Search For Tomorrow Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

A reupload of the 1953 episode put up a few days ago. (the uploader said the original had some issue)

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[vetsoapfan]

Thanks for the new link, @DRW50.

[danfling]

I had known that the very early soap operas had black backgrounds in their sets.    I am suprised that Search for Tomorrow in 1953, only one year after the 1952 debut, had sets that elaborate.

I read that "tea desants" were held in the summer or fall.   So, I wondered the airdate of this episode.

Both of these actors (Les Damon and Earl Hammond) were to later work with writer Irving Vendig on The Edge of Night - Mr. Damon as Ed Palmerlee and Mr. Hammond as the original Phil Capice).

Mr. Damon was also one of the actors who played Nick Charles on the radio verson of The Thin Man.

I was born in 1955, and I had not known before that bottles of dishwashing liquid detergent were purchased in a box with the bottle inside.

[Paul Raven]

I think you are being kind to call those sets elaborate.

Two walls,some curtains , plants, chairs and the pillars-quite simple but effective for the scene and the times.

Today's producers should be as ingenious.

Not quite sure why the desk in the second set was jammed up against a sofa...

I recall in her book Mary said that in the first year they were able to move away from the black backdrops.

[Mona Kane Croft]

If you notice, most of the sets on SFT during this era actually do have black backgrounds (black walls) with windows, doors, pictures attached.  I'm surprised the black walls are not more distracting, but it is easy not to even notice them.  I'm assuming the audience accepted the black walls because the show was aired in black and white.  Or course this never would have worked in color.  

[DRW50]

That was also just the limit of early television. Beyond that, black and white can definitely be more forgiving - I still remember how much cheaper Dark Shadows looked to me when they switched to color.

I do notice many of these early episodes also seem to deliberately be set at night to help offset some of the issues. Even then there is sometimes an interesting set or visual surprise, like this old painted backdrop at dusk, which simultaneously is very cheap yet also oddly affecting to me [similar to something from Wizard of Oz or the opening of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore]. I hope a more restored version of this episode will pop up someday.

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Edited September 1, 2023 by DRW50

[Paul Raven]

@DRW50 Thanks for posting. I've never seen that episode. If they had have placed some taller trees in front of that backdrop it would have only been glimpsed and looked less fake.

Lot's of voiceovers and just 2 characters. And I cigarette smoked!

[j swift]

Also, these episodes were watched on screens that were 1/5th the size of current TV's (16-inch screens were standard in 1955 and a 25" screen wasn't available until 1970).  When I watch this on a 65" flat screen I can see all the scrims and curtains, but on a 12" portable tube TV, that all just blurred into the background, unless you're watching it on your phone.

Edited September 2, 2023 by j swift

[DRW50]

saynotoursoap uploaded a version a decade or so ago (no idea if this is the same one) and it always stayed with me for the unique presentation. Even if I'm not as invested in that material as I am, say, early GL, I am still always glad more crops up to see some of the different styles and how they manage to keep such a tight focus on Jo's dilemmas. 

[DRW50]

Can't remember if these had been up before and were reuploaded. 

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[soapfave06]

I remember saynotoursoap posting that, I miss their posts and YouTube videos! I wish more was available of early SEARCH, it seems so gothic and crime oriented, a little shocking compared to the tales of other 50s soaps and the Hazel story is one I want to see the most. 

[DRW50]

Yes, I miss their videos and commentary too.

Edited September 7, 2023 by DRW50

[RBSFT]

I wanted to thank French Fan for posting the summaries of the 1970 scripts. I really enjoyed reading through them. I started watching in 1974 but I've alwayd been intrigued by the history of the show before I started watching, and those summaries filled in a lot of blanks. May I ask where you found these little gems? BTW here are some of the actors who were portraying some of the lesser known characters. Terry Logan, who played Dr. Paul Jackael, the psychiatrist at the Rec House, was married to Leigh Lassen aka Patti Whiting when he appeared on the show. I believe that Michael Ingram,who played Dr. Meyer, Andrea's doctor, was the same actor later seen on OLTL as Vinny. Stephen Bolster who played Bill Frazier, Lauri's former flame, was also Ted Clark on AW and Ken Norris on GL. Margaret Impert who played Maggie, Laurie's co-worker at the college, was on AW. Dr. Peter Murphy was played by Charles Siebert of Trapper John MD fame. Peggy Whitton played Claire Hart. Marcia was played by Catherine Burns. Anne Revere who played Agnes Lake, Andrea's companion, won an Oscar for her role in National Velvet. Lila Skala who played Magda Leshinski, Laurie's mother, was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Lilies in The Field.

