I’m surprised by the number of collection of television plays that were published in the mids 50s – Serling, Paddy Chayefsky, Reginald Rose and Gore Vidal all published their best known work. Such was the reputation of writers on television at the time (I remember reading “Variety” from these years – the writers were extremely well known in their medium, far more than screenwriters for movies, more like playwrights in the theatre). Serling is best known for The Twilight Zone but he became famous first for Patterns, a tv play included in this collection.
Patterns was this sensation at the time, but it’s fame has not lingered; another Serling play, Requiem for a Heavyweight is better known. (Just like Chayefsky’s Marty is better known than Holiday Song. One reason: both Requiem and Marty became high profile movies. I also think they are better quality.)
Even through a sympathetic eye it’s hard to see what was so amazing about Patterns – it must just have struck that chord. I mean, it’s a good script, about an interesting issue, but it seems a little familiar. There were a lot of dramas about anxious executives in the 50s – Executive Suite, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, Woman’s World, From the Terrace, The Raider. (What prompted it? Presumably someone has done a Phd on this. Growth of US economy? Lots of war veterans being dissatisfied with office jobs?) Like a lot of them it’s about competition – the ruthless company head has brought in a young exec to take the place of an old fogey, who is dying. But now – I mean my sympathy is with the company head. He wants to make money. Presumably the old fogey is drawing this big salary (he’s in his sixties and he’s got kids in college? How come he’s not been able to hang on to his money?) Ah, heck I’m being mean. I’m sure it would read better if they just changed a few things – and the theme of corporate bullying is as fresh as ever, and the ending is at least believable.
Requiem is a lot better – powerful and moving tale about a boxer struggling to figure out what he wants to do with his life. Also interesting is The Rack, about a POW who betrayed his country during the Korean War – though to enjoy it more, you should read Serling’s essay on it first (even though it’s situated after the play in the collection), as it points out that public sympathy was overwhelmingly for the POWs after Korea, which surprised (and touched) me and makes the drama a lot more interesting. Though you still wonder why MGM thought this would make a successful film – I mean, who wants to see a movie where he hero is a collaborator? (If the collaborator’s lawyer was a hero, maybe – but not the prisoner himself).
Serling also throws in a comedy about a sixty-something baseball pitcher, which totally threw me… I had no idea he was into comedy. And the result is charming – you could imagine this being made into a film today with Clint Eastwood or something. On the debit side, Serling doesn’t seem too excited about female characters: the main females in all four are the same – loving, supportive, bland types.
No comments:
Post a Comment