Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS special.

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Steve Hoffman, Nov 27, 2006.

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  1. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    It was neat to see the original 35mm broadcast print of this classic cartoon. I had forgotten all of the Coca-Cola product placement in the actual show. My DVD just splices out all of those scenes leaving very disconcerting jump cuts.

    Are they ever going to release this on DVD intact and unedited? A shame if they don't; it's a real piece of TV history...

    This was at the beginning:

    http://www.kingoftheroad.net/colorTV/cbs_logo.html
     
    Steve Hoffman, Nov 27, 2006
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  2. Lord Hawthorne

    Lord Hawthorne Currently Untitled

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    I sure remember that CBS spot. I saw it many times on my black-and-white TV.
     
    Lord Hawthorne, Nov 28, 2006
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  3. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Yeah, I remember as a kid watching the Charlie Brown special for the first time. I always got a pang of jealousy when the CBS (or NBC) color logo came on at the beginning of a show. We didn't get a color TV until 1968.

    I remembered something from when I first watched the Xmas special: This cartoon was the first that had the actual voices of children rather than adults doing "kid imitations".

    A girl asks Pig Pen to "look in this mirror and see how terrible you look".

    Pig Pen answers:

    "On the contrary, I didn't think I looked this good".:laugh:
     
    Steve Hoffman, Nov 28, 2006
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  4. Joe 1956

    Joe 1956 New Member

    Location:
    Tennessee
    Re: Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS speci

    I swear, if I'm lying, I'm dying. I had this subject on my mind just yesterday, for some reason.

    I full well remember the debut, and the Coke tie-in. Kids of today wouldn't know the difference, of course, but all the same, you'd think a company like Coke would have done whatever it took to keep that recognition factor going, never mind that CBS let it go to ABC.

    But I don't know anything of behind the scenes. I wonder if Schultz himself had severed ties for any reason?

    EDIT: Uh, I forgot to say why I was so surprised at this thread. I'm glad the original survives.
     
    Joe 1956, Nov 28, 2006
    #4
  5. Captain Groovy

    Captain Groovy Senior Member

    Location:
    Freedonia, USA
    Re: Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS speci

    If you want to see Coca-Cola placement like mad, try watching one of the movies I work on!

    One I just finished: "The Great Buck Howard"

    That's Colin Hanks handing out Dasani bottles for about five minutes on-screen...

    Jeff

    EDIT: Darn. Can't make the pic small enough! Lemme try again.

    Darn. Now it's tiny.
     

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    Captain Groovy, Nov 28, 2006
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  6. Captain Groovy

    Captain Groovy Senior Member

    Location:
    Freedonia, USA
    Re: Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS speci

    Or of course, there's me in a little shot I like to call, "It's the soda".

    OK. Sorry to hijack the thread. Back to Peanuts.

    Jeff

    P.S. It was Coca-Cola that sponsored me to be a judge at the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Pageant.
     

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    Captain Groovy, Nov 28, 2006
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  7. AndrewS

    AndrewS Senior Member

    Location:
    S. Ontario, Canada
    Re: Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS speci

    I've always thought it would be neat for all older shows to come on DVD with some or all of the original commercials. Optionally shown, of course. It's very nostalgic to see them. The Twilight Zone Definitive Collection does it to a small extent.
     
    AndrewS, Nov 28, 2006
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  8. bldg blok

    bldg blok Forum Resident

    Location:
    Elmira, NY
    Re: Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS speci

    Probably because the Holiday is less than a month away. I know as soon as Thanksgiving rolls around I think about that, "A Christmas Story", and the Bing Crosby/David Bowie duet of "Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth".
     
    bldg blok, Nov 28, 2006
    #8
  9. Butterfly Blue

    Butterfly Blue Pink Baby

    Location:
    Central Valley, California
    Re: Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS speci

    Yeah, that would be neato. Some of those old commercials are more fun to watch than a lot of today's actual shows. Which is funny, because I was ticked when the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving classic was played recently and the ending with Snoopy and Woodstock cooking their feast was edited out. For commercials, no doubt.
    That Charlie Brown Christmas with the Coca~Cola placements seems interesting. I wanna see.
     
    Butterfly Blue, Nov 28, 2006
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  10. stereoptic

    stereoptic Anaglyphic GORT Staff

    Location:
    NY
    IIRC, the actress voicing the Sally role had not even learned how to read yet.

