
Tempo
A long-running ITV arts and culture series that aired from 1961 to 1968, Tempo was a landmark British television programme dedicated to the performing and visual arts. With a flexible magazine format and an open editorial remit, the series explored cinema, music, dance, photography, literature, theatre, and contemporary cultural life. Combining intellectual ambition with accessible presentation, Tempo established a model for serious arts broadcasting on commercial television and laid the groundwork for later landmark programmes such as Aquarius and The South Bank Show.
Cast
Alan Dell
Self – Host
Seasons
E1Episode 1
Oct 15, 1961
E2The Art of Bullfighting/The Death of Fiction
Nov 26, 1961
A specially commissioned film by Orson Welles examines bullfighting. Meanwhile, writer Truman Capote discusses the death of fiction.
E1The Artist in France
Feb 4, 1962
E2Episode 2
Mar 25, 1962
A look at modern architecture in Britain including interviews with the critic Iain Nairn and the architects Frederick Gibberd and Hubert Bennett.
E3The Artist at Work
Apr 8, 1962
Tempo visits France for a film about the abstract artist Graham Sutherland who is seen at work in his studio.
E4The Negro Spiritual
Oct 7, 1962
E5Analysis of the Hero
Oct 14, 1962
The author of the James Bond books, Ian Fleming, talks to Dan Farson.
E6The New Glossy Magazines
Oct 21, 1962
E7The Spoof Prima Donna
Oct 28, 1962
E8The Man with the Moon
Nov 11, 1962
E9A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose – But Is It Art?
Nov 25, 1962
E10Choreography: The Art of Norman Morrice
Dec 16, 1962
E1Annie Ross
Jan 27, 1963
E2Art from Australia
Feb 10, 1963
E3Lions Led by Donkeys
Apr 21, 1963
E4Dark Descent
Sep 29, 1963
An attempt to explore the television technique in relation to modern ballet.
E5The Mark of Feae
Oct 20, 1963
How artists bring terror into their pictures.
E6The Life I Sing About
Oct 27, 1963
E7The Saltire in the Wind
Dec 1, 1963
E8Carols Mean Christmas
Dec 22, 1963
E1Mods and Rockers
Mar 8, 1964
Mods and Rockers is a dance created by Peter Darrell for the Western Theatre Ballet based on the music of the Beatles.
E2A Dialogue of Actors
Mar 22, 1964
E3Postscript to the Ballet
Apr 5, 1964
E4A Wind of Change: The Art of Franco Zeffirelli
Apr 12, 1964
E5A Vision of England
May 3, 1964
The Great Shakespeare Exhibition at Stratford-upon-Avon takes you back to 23 April 1564, the day of the poet's birth.
E6The Mime of Jacques Lecoq
May 24, 1964
E7The Christopher Marlowe Murder Mystery
May 31, 1964
E8Crime to Remember
Jun 14, 1946
Songs, recitations, and Victorian melodrama are used for a series of vignettes on aspects of crime. From the righteous to the romantic and ultimately, the repellent.
E9Ice Shows
Jul 12, 1964
E10Odetta
Jul 19, 1964
A profile of the American blues singer Odetta.
E11Some of These Days
Aug 16, 1964
A profile on Russian-American singer Sophie Tucker.
E12Two-Handers
Aug 23, 1964
E13A Star of India
Aug 30, 1964
E14The Prince Maker
Sep 13, 1964
E15More Minim
Sep 20, 1964
The South African cast of the 'Wait a Minim' theatre show bring their sparkle and zest for life to the small screen.
E16The Making of a Musical
Oct 10, 1964
A behind the scenes look at a production of the musical Maggie May.
E17The Music Ladder
Nov 14, 1964
E18A Man of Runnymede
Nov 22, 1963
Looking back on the past year since John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
E19The Blues Came Walkin': Part 1
Dec 6, 1964
E20The Blues Came Walkin': Part 2
Dec 13, 1964
E1Look Back at Tomorrow
Apr 4, 1965
E2Lee Strasberg
May 28, 1965
E3Boss Guitar
Jun 6, 1965
E4The Knack
Jun 11, 1965
E5Successful Failure
Jul 18, 1965
E6The Title Makers
Jul 25, 1965
Tempo visits the booming film title making industry, where some have said that the titles are now a lot more interesting than the films they introduce.
E7Profile No. 1: Harold Pinter
Oct 3, 1965
Playwright Harold Pinter talks about his background and influences in a documentary that also includes extracts from The Homecoming with the original Aldwych Theatre cast.
