DAVID HALBERSTAM'S THE FIFTIES - (HISTORY CHANNEL 1997-98) VERY RARE!!! Edward Herrmann
Archival footage and interviews with historians mark this fascinating documentary on the 1950s, based on David Halberstam's bestseller. Among the subjects covered: work and the family; the impact of TV; the Cold War; and the beginnings of the civil-rights movement and the sexual revolution. Narrator: Edward Herrmann.
Episode 1: The Fear and the Dream (Sun, Nov 30, 1997) - Part one looks at postwar America. Included: the "new phenomenon" of suburbia; the Korean War and the Cold War; Eisenhower's 1952 election. Also: the H-bomb; Mickey Spillane; and Joseph McCarthy.
Episode 2: Selling the American Way (Sun, Dec 7, 1997) - The impact of television and advertising on middle-class Americans during the decade, including how it changed family life and eating habits and made consumers feel "better and better about buying more and more." Also: the Nixon "Checkers" speech; and "sentimental imperialism" in Central America.
Episode 3: Let's Play House (Sun, Dec 14, 1997) - A look at marriage and family life during the decade, as women's magazines "suggested that homemaking should fulfill all of a woman's hopes and dreams" and "a certain desperation lingered behind the new affluence," says narrator Edward Herrmann. Also: the impact of "Peyton Place" and "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit."
Episode 4: A Burning Desire (Sun, Dec 21, 1997) - A sexual revolution takes root as the work of Alfred Kinsey reveals "America's unknown sexual territory" and its underground gay culture. Also: segments on Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Hefner and Margaret Sanger.
Episode 5: The Rage Within (Sun, Jan 4, 1998) - "The Rage Within" chronicles the birth of the civil-rights movement. Included: the murder of Emmett Till and the arrest of Rosa Parks. Also: segments on Little Rock, Ark., Medger Evers and basketball great Bill Russell.
Episode 6: The Beat (Sun, Dec 28, 1997) - "The Beat" chronicles the effect of two pop-culture icons: Jack Kerouac and Elvis Presley. Interviewees include Allen Ginsberg and Sam Phillips.
Episode 7: The Road to the Sixties (Sun, Jan 11, 1998) - Americans are on the move toward the end of the decade, as car sales and road construction soar, along with drive-in everything. Also: Sputnik, the Edsel and the 1960 Presidential election.
Interested in more Fifties fun? Be sure to check out the 1960 CBS special The Fabulous Fifties.
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Number of DVDs: 7
Number of Episodes: 7
Quality: 9/10 - Recorded from VHS
Running Time: 6 hr 30 min (approx)
Aspect Ratio: Full Screen 1.33:1
NOTES: This is a fan-made DVD set. Not a studio release. The episodes are presented as shown in the original broadcast order.
Description
Archival footage and interviews with historians mark this fascinating documentary on the 1950s, based on David Halberstam's bestseller. Among the subjects covered: work and the family; the impact of TV; the Cold War; and the beginnings of the civil-rights movement and the sexual revolution. Narrator: Edward Herrmann.
Episode 1: The Fear and the Dream (Sun, Nov 30, 1997) - Part one looks at postwar America. Included: the "new phenomenon" of suburbia; the Korean War and the Cold War; Eisenhower's 1952 election. Also: the H-bomb; Mickey Spillane; and Joseph McCarthy.
Episode 2: Selling the American Way (Sun, Dec 7, 1997) - The impact of television and advertising on middle-class Americans during the decade, including how it changed family life and eating habits and made consumers feel "better and better about buying more and more." Also: the Nixon "Checkers" speech; and "sentimental imperialism" in Central America.
Episode 3: Let's Play House (Sun, Dec 14, 1997) - A look at marriage and family life during the decade, as women's magazines "suggested that homemaking should fulfill all of a woman's hopes and dreams" and "a certain desperation lingered behind the new affluence," says narrator Edward Herrmann. Also: the impact of "Peyton Place" and "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit."
Episode 4: A Burning Desire (Sun, Dec 21, 1997) - A sexual revolution takes root as the work of Alfred Kinsey reveals "America's unknown sexual territory" and its underground gay culture. Also: segments on Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Hefner and Margaret Sanger.
Episode 5: The Rage Within (Sun, Jan 4, 1998) - "The Rage Within" chronicles the birth of the civil-rights movement. Included: the murder of Emmett Till and the arrest of Rosa Parks. Also: segments on Little Rock, Ark., Medger Evers and basketball great Bill Russell.
Episode 6: The Beat (Sun, Dec 28, 1997) - "The Beat" chronicles the effect of two pop-culture icons: Jack Kerouac and Elvis Presley. Interviewees include Allen Ginsberg and Sam Phillips.
Episode 7: The Road to the Sixties (Sun, Jan 11, 1998) - Americans are on the move toward the end of the decade, as car sales and road construction soar, along with drive-in everything. Also: Sputnik, the Edsel and the 1960 Presidential election.
Interested in more Fifties fun? Be sure to check out the 1960 CBS special The Fabulous Fifties.
