SPECIAL: Death Chain redux

Filmed October 1970

I have an analytic chart on my website that produces statistics about visitors to the site, including the number of visits to each of the 220 (so far) posts. The number of visits to the DEATH CHAIN post, the second episode of DAN AUGUST that I directed, monthly registers in the top 10 visits; many times it has been in the number 2 position, just under STAR TREK’s THIS SIDE OF PARADISE. But how can that be? DAN AUGUST was not a success. It was cancelled after only one season of 26 episodes.

When I embarked on this trek 11 years ago, I stated my intent was to take my readers onto the sets where I directed to give them a fly-on-the-wall view of moviemaking. I hope I have done that, but what I didn’t anticipate then was what the journey would do for me; that it would provide me a perception of those events beyond what was being entered into my computer. So let’s revisit DEATH CHAIN and talk about DAN AUGUST a little differently than what I wrote in its 5 previous posts.

In 1966 NAKED CITY (a cop series) was the first cop/private eye series I directed. In each of my 3 NAKED CITY films the opening sequence centered on the characters involved in that episode’s crime. My directing objective was to relate intimately the story of those people, thus embracing future audiences emotionally with them. The cops entered later. They were the supporting cast. DAN AUGUST, like so many of the crime series that followed, did the opposite. After a brief scene showing a crime, the main focus of the story was on the cops as they attempted to solve the case.

In 4 of the DAN AUGUST’s I directed the opening scene involved an onscreen murder: in one of them all we knew of the victim was it was a woman taking a nighttime swim in a swimming pool; in another episode it was a returning war veteran shot cold-bloodedly in the first 15 seconds. Neither murderer was seen. Another of the opening episodes was a bloodbath ambush with 2 riflemen and 4 victims. That was a way of capturing the viewer’s attention immediately. I’m not saying that was wrong. It just meant that embracing its future audiences emotionally with the drama’s characters still had to be accomplished. I liked that DEATH CHAIN opened differently.

The bookshop owner’s reticence when he handed the book up to the young girl on the ladder was sexual but respectful. It showed his opinion of the girl to the future viewers, enhancing their reaction when they learn of what happened after she got into that car.

As usual I didn’t meet the author of the film I was directing – Robert C. Dennis. I don’t think at the time I realized I had already directed something he had written –- an episode I had filmed 4 years earlier, THE COURIER on THE FBI (https://senensky.com/the-courier/). I also hadn’t connected the dots until now; two years later I directed 2 more of his scripts: TO DENISE WITH LOVE AND MURDER on BARNABY JONES (https://senensky.com/to-denise-with-love-and-murder/) and ENDS OF THE EARTH on SEARCH (https://senensky.com/ends-of-the-earth/).

At this late date I want to commend Mr. Dennis. DEATH CHAIN was intricately (and cleverly) plotted, it had interesting characters weaved together personally, his interrogation scenes of the cops’ questionings enhanced these characters emotional relationships and his dialogue flowed easily, giving good actors room to ply their art.

In most detective stories (i.e. PERRY MASON, PHILO VANCE) the killer isn’t revealed until the final reel. We’re still in Act One.

August’s investigation brings him back to Troy’s school where he examines him for possible scratches on his body.

More police interrogations followed: a scene with Sherry’s father; a return to the bookshop, and then…

How do you know which one? How do you know?

The film has altered direction. The police are now also seeking the murderer of the possible murderer of the girl.

Burt Reynolds did all of his own stunts. DEATH CHAIN was no exception.

My training in theatre directing taught to prepare EVERYTHING before beginning rehearsals. I continued that discipline when my directing moved into film. That adapted very conveniently to the strictures imposed by filming under television’s restrictive time schedules. Very seldom did I make changes in my planned staging. The scene with Burt, Jan-Michael, and Norman at the side of the car was one of those rare times. My planned staging had them at the side of the car for the entire scene with coverage being the master three-shot and then close-ups of each of the three. But as we rehearsed, I realized the scene needed a break, it needed time for an emotional transition by Jan-Michael; so I gave Burt the line, “Get into the car.” Once the three were in the car Jan-Michael had time to break down emotionally before continuing and I cancelled individual close-ups of the three. I wanted the balance of the scene to play in the master angle. I wanted to control the pacing of the scene.

Bit by bit the pieces of the crime’s puzzle are all in place for the final showdown.

Many years ago Samuel Goldwyn said, “All I Want Is a Story. If You Have a Message, Send It by Western Union,” I disagree. I don’t believe in propaganda in scripts; but I do believe a story being told can have a point of view; can make a statement.

