I've long heard of this classic road trip show from the 1960s -- two cool dudes in a 1960 Corvette (they got a new one every season). The first season (Volume 1) has now come out on DVD and this evening I'm watching the first episode.

There is no must-see TV, for me, anymore on the major networks. Certainly no road trip adventure shows -- filmed on location -- that I know of. So FYI to anyone who knows about the show.

And for anyone who remembers "Adam-12," the owner of the Corvette is Martin Millner. A.K.A.: Officer Pete Malloy.

Oh, and they just mentioned that they'd be camping out (they carry sleeping bags) so I should have put this in the camping section!!

Here's the review on Amazon:


The story-telling event that made me want to become a writer was the premier of the classic TV show, Route 66. I was 17, doing so-so in high school, lacking plans and ambition, going nowhere. But all that changed at 8:30 p.m. on the first Friday of October in 1960 when a drama about motion gave me a destination. The series was about two young men (brilliantly portrayed by Martin Milner and George Maharis, the latter eventually replaced by Glenn Corbett) who drove a Corvette convertible across the United States in search of America and themselves.

Providing a time capsule of 1960-64, every episode was filmed entirely on location–from Poland Springs, Maine, to Huntington Beach, California; from Seattle to St Louis to Tampa and a hundred communities between. Two-thirds of the episodes were written by Stirling Silliphant, who eventually received an Oscar for In the Heat of the Night and whose scripts for ROUTE 66 were an intriguing blend of intense action and philosophic/poetic speeches that sometimes lasted five minutes, with a flavor of Tennessee Williams combined with William Inge and Arthur Miller. As a bonus, the great arranger-composer Nelson Riddle contributed a new musical score every week, often with a jazz flavor. The series so knocked me over that I wrote to Silliphant, explaining my sudden ambition to follow his path. The long letter he sent in return gave me all the advice any writer needs. "Write, write, keep writing, and then write more." That letter is framed next to my desk. Eventually, Silliphant and I became friends and colleagues. In 1989, I was thrilled to see him listed as the executive producer of my NBC miniseries, Brotherhood of the Rose. Twenty-nine years after Route 66-- David Morrell (http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse/?node=1044418), New York Times bestselling author

i remember that show..good show great scenery:cool:

Unfortunately it appears the quality of the DVD is not as good as it could be: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053534/board/nest/88006198

But thanks for reminding me of this series!

"WOW!" Thanks Hicker Chick, that brings back so many wonderful memories from that time in my life. It was a very inspiring series, Martin Milner was fine, but George Maharis and the Corvettes were the real stars. The guy who took George's place, when he left the series to become a big screen star, which never materialized, was the beginning of the end of the series. It was never the same after that, of course Milner went on to 1 Adam 12. I took off in the mid-60's for about a year on my 1947 Harley Knucklehead and saw about 42 states. So I personally think that Route 66 it was an incredible series!

Chief

I've watched a few episodes now - fun. They were in Pascagoula, Biloxi, Grand Isle, New Orleans... Zooming around Grants Pass, Oregon, now. And Tillamook. Vintage cars and vintage roads -- most of them not paved. The Interstate Highway System was in its infancy.

In fact, one of the episodes is in the southwest and had them taking that Corvette on dirt paths of a quality that many an Element driver has considered "off-road." Another has them driving into canyonlands, plowing that Corvette through a stream. Overlooking the Colorado plateau.

The Corvette was often authentically filthy.

The video and audio transfer were not great but some episodes are better quality than others. And it's black-and-white.

Doesn't detract from what a great show this is. Remarkably philosophical dialogue in these episodes I've seen. Very thoughtful.

1960 was an interesting period -- 15 years after World War II and Vietnam was not yet the raging controversy and quagmire. Nixon and Kennedy were running for President. Politics hasn't been mentioned yet but Martin Milner did reference the Soviet dogs orbiting the Earth.

I'm enjoying the series very much. Hopefully not too much time will lag between the seasons being released on DVD.
Lots of familiar actor faces, too.

