DEADLINE (1959-1961)
Label: Film Chest
Duration: 1006 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Video: B&W Full Frame (1.33:1)
Audi: Dolby Digital Mono
Cast: Paul Stewart (Narrator), Peter Falk, Diane Ladd, George Maharis, Robert Lansing
Directors: Stuart Rosenberg, David Alexander, Peter Godfrey, Paul Stewart, Bruce Anderson, Larry Doheny, Don Richardson, Mende Brown
Synopsis: Lost and forgotten in a garage in New Jersey for over 50 years, the Deadline TV series (1959-61), which dramatized stories drawn from actual newspaper headlines of the 1950’s, has been rediscovered to remind us of a time when newspaper reporters were revered as heroes and the guardians of truth and justice. Reporters are the first line of defense of the principles rooted in our Constitution and protected under the first amendment. They uphold everything that our civil society stands for. At a time when print news media is rapidly disappearing and news reporters are being vilified as “enemies of the people,” Deadline has emerged from hibernation and is making its home video debut. Starring Peter Falk, Diane Ladd, George Maharis, Robert Lansing, and many more, this anthology series is available for the first time since it aired on prime-time TV nearly 60 years ago.
Vintage "ripped from the headlines" TV-series Deadline originally aired from 1959-61, dramatizing stories that were pulled straight from the headlines, standing in stark contrast to our current era of the President decrying that the media are "fake news". Back then newspaper reporters were portrayed as courageous seekers of truth and justice, heralded by the police for their bravery in digging down deep and exposing the murder, arson, mob activity, crooked politicians and other crime-related happenings. Each hard-boiled half-hour episode is introduced by Paul Stewart (Citizen Kane), then gets into each fast-paced and gripping episode.
The crimes exposed in the series run the gamut from airplane bombings, murder, theft and political corruption, sometimes detailing the steep prices paid by the journalist who wrote the stories, including having acid thrown in one reporter's face, blinding him for life!
If you're a fan of vintage 50's television dramas or more contemporary counterparts like Law & Order: SUV this is a solid series well-worth checking out.
Audio/Video: The 39-episode series arrives on 3-disc DVD from Film Chest in the original full frame broadcast aspect ratio. The source looks pretty decent, there's blemishes by way spotting and vertical lines in nearly all the episodes to some degree, but overall I found the quality to be very good. Contrast can waver at times, but it's never less than watchable. The English Dolby Digital mono audio is solid.
The sole extras on the disc is a 1-min trailer for the series, plus a 25-min interview with Broadcast Journalism Professor Joe Alicastro.
There is also a 12-page booklet which offers episode trivia, synopsis, cast credits and air dates, plus images from the series, and an article 'Journalism Past and Present Overview' comparing the state of news reporting today versus the 50's. The centerfold of the booklet features a reprint of the society Of Professional Journalism's Code of Ethics.
Special Features:
- Trailer (1 min)
- Interview with Broadcast Journalism Professor Joe Alicastro (25 min)
- 12-Page Booklet with episode trivia, episode synopsis, cast info, images and 'Journalism Past and Present Overview'.
