for the same level of easy heroism as "The Crucible". Supposedly it was "inspired" by a book by W.O. Douglas, and Charles Collingwood, one of Murrow's cronies, introduces it to bestow some sort of importance.

It shows how liberals viewed most of fly-over country America was like, even if all we see are the town hall and the people; it's an old, timeworn building with an archaic telephone. The people are unimaginative and dull, easily lead by hotheads who get their way because they have money. They scare easily, and can't make sense of the pure, fair, gentle figure of the stranger who hasn't lifted a finger against those that gave him a punch-out in the prologue.

The antsy town leader rails on about how intolerable someone like him, who doesn't agree with everything he thinks, is Un-American. But as in most straw-man agitprop, precisely what the offending argument was is not stated, just like the words "communist" or "Russia" weren't used. "That Country" is good enough. Only "Americanism" is said, and that's supposed to sound like a curse.

The whole lot of these unwashed middle Americans are hypocrites, as we find there hasn't been a town hall meeting in thirty years! That there having this one on this day- miraculously, constitution day- is because of the weird hand of a mysterious unseen supernatural power. Time itself stops until they see the error of their ways. When they do, the rain stops, time re-starts, and the stranger vanishes! The implication is what? That the almighty staged this little re-education class and the stranger was his son? Is that the side God picked? Leftist propaganda is not noted for it's light touch.

Well meaning but just plain bad.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 5 December 2010]

This is an episode of "Studio One"--a show that featured live hour-long dramas. In many cases they were written specifically for the show by some of the top talent and are often very interesting. Unfortately, this proves that not all from this era in TV was worth while.

The first portion of this teleplay is excellent--and very interesting like an episode of "The Twilight Zone". However, towards the end it degenerates to schmaltziness and completely undoes all the good it did early on in the show. The show is an allegory about the First Amendment and patriotism but it really ends badly.

The show starts with some townspeople coming for a meeting in the city hall. However, once there they are stuck in time--and are forced to address their own hates and prejudices. While it seemed like they all were possibly in Hell or being somehow punished for the evil the town did, in the end it turns into a heavy-handed civics lesson and nothing more. An opportunity wasted, as the ending just fell flat.