Sunday, March 01, 2009

Once Upon a Classic

The storytelling video shoot went well yesterday! I plan to give you an account soon, but in the meantime, does this video clip ring any bells with television viewers in the late 1970's?



As I think I've mentioned before, I didn't watch much television unless I was visiting relatives, and besides Mister Rogers and Wonder Woman*, I really enjoyed public telelvision's Once Upon a Classic, hosted by Bill Bixby, a.ka. The Incredible Hulk. Unlike the usual fare of Masterpiece Theatre, Once Upon a Classic had stories that were interesting to children. The story I remember best is Susan Coolidge's What Katy Did, followed by part one of What Katy Did at School. Anamaria of Books Together reminded me of my introduction to Katy through television. I'm sure the production values are quite low, but I'd still like to see What Katy Did again. I have all the books in the series in one volume. Most of them deal with Katy as a teenager and an adult, but as with Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables, I like the book best of when Katy was a little girl.


*They were two different shows, but I would have traded in all of my Strawberry Shortcake Dolls to see them in one show.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Yup -- definitely remember Once Upon A Classic. Loved it. My favorite was The Prince and the Pauper.

Anamaria (bookstogether) said...

Oh my! I never saw the TV Katy. I was also surprised and delighted to discover not too long ago that there is another book in the series that was not included in the Octopus omnibus edition we both have: In the High Valley. And you can read it online (try Google books)! I love it when that happens. Good morning!

Saints and Spinners said...

NU: Yes! I'm glad someone else remembers it. I don't think I saw the Prince and the Pauper (though it's definitely there in the opening sequence). Besides Katy, I remember a story with a shrunken head that talked, and one that involved children flying toy planes. I have no idea what those stories were named.

Anamaria: I had No idea about In the High Valley. Thanks so much for telling me.

The Library Lady said...

I LOVED this series. I remember the "Robin Hood" they did. I am a Robin Hood book collector--was just starting to get interested in the legend at that time-- and thought that the version they showed was excellent.

The Library Lady said...

Found a listof books they did (and it's noted that they really followed the books) on the Internet Movie Database:

Heidi, Great Expectations, The Prince and the Pauper, Little Lord Faulteroy, The Secret Garden, Robin Hood, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Dominique, The Leatherstocking Tales, What Katie Did, Lights! Camera! Action!, John Halifax-Gentlemen, Lorna Doone, Mill on the Floss, Ivanhoe, King Arthur, The Old Curiosity Shop, and A Tale of Two Cities.

Saints and Spinners said...

Library Lady: I wish I could have seen all of those. The two I remember most are not on the list. I wonder how OUAC's versions of The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy differed from the Masterpiece Theatre versions.