The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 149

yrp. W'l IlifltJ''- i -sit 'T I ft I Z' lawless Years' On lis Own Admen Objected To Thug's Use Of Icepick So New Series Rides Without Sponsor By Hal Humphrey Written For TV Graphic THAT'S a rather sneaky title NBC has for its new series, 'The Lawless Years," which got underway last month. It's not another western, but since that's about all that most of us seem to be watching this season, perhaps the network used this title like the carnival 4 i. I V- PIMM TYil ingulf IJcJlxf i Wu "Can I really get good new carpet for less at the ROTH warehouse?" ballyhooer who uses a "harem girl" for his snake show pitch. "The Lawless Years" has to do with those laissez-faire hoodlums who were among: the products of the Roaring Twenties.

Despite a tendency to push the wild and woolly 20s as the next cycle in TV, NBC has had to bring "The Lawless Years" on the air without a sponsor. "The Lawless Years" is seen in the Pittsburgh district Thursday nights at 8:00 on Channels 7 and 11.) The men of Madison Avenue Who buy the TV shows turned down this one last fall because the first episode showed one thug eliminating another one by plunging an ice pick into a vital spot. As things stand now, it is a dull week when even the most discriminating viewer doesn't see someone getting kicked in the stomach or clubbed into submission with an axe handle. Ice picks, however, have apparently been ruled out. 'The Lawless Years" episodes are purportedly based on the files (everybody has files) of Detective Sergeant Barney Ruditsky, who operat ed as a member of New York's special gangster squad in the late '20s.

Ruditsky, now retired, is technical director on the series. His role is played by a very capable actor, James Gregory. The opening chapters in Ru-ditsky's hoodlum-infested underworld made gripping drama. Ralph Acton, casting director for Producer Jack Chertok, has enlisted a group of new faces to play the characters, and all of them, besides being good actors, look as if they had been recruited from the mug file of a metropolitan police headquarters. The lee-pick murder scene which was so hotly objected to by Madison Avenue was edited slightly, and believe me, It was much less shocking than some of the stuff I've seen presented by Walt Disney this season.

For the type of show NBC and Producer Chertok have here in "The Lawless Years," I think they managed things very well. Of course, if they can't convince someone that it can sell deodorants, cigarets or stomach remedies, we viewers won't have to worry about being exposed to it very long. It's a fact, ma'am. The price tags on new luxury W2 carpet run a good bit lower at the Roth Ware-Ki house. And I don't mean just any brand.

I mean just aij the names you respect like Higelow, Firth, Holmes and Magee-resilient, thick," sink-into" Ml carpet. How come we sell it for less? Because we're located out in Homewood where we pay less rent, and because we do enough volume to afford lower mark-ups. Come in and let us prove it. But first, measure your old rugs or carpet, because Roth also gives a bona fide trade allowance of $1 to $4 per square yard, depending on resale value. K0TH WEKK 0NLY! 100 Heavy Wool Carpet, extra heavy ('nK an( lacklfKs installation all for one low "package" price-a mere $6.95 at Roth.

Most 5 1 1 4l. m'jrrrrr? piaies vuu i ouiun i iiuv im iiijhi immu- mm a price this low! Choose brown and white or black and white Tweed, antique gold, champagne, rose-beige, grey, sage green or sandalwood. An actual $9.50 sq. yd. value yours this week, including padding and installation, for only $6.95 square yard.

Save on new carpet the warehouse way Tal as long as three years to pay! OptN Mon I In 9 9, other doyt 9 5:30 ROTH CAEPET CO. Wk Ill- rmr-i -nrlnrii inn 21 James Gregroy, right, stars as a New York detective fighting crime and Robert Karnes is his fellow cop in "The Lawless Years." Th Pittsburgh Press, Sunday, May 3, 195? TV Pag 7.