Oh! Those Bells

Oh! Those Bells is a 1962 United States comedic television series starring The Wiere Brothers about the misadventures of three brothers who work in a Hollywood theatrical supply shop. It aired from March 8 to May 31, 1962.[1][2]

Oh! Those Bells
GenreSituation comedy
Created byJules White
Directed byNorman Abbott
Jack Arnold
Charles Barton
StarringThe Wiere Brothers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
ProducersJules White
Sam White
Ben Brady
Running time30 minutes
Production companyDavanna Productions
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseMarch 8 (1962-03-08) –
May 31, 1962 (1962-05-31)
Counterclockwise from left: Sylvester, Herbert, and Harry Wiere and Carol Byron in a promotional photo for Oh! Those Bells.

Cast

Synopsis

Herbie, Harry, and Sylvester "Sylvie" Bell are three gentle-natured brothers who are the last surviving members of a family with a long history of making theatrical props, costumes, and wigs. Having moved from Germany to California to start new lives, they work in a Hollywood theater supply shop called Cinema Rents, located on Ridgeway Drive, where their irascible and easily flustered boss is Henry Slocum. Although they mean well, they manage to turn even the simplest everyday tasks into slapstick disasters. Slocum's secretary, Kitty Mathews, is sweet, understanding, and beautiful, and Sylvie has a crush on her. The Bells live together in a bungalow, where Mrs. Stanfield is their landlady.[1][2][3]

Production

A loosely structured show, Oh! Those Bells attempted to bring slapstick humor to American television. At the time, The Wiere Brothers – German-Austrian-born Herbert, Harry, and Sylvester Wiere – were internationally known slapstick comedians.[2] Each episode allowed the Wiere Brothers to perform their old vaudeville act, including their comical musical numbers.[3]

Jules White, known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges,[4] created the show. He and Sam White produced the pilot episode, known both as "Money Mixup" and "Movie Money." Ben Brady produced the rest of the episodes.[5]

The show's episodes were filmed in 1960, and CBS originally planned to air them during the 1960–1961 season.[1][3] However, CBS decided to pull the show from the 1960–1961 schedule and instead ran it as a spring replacement series for The New Bob Cummings Show in 1962.[3][6]

Reception

In a review of the premiere episode of Oh! Those Bells published in the Daily Freeman of Kingston, New York, on March 9, 1962, Cynthia Lowry said that The New Bob Cummings Show had been a disappointment, but that its replacement, Oh! Those Bells, made The New Bob Cummings Show look like a "blue-white, glass-cutting gem of comedy."[6] She wrote that "From the opening moment when the stuffed head of the moose caught one Wiere by the seat of the pants to the hilarious climax when the boss was accidentally hit on the head by a golf club, it was one long maladroit bore,"[6] adding that Oh! Those Bells "may achieve the distinction of the year′s worst [television series] and certainly the one with the loudest laugh track."[6]

Broadcast history

The last episode of The New Bob Cummings Show aired on March 1, 1962, and Oh! Those Bells premiered on CBS as its replacement on March 8, 1962.[2][6][7] It was cancelled after the broadcast of its thirteenth episode on May 31, 1962.[3][5][7] It aired on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. throughout its run.[2]

