Man with a Camera

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Man with a Camera
Man with a Camera.jpg
Original title card
GenreCrime / Drama
Written byJames Edmiston
Paul David
Wilton Schiller
Directed byPaul Landres
Gerald Mayer
StarringCharles Bronson
Theme music composerHerschel Burke Gilbert
ComposerLeon Klatzin
Country of originUSA
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes29
Production
ProducersDon W. Sharpe
Warren Lewis
For MWC Productions, Inc.
Production locationsHollywood, California at Desilu Studios, doubling for New York City
CinematographyPaul Ivano
Robert B. Hauser
Black-and-White
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseOctober 10, 1958 (1958-10-10) –
February 8, 1960 (1960-02-08)

Man with a Camera is an American television crime drama starring Charles Bronson as a war veteran turned photographer and investigator.

Throughout the 1950s, Bronson spent most of his early acting career performing in TV shows as well as small parts in films, until he landed the lead in this ABC series. This is the only TV series in which he played the lead role.

Plot[]

Bronson portrayed Mike Kovac, a former Korean war combat photographer freelancing in New York City who specialized in getting the photographs that other lensmen could not. He usually assists newspapers, insurance companies, the police and private individuals, all of whom want a filmed record of an event.

By often acting as a private eye, Kovac gets himself into plenty of trouble involving criminals of every kind, helping with cases the police could not handle.

Besides an array of cameras for normal use, for surreptitious work Kovac employs cameras hidden in a radio, cigarette lighter and even his necktie. He also has a phone in his car, and a portable darkroom in the trunk where he could develop his negatives on the spot.

Kovac's police liaison is Lieutenant Donovan (James Flavin), though he frequently seeks advice from Anton Kovac (Ludwig Stössel), his immigrant father.

Main cast[]

Selected guest stars[]

Bronson as Mike Kovac.

Episodes[]

Season 1: 1958–59[]

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
11"Second Avenue Assassin"Gerald MayerWilliam FayOctober 10, 1958 (1958-10-10)
22"The Warning"Gerald MayerRichard M. BluelOctober 17, 1958 (1958-10-17)
33"Profile of a Killer"Gerald MayerTeleplay by: James Edmiston
Story by: Richard M. Bluel
October 24, 1958 (1958-10-24)
44"Turntable"Gerald MayerLowell BarringtonNovember 7, 1958 (1958-11-07)
55"Closeup on Violence"William CastleJack Laird & Wilton SchillerNovember 14, 1958 (1958-11-14)
66"Double Negative"Gerald MayerTeleplay by: James Edmiston
Story by: Ken Pettus
November 21, 1958 (1958-11-21)
77"Another Barrier"Gerald MayerStanley NissNovember 28, 1958 (1958-11-28)
88"Blind Spot"Gerald MayerDonn MullallyDecember 5, 1958 (1958-12-05)
99"Two Strings of Pearls"Gerald MayerRobert J. ShawDecember 12, 1958 (1958-12-12)
1010"Six Faces of Satan"Boris SagalDavid P. HarmonDecember 19, 1958 (1958-12-19)
1111"Lady on the Loose"Gerald MayerOliver CrawfordDecember 26, 1958 (1958-12-26)
1212"The Last Portrait"Gerald MayerWilton Schiller & Jack LairdJanuary 2, 1959 (1959-01-02)
1313"The Face of Murder"Gerald MayerBerne GilerJanuary 9, 1959 (1959-01-09)
1414"Mute Evidence"Paul LandresDallas Gaultois & James EdmistonJanuary 16, 1959 (1959-01-16)
1515"The Big Squeeze"Harold SchusterDavid P. HarmonJanuary 23, 1959 (1959-01-23)

Season 2: 1959–60[]

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
161"The Killer"Paul LandresE. Jack NeumanOctober 19, 1959 (1959-10-19)
172"Eyewitness"Gene Fowler Jr.Paul DavidOctober 26, 1959 (1959-10-26)
183"The Man Below"Gene Fowler Jr.David P. HarmonNovember 2, 1959 (1959-11-02)
194"Black Light"Paul LandresWilton SchillerNovember 9, 1959 (1959-11-09)
205"The Positive Negative"Paul LandresOliver CrawfordNovember 16, 1959 (1959-11-16)
216"Missing"Gene Fowler, Jr.Teleplay by: Robert E. Thompson & Lee Loeb
Story by: Hal Evarts
November 23, 1959 (1959-11-23)
227"Live Target"Paul LandresBarry TriversDecember 7, 1959 (1959-12-07)
238"Girl in the Dark"Gilbert KayBarry TriversDecember 14, 1959 (1959-12-14)
249"The Bride"Paul LandresPaul DavidDecember 21, 1959 (1959-12-21)
2510"The Picture War"Paul LandresDavid P. HarmonJanuary 4, 1960 (1960-01-04)
2611"Touch Off"Paul LandresOliver CrawfordJanuary 11, 1960 (1960-01-11)
2712"Hot Ice Cream"Paul LandresTeleplay by: Howard Koppelman & Paul David
Story by: Howard Koppelman
January 25, 1960 (1960-01-25)
2813"Fragment of a Murder"Wilton SchillerGilbert KayFebruary 1, 1960 (1960-02-01)
2914"Kangaroo Court"Gilbert KayWilton SchillerFebruary 8, 1960 (1960-02-08)

Production[]

Man with a Camera was filmed on locations in Hollywood (doubling for New York City) at Desilu Studios. The series had two abbreviated seasons in 1958-59 and 1959–60 and was aired on the ABC-TV network, Friday nights at 9:00 pm.

Home media[]

The entire run of the series' 29 episodes was released in 2007 by the Infinity Entertainment Group, in collaboration with the Falcon Picture Group and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, from which the source prints were obtained.

Alpha Video has released three individual volumes on DVD, each containing four episodes from the series.[1][2][3] A fourth volume was released on February 25, 2014.[4] On October 17, 2017, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on DVD + Digital. [5]

Sources[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Alpha Video - Man With a Camera, Volume 1". Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  2. ^ "Alpha Video - Man With a Camera, Volume 2". Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  3. ^ "Alpha Video - Man With a Camera, Volume 3". Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  4. ^ "Alpha Video - Lawless Years, Volume 4". Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  5. ^ "Mill Creek Entertainment: Man With A Camera - The Complete Series + Digital". Millcreekent.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
Retrieved from ""