One of DuMont's remaining legacies, and the subject of
many questions, can be found at the end of the 39 “classic” filmed
episodes of The Honeymooners. (These should not be confused
with the so-called Lost Episodes unearthed in the 1980's, which are
kinescopes from Jackie Gleason's early years at CBS, and bear no
relation to DuMont. The filmed episodes themselves also did not air on
the DuMont network, but were filmed by DuMont for CBS.)
At the end of these episodes, filmed in 1955, the following notation can be seen in the credits:
Electronicam was an innovative device. By combining a
"live" TV camera and a film camera in the same mechanism, it became
possible to shoot the show "live" and film it at the same time. The
filmed version of the show, intended for reruns, could then be edited
using the kinescoped version as a guide. DuMont spent quite a bit of
time and money on this invention, which was intended to eliminate the
need for kinescopes.
Electronicam, however, came too late to rescue DuMont.
The network was already failing (Art Carney's hilarious "Captain Video"
schtick on the first filmed Honeymooners episode came literally within
weeks of DuMont's demise), and videotape made its debut the following
year, rendering Electronicam obsolete.
