Robert Altman Study Part 7: The Millionaire

At the same time as his stint at Desilu, Altman became a regular director on The Millionaire, which was already a hit show in its fourth season when he came on board. The premise of the show was that a millionaire named John Beresford Tipton (his face never seen, his voice portrayed by the ubiquitous Paul Frees) would regularly present anonymous million-dollar checks to complete strangers for unknown reasons. Each episode followed his executive secretary, Michael "Not the Bassist for Van Halen" Anthony (Marvin Miller) as he presents the checks and changes the recipients' lives. The premise allowed the tone to shift from melodrama to comedy to crime stories from one week to the next, so each show was essentially a B-movie boiled down to its least interesting essentials. It did include guest spots by a great number of once and future stars, including Dennis Hopper, James Coburn, Tuesday Weld, Agnes Moorehead, Betty White, Vic Morrow, and Charles Bronson.

Robert Altman Study Part 6: Desilu

At Desilu, the production company owned by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Altman became one of the principal directors on two series from 1957-1959: Whirlybirds and Sheriff of Cochise/U.S. Marshal. The gig was a serious step down from the quality of Hitchcock's shows, but provided the director with more experience in working quickly and cheaply.

Robert Altman Study Part 5: When Bob Met Hitch

Whatever the deficiencies of Altman's first feature, The Delinquents was apparently an assured enough debut to catch the eye of Alfred Hitchcock. Whether he was simply prescient (possible) or was impressed more by the younger director's ability to turn in a competent thriller on a paper-thin budget (more likely), Hitch recruited Altman to direct for the third season of his TV series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which would inaugurate a decade of work for the small screen.

Robert Altman Study Part 4: First Features

As I mentioned in my last post, Altman made several stabs at a Hollywood career during his six years directing industrials for the Calvin Company. None of those paid off, so his entrée into the film industry came back home in Kansas City rather than out west. His first opportunity came via Elmer Rhoden Jr., a former classmate and son of the owner of a regional movie theater chain who wanted to break into producing. Rhoden enlisted Altman to help write the script for Corn's-A-Poppin' (1951), a film loosely assembled around the dubious talents of a few local aspiring country singers. The film is difficult to see now (I haven't managed to lay eyes on it), though a newly restored print recently screened in Chicago at the UCLA's ongoing Altman retrospective, which has been making me extremely jealous with its wealth of obscurities.