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Man with a Camera

{{Short description|American crime drama television series (1958–1960)}}

{{distinguish|Man with a Movie Camera}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox television

| image = Man with a Camera.jpg

| caption = Original title card

| alt_name =

| genre = Crime / Drama

| creator =

| writer = James Edmiston
Paul David
Wilton Schiller

| director = Paul Landres
Gerald Mayer

| developer =

| presenter =

| starring = Charles Bronson

| voices =

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer = Herschel Burke Gilbert

| opentheme =

| endtheme =

| composer = Leon Klatzin

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 2

| num_episodes = 29

| list_episodes =

| executive_producer =

| producer = Don W. Sharpe
Warren Lewis
For MWC Productions, Inc.

| editor =

| location = Hollywood, California at Desilu Studios, doubling for New York City

| cinematography = Paul Ivano
Robert B. Hauser
Black-and-White

| camera =

| runtime = 30 minutes

| channel = ABC

| first_aired = {{start date|1958|10|10}}

| last_aired = {{end date|1960|2|8}}

| related =

}}

Man with a Camera is an American television crime drama starring Charles Bronson as a war veteran turned photographer and investigator.{{cite book|last1=Brooks|first1=Tim|last2=Marsh|first2=Earle|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present|date=1999|publisher=The Ballentine Publishing Group|location=New York|isbn=0-345-42923-0|page=623|edition=7th}} It was broadcast on ABC from October 10, 1958, to February 29, 1960.{{cite book|last1=McNeil|first1=Alex|title=Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present |date=1996|publisher=Penguin Books USA, Inc.|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-14-02-4916-8|page= 515|edition=4th}}

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

Plot

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.

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 and is aided by Anton Kovac (Ludwig Stössel), his father. They are of ambiguous Eastern European ancestry, in one episode Mike and his father serve kapusta to another character.

Main cast

Selected guest stars

File:WalterMaslowManWithACameraGirlInTheDark.jpg (right) in Man with a Camera, 1959]]

File:Casey Walters in Man with a Camera (Eyewitness).jpg in Man with a Camera, 1959]]

File:Charles Bronson Man With a Camera 1959.JPG

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Episodes

File:Baynes Barron in Man with a Camera (The Man Below).jpg in Man with a Camera, 1959]]

=Season 1: 1958–59=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; background:#fff;"
style="background:#;"| No.
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! style="background:#;"| No. in
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! style="background:#;"| Title

! style="background:#;"| Directed by

! style="background:#;"| Written by

! style="background:#;"| Original air date

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=1

|EpisodeNumber2=1

|Title = Second Avenue Assassin

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = William Fay

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|10|10}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=2

|EpisodeNumber2=2

|Title = The Warning

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = Richard M. Bluel

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|10|17}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=3

|EpisodeNumber2=3

|Title = Profile of a Killer

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=James Edmiston|s=Richard M. Bluel}}

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|10|24}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=4

|EpisodeNumber2=4

|Title = Turntable

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = Lowell Barrington

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|11|7}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=5

|EpisodeNumber2=5

|Title = Closeup on Violence

|DirectedBy = William Castle

|WrittenBy = Jack Laird & Wilton Schiller

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|11|14}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=6

|EpisodeNumber2=6

|Title = Double Negative

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=James Edmiston|s=Ken Pettus}}

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|11|21}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=7

|EpisodeNumber2=7

|Title = Another Barrier

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = Stanley Niss

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|11|28}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=8

|EpisodeNumber2=8

|Title = Blind Spot

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = Donn Mullally

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|12|5}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=9

|EpisodeNumber2=9

|Title = Two Strings of Pearls

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = Robert J. Shaw

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|12|12}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=10

|EpisodeNumber2=10

|Title = Six Faces of Satan

|DirectedBy = Boris Sagal

|WrittenBy = David P. Harmon

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|12|19}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=11

|EpisodeNumber2=11

|Title = Lady on the Loose

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = Oliver Crawford

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1958|12|26}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=12

|EpisodeNumber2=12

|Title = The Last Portrait

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = Wilton Schiller & Jack Laird

