The Twentieth Century

The Twentieth Century was a documentary television program that ran on the CBS network from 1957 until 1966.  The series produced 112 historical compilation films and 107 "originally photographed documentaries" or contemporary documentaries, each running a half-hour. Productions were narrated by Walter Cronkite and drew on the resources of CBS News. The compilations mixed newsreel footage and eyewitness interviews, focusing on great events, unfamiliar historical episodes, and biographical portraits, including contemporary men in the arts, sciences, law, and politics.  As the series progressed, the compilation films were gradually outnumbered by the contemporary documentaries, similar to the work being done in the CBS Reports series, but often treating social and political change overseas rather than in the U.S.  Popular and critically-acclaimed, audiences averaged 13 million viewers a week, and the series was an influential forerunner to many subsequent television documentary series.[1]

For the century 1901–2000, see 20th century. For other uses, see 20th century (disambiguation).
The Twentieth Century
Composer Harold Arlen and singer Tony Bennett rehearsing for a 1964 program about Arlen's works
GenreDocumentary
Written byEarle Luby
Directed byPeter Poor (1961-1966)
Willard Van Dyke (1961-1965)
Nicholas Webster (1960-1965)
Wade Bingham (1961)
Robert K. Sharpe (1961-1963)
Av Westin (1961-1962)
Harry Rasky (1963)
Burton Benjamin (1964)
Earle Luby (1966)
Narrated byWalter Cronkite
Theme music composerGeorge Antheil
ComposersMany contemporary classical and film composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons9
No. of episodes219
Production
Executive producerBurton Benjamin
ProducersBurton Benjamin
Isaac Kleinerman
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseOctober 20, 1957 (1957-10-20) –
1966 (1966)
Related
The 21st Century (1967-1970). The 20th Century with Mike Wallace (1994-2005).

The program was sponsored during its entire run by the Prudential Insurance Company, whose Rock of Gibraltar symbol was often the backdrop for the opening and closing credits.  But the company approved the topics and limited the treatment of issues it felt to be potentially upsetting to a large audience, particularly social and religious subjects.  Prudential -– and the Department of Defense which provided film footage and cooperation for many episodes—also wanted an uncritical portrayal of the U.S. military. Prudential withdrew sponsorship after the ninth season when sports programming seriously cut into the number of its 6 pm Sunday timeslots, and contemporary subjects came to dominate productions.[1]

The series’ theme music, in which a ragtime-tinged orchestral cacophony abruptly changes to a triumphal contemporary march, was famous in its day.  Aired in several versions, it was written by the erstwhile avant-garde composer George Antheil and is arguably his most heard work.[2]  (Curiously, the theme never had an on-screen credit and has been available only on copies of the original broadcasts.)  Many episodes had original scores commissioned from a wide range of contemporary classical and film composers, including Antheil, Auric, Creston, Gould, Hovhaness, Kay, Kubik, Milhaud, Nascimbene, Rosenthal, Shapero, Siegmeister, Tcherepnin, and Waxman. Alfredo Antonini composed half the scores and led the CBS Orchestra in performances.[1][3][4]

Successor series

The series was replaced in 1967 with a spin-off, The 21st Century. Produced by many of The Twentieth Century team and narrated by Cronkite, the new series focused on what humankind could shape and expect by examining aspects of the future already evident in the present.[5][6]  It was sponsored by Union Carbide ("The Discovery Company"). The 21st Century ran only three seasons (its final broadcast was on 4 January 1970). The reason given was that the writers had run out of topics, but CBS may have wanted a more commercially successful program.[7]

The original program concept was revived in 1994 with The 20th Century with Mike Wallace. The new series was produced by CBS News Productions in association with A&E Network and premiered on The History Channel.  166 episodes were produced and aired during 1994-2005.  Peter Fish arranged, adapted, and extended the original theme music, for which Antheil remained uncredited.[3]

  1. Richard C. Bartone, “The Twentieth Century,” in The Encyclopedia of Television (1997, Museum of Broadcast Communications). 
  2. TV Guide, "When The Melody Lingers On..." May 17, 1958, pp. 22-23, cited by classicthemes.com.
  3. Sehnsuchtshafen, "George Antheil – The Twentieth Century (1957/1994)”, Film Score, Blog Discussion, Sept 23-27, 2021.
  4. Kritzerland, “The Twentieth Century” (Soundtrack CD description)
  5. TV Guide, 14/40 (October 1, 1966), n9.
  6. “Son of 20th Century”, Time Magazine, Feb. 17, 1967.
  7. “The Twentieth Century (1957)”, The Movie Database
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