[skylark]

I've been meaning to blab the many thoughts I've had on the '82-'83 Rusty Sentell Sr. arc somewhere for a while, so I hope it isn't disruptive if I lay them down here! (God this turned into an essay!)

I've taken the most interest in Rusty Sr., so it's interesting to see all the changes and rewrites they've made to the character as the show changed writers. First, with the reveal that he was still alive in Italy with Gina and Renata here (after apparently faking his death in a "B-47 crash in WWII", which wouldn't have been possible as that jet was introduced in 1951 

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).

Then, the whole Alex/Rusty doppelganger thing in the Summer of '82...  That one's a doozy. I haven't seen those episodes myself, but going off the summaries, Alex was a “clone” of Rusty Sr. who altered his appearance via plastic surgery in an attempt to manipulate Travis (?) and take over Sunburst. I find this so fascinating because after Rusty kills off Alex, they reintroduce Rusty as "a good guy now" only to reveal that he has the same exact intentions as his evil doppelganger? Did the wrong clone get shot or something? It seems like there were some really conflicting ideas as to where to take Rusty's character.

From what I've seen, they also paint Rusty as having an irrational disdain for Martin, bullying and jeering him at every opportunity, being responsible for his sister’s decline and death, hitting on his soon-to-be-ex-wife before they’ve even finalized their divorce papers, flirting a bit with his current fling, Stephanie, and scamming him out of every dollar and share he owns. He’s a total bully and it’s so unnecessarily cruel that it’s kind of funny. Not to validate Rusty’s crazy behavior, but wasn’t Martin responsible for the death of Rusty’s daughter, Renata, after falling asleep with a lit cigarette that caused the building to burn down? If Rusty has it out for Martin that much, I feel like maybe they should have circled back to that stuff and even Mignon, because although it’s funny that Rusty wants to torment Martin seemingly because he gets a kick out of it, they could have actually had them talk about their lingering history which would have been super interesting. They only ever had Martin yell at Rusty while he stayed quiet and avoided every topic, which makes sense, because Rusty was trying to make Martin look irrational and crazy, but still, it would have been so satisfying to see them actually go back and forth about the real stuff.

Another thing I’ve thought about is how "Rusty was saved by Aja’s father during some sort of 'underground spy escape attempt' in which he sacrificed himself to rescue him". That’s why Rusty raised Aja and supported her family: to repay his sacrifice (well, after subsequently romancing with Aja’s mother, Sophia, too).  Maybe this is a little far-fetched, but since the show has already established that Rusty is a total liar and fraud, the writers could have revealed that Rusty actually killed Aja’s Father or was otherwise responsible for his death in a way that wasn't so valiant, instead of the glorious tale of spying and selflessness and sacrifice, because after seeing how shady Rusty is, I don't buy his story.

I've also done some brainstorming about where they could have taken things if Rusty didn't get killed off, but I'll keep it short as I've already written a novel:

If Rusty tried to repair his relationship with Liza before her and Dane figured him out, he would have been able to slip under the radar and continue meddling with the relationship. That, or he'd give that up considering Liza was pregnant, and just focus on maintaining a good image while racketeering under everyone's nose. I would have liked to see them bring Rusty's brother, Edward (Lee's Father), into the picture and see those two interact. Who knows, maybe Edward's shady too. (I know they had Edward appear briefly before Rusty joined the cast, but I could see them recasting and rewriting Edward to fit this new plot). I see a lot of people compare the actor Fritz Weaver to David Gale, so maybe he could have come in to play him. 

Alright! I better shut up now!

Edited September 20, 2023 by skylark

[danfling]

Actor Terry Logan (about whom I wish I could find some recent information) also played roles on A Flame in the Wind/A Time for Us, One Life to Live and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.   I had not known that he played Dr. Jackael, but I did know that he is credited with playing Dr. Len Whiting on Search for Tomorrow before the character was finally no longer appearing on Search for Tomorrow.

I believe that Mr. Logan was from Tangipoha Parrish, Louisiana (which was also the birthplace of soap opera writer Dorothy Purser) and was the son of the sheriff.

By the way, Anne Revere played the mother of Mr. Logan on A Flame in the Wind/A Time for Us.  (and also appeared on The Edge of Night and Ryan's Hope)

Edited September 20, 2023 by danfling