Recycling Judy and Corliss
2004; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 4; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/1468077042000309946
ISSN1471-5902
Autores Tópico(s)Media, Gender, and Advertising
ResumoClick to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes Founded by Edward Stratemeyer, the Stratemeyer Syndicate was a book packager which employed many writers of children's fiction and profited from their work by paying them flat fees and maintaining copyright control of their serialized properties. Nancy Drew was not adapted for television until 1977. Production trend is a term utilized within cinema studies to describe a group of films with similar production values, promotional treatment, narrative themes, or generic properties (Balio , pp. 179–312). Unfortunately, none of these scholars considers the teen‐girl radio programs and comic books produced during the mid‐twentieth century, thus ignoring two forms of media quite significant to the original teen‐girl production trend. Nash's (, pp. 231–305) discussion of teen‐girl television programs is restricted to the 1960s. See also Mary H. Hinant () and Catherine Mackenzie (). The term sub‐deb (from sub‐debutante) was first used in 1917 to describe a white, upper‐class adolescent girl soon to “come out” as a debutante; by the 1940s, it was used more generally to describe a white, middle‐ or upper‐class girl in her mid‐teens. Bobby‐soxer was coined in 1944 and was associated primarily with a group of white, upper‐middle‐class, female adolescents who developed a distinct clothing style (including bobby‐socks) and particular entertainment tastes, especially the croonings of Frank Sinatra (Oxford English Dictionary). In light of the transmedia exploitation practices employed during this period, it is interesting that the magazine had its own radio show in the 1940s, entitled Calling All Girls Club of the Air. I have been unable to find the broadcasting history of this program; however, it is discussed in Calling All Girls' April 1948 issue. Despite their removal from full‐time employment after the war, most teenagers did not experience a noticeable decrease in their disposable income. The demand for part‐time labor in small businesses, service industries, and retail trades remained somewhat unchanged after the war, and by the mid‐1950s almost half of all high‐schoolers were working in such jobs after school, on weekends, and/or during summer vacation (Gilbert , p. 20). In turn, teenagers' income from these part‐time positions was no longer needed to support their families, as it was during the Depression and World War II, and thus could be spent on themselves (Tuttle , p. 217). Also, as parents' wages and credit limits increased due to the postwar economy, so did teenagers' allowances. The firm's name was later changed to Gilbert Youth Research. Other teen marketing firms of this period included Teen‐Age Survey Incorporated and the Student Marketing Institute. I use the term mass teen culture to call attention to the highly commercial, mass‐mediated, and widespread nature of this generation‐specific phenomenon, as well as to differentiate it from smaller, less commercialized, and more localized youth cultures, such as those studied by subcultural theorists. Benson's “Junior Miss” stories originally appeared in The New Yorker from 1939–41. The date associated with a play in this article's main text indicates the year the play was published, not necessarily its theatrical debut, though sometimes those two events occurred in the same year. Junior Miss debuted on Broadway in November 1941. Janie debuted on Broadway in September 1942. For an in‐depth discussion of the use and promotion of such teen‐girl stars, see Schrum (, pp. 324–373). Due to the draft, the composition of radio's family audience was considerably different than either before or after World War II. See Schrum (, pp. 266–314) for an analysis of teenage girls' participation in swing culture during this period. Production correspondence related to A Date with Judy's radio series suggests that Leslie and her collaborators were concerned about competition from both Junior Miss and Meet Corliss Archer, as well as other teen‐centered series. For instance, undated Crossley ratings in Leslie's archived papers focus specifically on A Date with Judy, Meet Corliss Archer, That Brewster Boy, and The Aldrich Family (Leslie Papers, Box 1, Folder 23). For example, see the letters to the editor (“Letters” ) written in response to Life's first bobby‐soxer article (“Subdebs” ). I use the term meta‐property to describe a collection of individual entertainment properties based on a single originary text that was not intentionally produced to generate further adaptations, but has been exploited subsequently by its creator/copyright holder via licensing agreements with various entertainment industries. (Meet Corliss Archer may not fit this definition entirely, as Herbert produced his short stories, radio series, and theatrical play during roughly the same period.) I differentiate the meta‐property from the franchise, which develops around a property purchased or generated by a multimedia conglomerate with the express purpose of simultaneously and synergistically generating a product line of not only numerous media texts in various formats, but also non‐media merchandise, such as toys and clothing (Thomas Schatz , p. 73). I prefer to use meta‐property rather than narrative cycle (Nash , p. 6), since that term primarily describes the appearance of a particular protagonist in different, but related, stories, but does not suggest the industrial context or economic practices involved in the recycling of an entertainment property. The original title of the series was One Girl Chorus, which was changed to The Girlfriend and finally