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The Andy Griffith Show --- Its Phones and Show Discussion

Started by WEBellSystemChristian, October 10, 2014, 11:17:55 PM

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WEBellSystemChristian

Here's the 634-A 533-A wall phone from The Andy Griffith Show. The one strange thing about it this time is that there isn't a dial or dial blank in place, just the three mounting holes. ???
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

TelePlay

Was watching a Andy Griffith Show episode from 1965, Episode 16 of Season 5 - Barney Fife Realtor.

What caught my eye was the era of 3 phones on the show. I know the show was filmed from 1960 to 1968 in black and white but the set was of an earlier age, and I can't find that information. I assume it was set in time years before WW-II based on their consistent use of a manual stick in the sheriff's office (the first image below) and a manual two piece wall phone in the Sheriff's kitchen (the second photo below). But what caught my eye in this episode was the phone on the desk just before the show ended, first seen at 22:35 into this YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/s1HtdCfJ1Ys   ( dead link as of 7-17-15, only 2 months after the link was posted )

and posted as the third photo below. Andy picks up the handset and asks the operator, Sarah, to call Barney at the office. Perfectly consistent with the shows time setting but it's a manual 500. I do not ever recall seeing a 302 in any of the many episodes created. Other than being consistent with the other manual phones on the show, it seems strange they would put an out of period item on the set. A props person's OOOOOPS! if you will. Someone who did not realize that manual phone was out of time in that place. They needed a manual desk phone and that's the first thing the uninformed person saw when they were digging through the props shop, in 1965, most likely. But funny now.

What's more funny is the stick. No cord going to a subset. You can see in that picture as it sits on the desk. But still rings  ;), however, when anyone picks up the stick, no cord hanging down. All smoke and mirrors on stage.

jsowers

Andy Griffith was normally set in the present day. The squad cars were always new and they changed every year. Somehow they had a great budget for squad cars, but the phones could be from 30 years ago. Part of the charm of the town and the show, like the unseen character Sarah the operator. No need for a dial with Sarah at the switchboard. Back in 1960 when the show started, there were still small towns with manual exchanges and old phones, so this wasn't terribly unusual. A lot of the nostalgia in the show stemmed from Andy's years growing up in Mt. Airy, NC. It's about 50-60 miles away from where I live.

Speaking of subsets, I was watching George Washington Slept Here, with Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan, and the phone rang while they were moving in. It was a 202. They could find the bell box (subset) on the wall, but the phone was buried under a ton of stuff, so they had to trace it down with the cord. Rarely do you ever see a subset in a movie or a TV show, but there it was plain as day. Sorry I don't have a screen shot of it, but I may be able to make one tomorrow from the DVD I made.
Jonathan

TelePlay

I remember a show where they followed the cord to get to the phone but don't recall if it was that show.

My wife agreed with you. She does props at the theater I did sound. When I asked her what year it was set in, she first said "the cars" and clothes so late 50s to early 60s. Yes, that fits. The manual 500 was in the home of a more well to do person so they would or could have had the newest phone and with Sarah, they only needed a manual. I'm going to be on the look out for 202s and 302s from now on, though. I still wonder why they never made a reference to anything of WW-II in the show. They had a Civil War cannon. I guess they wanted to keep it family fare, which it was and still is, especially the first 6 seasons or so, up until Barney left, whenever that was. They are playing 2 episodes a day on local oldies TV and are on the 3rd or 4th cycle of the full series right now.

Did you ever run into or see Andy Griffith. I am very familiar with his bio and in a big way feel sorry for him and all that he had to deal with. I really liked him in everything he did, except for "No Time for  . . . " Cute movie but nothing close to Mayberry and Matlock. He is one person I would have like to meet, but I doubt he would have felt the same. but he always treated those who worked with him well, or so it seems.

WEBellSystemChristian

#4
Quote from: TelePlay on May 02, 2015, 08:06:52 PM
I remember a show where they followed the cord to get to the phone but don't recall if it was that show.

My wife agreed with you. She does props at the theater I did sound. When I asked her what year it was set in, she first said "the cars" and clothes so late 50s to early 60s. Yes, that fits. The manual 500 was in the home of a more well to do person so they would or could have had the newest phone and with Sarah, they only needed a manual. I'm going to be on the look out for 202s and 302s from now on, though. I still wonder why they never made a reference to anything of WW-II in the show. They had a Civil War cannon. I guess they wanted to keep it family fare, which it was and still is, especially the first 6 seasons or so, up until Barney left, whenever that was. They are playing 2 episodes a day on local oldies TV and are on the 3rd or 4th cycle of the full series right now.

Did you ever run into or see Andy Griffith. I am very familiar with his bio and in a big way feel sorry for him and all that he had to deal with. I really liked him in everything he did, except for "No Time for  . . . " Cute movie but nothing close to Mayberry and Matlock. He is one person I would have like to meet, but I doubt he would have felt the same. but he always treated those who worked with him well, or so it seems.
I believe Barney left in '65. Andy initially had planned (and gave a fair warning to all cast and crew of the show) on the show running for 5 years, no more, no less. Don Knotts, because of this, scheduled movies for '65 on, because he knew the show would end in '65. Well, due to the success of the show, Andy planned on another five years after the show was supposed to end, making it 10 years. Well, Don had already planned to work on movies by then, so he had no choice but to leave the show after season 5. I'm assuming script writers and others working on the show had other plans by then, so they had to leave. This explains why the show was so lifeless, IMHO, after '65.

