Paul Bogart’s television direction gives actors the space to be funny, difficult and recognisable. We rate his care with staging, especially in All in the Family, though even careful direction cannot cure a programme’s fondness for repeating itself.
Fi1m perspective
In All in the Family (1971), Archie’s bluster can be funny long enough for us to forget how ugly his prejudices are. Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton make those domestic arguments worth sitting through, helped by Bogart’s care with the staging. We laughed, then felt uneasy when the programme seemed to enjoy Archie’s bluster more than it challenged him. Bogart directed nearly 100 episodes between 1975 and 1979; we would not credit him with everything that works, but his contribution deserves attention.
His background was in live television, and his skills included positioning actors and paying close attention to editing. He began directing live dramas in the mid-1950s, and his subsequent television work included The Defenders (1961), with producer Herbert Brodkin, and Get Smart. Norman Lear was the producer on All in the Family; Bogart’s contribution was to stage the exchanges with enough subtlety for the characters to reveal more than the joke required. That is the part of his work we value most, especially when a loud character might otherwise leave little space for anyone else.
The features give us less reason to make large claims. James Garner appeared in his Marlowe (1969) and Skin Game (1971), and Torch Song Trilogy (1988) adapted Harvey Fierstein’s play. Critics have generally been less enthusiastic about the features, often regarding them as vehicles for their stars. That is not much of a criticism by itself; Bogart’s attention to performers is precisely what makes his television direction worth discussing.
His later sitcom work included early episodes of The Golden Girls (1985). It makes sense to follow him across programmes rather than hunt for a single film that explains everything he could do: his skill depended on the actors, the writing and how he arranged them. All in the Family also shows the limit of that skill, since tactful staging cannot stop an argument becoming repetitive. Start with his episodes of that programme; the actors give us plenty to watch without the director asking for attention as well.
Biography
Paul Bogart (né Bogoff) was an American television and film director and producer. Born in Harlem, New York City, he began his career after the Second World War as a puppeteer with the Berkeley Marionettes before becoming a stage manager and associate director at NBC, where he worked on live teleplays for series such as Kraft Television Theatre and Goodyear Playhouse.
Bogart directed episodes of numerous series including Get Smart, The Defenders, All in the Family (nearly 100 episodes from 1975 to 1979) and the first season of The Golden Girls. His feature films include Marlowe (1969), Class of '44 (1973), Oh, God! You Devil (1984) and Torch Song Trilogy (1988). He won five Primetime Emmy Awards and three Directors Guild of America Awards.