became A Date with Judy (Leslie Papers, Box 11, Folder 35). This character was called Ozzie from 1941 to 1943; however, his name was changed to Oogie in 1944, perhaps because of the popularity of Ozzie Nelson and the radio debut of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet that year. In an attempt to attract more listeners to A Date with Judy, Shirley Temple was asked to play the lead in 1942; however, the young actor decided to perform in Junior Miss instead, which ultimately had a far less successful broadcast history (Leslie Papers, Box 1, Folder 15). With the exception of episodes aired in 1941, 1949, and 1950, most scripts from the A Date with Judy radio series are archived with the Leslie Papers. Very few recordings of the series are available, though some have been preserved by old‐time radio collectors. A letter from Schwartz, dated Feb. 20, 1942, suggests, however, that he may have been the original force behind A Date with Judy's recyclings: “I've been thinking that Judy would make a good book. What do you think about that? Adapting the scripts we did into charming short stories, get it illustrated—and present it around” (Leslie Papers, Box 1, Folder 23). Unfortunately, Leslie's archived papers do not contain any documents associated with A Date with Judy's various licensing agreements. In addition, when interviewed by the author for this project, Leslie () had little memory of the specific individuals and agencies involved in such transactions. Individual issues of the comic book series can be purchased through comic book collectors, and several are archived by the Library of Congress. A Date with Judy was released on video and laserdisc by Turner in 1989 and 1990 respectively. Though no longer distributed, many video and laserdisc copies of the film are available for purchase from individual sellers. A few scripts from the first television production of A Date with Judy are archived (Leslie Papers). A 1953 episode of A Date with Judy is available for viewing at the Museum of Television‐Radio. Six Corliss Archer stories were published by Good Housekeeping in 1943. Although the published collection which includes these stories, Meet Corliss Archer (Herbert ), notes a copyright date of 1942, I have been unable to determine which, if any, magazine published his stories that year. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate any documents related to Herbert's licensing of his property to various entertainment industries. Like Leslie, Herbert received writer's credit for the series, although its producers employed other writers as well. Scripts from 1943–46 for the Meet Corliss Archer radio series are archived (Herbert Papers). Very few recordings of the series are available, though some have been preserved by old‐time radio collectors. The Meet Corliss Archer collection was reprinted several times during the 1940s and 50s by Sundial Press and Books, Inc. Kiss and Tell is not available for purchase in video or laserdisc form; however, the UCLA Film and Television Archive contains a 35mm print of the film. Other Corliss Archer‐related stories written by Herbert include “Civilization is a Mess,” “The Diary of Dexter Franklin, Episode II,” and “The Diary of Dexter Franklin, Episode III.” These latter stories are undated and, to my knowledge, unpublished (Herbert Papers, Box 12). As a comic book series, Meet Corliss Archer was introduced, cancelled, and subsequently revised as My Life (a “true stories” series not based on Herbert's characters) all within the same year: 1948. Individual issues of the comic book series can be purchased through comic book collectors, and a few are archived at the Library of Congress. Jack Kamen drew a Meet Corliss Archer comic strip while working in Jerry Iger's packaging studio in the early 1950s; however, only six strips were produced and they were never published, being used only as promotional samples for a new comic syndicate (Kamen ). Scripts from the Ziv production of Meet Corliss Archer are archived at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Video recordings from Ziv's Meet Corliss Archer's series are available from a few sellers of classic television. The Alcoa special of “Kiss and Tell” is available for viewing at the Museum of Television‐Radio. Though both Leslie and Herbert had literary agents who assisted in the licensing of their properties, letters between Leslie and McAvity, the original producer‐director of her radio series, suggest that she was actively involved in both negotiating her compensation and ensuring creative control over her work (Leslie Papers, Box 1, Folder 15). Though I have been unable to find correspondence between Herbert and the various media companies which adapted his property, given his active involvement in the SWG and the fact that his name appears on virtually every iteration of Meet Corliss Archer, I assume he had considerable control over the licensing of his work also. This phrase was used consistently during the period to distinguish writers of novels and plays from writers of mass media properties, who were typically referred to as “hacks.” Unlike many contemporary media texts, few merchandising tie‐ins, such as clothing and toys, were produced in conjunction with A Date with Judy and Meet Corliss Archer. Nevertheless, the eBay website has held several auctions for a cookbook promoting one of the Meet Corliss Archer television series, as well as a small datebook promoting A Date with Judy's film musical. The article depicts Joan Caulfield, who appeared as Corliss in Herbert's play, as well as Lugene Sanders and Ann Baxter, who portrayed Corliss in the first and second television productions respectively. For example, Hilda Terry drew her “Teena” comic strip until 1966, and Marvel Comics published Patsy Walker until 1967.
Referência(s)