Broadcast on NBC on July 17, 1953, Something for an Empty Briefcase was the second episode of the second season of the Campbell Summer Soundstage television program, "Presented for your enjoyment by the Campbell's Soup Company." Campbell's had long been a sponsor of dramatic anthologies, going back to the radio days, when they sponsored Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater in their now legendary broadcasts. When television supplanted radio in the 1950s, Campbell's brought their anthology shows back to New York City, where they were produced live. Live television was a training ground for many young actors, including James Dean.

Written by S. Lee Pogostin and directed by Don Medford, who would also direct Dean in other live TV programs like I'm a Fool (1954) and The Dark, Dark Hours (1954), Something for an Empty Briefcase is a half-hour drama that revolves around Joe (Dean), a 22-year-old petty criminal just out of prison, who tries to mug a girl name Noli (Susan Douglas) and ends up falling in love with her. Under her guidance (and her religious convictions), Joe wants to change his life and "be somebody." More specifically, he wants to give up his life of crime. To do this, he buys a briefcase and carries it around. We're never quite sure what it is that Joe plans to do, but he is through with a life of crime. The problem is, the life, and the gangster Sloane (Robert Middleton), may not be through with him.

In a not-so-subtle appeal, the program begins with an announcer insisting that although the Campbell's Soup Company wanted to earn the goodwill of the audience, they hoped they would also buy the book that Joe does, "the book that can change your life." That book was the Bible.

It was typical early live television - a three-camera set up to catch all the action as it occurred from different angles. The sets are cheap and dimly lit to help hide the cheapness, and the print that history has left to us is fuzzy. This is because videotape was not yet widely used; most recordings were done using the "kinescope" process - pointing a camera at a monitor as the show was in progress. If the actors had a tendency to overact, it's because most of them were from the stage, and they were not used to the intimacy of the camera. Susan Douglas plays her role relatively straight, but James Dean is constantly in motion. His every gesture is big; his arms are waved around, his hands were in his hair, wiping his face, held out in supplication; he rolls his eyes, throws himself around the set, and goes from shouting to maudlin in a second. In short, he's very young and he seems to be imitating Marlon Brando. Variety noticed, too. "His muggery and repetitive hand gesturing were on the ludicrous side, if their intent was to show the sensitivity and groping of the suddenly awakened thief." Years later, director Medford would defend Dean, saying, "He was a very natural actor who didn't know how to separate physical acting from the role itself."

By Lorraine LoBianco

SOURCES:

http://www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/campbellPlayhouse.html
http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/CampbellPlayhouse.htm
http://ejones23.tripod.com/Filmography.html
The Internet Movie Database
Tantich, Robert The Unknown James Dean
http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/campbell-playhouse/200338
http://www.tv.com/shows/campbell-playhouse/