The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 

For over 100 years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

People probably best remember Ginger Rogers as the other half of the greatest on-screen dancing team of all time.

But you may not know that Rogers also carved out a pretty significant leading lady persona starting in the late 1930s through the 1940s and starred in some very interesting flicks.

One of her top roles was a film called Heartbeat, directed by Sam Wood (The Pride of the Yankees, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, A Night at the Opera).

Initially, when starting her solo career, Rogers made the mistake of trying to cast herself with more reserved and less-known leading men. This backfired when, for one of her first starring films, she asked for a virtually unknown actor by the name of James Stewart to co-star in the film Vivacious Lady.  Stewart ended up stealing the spotlight despite Rogers participating in one of the most vicious on-screen fights of the time period.

(Stewart would receive his first Academy Award nomination in his very next film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, followed by an Academy Award-winning performance in The Philadelphia Story the next year.)

Rogers did not make that same mistake in Heartbeat. Her co-stars were Basil Rathbone (who starred many times as the titular character in the Sherlock Holmes film series) and Adolphe Menjou (the star of the Charlie Chaplin classic A Woman in Paris.)

Rogers stars as Arlette, a young and rather inexperienced pickpocket who gets adopted into the professional thieving world by Professor Aristide (Rathbone).  On her first assignment she is caught by a wealthy ambassador (Menjou) and is forced to partake in yet an even bigger game of deception.

The film is a wonderful blend of comedy and romance, complete with a very fulfilling twist in the end.

Heartbeat was one of Rogers’ great films during her solo years, sandwiched around classics like Tom, Dick and Harry, I’ll Be Seeing You, The Major and the Minor, Kitty Foyle and Bachelor Mother.

She would also return to co-star with Fred Astaire one last time a few years after Heartbeat in the production, The Berkeleys of Broadway.

Heartbeat will be featured in the RCN TV Movie Vault this Sunday, April 26,  at 4 p.m.

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website. 

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances. 

(Donlevy, left, portraying Super Spy Steve Mitchell in Dangerous Assignment)

Spy thriller fans will probably argue forever about whether Sean Connery, Roger Moore or Daniel Craig is the best James Bond ever.

Barry Nelson initially played the “Jimmy Bond” character in an episode of TV show Climax entitled “Casino Royale”.  But you can make a strong argument that Brian Donlevy was the first actor to play a 007-esque character on the screen several years earlier.

Donlevy starred as the suave and sophisticated undercover spy in the early 1950s classic television show, Dangerous Assignment, where he was sent to exotic locations to complete impossible missions, using wit and fighting techniques (along with some unique technological gadgets) in order to save the world from villainy.

Right down to a quick opening teaser before the credits (over a decade before the first full-length Bond film, Dr. No) the format for the on-screen spy film was born.  Shortly after the introduction, Steve Mitchell (Donleavy) would report to his supervisor’s office (there was no “Moneypenny” yet) who would outline his upcoming mission, give key facts about the plot and supply him with the technology and inside information necessary for defeating his nemesis for that evening’s program.

From there, Mitchell would travel the world, charm women (his delivery paralleled Humphrey Bogart more than any actor who would later handle the role of Bond) and escape death-defying predicaments, with some rather uniquely choreographed fight scenes.  Like almost every James Bond film, Mitchell always won the day and featured were very intriguing storylines and exciting climaxes worth watching.

Guest stars included Hugh Beaumont who, within a couple years, would find success as Ward Cleaver on the classic Leave it to Beaver series, and Harry Guardino, who also guest starred in over a hundred television programs spanning a four decades career, in shows ranging from Studio One to Murder, She Wrote.

Another guest star includes a rare TV performance by Paul Frees who performed many commercial voice-overs and created famous cartoon voice. He was even regarded as the original “man of a thousand voices” (according to “The A to Z of Old Time Radio”) while working in the same time period as venerable voice master Mel Blanc.

Despite having success on NBC Radio, the show initially failed to grab a network television sponsor. Donleavy invested his own money and produced the first 39 episodes before the series was eventually picked up and later distributed by NBC Television.

Assignment additionally produced a total 167 radio programs made both before and after its run on the small screen.  It was also unique in that it was one of the first shows to have success in the syndicated market, decades before shows like Baywatch, Star Trek: The Next Generation and others began utilizing this valuable outlet.

Years later, TV comedy Police Squad, which spoofed many great spy and police-driven classics, paid homage to this Donleavy-led program by poking fun at a few of the show’s quirks, and even titled one of its initial episodes, “A Dangerous Assignment.”  Fans of Frank Drebin may want to revisit these shows to get a glimpse of the inside jokes. 

You can see the premiere episode of Dangerous Assignment as it debuts on the RCN TV spring schedule this Friday at 11:30 am.

To see the full listing of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website. 

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 

For over a hundred years the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.

Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.

Imagine “The Twilight Zone” LIVE!

That’s what you’ll experience when watching Tales of Tomorrow, a precursor to the classic Zone series that featured legendary TV and cinematic names.

Each week, Tales of Tomorrow viewers tuned in to see supernatural adventures performed live in front of television cameras.

And unlike other science fiction comic stories of that era aimed at children, Tales of Tomorrow targeted adults and geared its stories for more mature audiences.

This sci-fi thrilling series features an anthology format, with reoccurring characters traveling through the supernatural, taking on new adventures weekly in a style used decades later by shows such as The X-Files, American Horror Story and True Detective.

Included in Tales are early screen performances from:

Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cars 3)

Lon Chaney, Jr. (Wolf Man series, Son of Dracula)

Leslie Nielsen (Scary Movie, Naked Gun film series)

Cloris Leachman (Malcolm in the Middle, Young Frankenstein)

Boris Karloff (Frankenstein, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas) Bruce Cabot (King Kong)

Lee J. Cobb (On the Waterfront, The Exorcist)

Several of its featured stars would go on to become Academy and Emmy Award winners and nominees.

Furthermore, one of the series directors was Charles S. Dubin, who later directed more episodes of M*A*S*H than anyone else.  His other directorial credits include Hawaii 5-0, Murder, She Wrote, The Rockford Files and the 1965 television production of Cinderella, starring Lesley Ann Warren.

Tales also serves as an early vehicle for Arthur C. Clarke who, in addition to writing novels that would be made into the 2001: A Space Odyssey film series, would later be regarded as one of the “Big 3” science fiction writers of all time.

Some of the storylines for Tales of Tomorrow were “borrowed” by Rod Sterling a decade later when he made The Twilight Zone.  Tune in to see if you can spot any of the original plots that would resurface again years later.

There was also one episode in which an actor forgot that the show was live and made a classic blooper – see if you can spot it. 

Catch the RCN-TV debut of Tales of Tomorrow this coming Tuesday night at 10:30pm. The pilot episode, “Ice From Space,” features Paul Newman and Raymond Bailey. Bailey would later enjoy cult TV status as banker Milburn Drysdale on the long-running TV hit, The Beverly Hillbillies.

To see all of the classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.