You are There Teleplays

Book excerpt: You Are There, a classic of television's Golden Age, was produced from 1953 to 1955. Each episode, 'reported' by such journalists as Mike Wallace, Walter Cronkite, and Bill Leonard, investigated a historical event as if it were current breaking news. The series starred such luminaries as James Dean, Paul Newman, Rod Steiger, John Cassevetes, and Lorne Greene. Not able to officially work on the programme, they submitted their scripts through 'fronts'. (This volume re-establishes screen credit for ten of Polonsky's episodes.) Polonsky was blacklisted until 1968. In this volume: Cortez Conquers Mexico; The Crisis of Galileo; The Fate of Nathan Hale; The Secret of Sigmund Freud; The Recognition of Michelangelo; The Vindication of Savonarola; Mallory's Tragedy on Mt Everest; The Emergence of Jazz; The Torment of Beethoven; The Tragedy of John Milton.