''Colonel Humphrey Flack'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

which ran Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET from October 7, 1953, to July 2, 1954, on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

, then revived from 1958 to 1959 for first-run syndication. The series also aired under the titles ''The Fabulous Fraud'', ''The Adventures of Colonel Flack'', and ''The Imposter''.

Overview

The series is about a con man who defrauded rich people, then gave some of the money to the needy. ''Colonel Humphrey Flack'' starred British actor Alan Mowbray as the Colonel, and

Frank Jenks Frank Jenks (November 4, 1902 – May 13, 1962) was an acid-voiced American supporting actor of stage and films. Biography Early years Jenks was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and his mother gave him a trombone when he was 9 years old. By his ...

as his sidekick, Uthas P. ("Patsy") Garvey. The TV series was based on a popular series of short stories by Everett Rhodes Castle published in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

''. The pilot for the series aired on May 31, 1953, on an episode of the ''

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''. When the series was revived in 1958, it was retitled ''Colonel Flack''. The 39 episodes (all remakes of the original 39 episodes) aired from October 5, 1958, to July 5, 1959 in syndication. The syndicated programs were made by Desilu Productions and featured Mowbray and Jenks in their original roles.Erickson, Hal (1989). ''Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947–1987''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 56.

Reception

A review in ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' noted that the program succeeded as a situation comedy "without benefit of any husband-and-wife team, precocious children, etc." It also complimented Mowbray's and Jenks's portrayals of their characters.

Episode status

At least 12 episodes of the DuMont series are in the collection of the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

UCLA archive entry
/ref> and two episodes are at the

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City, New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, ...

References

General bibliography

* Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows'', Third edition (New York:

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...

, 1964) * McNeil, Alex. ''Total Television'', Fourth edition (New York:

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach t ...

, 2004)

External links