Episodes

Sources[5][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

No Title Air date
1"Forget Me Nuts"March 8, 1962 (1962-03-08)
The Bells go to a missile factory to pick up an old rocket for use as a movie prop, and trouble ensues.
2"Unfriendly Friendship Club"March 15, 1962 (1962-03-15)
After Mrs. Stansfield orders them out of their bungalow, the Bells try to get back in her good graces by giving her a membership in a friendship club.
3"Murder in the Jungle"March 22, 1962 (1962-03-22)
The Bells must take care of a chimpanzee and discover that he can write — or so they think.
4"Money Mix-Up"
"Movie Money"		March 29, 1962 (1962-03-29)
The Bells get stage money meant for use in a movie mixed up with counterfeit money produced by criminals, and end up involved with both the counterfeiters and the police. This was the pilot for Oh! Those Bells.
5"Seal of Approval"April 5, 1962 (1962-04-05)
After Mr. Slocum learns that the Bells have come into an inheritance from their uncle, he wants to make them partners in the theater supply shop. The inheritance turns out to be a trained seal—but after practically destroying Slocum's business, the Bells find a check for $10,000 around the seal's neck.
6"Too Many Spooks"April 12, 1962 (1962-04-12)
After Mrs. Stanfield evicts the Bells from their bungalow for being behind on their rent, they move into a house reputed to be haunted. The Bells spend a wild night in the house, dealing with moving walls, secret compartments, moving bedroom doors, and beds that move between rooms.
7"Monkey Sitters"April 19, 1962 (1962-04-19)
Mr. Slocum has to keep a chimpanzee but has no permit for it, so the Bells try to hide the animal in their bungalow — and must match wits with both a snooping Mrs. Stansfield and an amateur detective to keep them from discovering the chimpanzee.
8"The Wallet"April 26, 1962 (1962-04-26)
While trying to return a wallet to a customer who dropped it in their shop, the Bells encounter a gang of thieves in a waterfront hangout.
9"Ma Scarlet"May 3, 1962 (1962-05-03)
The only woman on the list of the ten most wanted criminals convinces the Bells that she is only a mild-mannered newspaper vendor, so they fix up a place for her to stay in a warehouse — and she decides to take advantage of their friendliness. Ellen Corby guest-stars.
10"Short Change"May 10, 1962 (1962-05-10)
Kitty is upset because her family cannot afford to keep her brother in medical school, so the Bells decide to borrow the money necessary to pay for his education — and trouble ensues when the lender wants his money back. Jesse White, Murvyn Vye, and Teddy Hart guest-star.
11"Mexican Holiday"May 17, 1962 (1962-05-17)
The Bells become involved in an international conspiracy to smuggle diamonds into the United States.
12"Scratched Fender"May 24, 1962 (1962-05-24)
While delivering a rush order, the Bells scrape the fender of a parked car, then find it impossible to discover who the car's owner is.
13"Camping Trip"May 31, 1962 (1962-05-31)
The Bells frustrate Mr. Slocum when they accidentally take a piece of paper with an important telephone number written on it with them when they go on a camping trip.

References
  1. McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 614.
  2. Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition, New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN 0-345-39736-3, p. 766.
  3. Nostalgia Central: OH! THOSE BELLS Accessed January 3, 2022
  4. "Jack White - Hollywood Star Walk". The Los Angeles Times.
  5. The Classic TV Archive Oh Those Bells
  6. Lowry, Cynthia, "Glancing Over TV Bill of Fare," The Kingston Daily Freeman (Kingston, New York), March 9, 1962, Page 12 Accessed 4 January 2022
  7. IMDb Oh, Those Bells Episode List
  8. tv.com Oh Those Bells Episode Guide
  9. Oh! Those Bells (television listing), The Journal-Times (Racine, Wisconsin), March 8, 1962, Page 38 Accessed 4 January 2022
  10. Oh! Those Bells (television listing), The Pocono Record (Stroudbsurg, Pennsylvania), March 8, 1962, Page 11 Accessed 4 January 2022
  11. Schenectady Gazette, March 15, 1962, p. 29.
  12. Schenectady Gazette, March 22, 1962, p. 40.
  13. Oh! Those Bells (television listing), The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York), April 19, 1962, Page 22 Accessed 4 January 2022
  14. Schenectady Gazette, April 19, 1962, p. 37.
  15. Oh! Those Bells (television listing), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 19, 1962, Page 63 Accessed 4 January 2022
  16. Oh! Those Bells (television listing), The Times Record (Troy, New York), April 19, 1962, Page 63 Accessed 4 January 2022
  17. Schenectady Gazette, April 26, 1962, p. 30.
  18. Oh! Those Bells (television listing), Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1962, Page 18 Accessed 4 January 2022
  19. Schenectady Gazette, May 17, 1962, p. 21.
  20. Schenectady Gazette, May 24, 1962, p. 43.
  21. Oh! Those Bells (television listing), The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey), May 24, 1962, Page 56 Accessed 4 January 2022
  22. Schenectady Gazette, May 31, 1962, p. 23.
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