I took off in the mid-60's for about a year on my 1947 Harley Knucklehead and saw about 42 states.

That must have been epic!

:)

That must have been epic!

:)


It really was, but unfortunately, I didn't realize how truly epic it was until about 30 years later! At the time, it was just "pissed-off, misguided youth!" Of couse, I got drafted in 1969 and went straight to Vietnam, so that wonderful adventure just became a footnote in my life. That's why the whole Route 66 thing, just touched a nerve, thanks again! ;-)

Chief

Episode 9 -- which is accompanying my morning coffee -- is located at Glen Canyon Dam, as it was being built.

This show, more than most of that era because it was filmed on location, is a time capsule.

Chief -- hopefully you've got some great memories from that road trip. My best trips remain vivid in my memories.

:)

On the IMDB board I saw this comment from a person who participating in the shooting of an episode:
With apologies to a couple of the other folks who I have replied to, I thought I would start a new topic for the more general audience. Yes I did work on one episode of the famous Route 66 and I learned a lot about life and movie making in the week that I was employed by them as an assistant set decorator. The episode I worked on was Year #4,Same Picture, Different Frame guest starring Joan Crawford in the summer of 1963. To give you some background for the sake of integrity of my remarks, that summer I was a college age Caddy Master at Poland Spring Hotel in Poland Spring Maine, a large resort with a beautiful golf course attached to it. Near the end of the summer, the road crew for Route 66 arrived and I was lucky enough to sign on as an assistant to the set designer, who I believe was Frank Tuttle (famous for "From Here to Eternity). Anyway, for the next week, I was privy to behind the scenes actions of all the major players of this particular episode.

The most lasting memory of that time was that Marty Milner was a jerk. First of all, while I was still Caddy Master (basically in charge of tee times and the golf course rules), Marty arrived with a girl (unkown) and wanted to tee off. The rules of the golf course were that all golfers had to have a caddy and wait their turn. When I told him that, he brushed me aside and, stepping in front of other golfers whose turn it was, he teed up, hit a drive (decent)and jumped in the golf cart with his girl friend and headed out onto the course without so much as a "sorry". (Later on that night, my returning caddies for other golfers reported that Martin had left the golf course with the girl and the cart and were hiding-as best they could-in the woods off the 6th hole green and making out.) That obviously set up my mind set toward him, and nothing that transpired on the sets in the following days did anything to change it. Basically he treated everyone like he was a "star" and they were nothing.

Corbett, on the other hand, was great. Really friendly and outgoing and a regular guy. I remember one incident when Corbett set up a bucket of water on the roof of one of the sets and when Milner came out of the door after a shot, the bucket emptied onto him. Milner was livid and spewed forth anger and nasty comments towards Corbett who was laughing. (I saw many tricks and pranks done to members of the cast (including Corbett) and even amongst the crew members, so I assume that these were pretty normal and a way to break up the monotony of a long hard days work).

I remember Corbett playing "poker bluff" with us during scene breaks (where you hold twenty dollar bills and read off the serial numbers as poker hands and try to call bluffs correctly), but Milner never did. Corbett bought the crew lunches (or late night suppers) every once in a while, and ate with us, but Milner was never to be seen. He never spoke to the crew members, and never jostled around with the other cast members the way Corbett, Bosley and O'Neal did.

Hell, even Joan Crawford was friendlier than Milner. She was very friendly towards the crew members. She was majority owner of Pepsi Cola at the time, and she had a filled and chilled truck full of bottles of pepsi cola right with the crew members at all times. No matter where we went, even ahead of the cast, that truck would follow us. Free pepsi and as much as you could drink. She always spoke to us whenever she came onto the set and was very gracious and courteous to everyone around her. And her acting was superb. We knew at the time that she was deathly afraid of horses, but this particular episode had her riding one. You would never know she had any fear. She entered the stable, got up on the horse, and rode out, all without missing a beat.

