Shout! Factory Plans Digital Release Of Allen Funt Documentary ‘Mister Candid Camera,’ Story Of Hidden Camera Prankster Who Created A TV Genre
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: MTV’s The Real World is often credited with pioneering reality TV in America, but credit more properly goes to a much earlier television series: Candid Camera.The hidden camera show created by Allen Funt premiered on TV in 1948, with various iterations broadcast until 2014.
The story of how Funt created one of entertainment’s most enduring hits, and essentially invented a television genre, is told in the documentary Mister Candid Camera, written and directed by Funt’s son, Peter Funt.
Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Candid Camera Inc., will premiere the film August 2 on major digital platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon, GooglePlay and YouTube.Funt’s concept was to secretly film unsuspecting people on the street or other settings reacting to strange circumstances—like boarding an elevator that moved sideways instead of up and down, or witnessing a car spontaneously split in half.
Funt caught priceless reactions, from terror and surprise to comic befuddlement, before emerging from behind the scenes to expose the hoax and tell his subjects, “Smile, you’re on Candid Camera!”Carol Burnett, Howie Mandel, and Fannie Flagg are among the stars who testify to the genius of Funt’s creation, offering “insight into the methods and machinations of the legendary television pioneer.”Candid Camera not only provided sheer entertainment, but constituted a fascinating sociological exercise.
Read more on deadline.com