E8Profile No. 2: Jean-Luc Godard
Oct 10, 1965
E9Profile No. 3: Michael Tippett
Oct 17, 1965
E10Profile No. 4: Charles Eames
Oct 24, 1965
E11Profile No. 5: Alain Robbe-Grillet
Oct 31, 1965
E12Profile No. 6: Orson Welles
Nov 7, 1965
E13A Tale of Two Talents
Nov 14, 1965
Contrasting the professional life of Welsh pop singer Tom Jones who shot to fame last year with Canadian-born modern ballet dancer Lynne Seymour who performs with the Royal Ballet Company.
E14Profile No. 7: André Courrèges
Nov 21, 1965
E1A Guided Tour of Zero Mostel
Jan 23, 1966
An interview with actor/comedian Zero Mostel on the set of 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'.
E2Entertainers: Theatre
Jan 31, 1966
E3You've Got a Nerve
Feb 13, 1966
The evolution of London's community of street musicians.
E4Entertainers: Comedians
Feb 21, 1966
E5Entertainers: Jazz
Mar 6, 1966
A profile of jazz musician Duke Ellington.
E6Tativille
May 8, 1966
An interview with French comedian and director Jacques Tati on the set of his latest film 'Playtime'.
E7Blood, Sweat & Champagne
May 22, 1966
E8Jazz in Wonderland
May 30, 1966
At EMI Studios in London, Tempo films the pianist Stan Tracey as he works on a new jazz suite interpretation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
E9The Offenders
Jun 5, 1966
A look at satirical magazines 'Krokodil' (USSR), 'Le Canard Enchaine' (France) and 'Private Eye' (UK).
E10The Image Wizards
Jun 19, 1966
Awards presented by the Design and Art Directors Association.
E11Bauhaus
Jul 3, 1966
E12The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Oct 23, 1966
E13Sound
Oct 30, 1966
"Is music just a sound? Is a truck passing by music? Are sounds just sounds or are they Beethoven? Is there such a thing as silence?" John Cage, composer.
E1Information
Jan 1, 1967
The old idea of a fixed, unchanging world has been thrown out. In today's world of information, can the artist provide a crucial early warning system of coming changes?
E2Nostalgia
Jan 8, 1967
Nostalgia is.. Good..? Bad..? Is life today too hectic and rushed? Does nostalgia close one's eye to the present?
E3Take a Simple Action and Look at It
Feb 12, 1967
An attempt to explain and visualise the experience of a person undergoing an LSD trip. The film uses repetition and changes to audio and visual perception via avant garde techniques.
E4Performer and Composer: Daniel Barenboim on Beethoven
Aug 6, 1967
E5Performer and Composer: George Malcolm on Scarlatti
Aug 13, 1967
E6Performer and Composer: Gervase de Peyer on Brahms
Aug 20, 1967
E7Performer and Composer: Vlado Perlemuter on Ravel
Sep 24, 1967
E8Performer and Composer: Janet Baker on Schumann
Oct 8, 1967
E9Contemporary Drama: Waiting for Godot
Dec 17, 1967
E10The Actor and the Role: Irene Worth
Mar 3, 1968
E11The Actor and the Role: Edith Evans
Mar 17, 1968
E12The Actor and the Role: Donald Pleasence
Mar 31, 1968
E13The Actor and the Role: Sybil Thorndike
Apr 7, 1968
E14The Actor and the Role: Michael Hordern
Apr 14, 1968
Michael Hordern stars as the exiled Prospero, who lives on a desolate island with his daughter Miranda. When his usurping brother Antonio sails by, Prospero uses magic to conjure a storm that wrecks the ship and torments the survivors, including the King of Naples and Antonio, thus changing all of their lives.
E15The Actor and the Role: Diane Cilento – Miss Julie
Jun 3, 1968
E16Expendability
Jun 24, 1968
A discussion on expendability.
Storyline
A long-running ITV arts and culture series that aired from 1961 to 1968, Tempo was a landmark British television programme dedicated to the performing and visual arts. With a flexible magazine format and an open editorial remit, the series explored cinema, music, dance, photography, literature, theatre, and contemporary cultural life. Combining intellectual ambition with accessible presentation, Tempo established a model for serious arts broadcasting on commercial television and laid the groundwork for later landmark programmes such as Aquarius and The South Bank Show.
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