The one disappointment I came away with was how movies are made. For example, there was fight scene in a bar room that I had to prepare for, and all the bottles were lightway thin breakable glass and the chairs were balsa wood. Now, today we all know that, but this was the first time I found that out and I could never look at another movie the same way again. Also, the Corvette that you see in the show was actually multiple Corvettes that were brought in on a car hauler and were driven no more than twenty feet at a time. Marty would jump in and drive twenty feet and stop. In the movie, it looks like he drives off, but they don't shoot it that way.

Also, making movies is very, very boring and hard work. Scene shots are slow to prepare, slow to practice and slow to shoot. Boredom is a challenge and one way it was defeated was with poker bluff. On long waits, the crew would pull out wads of twenty dollar bills and play for hours at a time. Men would win or lose huge amounts of money at those sessions, which I did not sit in on. (the pay was great...I made as much in that week as I had made all summer as a caddy master at the hotel.

So, what did I do? Well, my job was to decorate all the scenes, usually a day ahead of the shooting. And to my great surprise, about three days into shooting, my boss, Frank Tuttle, left to go to Vermont, the next site location and left me with instructions as to what to do with the next scenes, so for two or three days, I worked alone and sometimes away from the action, because the next scenes to be shot might be down the road. I remember the director taking me out to a farm house that was unoccupied and telling me it had to look like it had not been lived in for years. I went and cut tree branches and made them look like they are growing up all around the house, and rubbed mud all over the house to make it look aged. I spent a whole day there, and if I remember the scene correctly, the house was in the picture all of ten seconds as Joan and Patrick O'Neal? rode by. Those of you that have all the episodes on tape can tell me if I remember that right. I also set up several other scenes (inside of a summer camp that in reality was empty, but made to look like all the campers were still there), the bar fight scene, and some other scenes that I have forgotten. However, I am most proud of my farmhouse.

I regret that I do not know the plot. I did see the episode when it aired, but was watching my scenary more than following the plot. I believe someone from Joan Crawford's past was hunting her down with intent to silence her, but I could be wrong. If anyone knows, I would appreciate a reply so I can be more knowledgeable about my work.

Interesting account. From what I read about the show, Milner bought a station wagon to take his wife and kids with him to the locations.

Of course, they may have missed that shoot. :)

By the way, I don't want to mislead anyone into thinking most of these episodes are about the road trip. Each episode is a stand-alone story. They arrive, the story lays out, they leave.

Very hip, jazzy theme music. Apparently, it was a hit song at the time.

Time capsule.

While I remember the Route 66 TV series, I was always more partial to a later, shorter, series.

Then Came Bronson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Then_Came_Bronson)

Hang in There,
Uno

While I remember the Route 66 TV series, I was always more partial to a later, shorter, series.

Then Came Bronson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Then_Came_Bronson)

Hang in There,
Uno

Thanks Uno Kitty,

I also loved this series...starring Michael Parks, as Bronson. The quote "Hang in There!" came at the beginning of each episode with Bronson was sitting at a signal light on his motorcycle, in sweltering heat, in the middle of the a city, and next to him was a very exasperating looking, everyday family guy, driving a station wagon, wiping the sweat from his brow. He looks at Bronson and says, "I wish I could be like you!' Bronson looks back at him ans says..."Hang in there!" He then takes off, and we go into the first commercial.

Chief

This past summer I rode my Harley Davidson Road King from Pittsburgh to Chicago to meet up with the Mother Road Rally Group. Every year they ride what is left of Rt66 from Chicago to Santa Monica.

We left Chicago 85 riders strong. We then broke into smaller groups. The group I was with rode as much of the OLD rode as possible. We even did 25 miles through New Mexico on an original alignment that was never paved!

It would be quite cool to do an Element Rt 66 tour but 2300 miles on a Harley on Rt 66 cannot be beat.


Best regards,
HUTMO

http://www.epiphanybullterriers.com/hutmo_on_rt66.jpg

Great pics, Hutmo -- looks like a fabulous trip.

:)