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(More customer reviews)Throughout the 1950s, Charles Bronson spent the majority of his early acting career in episodic television, appearing in everything from "The Roy Rogers Show" to "Four Star Playhouse," as well as small parts in films. From 1958 to early in 1960, however, he landed the lead in the ABC television network's "Man with a Camera," portraying freelance photographer Mike Kovac. The series' premise has Kovac finding himself in a variety of professional assignments, usually becoming involved in some sinister situation involving criminals of every sort. "Man with a Camera," along with higher profile roles in films like "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Great Escape" in the early 1960s led to starring roles in films by the end of that decade and eventually superstardom. By the end of his career, Bronson returned full-circle to television with a series of three made-for-TV movies titled "Family of Cops."
The guest star list for this series is, perhaps, not as strong as other series from this era, but does include early turns by Harry Dean Stanton, Angie Dickinson, Yvonne Craig, and even a pre-"Billy Jack" Tom Laughlin appears as a boxer in an early episode. Another surprise is seeing noted B-movie horror film icon William Castle credited as director for one of the episodes.
Up until this release, "Man with a Camera" has been a tough find on DVD. There have been just two episodes from the series ("Two Strings of Pearls" and "Missing") that have apparently fallen into the public domain and have appeared on classic television compilations such as Best of TV Detectives 150 Episodes and a few others. The series had two abbreviated seasons in 1958-59 and 1959-60, and the entire run of 29 episodes is presented in this collection released 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. The episodes appear to be sourced from 16 millimeter prints and occasionally exhibit minor damage, but are in comparatively good shape for a series of this vintage, with clear monaural audio. There are no extra features on the DVDs, but there is an informative description of the series on the outer slipcase and the inner packaging includes synopses for all 29 episodes along with a listing of the guest stars. Many (but not all) of the episodes include the "This has been an ABC television network presentation" tag at the end.
"Man with a Camera" is certainly not remembered as one of the all-time greats of television, but it does offer stories that move along at a quick pace and the appeal of a young Charles Bronson in an off-beat role, just prior to making the big time in films. Bronson fans that are more familiar with his film roles will want to see what all the fuss is about and vintage television fans, looking for a then new twist on a television crime series, will find much to enjoy in "Man with a Camera." Kudos to all involved in bringing this forgotten television series to DVD.
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Studio: Infinity Resources IncRelease Date: 11/20/2007
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