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Special for Women

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Special for Women
Cover of the 1962 book collection of screenplays.
GenreDrama, soap opera, documentary
Created byGeorge Lefferts
Written byGeorge Lefferts
John T. Dugan
John Furia Jr.
Directed byKarl Genus
William A. Graham
H. Wesley Kenney
George Lefferts
Seymour Robbie
Lela Swift
ComposerMichael Hennigan
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
Original release
NetworkNBC
Release1960 (1960) –
1965 (1965)

Special for Women (also known as Purex Specials for Women) is an American daytime drama/documentary TV series that ran on NBC from 1960 to 1965, and also aired in England, Canada and Australia.[1] The show dramatised problems faced by everyday women such as menopause, sexual dysfunction and the feminine beauty ideal, followed by a discussion of that episode's topic with a panel of experts.[2]

The screenplays, mostly written by George Lefferts, were based on hundreds of hours of interviews with real women, social workers and mental health professionals.[3][4] Lefferts told the Chillicothe Gazette:

All the women I spoke to weren't in the least reticent about giving me the story of their lives. Most people don't have anyone to talk to, I think. After the war, there was a basic revision of woman's role and a social lag in our attitudes hasn't caught up with it... And there is a groundswell of female opinion against the idea that the wife, after being educated for a career, belongs in the home... We have tried to present the attitudes and emotions as well as the facts. Here we try to capture the essence of reality.[5]

The show's first season of eight episodes aired from 1960 to 1961. A second and third season of three episodes each followed in 1962 and 1964–65. Special for Women dealt with increasingly controversial topics as it went on, including the abuse and molestation of children. Dinah Shore provided narration for Season 3.[6]

Reception

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Considered a groundbreaking show in its time, Special for Women received critical acclaim and several awards, including a 1962 Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Program and a nomination for Outstanding Writing Achievement in the Documentary Field.[7]

According to Lefferts, over half of the many letters received from viewers were from women asking for the episodes to be replayed in evening timeslots so that their husbands could watch after coming home from work.[8] He also quoted a letter from a "Milwaukee women's club" which read: "We are all in agreement that it is our husbands who just can't understand. Trying to explain is like talking to a brick wall. This program is worth a thousand explanations that we could possibly try to make."[9]

In Australia, The Age noted that the series was considered "controversial" and had provoked an "intense reaction" when shown in Melbourne.[10]

Buoyed by the success of Special for Women, Lefferts went to write and produce numerous other TV projects that dealt with mental health including 1963's Breaking Point[11] and a 1966 series in a similar vein, Confidential for Women.[12][13]

Availability

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Special for Women has never been released on home video and it is unknown how much of it was preserved. Some episodes are known to have survived in television archives such as the Paley Center for Media ("The Cold Woman", "Change of Life" "Mother and Daughter"),[14][15][16] the Library of Congress ("The Lonely Woman")[17] and the UCLA Film and Television Archive ("A Child in Danger" and "The Menace of Age"),[18][19] where episodes are available to view on-site for research purposes only. Others may exist elsewhere, but for most audiences the show remains unavailable.

Book collection

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A collection of eight screenplays from Season 1 of the series, alongside commentary on the relevant social issues, was published in paperback by Avon Books in 1962. Special for Women: Eight Plays by George Lefferts is out of print but is legally available to be borrowed and read online via the Internet Archive.[20] It remains the only relatively accessible way for most people to experience the show. The introduction was written by Margaret Mead, who noted:

One of the unfortunate elements of contemporary TV is that it happens only once... All the imaginative effort of putting on a full-dress TV show [lives and dies] in a single hour, surviving only in the memories of those who saw them and the regrets of those who did not... So the publication in book form of the plays which were developed to embody the themes of this program is a third kind of experiment. Instead of vanishing into the ether, the plays themselves, still in their setting of expert discussion, are here to be read.[21]