The evolution of the DAN AUGUST television series was interesting. In 1969 QM Productions filmed a TV-movie of Harold R. Daniels’ 1966 crime novel, HOUSE ON GREENAPPLE ROAD. (It aired on ABC on January 11, 1970.) As usual with QM Productions, a stellar cast had been assembled: Janet Leigh, Julie Harris, Walter Pidgeon, Barry Sullivan, Keenan Wynn, Peter Mark Richman, William Windom, Edward Asner. The detective pursuing the case, Dan Nolan (renamed Dan August), was played by Christopher George, fresh off his two-season run on ABC as the star of THE RAT PATROL.

Here I have to surmise: I don’t think this film was a tv pilot. Had it been, series contract negotiations would have been held with Christopher George plus the actors in the roles played by Barry Sullivan, Keenan Wynn and Ned Romero who, although I don’t think he was contracted for the series then, was the only one who continued on into the series. I have read that Christopher George was offered the role of Dan August, but decided to accept an offer for another series THE IMMORTAL (which unfortunately lasted for only 15 episodes). I have also read that he suggested Burt Reynolds to Quinn Martin to play August.

And I have also read (and I think it was in Burt’s autobiography) that when he went in to meet Quinn Martin, he was open for anything BUT a cop show (he thought QM’s cops were like Jack Webb). When Quinn pitched ‘Dan August’ to him, that prompted this exchange:

Burt: He’s a no b.s. cop…he’s not funny.
Quinn: You’re not funny.

Quinn was referring to the Dan August character – that’s how he wanted it. He thought women would love Burt in this role.

Burt still resisted, so Quinn asked him, “Who do you think is the highest paid actor in TV?” Burt didn’t know and took a stab: “Maybe one of the ‘Bonanza’ boys, Michael Landon.” Quinn talked to someone on the phone, hung up and said, “Landon is getting $25,000 per week. You’ll get $26,000 per week.

“I can’t believe the figures,” Burt wrote. “When someone says ‘per week’, I assume that equates to ‘per episode.’ Yikes! I guess a series like this could not afford low or middling ratings.”

DAN AUGUST was produced the same as all the QM Production hit series: THE FUGITIVE, 12 O’CLOCK HIGH, THE FBI, THE INVADERS. It had a 7-day shooting schedule while most other 1-hour shows filmed in 6. QM paid top dollar for guest stars. Burt was tireless in his contribution to the series. With a minimum of 4 days of location filming for each episode (an extension to 5 days was not a rarity); with doing all of his own stunt work in scripts that accentuated action; with many nights of filming because Quinn would not allow day-for-night photography; with all of that Burt would leave on Friday nights to fly out to distant locations to do public appearances for the series. I know; I was there.

In the spring of 1971 DAN AUGUST was cancelled after only one season.
Michael Eisner was in programming at ABC at the time and partially responsible for the cancellation of the series. Here’s a quote from Michael’s interview for the Archive of American Television —

“We had a show called Dan August when I was at ABC, and it failed, and it starred Burt Reynolds – it was a typical action show, Quinn Martin, but it was pretty good, it was fine — but didn’t do well, and we cancelled it on like a Tuesday and I was at home, I don’t know, like a few nights later, watching The Tonight Show when Burt Reynolds shows up and he is hysterically funny, self-deprecating, I mean just hysterical — and I call up Quinn Martin and I said “Where WAS this guy!?” If we had just known that this man had this sense of humor Dan August would have been a different Dan August.”

As I wrote above:

When Quinn pitched ‘Dan August’ to him, that prompted this exchange:

Burt: He’s a no b.s. cop…he’s not funny.
Quinn: You’re not funny.

Quinn was referring to the Dan August character – that’s how he wanted it. He thought women would love Burt in this role

To which I add something I wrote in my first post for DAN AUGUST:

One of the most astounding bits of advice given to me was what producer Tony Spinner said to me as I started prep on my first episode of DAN AUGUST: “You’ll have to watch Burt Reynolds. He’s going to try to insert bits of business into his role, trying to be charming, but the one thing the guy doesn’t have is charm.”

Before I wrap, just a few Comments left on the 5 DAN AUGUST posts of this website:

They just don’t build them like they used to! What a fantastic production.

This was a great, exciting episode.

…the underated DAN AUGUST, one of my most sought after tv series, that seems completely overlooked by dvd companies. I loved this show when it played over here on the London THAMES TV channel

Great series great acting and directing it should have gone on a few years.

Had this aired on any other network except All the Best shows Cancelled (ABC), then it would have taken off.

Within the last year a DVD album of the DAN AUGUST series, including the film HOUSE ON GREENAPPLE ROAD, has finally been released and episodes of DAN AUGUST can currently be seen on YouTube cable channel after a long run on GetTv. Why have I brought this matter up. Like I said, I find the evolution of the DAN AUGUST series to be interesting and like Jack Webb, the kind of cop Burt thought QM cops were like, I’m just reporting the facts

The journey continues