CBS Television Workshop | |
---|---|
Genre | Anthology |
Directed by | Curt Conway Richard Franchot Sidney Lumet |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 14 |
Production | |
Producers | Norris Houghton Joe Scully |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 25 mins. |
Production company | CBS Productions |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | January 13 – April 13, 1952 |
CBS Television Workshop is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from January 13, 1952, to April 13, 1952. [1] The series is noted for featuring early television appearances of several well known actors, including Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, Sidney Poitier and Grace Kelly. The title was also used for a 1960 series.
Writers whose works were adapted for the series included Ray Bradbury. [2]
The first episode, which premiered on January 13, 1952, is a dramatized 30-minute version of Don Quixote starring Boris Karloff and directed by Sidney Lumet. Grace Kelly made an appearance as Dulcinea. [3]
The trade publication Motion Picture Daily (MPD) commented in mid-March 1952, "After an uneven start, the CBS Television Workshop is finally settling down into the experimental groove for which it is designed." [4] The review noted the difficulties imposed by a 30-minute time slot, and it mentioned the episode "The Rocket" in which Martin Ritt performed well, but the quality of the script was not as good as the quality of the acting. [4]
A subsequent review in MPD called another episode, "The Gallow's Tree", a production that "was excitingly outstanding and provided a half-hour of captivating viewing." [5] Geraldine Fitzgerald's performance was described as "outstanding", and the review added, "Director Robert Stevens should be congratulated on his marked imagination and skill." [5]
Another CBS Television Workshop was broadcast in 1960, running from January 24, 1960, through May 1, 1960, and returning to run from October 2, 1960, through December 25, 1960. The show was "an experimental anthology series" [6] that was broadcast on Sundays from noon to 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. [7] The series brought "new writing, directing and acting talent to television in conjunction with performances by skilled professionals." [8] The show was sustaining and was recorded on tape. [8]
Episodes of the 1960 series included those shown in the table below.
Date | Title | Actors |
---|---|---|
April 3, 1960 | "Tessie Malfitano" | Maureen Stapleton [6] |
April 10, 1960 | "The Bible Salesman" | Rosetta LeNoire, Garrett Morris [9] |
May 1, 1960 | "Afterthought" | none [6] * |
October 2, 1960 | "The Dirtiest Word in the English Language" | Uta Hagen, Ben Piazza [6] |
October 9, 1960 | "Another Valley" | Addison Powell, Perry Wilson, Sharon Farrell, Peter Lazer, Bob Hogan, Harry Millard, John F. Hamilton [10] |
December 4, 1960 | "Flight of Fancy" | Margaret Truman, Bob Gerringer, Roy Poole, Sylvia Miles, Arthur Storch, Diana Raney, Mary Farrell, Peggy Allenby [11] |
A review in the trade publication Variety said that Truman was miscast as the lead in "Flight of Fancy", making her look like "little more than a suburban housewife doing a community theatre bit". [13] Others in the cast were described as "uniformly professional", and the script received a mixed review. [13]
Armstrong Circle Theatre is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with The U.S. Steel Hour. It finished in the Nielsen ratings at number 19 for the 1950–1951 season and number 24 for 1951–1952. The principal sponsor was Armstrong World Industries.
Lux Video Theatre is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
Boris Karloff (1887-1969) was an English actor. He became known for his role as Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 Frankenstein, leading to a long career in film, radio, and television.
Kraft Television Theatre is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Cheese, which was advertised nowhere else. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency, the live hour-long series offered television plays with new stories and new characters each week, in addition to adaptations of such classics as A Christmas Carol and Alice in Wonderland. The program was broadcast live from Studio 8-H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, currently the home of Saturday Night Live.
The Philco Television Playhouse is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golden Age of Television, winning a 1954 Peabody Award and receiving eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.
Meet Millie, a situation comedy about a wisecracking Manhattan secretary from Brooklyn, made a transition from radio to television in the early 1950s. In the live television version, Mom and Millie were living in Jackson Heights, Queens. The popularity of this series led to a four-year run on CBS Television.
Alcoa Theatre is a half-hour American anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on Monday nights from September 30, 1957 to May 23, 1960. For its first four months on the air, the title Turn of Fate was used as an umbrella title for Alcoa Theatre and its alternate-week counterpart, Goodyear Theatre.
Man Against Crime starring Ralph Bellamy, one of the first television programs about private eyes, ran on CBS, the DuMont Television Network and NBC from October 7, 1949, to June 27, 1954, and was briefly revived, starring Frank Lovejoy, during 1956. The show was created by Lawrence Klee and was broadcast live until 1952. The series was one of the few television programs ever to have been simulcast on more than one network: the program aired on both NBC and DuMont during the 1953–54 television season.
Suspense is an American television anthology series that ran on CBS Television from 1949 to 1954. It was adapted from the radio program of the same name which ran from 1942 to 1962.
Danger is a CBS television dramatic anthology series that began on September 26, 1950, and ended on May 31, 1955. Its original title was Amm-i-dent Playhouse. The show "was one of the first television dramatic series to make effective use of background music"
The Web is an American dramatic anthology series that aired live on CBS for four seasons from July 11, 1950, to September 26, 1954. The program was produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and was narrated by Jonathan Blake. A series with the same title and a similar premise was also broadcast briefly by NBC during the summer of 1957.
Meet the Boss was an American series broadcast on the DuMont Television Network from June 10, 1952, to May 12, 1953. The series was hosted initially by Bill Cunningham. Marshall McNeil replaced Cunningham on October 7, 1952. Robert Sullivan also hosted the show.
Footlights Theater is a 30-minute American television anthology series that aired on CBS on Fridays in the summers of 1952 and 1953 as a replacement for Our Miss Brooks.
The Whistler is a 30-minute U.S. television anthology mystery series, based on the radio series of the same name.
Windows is a live 30-minute American dramatic anthology television series that was broadcast from July 8, 1955, to August 26, 1955. Eight episodes aired from New York City on CBS in 1955 as a summer replacement for Edward R. Murrow's Person to Person series. Notable guest stars included Geraldine Page, Jason Robards, Melvyn Douglas, and Anthony Perkins.
Arthur Julian was an American actor, producer and television writer.
Hollywood Opening Night is an American anthology television program that was broadcast on CBS in 1951-1952 and on NBC in 1952-1953. The NBC version was the first dramatic anthology presented live from the West Coast. Episodes were 30 minutes long.
Leave It to Larry is an American television situation comedy that was broadcast on CBS from October 14, 1952, until December 23, 1952, for a total of 11 episodes.
The Gisele MacKenzie Show is an American musical variety television program that was broadcast on NBC from September 28, 1957, to March 29, 1958.
Lights Out is an American television anthology series that featured dramas of thrills and suspense.Broadcast on NBC from July 12, 1949, until September 29, 1952, it was the first TV dramatic program to use a split-screen display.