NBC Matinee Theater
| Matinee Theater | |
|---|---|
 Host John Conte | |
| Genre | Anthology |
| Directed by | John Drew Barrymore Alan Cooke Walter Grauman Arthur Hiller Lamont Johnson Sherman Marks Lawrence Menkin Albert McCleery Boris Sagal Pace Woods Alan Hanson |
| Presented by | John Conte |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 650 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | George Lowther |
| Producer(s) | George Cahan Albert McCleery Frank Price Darrell Ross |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Most in color; a few episodes in Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | October 31, 1955 (1955-10-31) – June 27, 1958 (1958-06-27) |
Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from October 31, 1955,[1] to June 27, 1958.[2] Its name is often seen as Matinee Theatre.
The series, which ran daily from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.[2] Eastern Time, was usually broadcast live and most of the time in color. Its live dramas were presented with minimal sets and costumes.[3]
When it was broadcast, Matinee Theater was the most heavily promoted regularly scheduled daytime program on U.S. television.[4] Along with NBC's Home, the show was part of the network's effort to "provide quality 'adult' entertainment" in daytime programming.[1]
In its second season, the program had an audience of 7 million daily viewers.[3]
The series ended in 1958 due to its high budget; much higher than any other daytime program in television.[citation needed] In 1956, the program's budget was "about $73,000" to produce five episodes per week.[5] A few of the later episodes were preserved on color film for later rerun syndication under different titles.
Contents
1 Buckley's comments
2 Personnel
3 Notable guest stars
4 Award nominations
5 Notable episodes
6 References
7 External links
Buckley's comments
Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse (Cambria, California) recalled:[6]
When Al McCleery got back to the States, he originated a most ambitious theatrical TV series for NBC called Matinee Theater: to televise five different stage plays per week. This series aired live at 3 p.m. Eastern time and 12 noon Pacific, in order to promote color TV (which had just been developed) to the American housewife as she labored over her ironing. Al [McCleery] was the producer. He hired five directors and five art directors. Richard Bennett, one of our first early presidents of the Pewter Plough Corporation, was one of the directors and I was one of the art directors and, as soon as we were through televising one play, we had lunch and then met to plan next week’s show. That was over 50 years ago, and I’m trying to think; I believe the TV art director is (or was) his own set decorator (selecting furnishings and hand props)—yes, of course! It had to be, since one of McCleery’s chief claims to favor with the producers was his elimination of the setting per se and simply decorating the scene with a minimum of props. It took a bit of ingenuity.
Personnel
Matinee Theater was produced by Albert McCleery, Darrell Ross, George Cahan and Frank Price with executive producer George Lowther. McCleery had previously produced the live series Cameo Theatre which introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, TV plays staged with minimal sets.[citation needed] Directors included Walter Grauman, Boris Sagal, Lamont Johnson, Arthur Hiller, Lawrence Schwab, Allen A. Buckhantz, Alan Cooke, and Livia Granito.[2]
A staff of about a dozen people searched through books, magazines, and material in the public domain, looking for ideas, and about the same number of writers produced material for the program.[5]
Notable guest stars
Zsa Zsa Gabor as Madame Brillon in The Last Voyage, 1957.
- Anna Maria Alberghetti
- Steve Allen
- Mary Astor
- Jim Backus
- Patricia Barry
- Jacques Bergerac
Richard Boone[2]
- Leo G. Carroll
- Chuck Connors
- Richard Crenna
- Jane Darwell
- Bradford Dillman
- Joanne Dru
- Shelley Fabares
- Frances Farmer
Nina Foch[2]
- Eva Gabor
- Edmund Gwenn
- June Havoc
- Wendy Hiller
- Dennis Hopper
- Edward Everett Horton
- Vivi Janiss
- David Janssen
- Cecil Kellaway
DeForest Kelley[2]
- Shirley Knight
- Michael Landon
- Cloris Leachman
- Anita Louise
- Roddy McDowell
- Darren McGavin
- Martin Milner
- Agnes Moorehead
- Rita Moreno
Jack Nicholson[3]
Hugh O'Brian[2]
- Margaret O'Brien
- Arthur O'Connell
- Maureen O'Sullivan
- Susan Oliver
- Geraldine Page
- Suzanne Pleshette
- Mala Powers
- Barbara Rush
- George Peppard
- Vincent Price
- Cesar Romero
- Marian Seldes
- Dean Stockwell
- Phyllis Thaxter
- Marshall Thompson
- Rudy Vallee
- Ethel Waters
- James Whitmore
- Mary Wickes
- Fay Wray
- Alan Young
Award nominations
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Won | Emmy Award | Best Contributing to Daytime Programming[7] | |
| 1957 | Won | Golden Globe Award | Best TV Show | Tied with The Mickey Mouse Club, Cheyenne, Playhouse 90, and This Is Your Life |
Notable episodes
The program's initial presentation was "Beginning Now", by John P. Marquand, starring Louis Hayward.[2]
One noteworthy episode is "Dracula", which first aired on 6 January 1956, and was repeated on 23 November 1956. This was based on Bram Stoker's book, similar to the 1931 movie Dracula. It was adapted by Robert Esson and directed by Lamont Johnson. Shown in color, the episode had John Carradine as Dracula and Lisa Daniels as Lucy Weston. This was the first time "Dracula" had been presented on television and the first time it had been done in color.[citation needed]
References
^ ab Cassidy, Marsha F. (2009). What Women Watched: Daytime Television in the 1950s. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292782723. Retrieved 11 April 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ abcdefgh Hawes, William (2001). Filmed Television Drama, 1952-1958. McFarland. pp. 47–51. ISBN 9780786411320. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
^ abc McGilligan, Patrick (2015). Jack's Life: A Biography of Jack Nicholson (Updated and Expanded). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393350975. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
^ Thumin, Janet (2002). Small Screens, Big Ideas: Television in the 1950s. I.B.Tauris. pp. 131–148. ISBN 9781860646836. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
^ ab Crosby, John (March 18, 1956). "Matinee Theater Is 'Greatest Show Business Factory In The Worle'". The Tampa Tribune. Florida, Tampa. New York Herald Tribune. p. 16-D. Retrieved April 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Buckley, Jim. "Prelude to Playtime," Pewter Plough Playhouse Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 2, March/April 2006. Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine.
^ "Matinee Theatre". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
External links
Matinee Theatre on IMDb
Matinee Theatre at TV.com
Matinee Theatre at CVTA with episode list
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