List of episodes

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Season 1

[edit]
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"The Cold Woman"William A. GrahamGeorge LeffertsOctober 14, 1960 (1960-10-14)
Leora Davis (Kim Hunter) confronts her sexual frigidity with her husband, Charles (Jack Klugman).
2"The Trapped Housewife"Karl GenusGeorge LeffertsNovember 10, 1960 (1960-11-10)
Wilhemina "Willie" Ross (Phyllis Thaxter) realises she is dissatisfied with her life as a housewife when she leaves a note for the milkman that reads "Help." She confronts this with her husband, Mike (Michael Strong).
3"The Working Mother"H. Wesley KenneyGeorge LeffertsDecember 8, 1960 (1960-12-08)
Laura Tyler (Leora Dana) has been accused of child neglect simply because she works a job in addition to raising children. With her husband, Ross (Whitfield Connor), she confronts the existential issues around working women in society.
4"The Single Woman"William A. GrahamGeorge LeffertsFebruary 2, 1961 (1961-02-02)
A troubled single woman (Barbara Baxley) is torn between a single man (Michael Tolan) and an affair with a married man (Patrick O'Neal).
5"Mother and Daughter"George LeffertsGeorge LeffertsMarch 9, 1961 (1961-03-09)
A mother and daughter, Ruth (Patricia Neal) and Jeannie Evans (Lynn Loring), confront their mutual resentment of each other.
6"Change of Life"Seymour RobbieGeorge LeffertsApril 13, 1961 (1961-04-13)
As Minna Borden (Sylvia Sidney) goes through menopause, she reflects on her life, her regrets and her missed opportunities.
7"What's Wrong with Men?"Lela SwiftGeorge LeffertsOctober 19, 1961 (1961-10-19)
Henry Fellow (James Daly) is dissatisfied with his office job and life in general. He confronts this with his wife, Helen (Lori March).
8"The Glamour Trap"Lela SwiftGeorge LeffertsNovember 16, 1961 (1961-11-16)
Five women at a beauty salon (Glenda Farrell, Meg Mundy, Marian Seldes, Lenka Peterson and Barbara Dana) face the pressures of society to conform to the feminine beauty ideal.

Season 2

[edit]
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
9"The Lonely Woman"Lela SwiftElisabeth Dutton and George LeffertsJanuary 8, 1962 (1962-01-08)
Martha Sloan (Nan Martin) is married and has a full social life on the surface of things, but secretly, she deeply fears loneliness.[22]
10"The Indiscriminate Woman"Will LorinWill Lorin[24]February 1, 1962 (1962-02-01)
A couple (Carol Lawrence and Dane Clark) break off their engagement after the woman's promiscuity comes to light.[23]
11"The Problem Child"Lela SwiftGeorge LeffertsApril 19, 1962 (1962-04-19)[27]
A report that a nine-year-old child has been pushed down a flight of stairs by his father (Simon Oakland) leads a social worker (Darren McGavin) to investigate. Conflicting stories are heard in a Rashomon-like fashion, including from the child's mother (Norma Crane). Investigation then reveals a wide range of social problems at play.[25] The child is not depicted.[26]

Season 3

[edit]
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
12"A Child in Danger"Paul NickellJohn T. DuganOctober 28, 1964 (1964-10-28)
A female lawyer (Nina Foch) reluctantly defends a male client (Martin Landau) who has been accused of molesting a child.[28][29][30] (This episode was originally titled "The Child Molester" but this was changed at the sponsor's request.[31])
13"The Menace of Age"Paul StanleyJohn Furia Jr.December 10, 1964 (1964-12-10)
Barbara Lawson (Jeanette Nolan) suffers a stroke, and her doctor suggests that she and her husband Joe (Arthur O'Connell) live with their daughter's family.[32]
14"Just a Housewife"UnknownJohn T. DuganFebruary 26, 1965 (1965-02-26)
Jacquie Hunter (Nancy Gates) is sick of being thought of as "just a housewife" and wishes to leave her husband Matt (Barry Nelson) to work for a career-oriented woman (Jeff Donnell).[33][34] Also starring Jeanne Bal.[35]

References

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  1. ^ Smith, Cecil (10 August 1962). "The Man Behind Women's Specials". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  2. ^ Gill, Alan (16 January 1962). "Television and Radio: Women, and What Ails Them". The Marion Star. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  3. ^ Gardella, Kay (14 March 1962). "On Subjects About Women, Lefferts Rates as Expert". Daily News (NY). Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  4. ^ Rahn, Pete (13 October 1960). "'Cold Woman' Subject to Day 'Special'". St. Louis Globe Democrat. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  5. ^ Crosby, John (14 April 1962). "Real Life". Chilicothe Gazette. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  6. ^ Smith, Cecil (11 October 1964). "Dinah by day and by night". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Purex Specials for Women - Awards & Nominations". Emmys.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  8. ^ Lefferts, George (1962). Special for Women: Eight plays. Avon. p. xix. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  9. ^ "As a Lady Ordered - 'Her' Show 'His'". Baltimore Sun. 23 July 1961. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  10. ^ "Controversial Film Again". The Age. 24 May 1962. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  11. ^ Smith, Cecil (15 December 1963). "The common enemy-- time". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  12. ^ Crawford, Linda (1 May 1966). "When is Day Time Weeper Not a Soap?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Big Valley Role Brings Stardom". Pottsville Republican. 2 April 1966. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Cold Woman, The: Purex Special {Part 1 of 2}". Paley Centre for Media. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Change of Life {Purex} [Part 1 of 2}". Paley Centre for Media. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Mother and Daughter: Purex Special {Part 1 of 2} (TV)". Paley Centre for Media. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Purex specials for women. The lonely woman". Library of Congress.
  18. ^ "Purex special for women. A child in danger / a Sewanee production ; executive producer, Henry Jaffe ; producer, James Loren ; director, Paul Nickell ; writer, John T. Dugan". UCLA. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Purex special for women. The menace of age / a Sewanee production ; executive producer, Henry Jaffe ; producer, James Loren ; director, Paul Stanley ; writer, John Furia, Jr." UCLA. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  20. ^ "Special for women: eight plays by George Lefferts". Internet Archive. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  21. ^ Lefferts, 1962. p.xii-xiii.
  22. ^ Library of Congress.
  23. ^ "Television: Tiddely-Pom". Time Magazine. 16 March 1962. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  24. ^ "Indiscriminate Woman Set for Thursday". The Bradenton Herald. 27 January 1962. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  25. ^ "Drama About Problem Child Set Thursday". The Daily Herald (Provo, UT). 16 April 1962. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Children Not Seen -- Or Heard". Tampa Bay Times. 26 August 1962. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  27. ^ Crosby, John (19 April 1962). "Departing Friend of Housewives". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  28. ^ "Daytime TV Special for Women". The Delhi Dispatch. 10 September 1964. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  29. ^ "Purex special for women. A child in danger / a Sewanee production ; executive producer, Henry Jaffe ; producer, James Loren ; director, Paul Nickell ; writer, John T. Dugan". UCLA. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Women's Auxiliary of Medical Society Sees Film". The Evening Times (Sayre, PA). 24 May 1966. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  31. ^ Jones, Paul (21 July 1964). "As I See It: Garry Moore Bent on Commentating". The Atlanta Constitution. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  32. ^ "Purex special for women. The menace of age / a Sewanee production ; executive producer, Henry Jaffe ; producer, James Loren ; director, Paul Stanley ; writer, John Furia, Jr." UCLA. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  33. ^ "Jeff Donnell: 'Just a Housewife' Role Natural for Her". Herald and Review (Decatur, IL). 26 February 1965. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  34. ^ "TV Guide". The Orlando Sentinel. 21 February 1965. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  35. ^ "Drama Probes Family Life". The Sandusky Register. 16 February 1965. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
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