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(More customer reviews)Better known for his radio broadcasts from London during the Blitz, his television show "You Are There," and his confrontations with Joseph McCarthy during the HUAC hearings, Edward R. Murrow was also a fine interviewer. His TV series "Person to Person" gave us home movies of many of the best-known celebrities and public personalities of the 40s, 50s, and 60s.
From 1953 to 1959, Murrow conducted live, remote interviews of famed entertainers and political figures in their apartments or houses, an innovation for the relatively new medium of TV. Lasting 13 or 14 minutes on average, the interviews were carefully staged affairs using multiple cameras and wireless microphones. Interviewees knew the questions to be asked, yet many were obviously nervous about having their inner sanctums invaded by technicians, bulky equipment, and bright lights. As a result, they come across as somewhat stiff at times, but all in all they acquit themselves well. Their imperturbable, chain-smoking interlocutor remains ensconced in his studio, a bit starchy as always but much more relaxed than he was in his role as a hard-hitting journalist.
Murrow's guests, who are simultaneously our hosts, give us choreographed tours of their beautiful homes and prized possessions -- Jonathan Winter's beer steins, Sid Caesar's rifles, Dick Clark's records, Jerry Lewis' paintings, Sammy Davis' suits -- which tell us a lot about their personal hobbies and passions. Winters draws a sketch, Davis does some gunslinging, and both do impressions. Liberace plays a few arpeggios, and Dean Martin performs card tricks. Some of the stars, like Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward or Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, come across as completely at ease, revealing why they enjoyed such long-lasting careers and happy marriages.
We meet not only celebrities but also their spouses and, heading to bed, their children, who are invariably coached to greet Mr. Murrow. Certain stars, among them Marlon Brando, Sammy Davis, and Marilyn Monroe, introduce us to their parents, relatives, friends, collaborators, and in the case of Frank Sinatra, his Asian houseboys (who complement his new Japanese-style house).
There are many memorable moments: Liberace and his home are over the top, as is watching him talk about how much he likes women and wants to get married. Marilyn Monroe, on the other hand, seems modest, subdued, and even fragile at the home of her favorite photographer. Watching a young Dick Clark defend rock music and the kids who enjoy it is a great reminder of the social shifts the US was experiencing in the 50s.
The Kennedy brothers display their pre-White-House charisma and talk about their father, Joseph Sr., and brother, Joseph Jr., who was killed in World War II. Jack shows off framed letters by Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, demonstrating his unabashed political ambition. Watching Bobby and Ethel put their tired children to bed is particularly touching. Eleanor Roosevelt is charming as she discusses her work at the UN and presents us with some of the art and souvenirs she collected from around the world.
These selected interviews are snapshots, so not all of the projects that the featured subjects were working on at the time are of enduring value, nor is every personality scintillating, but they frequently refer to important people and events that should whet the appetite of an attentive viewer for further historical and cultural research. The quality of the film from which these shows are drawn also varies greatly, so the viewer should expect fluctuations in contrast and grain. The images are occasionally overexposed or underexposed, or scratched and dirty, but all of the interviews are clear enough to appreciate.
CBS newsman Bob Schieffer introduces and wraps up each of the DVDs in this 3-DVD set with segments that last a minute or two. Following is a complete alphabetical listing of the personalities on parade in this collection:
Lauren Bacall
Milton Berle
Humphrey Bogart
Marlon Brando
Sid Caesar
Carol Channing
Dick Clark
Tony Curtis
Bette Davis
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Kirk Douglas
Billy Graham
Andy Griffith
Oscar Hammerstein
Helen Hayes
Charlton Heston
Gene Kelley
Ethel Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
Robert Kennedy
Janet Leigh
Jerry Lewis
Liberace
Art Linkletter
Sophia Loren
Dean Martin
Marilyn Monroe
Paul Newman
Norman Rockwell
Eleanor Roosevelt
Frank Sinatra
Elizabeth Taylor
Danny Thomas
Mike Todd
Esther Williams
Jonathan Winters
Joanne Woodward
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From 1953 to 1959, Edward R. Murrow informally welcomed television viewers into the homes of the twentieth century’s most well-known stars and celebrities on PERSON TO PERSON. Utilizing perhaps the simplest set in television – a chair, a table an ashtray and a picture window – Murrow greeted two guests per week in remote interviews that candidly revealed the private lives of such notable figures as John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Sammy Davis, Jr., Milton Berle, Sophia Loren and many more.A television legend, Edward R. Murrow is credited with making broadcast journalism respectable, courageous and sincere. Industry professionals still aspire to the standards he established during his illustrious career.
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