    I've seen the Coca Cola spots, but I'm not sure if they are on the DVD, or if I saw them on a 'making of' A Charlie Brown Christmas special (or on a DVD of the 'Making of') :confused:

    Steve - does the original print have that abrupt edit in the 'Lucy and Linus' scene? I think it is near the point where Charlie shouts "Am I right? Am I right?"

    To me, all of the inconsistencies with this show - the way the colors change from scene to scene, the characters that disappear and then reappear, jerky edits, etc. - all combine to make this a real American Folk Art classic.
     
    stereoptic, Nov 28, 2006
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  11. AndrewS

    AndrewS Senior Member

    Location:
    S. Ontario, Canada
    Re: Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS speci

    Ouch! Then they also cut out a nice piece of Guaraldi music...
     
    AndrewS, Nov 28, 2006
    #11
  12. Joe 1956

    Joe 1956 New Member

    Location:
    Tennessee
    Re: Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS speci

    Oh yeah, it's that time of year, but wondering if the original is/was gone was answered "quickly" enough. :D
     
    Joe 1956, Nov 28, 2006
    #12
  13. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    I certainly hope so. It's one the Christmas shows that I look forward to every year.
     
    rburly, Nov 28, 2006
    #13
  14. Phlo

    Phlo Formerly dave-o

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    Re: Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS speci

    So do the Dick Van Dyke boxes and The Beatles On Sullivan.
     
    Phlo, Nov 28, 2006
    #14
  15. ky658

    ky658 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ft Myers, Florida
    Where did you see it?
     
    ky658, Nov 28, 2006
    #15
  16. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Just at a small private screening in Hollywood. A non-faded 1965 35mm broadcast print. Ran like 29 minutes with the vintage commercials. Beautiful.

    Watched a few minutes of the ABC network broadcast tonight. Urggh; grainy, edited, and the soundtrack was totally No-Noised. Dreadful.
     
    Steve Hoffman, Nov 29, 2006
    #16
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  17. ky658

    ky658 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ft Myers, Florida
    Glad to see that a copy of the original still exists in good shape. So there is hope that maybe one day, the original version might show up on DVD in some form, most likely with the sponsor billboards, etc as extras. I'll have to check into the Museum of Television and Radio to see what version they have...
     
    ky658, Nov 29, 2006
    #17
  18. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    Was there any talk of making the version you saw into DVD? Maybe it was a personal copy, but whoever has the rights might want to put that out to make a killing. I'd certainly buy it.

    Here in Orlando, there was a commercial after the intro, then not another for 30 minutes, then "Postcards" from each character, with 5 minute shorts with a short story. It ended as the show did with the awkward edit, as did the shorts.
     
    rburly, Nov 29, 2006
    #18
  19. Chip TRG

    Chip TRG Senior Member

    Location:
    Somewhere in NY, USA
    Chip TRG, Nov 29, 2006
    #19
  20. ZIPGUN99

    ZIPGUN99 Active Member

    Location:
    Near New Haven, Connecticut
    Wow, 1965. For some reason, I always thought it came out in '69.
     
    ZIPGUN99, Nov 29, 2006
    #20
  21. Chip TRG

    Chip TRG Senior Member

    Location:
    Somewhere in NY, USA
    Chip TRG, Nov 29, 2006
    #21
  22. Phishphreak

    Phishphreak New Member

    Location:
    U.S.
    Sure would be cool to see the original with the commercials. You would think that this would make the trading circles.
     
    Phishphreak, Nov 29, 2006
    #22
  23. Capt. Cadillac

    Capt. Cadillac Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dearborn, Mich.
    Tears to my eyes every time... :righton:
     
    Capt. Cadillac, Nov 29, 2006
    #23
  24. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Location:
    Oak Ridge, Tennessee
    Re: Saw a screening of the uncut Coca-Cola "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 1965 CBS speci

    Hi,

    I just saw an uncut 16MM TV print of this. Ours is unfaded and never cut. We also have an unfaded 35MM print of this in superb shape. We are transferring this print to digital for a hopeful DVD issue in the future. Soundtrack on ours is Magnetic Stereo too.
     
    McLover, Nov 29, 2006
    #24
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  25. Jeff H.

    Jeff H. Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern, OR
    I still vividly remember the very first time I saw "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on television. Lying on the floor in front of our 13" Sony Trinitron color TV, December of 1971. IIRC the program was still being sponsored by Coca Cola then, because they showed the now iconic spot where they sing "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" on that hillside in Italy. Great memories.:)
     
    Jeff H., Nov 29, 2006
    #25
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