American TV series or program
Swingin' Together
|
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Genre
| Musical comedy
|
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Written by
| Howard Leeds
|
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Directed by
| Gene Reynolds
|
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Starring
| |
---|
Theme music composer
| Kal Mann
and
Dave Appell
|
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Opening theme
| "Swingin' Together"
|
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Country of origin
| United States
|
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Original language
| English
|
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No.
of episodes
| 1
|
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|
Producers
| Jerry Thorpe
Howard Kreitsik
|
---|
Running time
| 30 minutes
|
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Production companies
| Desilu Productions
Ludlow Productions
|
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|
Release
| August 26, 1963
(
1963-08-26
)
|
---|
Swingin' Together
is a 30-minute unsold television pilot co-produced by
Desilu Productions
and
Ludlow Productions
. The proposed musical comedy series stars
Bobby Rydell
as the leader of a rock band called Bobby Day and the Four Knights, who travel around the country on an old bus driven by their manager, P. J. Cunningham (
James Dunn
), seeking their big break. The pilot aired on August 26, 1963, in the first season of CBS'
Vacation Playhouse
, a summer showcase for unsold Desilu television pilots.
Plot
[
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]
Bobby Day (
Bobby Rydell
) is the leader of a rock 'n roll band called Bobby Day and the Four Knights. The band members live on an old bus named
The Lucinda
, driven by their manager, P. J. Cunningham (
James Dunn
), and travel to one-night gigs across the country seeking their big break. In the pilot, P. J. has booked them at a country club benefit. They set up and start playing "
The Twist
", but are told to leave by the organizer, Linda Craig (
Stefanie Powers
), who objects to their style of music. P. J. collars Linda's father and threatens him with a lawsuit. Her father apologizes to the band members and assures them that they will be able to continue. At the benefit, the band plays "
The Start of Something Big
", energizing the crowd. Bobby attempts to speak with Linda, who is still unhappy with their style of music, but when they launch into a cover of "
Let's Twist Again
", Linda's father encourages her to join in the dancing and she begins to enjoy it.
Cast
[
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]
Guest stars (uncredited)
[
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]
Three of
Bing Crosby
's sons?
Dennis
,
Lindsay
, and
Phillip
?appear as singers.
Production
[
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]
Development
[
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]
The concept for a television series starring
Bobby Rydell
, then a popular singer, began in fall 1961 with the tentative title
The Bobby Rydell Show
. That same year, a feature film called
Teenage Millionaire
cast
Jimmy Clanton
in the role of Bobby Schultz, an orphaned singer who records a song at his aunt's radio station and sees it become popular thanks to his new girlfriend. Desilu retitled their project
Teenage Millionaire
and planned to cast Rydell as Bobby Schultz and
Judy Rawlins
as his girlfriend. In December 1961, the concept was revised further into a series featuring Rydell as the leader of a rock 'n roll band, with the title
Saturday Nights
. The title was then changed to
Swingin' Together
.
The show business theme was common to other Desilu pilots of the time, but the rock 'n roll angle was unique.
Swingin' Together
was co-produced by
Desilu Productions
and
Ludlow Productions
.
[4]
In 1962 Rydell released a song called "Swingin' Together" with
Chubby Checker
on the B-side of their
45 record
"Teach Me To Twist".
[5]
Filming
[
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]
The pilot was filmed in January 1963 at
Desilu Studios
.
[6]
It was directed by
Gene Reynolds
and produced by
Jerry Thorpe
.
Howard Kreitsik produced for Desilu Studios.
[8]
Release
[
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]
The pilot aired on August 26, 1963, during the first season of
Vacation Playhouse
on CBS.
[4]
Critical reception
[
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]
A review in
The Pittsburgh Press
called the episode "painful" to watch. It commended the contribution of character actor
James Dunn
as the band's manager-driver, but panned the insipid dialogue between the band members.
[9]
The Morning Call
summed it up as "a rock-'n'-roll pilot film that has nothing much, except Bobby Rydell singing, drumming and smiling".
[10]
The
Philadelphia Daily News
called the episode "a skimpy little pilot, designed exclusively to give Bobby Rydell a chance to sing".
[11]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Swingin' Together (Unsold Pilot)"
. Television Obscurities. May 20, 2010
. Retrieved
May 8,
2020
.
- ^
Standard Catalog of American Records 2000
, p. 972.
- ^
"Pilot Episodes"
.
Broadcasting
.
62
: 119. February 26, 1982.
- ^
"
'Vacation Playhouse' Lists Comedy Fare For Monday"
.
The Daily Herald
. August 26, 1963. p. 14 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
Van Horne, Harriet (August 27, 1963).
"Rejected 'Pilots' On Summer Show"
.
The Pittsburgh Press
. p. 42 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Previews of the Top Shows: Monday, August 26"
.
The Morning Call
. August 25, 1963. p. 63 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Tonight's Previews"
.
Philadelphia Daily News
. August 26, 1963. p. 35 – via
Newspapers.com
.
Sources
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]
External links
[
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]