''Nickel Flicks'' is an American

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

that premiered on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

in 1979 as one of the network's inaugural programs, and the first original series created for the channel after its launch. It showcased "cliffhanger" serials from the 1920s–40s, in addition to early comic one-reelers and silent short films. It was hosted by producer John Moschitta, who later became famous as the "World's Fastest Talker" in commercials for

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

. This was Moschitta's first on-camera television role. ''Nickel Flicks'' was notably the first Nickelodeon show to be cancelled and the shortest-lived out of Nickelodeon's inaugural series; according to Moschitta, it was cancelled due to complaints about the violent nature of many of the serials. Since the features on ''Nickel Flicks'' had been created prior to the advance of

color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...

, most of the program was presented in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

. The only exception were the segments featuring Moschitta, which were taped in color at the QUBE studios in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. The program aired three times every day from April 1979 until November or December of 1979. Taping finished in July 1979, when Moschitta moved to Los Angeles. ''Nickel Flicks'' is the only show on the network not to last beyond the 1970s and the first Nickelodeon program to end. It is a more recent example of a lost television program, due to the lack of recorded tape that exists.

Overview

Slapstick comedy serials made up the majority of the content on ''Nickel Flicks''. Comic violence, which was rare in children's programming at the time, was not edited out of most of the films that were shown; it was even advertised as kids' programming "with no sugar-coating." Cable executive Bill Riley stated that "any violence n the programis either less intense than that found on commercial television or is clearly intended as comedy." Dated

suspense films Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

aimed at a family audience were occasionally shown as well. The show was not just a showcase but a " public affairs program as well." Moschitta, in his own words, played "a

Sydney Greenstreet Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954) was a British-American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting throu ...

kind of character in a white suit", wearing a

pith helmet The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi) is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish military adaptation of the native '' salako ...

panama hat A Panama hat, also known as an Ecuadorian hat, a jipijapa hat, or a toquilla straw hat, is a traditional brimmed straw hat of Ecuadorian origin. Traditionally, hats were made from the plaited leaves of the ''Carludovica palmata'' plant, known ...

, and sat in a large rattan chair. During Moschitta's host segments, public affairs issues related to the plots or stars of the showcased films were discussed.

Films

* '' The Galloping Ghost'' (1931) * ''

The Whispering Shadow ''The Whispering Shadow'' is a 1933 American pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Pictur ...

'' (1933), starring

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

* '' The Mystery Squadron'' (1933) * ''

Junior G-Men ''Junior G-Men'' was an American boys club and popular culture phenomenon during the late 1930s and early 1940s that began with a radio program and culminated with films featuring the Dead End Kids. Origins After leaving the Federal Bureau of Inv ...

'' (1940)

Featured artists

The following artists' works were featured on the program: *

Buster Crabbe Clarence Linden Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983), known professionally as Buster Crabbe, was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimmi ...

(as

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...

in the eponymous serial) *

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

(as Tom Morgan in ''

The Miracle Rider ''The Miracle Rider'' is a 1935 American Western film serial directed by B. Reeves Eason and Armand Schaefer for Mascot. It stars silent movie cowboy star Tom Mix in his last major film role. Plot summary Zaroff ( Charles Middleton), a rancher ...

'') *

Roscoe Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked w ...

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is conside ...

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...

Rex the Wonder Horse Rex, also known as Rex the Wonder Horse and King of the Wild Horses (born 1916 or 1917) was a Morgan horse, Morgan stallion who starred in films and Serial (film), film serials in the 1920s and 1930s. His trainer was Jack "Swede" Lindell, who ...

Reception

The ''

Courier-Post The ''Courier-Post'' is a morning daily newspaper that serves South Jersey in the Delaware Valley. It is based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and serves most of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. The paper has 30,313 daily paid subscrib ...

'' described the offerings on ''Nickel Flicks'' as "wholesome." ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...

'' labeled the series "a collection some of the best kids shows from previous years."

References

{{Former Nickelodeon original series 1970s Nickelodeon original programming 1980s Nickelodeon original programming 1979 American television series debuts 1980 American television series endings Television shows filmed in Ohio Lost television shows