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|1|2}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=13

|EpisodeNumber2=13

|Title = The Face of Murder

|DirectedBy = Gerald Mayer

|WrittenBy = Berne Giler

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|1|9}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=14

|EpisodeNumber2=14

|Title = Mute Evidence

|DirectedBy = Paul Landres

|WrittenBy = Dallas Gaultois & James Edmiston

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|1|16}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=15

|EpisodeNumber2=15

|Title = The Big Squeeze

|DirectedBy = Harold Schuster

|WrittenBy = David P. Harmon

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|1|23}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

=Season 2: 1959–60=

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style="background:#;"| No.
overall

! style="background:#;"| No. in
season

! style="background:#;"| Title

! style="background:#;"| Directed by

! style="background:#;"| Written by

! style="background:#;"| Original air date

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=16

|EpisodeNumber2=1

|Title = The Killer

|DirectedBy = Paul Landres

|WrittenBy = E. Jack Neuman

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|10|19}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=17

|EpisodeNumber2=2

|Title = Eyewitness

|DirectedBy = Gene Fowler Jr.

|WrittenBy = Paul David

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|10|26}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=18

|EpisodeNumber2=3

|Title = The Man Below

|DirectedBy = Gene Fowler Jr.

|WrittenBy = David P. Harmon

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|11|2}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=19

|EpisodeNumber2=4

|Title = Black Light

|DirectedBy = Paul Landres

|WrittenBy = Wilton Schiller

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|11|9}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=20

|EpisodeNumber2=5

|Title = The Positive Negative

|DirectedBy = Paul Landres

|WrittenBy = Oliver Crawford

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|11|16}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=21

|EpisodeNumber2=6

|Title = Missing

|DirectedBy = Gene Fowler, Jr.

|WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=Robert E. Thompson & Lee Loeb|s=Hal Evarts}}

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|11|23}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=22

|EpisodeNumber2=7

|Title = Live Target

|DirectedBy = Paul Landres

|WrittenBy = Barry Trivers

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|12|7}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=23

|EpisodeNumber2=8

|Title = Girl in the Dark

|DirectedBy = Gilbert Kay

|WrittenBy = Barry Trivers

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|12|14}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=24

|EpisodeNumber2=9

|Title = The Bride

|DirectedBy = Paul Landres

|WrittenBy = Paul David

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1959|12|21}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=25

|EpisodeNumber2=10

|Title = The Picture War

|DirectedBy = Paul Landres

|WrittenBy = David P. Harmon

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1960|1|4}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=26

|EpisodeNumber2=11

|Title = Touch Off

|DirectedBy = Paul Landres

|WrittenBy = Oliver Crawford

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1960|1|11}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=27

|EpisodeNumber2=12

|Title = Hot Ice Cream

|DirectedBy = Paul Landres

|WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=Howard Koppelman & Paul David|s=Howard Koppelman}}

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1960|1|25}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=28

|EpisodeNumber2=13

|Title = Fragment of a Murder

|DirectedBy = Wilton Schiller

|WrittenBy = Gilbert Kay

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1960|2|1}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=29

|EpisodeNumber2=14

|Title = Kangaroo Court

|DirectedBy = Gilbert Kay

|WrittenBy = Wilton Schiller

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1960|2|8}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

Production

Man with a Camera was filmed in Culver City, California, at Desilu Studios.{{cite magazine |date=October 6, 1958 |page=93 |title=This Week (Cont'd) |url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele79ross/page/n54/mode/1up |magazine=Ross Reports |access-date=July 16, 2023 }} 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. General Electric's Lamp Division sponsored the 1959-1960 episodes.{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Val |title=Bellamy to Play Jefferson on TV |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/08/10/archives/bellamy-to-play-jefferson-on-tv-signed-to-star-in-drama-on-conflict.html |access-date=July 16, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=August 10, 1959 |page=47|url-access=subscription }} Warren Lewis was the executive producer for Sharpe & Lewis Productions. A. E Houghton was the producer, and Gerald Mayer was a director.

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. 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

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

  • {{IMDb title|0051293}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man With A Camera}}

Category:1950s American crime drama television series

Category:1960s American crime drama television series

Category:1958 American television series debuts

Category:1960 American television series endings

Category:Black-and-white American television shows

Category:Television series by CBS Studios

Category:Works about photography

Category:Television shows set in New York City

Category:Television shows filmed in Los Angeles

Category:American Broadcasting Company crime dramas