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''Way Out'' is a 1961 American
horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...
, fantasy, and science fiction television anthology series hosted by writer
Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
. The macabre black-and-white 25-minute shows were introduced by Dahl, his face projected in a disconcerting hall of mirrors effect, dryly delivering a brief introductory monologue, expounding on such unusual subjects as undertakers or frogs or murdering a romantic rival with ground tiger's whiskers.


Origin

The taped series began as CBS replacement for a Jackie Gleason talk show that network executives were about to cancel. Producer David Susskind contacted Dahl to help mount a show quickly. The series was paired by the network with the similar '' The Twilight Zone'' for Friday evening broadcasts, running from March through July 1961 at 9:30 pm Eastern time. The show's primary sponsor was Liggett & Myers ( L&M cigarettes). Writers included Larry Cohen and Sumner Locke Elliott. The only adaptation from one of Dahl's own short stories was the premiere episode, "William and Mary", a tale of a wife's posthumous revenge on her husband's disembodied brain kept alive in a bowl. In "Dissolve to Black", an actress (
Kathleen Widdoes Kathleen Effie Widdoes (born March 21, 1939) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Emma Snyder in the television soap opera ''As the World Turns'', which earned her four Daytime Emmy Award nominations. Widdoes was also nomi ...
) cast as a murder victim at a television studio goes through a rehearsal, but the drama merges with reality as she finds herself trapped on the show's near-deserted set. Other dramas offered startling imagery: a snake slithering up a carpeted staircase inside a suburban home, a headless woman strapped to an electric chair with a light bulb in place of her head ("Side Show"), and half of a man's face erased ("Soft Focus"). Roald Dahl's short story, "Skin," was purchased alongside "William and Mary," but the network decided the story was too gory for telecast, especially after they asked Susskind to not film the brain being kept alive in the jar and only suggest the brain off camera. Actors on the series included Martin Balsam, Michael Conrad, Mildred Dunnock,
Kathleen Widdoes Kathleen Effie Widdoes (born March 21, 1939) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Emma Snyder in the television soap opera ''As the World Turns'', which earned her four Daytime Emmy Award nominations. Widdoes was also nomi ...
,
Murray Hamilton Murray Hamilton (March 24, 1923 – September 1, 1986) was an American stage, screen, and television character actor who appeared in such films as ''Anatomy of a Murder'', ''The Hustler'', ''The Graduate'', ''Jaws'' and ''The Amityville Hor ...
, Martin Huston, Henry Jones,
Mark Lenard Mark Lenard (born Leonard Rosenson, October 15, 1924 – November 22, 1996) was an American actor, primarily in television. His most famous role was as Sarek, father of Spock, in the science fiction ''Star Trek'' franchise, in both the origina ...
, Kevin McCarthy, John McGiver, Barry Morse,
Richard Thomas Richard Thomas or Dick Thomas may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Dick Thomas (singer) (1915–2003), American singing cowboy and actor * Richard Thomas (actor) (born 1951), American actor * Richard Thomas (author) (born 1967), Americ ...
, Doris Roberts, and Fritz Weaver. Roald Dahl was initially hired to host the series for three consecutive episodes at a salary of $650 per episode. CBS contracted David Susskind to produce a total of 26 half-hour episodes. Roald Dahl informed Susskind that he only wanted to host the first three episodes to make enough money to pay for his son's medical bills. But Dahl ultimately loved the assignment and optioned to remain as host beyond the first three. Initial proposals was to have Dahl sitting on a rock, answering the telephone, filmed on location at Central Park. But the cold January weather and the costs involved resulted in the decision to film Dahl's intros in a studio. Critical notices at the time were extremely good, especially for Dahl's wry commentaries, suffused with gallows humor. The program was sponsored by Liggett and Myers, makers of cigarettes. The sponsor insisted characters on the programs smoked the product to ensure product placement. In the episode "The Sisters," the entire cast not only smoked cigarettes but also emptied ash trays during the telecast. Dahl himself smoked a cigarette during his introductory remarks. When network affiliates were receiving complaints from concerned parents about the stories giving their children nightmares, stations (beginning with episode 11) decided to start dropping the program in favor of a 16mm syndicated stock program instead. When a network station in Philadelphia previewed a closed circuit telecast and later agreed the program should not air over their station, news of this spread across syndicated newspaper columns. Ultimately, the sponsor paid less per telecast with less network coverage, which resulted in the decision of the advertising agency (who represented the sponsor) to cancel the program after 14 telecasts. The show was one of the last weekly dramatic television series produced in Manhattan. Only five episodes have ever turned up on ootlegvideocassettes and DVDs; as of October 2016, however, 10 episodes were posted on YouTube. The entire run is available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media in New York City and Los Angeles.''Way Out'' episodes at The Paley Center for Media
/ref> The episodes are owned by Susskind's estate. Dahl later hosted an anthology series called '' Tales of the Unexpected'' on British television beginning in 1979. In 1986, Filmfax Magazine published a two-part article by Gary Joseph and Martin H. Friedenthal documenting the history of the 'WAY OUT television program, along with an episode guide. The authors reviewed the 14 episodes at the Museum of Television and Radio. In 2019, OTR Publishing released a book documenting the history of the television program, after reviewing thousands of archival documents from the production files of David Susskind and CBS, even reporting salary costs for Roald Dahl and the television cast, reprints of plot summaries for episodes that never went into production, and reprints of certain archival documents related to the television program.


Episodes

Source:Episode guide (''Roald Dahl Fans'', 1996–2017)
/ref>


Sources

*Battaglio, Stephen (2010). ''David Susskind: A Televised Life'', pp. 89–92. St. Martin's Press.


References


External links


''Way Out''
at RoaldDahlFans.com * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Way Out (TV series) 1960s American anthology television series 1961 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings American fantasy television series American horror fiction television series 1960s American science fiction television series Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in New York City Television series by Talent Associates Science fiction anthology television series