My dad's coworker was at a small airport in North Carolina (ironically where the show was set) and he came over to an older man who was struggling with his luggage. After he tried helping him, the man replied; "Get your ****ing hands off that!!" The coworker mentioned the incident to another guy later that day. The guy told him that the old man was Andy Griffith. "Oh, that's just his way." the guy replied after the coworker asked why he did that.

Andy had several injuries during the show, like one where his fist was wrapped in bandage, wrote into the show as 'getting into a struggle with a criminal'. The scriptwriters wrote that into the show, because Andy had gotten into a huge fight with his wife in real life, and he punched he fist into a wall! He was really nasty, according to several people who worked with him, along with Francis Bavier (Aunt Bea), who was extremely stubborn working with people on the set. She constantly blew up at directors (like the guy who played Earnest T Bass, forgot his real name) who 'moved her around the set like a piece of furniture'. She even had Andy come over when she was on her death bed; she apologized to him then for the jerk she was to him.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

TelePlay

Thanks for that. It both adds to and confirms what I know. Andy quit the show in '68 which went on for 2 more years a Mayberry R.F.D making the show meet its 10 total years. I heard first hand stories of Andy being reclusive in California where Matlock was filmed. All that he was in later life might go to the fact that he was not personally accepted by his contemporaries in the TV and movie industries. I think that hurt him from early on resulting in the hostility he was noted for right up to his death.

WEBellSystemChristian

Quote from: jsowers on May 02, 2015, 07:28:48 PM
Andy Griffith was normally set in the present day. The squad cars were always new and they changed every year. Somehow they had a great budget for squad cars, but the phones could be from 30 years ago.
I know this is a little bit of a late reply, but I didn't see this comment until now.

I don't know if it was just a questionable comment on the show's accuracy for being outdated, or whether it was a genuine question about the vehicles in the show, but in case you didn't know, Ford exclusively provided the cars in the show. The main ones were updated every year because it was just great advertising for Ford; showing the new models of that year, although it didn't help that the squad was never glossy! ;D Every once in a while, though, you will see some farmer's truck to be some early '50s Chevy, so they did make an effort to keep those old and beat-up looking.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

podor

I think the operator exchange was more to show how simple the town was. It was set in the era it was filmed.

andre_janew

Has anyone ever seen a black WE 5302 with an F-1 handset on that show?  My friend, Tony, seems to think he saw one on that show but can't remember what episode it appeared in or who was talking on such a phone.  I think he may be mistaken.

TelePlay

Okay, it's 1960 and you stop into the drug store in Mayberry to make a phone call. Ellie points you to the public phone on the wall. Question is, do you have to put a nickle in to get Sara, or does Sara come on the line as soon as you take the handset off hook?  ;)


poplar1

Actually, both methods (pre-pay and post-pay) existed in non-dial areas, though in areas with not many pay phones, it's more likely that it was post-pay.

However, this prop is inaccurate because (1) it has a dial and (2) there is no bell box.
Also, if it were postpay (212 set), it probably would not have the pull bucket.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

TelePlay

Quote from: poplar1 on July 11, 2015, 10:21:24 AM
However, this prop is inaccurate because (1) it has a dial and (2) there is no bell box.

Thanks, that's why I posted it. It just didn't look right. The stick in the Sheriff's office has a dial blank and all of the phones I've seen in residences, D1s, 302s and 500s, all had dial blanks. So, when I spotted this "prop," I had to grab the photo to post the anomaly. It's the only phone I've seen in the series, at least the first 5 seasons, that had a dial.

I know they had them available as props back then, and still now if needed. The Untouchables original TV series ran from 1959–1963 but was set in the early 1930s. They used used two piece pay phones, some with dials, in a lot of the episodes. Who knew we'd be out there paying more attention to the phones placed that the acting and dialog . . .  ;)

poplar1

It's rather easy to convert a WE dial pay phone to non-dial. The 50C instruction card holder that fits on the front of these phones is in fact called an "apparatus blank", just as the blanks for 202s, 302s, etc. are called. Just remove the entire dial assembly and mount the 50C where the dial used to be.
"C'est pas une restauration, c'est une rénovation."--François Martin.

TelePlay

Season 1, Episode 15. Still 1960 and then there is this scene.

I'm working my way through the whole series, at least that part that was filmed in black and white. Without much attention to phone detail, I may see more dials going forward.

WEBellSystemChristian

Quote from: TelePlay on July 11, 2015, 09:14:14 PM
Season 1, Episode 15. Still 1960 and then there is this scene.

I'm working my way through the whole series, at least that part that was filmed in black and white. Without much attention to phone detail, I may see more dials going forward.
I'm also watching The Andy Griffith Show on Netflix, and the 233G and dial 302 were the only phones in the show IIRC. By season 2, the prop people probably realized that mistake, and only used manual phones after that.

I got a picture of that Oxford Gray 554 in Andy's kitchen; I'll probably add that to this list.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford