MovieChat Forums > Longstreet (1971) Discussion > Longstreet-related publications

Longstreet-related publications

posted 3 years ago by CarolTheDabbler (575)
4 replies | jump to latest

If you know of a Longstreet-related book or other publication, please tell us about it here!

You may have seen a book on Amazon called Longstreet: The Series, and wondered if it was worth the price (currently US$37.99 for a little under 200 pages). The author, Scott Palmer, is not necessarily a Longstreet fan, since he churns out a similar book about some TV series about every-other month, so I was hesitant to order -- but finally did, and I'm reasonably satisfied with it.

The book is a pretty decent hardback, with the title and cover photos on the plastic-coated cover itself (there's no dust jacket). The paper is matte-finish, which (along with the clean black type) is easy on the eyes, though not ideal for photo reproduction. But there are lots of photos! The book is organized by episode, each one having around eight pages, with a cast list, a fairly detailed synopsis (around 2/3 page worth, even mentioning many of those memorable little scenes unrelated to the plot) plus about 20 photos. Some of the photos are a bit small to show much detail, but most are a fairly good size.

All in all, this is a reasonably good Longstreet reference work (and apparently the only one available in book form). It would be especially helpful for someone with no internet access.

There's also a nice two-page foreword by Marlyn Mason, as well as a (very) brief commentary by Peter Mark Richman (who died the year after the book was published).

Here's the book on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/LONGSTREET-Scott-V-Palmer/dp/164786433X/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=longstreet+the+series&qid=1637963070&qsid=140-4730318-8470000&s=books&sr=1-12&sres=0964363291%2C1563524619%2C1563525429%2C1563525054%2C1563525046%2C1563525453%2C1563525038%2C1563525364%2C1563525925%2C156352595X%2C1563524740%2C164786433X%2C1879941066%2C1603440526%2C1886661049%2C0875051650

[–] CarolTheDabbler (575) 3 years ago

Issue #153 of MAD magazine, cover-dated September 1972, contained a Longstreet satire entitled (of course) "Longshot." I was able to buy a used copy online.

The artwork is in MAD's usual parody style, so it's clear who the characters are. But the storyline (which contains some elements of "There Was a Crooked Man" AKA the one with the race horse) strikes me as more ridicule than their usual good-natured parody. Basically "Mack Longshot" is a walking disaster area because -- wait for it -- he can't see! Ain't that a hoot? Some of MAD's parodies were far better than others, but I don't recall any of them stooping to that level. And they spend nearly a full page on a car chase, even though Longstreet didn't feature those. All in all, I'd say it wasn't up to their usual standards.

To be fair, though, MAD's best parodies emphasized each character's actual quirks and flaws -- and since Longstreet doesn't rely on that sort of characterization, maybe they didn't have a whole lot to work with. But I'd say in that case, they'd have been better off just parodying a different show.

[–] CarolTheDabbler (575) 3 years ago

There's a site called Script City that's offering a PDF download of the revised final draft of "This Little Piggy Went to Marquette" for US$14.99. I'm intending to get it, and will let y'all know what I think.

Here's the link: edited August 17 to say it's been changed to this: https://www.scriptcity.com/longstreet.html (price hasn't changed, though)

While you're there, you might want to see what they have from your other favorite shows and movies. They don't seem to have much from JF's other TV series, just one episode of Hunter ("Yesterday Upon the Stair"). But I haven't checked for his movies (either theatrical or TV).

[–] CarolTheDabbler (575) 3 years ago

And it's already on my computer -- the advantage of PDF downloads!

First off, this does appear to be a genuine script (rather than a transcript that someone wrote down while listening to the episode). For one thing, this physical copy apparently belonged to the late Lloyd Gough, who played Dr. Kenbrook(e) -- each bit of the Doctor's dialog has a hand-drawn square around it. Plus it's laid out and written like a script, with detailed directions for the actors, camera people, et al.

The file is a garden-variety PDF (simple images of the pages of the script, rather than the deluxe searchable kind). But it's nicely done, very readable, and if one wants a physical script, it's a simple matter to print it out. (Note: If you want to be "authentic," the TV scripts I've seen from this era were single-sided on punched paper, held together with brads in the holes, and the cover was heavier stock, usually colored paper.)

There are several puzzling "words" that I assume are typos -- this must have been a relatively common occurrence back in typewriter days. Even though each rev of a script would presumably correct errors from the previous rev, it was likely to introduce new ones, and there probably wasn't much time allowed for thorough proofreading.

There are bound to be differences between the script and the final cut of the episode -- introduced by the director and/or the film editor. I'm looking forward to comparing the two versions.

[–] CarolTheDabbler (575) 2 years ago

Script City has a sale going on right now (ending September 2, 2022). To be honest, they usually have a sale going on, but it's usually 30% off on orders over $100, whereas it's now 30% off on $80 or more, or 20% off on $75 or more. Both deals are mentioned on the site's home page: https://www.scriptcity.com/ -- note, however, that the 30%/$80 one doesn't show up constantly, you may have to sit and watch the large image (actually a slideshow) till the sale advertisement comes up, and look for the coupon code (toward the left side).

Note also that they've changed their website since I ordered, so the Longstreet script has a new link: https://www.scriptcity.com/longstreet.html