General Motors Theatre | |
---|---|
Also known as | CBC Theatre Encounter Ford Television Theatre General Motors Presents |
Genre | Anthology, Drama |
Country of origin | Canada and United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 6 (5 original, 1 year of UK programme called Interplay) |
Production | |
Production location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | CBC Television |
Release |
|
General Motors Theatre (also known as CBC Theatre, Encounter, Ford Television Theatre, and General Motors Presents) was a Canadian television anthology drama series of television plays, which ran on CBC Television under various titles from September 18, 1952, until January 1, 1961, and in the US on ABC from October 5 to November 2, 1958. [1] The series mainly consisted of one-hour episodes of romance, adventure, or mystery stories, with some social realist drama plays.
Austin Willis, Patrick Macnee, Barry Morse, and William Shatner were among those who appeared in plays produced in the strand. [2] The series also supported the earlier careers of many Canadian actors, such as James Doohan, who starred in one of the most successful plays in the strand, Flight into Danger in 1956.
The series was a breeding ground for writing and directing talent such as William Kotcheff, Donald Jack, and Arthur Hailey. Hailey's Flight into Danger was later remade as the feature film Zero Hour! , in turn providing the inspiration for the comedy film Airplane! , and was also screened by the BBC in the United Kingdom. It was a significant factor in General Motors Theatre producer — and CBC Supervisor of Drama — Sydney Newman moving to work in the UK, where he later worked on anthology series similar to General Motors Theatre, such as Armchair Theatre and The Wednesday Play .
First transmitted under the sponsored title on October 5, 1954, a new 60-minute drama was aired each week. As suggested by the title, the program was sponsored by the General Motors automobile company. It was effectively the same series as the unsponsored CBC Theatre, which had run its first season from December 1, 1953, to April 20, 1954, with General Motors becoming the title sponsor for the second season. [3] [4]
Following some concerns, the series moved to a Sunday evening slot in 1956, where it had competed with the American network CBS's enormously popular game show spin-off The $64,000 Challenge in the key Toronto market (where American broadcast signals could be received from across the border), General Motors pulled out and the show disappeared for two years. It returned in 1958 after The $64,000 Question had been cancelled, under the new title General Motors Presents.
For its final run in the summer of 1961, the series had not the originally-produced dramas but broadcasts of a bought-in British anthology series called Interplay .
The show was one of the first Canadian programs to be sold to an American network. ABC had planned to air 39 episodes of the series but aired only five. Renamed Encounter, it was scheduled to follow the western series Colt .45 . The program faced competition on CBS from Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The $64,000 Question. Also, NBC at the time aired part of The Dinah Shore Chevy Show . In the Fall (Autumn), of 1958, on ABC, it replaced Scotland Yard , for five weeks. [5]
The year 1958 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1958.
The year 1955 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1955.
The year 1954 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1954.
The year 1953 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1953.
Sydney Cecil Newman was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman was appointed acting director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted as an advisor to the Secretary of State.
The $64,000 Question was an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the questions became more difficult. The final question had a top prize of $64,000, hence the "$64,000 Question" in the show's title.
William Theodore Kotcheff is a Bulgarian and Canadian film and television director, writer and producer, known primarily for his work on British and American television productions, such as Armchair Theatre and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He directed numerous successful films including the Australian Wake in Fright (1971), action films such as the original Rambo movie First Blood (1982) and Uncommon Valor (1983), and comedies like Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), North Dallas Forty (1979), and Weekend at Bernie's (1989).
Wojeck is a Canadian dramatic television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1966 to 1968. It was arguably the first successful drama series on English Canadian television. Vernon had earlier played coroner Steve Wojeck in an episode of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre titled "Tell Them the Streets Are Dancing" broadcast March 17, 1966.
Flight into Danger is a 1956 Canadian live television play starring James Doohan, Corinne Conley and Cec Linder. It was written by Arthur Hailey, produced and screened by CBC Television, and broadcast on April 3, 1956, on the General Motors Theatre series. It was later adapted into two different feature films, a parody feature film, a novel, and international television versions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia.
Fireside Theatre is an American anthology drama series that ran on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful filmed series on American television. Early episodes (1949-1955) were low-budget and often based on public domain stories. While the series was dismissed by critics, it remained among the top ten most popular shows for most of this period. For the 8th season (1955–1956) Jane Wyman became the host and producer making it only the second filmed prime time network drama anthology to be hosted by a woman. Later episodes (1955–1958) were written by important freelance television writers such as Rod Serling, Aaron Spelling and Gene Roddenberry. It predates the other major pioneer of filmed television production in America, I Love Lucy, by two years.
An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different cast in each episode, but several series in the past, such as Four Star Playhouse, employed a permanent troupe of character actors who would appear in a different drama each week. Some anthology series, such as Studio One, began on radio and then expanded to television.
The following is the 1958–59 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1958 through March 1959. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1957–58 season.
The 1955–56 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1955 through March 1956. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1954–55 season.
Ford Theatre, spelled Ford Theater for the original radio version and known, in full, as The Ford Television Theatre for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. At various times the television series appeared on all three major television networks, while the radio version was broadcast on two separate networks and on two separate coasts. Ford Theatre was named for its sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, which had an earlier success with its concert music series, The Ford Sunday Evening Hour (1934–42).
Startime is an anthology show of drama, comedy, and variety, and was one of the first American television shows broadcast in color. The program was aired Tuesday nights in the United States on the NBC network in the 1959–60 season.
Drama at Ten is a Canadian dramatic anthology television miniseries which aired on CBC Television from 1955 to 1956.
Shell Presents was an early attempt at Australian television drama, being an umbrella title for several different productions. It debuted on 4 April 1959, and aired on ATN-7 and GTV-9, who split production of plays for the series between them. It was an anthology series, each program being a self-contained play for television. The series won a Logie award in 1960 for TV Highlight of 1959. As the title suggests, it was sponsored by Shell. It was described as "a very big deal for the station: major institutional sponsorship from international companies for locally produced drama." It would be followed by The General Motors Hour.
The Star and the Story is an American television anthology series which aired 1955–1956 in first-run syndication. A filmed half-hour series, episodes were approximately 25 minutes long, excluding commercials.
Killer in Close-Up was a blanket title covering four live television drama plays produced by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1957 and 1958. It could be seen as the first anthology series produced for Australian television.
The General Motors Hour was an Australian radio and television drama series.