Man with a Camera is an American television crime drama starring Charles Bronson as a war veteran turned photographer and investigator.[1] It was broadcast on ABC from October 10, 1958, to February 29, 1960.[2]

Man with a Camera
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 originUnited States
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
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseOctober 10, 1958 (1958-10-10) –
February 8, 1960 (1960-02-08)

This is the only TV series in which Bronson played the lead role.

Plot

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Bronson portrayed Mike Kovac, a former World War II combat photographer. He usually assists "newspapers, insurance companies, the police, private individuals, and anyone else who wanted a filmed record of an event.[1]

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),[1] though he frequently seeks advice from and is aided by Anton Kovac (Ludwig Stössel), his father.[1] They are of ambiguous Eastern European ancestry, in one episode Mike and his father serve kapusta to another character.

Main cast

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Selected guest stars

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Charles Bronson (left) and Walter Maslow (right) in Man with a Camera, 1959
 
Casey Walters in Man with a Camera, 1959
 
Bronson as Mike Kovac

Episodes

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Baynes Barron in Man with a Camera, 1959

Season 1: 1958–59

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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 MayerStory by : Richard M. Bluel
Teleplay by : James Edmiston
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 MayerStory by : Ken Pettus
Teleplay by : James Edmiston
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

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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.Story by : Hal Evarts
Teleplay by : Robert E. Thompson & Lee Loeb
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 LandresStory by : Howard Koppelman
Teleplay by : Howard Koppelman & Paul David
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

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Man with a Camera was filmed in Culver City, California, at Desilu Studios.[3] From October 1958 to March 1959 it was broadcast on Fridays from 9 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time. From October 1959 to February 1960 it was broadcast on Mondays from 10:30 to 11 p.m. E.T.[1] General Electric's Lamp Division sponsored the 1959-1960 episodes.[4] Warren Lewis was the executive producer for Sharpe & Lewis Productions. A. E Houghton was the producer, and Gerald Mayer was a director.[3]

Home media

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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. A fourth volume was released on February 25, 2014. On October 17, 2017, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on DVD + Digital. Entire Series can be seen on Tubi streaming.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 623. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
  2. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 515. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  3. ^ a b "This Week (Cont'd)". Ross Reports. October 6, 1958. p. 93. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Adams, Val (August 10, 1959). "Bellamy to Play Jefferson on TV". The New York Times. p. 47. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
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