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Your Show Time
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| Your Show Time | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Anthology Drama |
| Written by | Walter Doniger |
| Directed by | Sobey Martin |
| Presented by | Arthur Shields |
| Narrated by | Arthur Shields |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Marshall Grant Stanley Rubin |
| Running time | 26 mins. (approx) |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC Television |
| Release | January 21 – July 15, 1949 |
Your Show Time is an American anthology drama series that debuted on NBC Television on the East Coast in September 1948[citation needed] and then on both the East and the West Coast, as a network show, on January 21, 1949.[1]
The show was produced by Marshall Grant/Realm Productions and was hosted by Arthur Shields.[1]
Production background
[edit]Filmed by Grant Productions at Hal Roach Studios, Your Show Time was American television's first dramatic series to be shot on film instead of being aired on live television or as a kinescope. The series Public Prosecutor was produced on film in 1947–48, for a planned September 1948 debut, but remained unaired until DuMont aired that series in 1951–52.[2]
In 1949, the number of television sets in American households was till quite small. By shooting on film, it was feasible for the producers to increase their audience with theatrical releases.[3]
The series was sponsored by the American Tobacco Company for Lucky Strike cigarettes.[4]
Synopsis
[edit]The show featured half-hour dramatizations of stories by renowned authors such as Guy de Maupassant, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, Victor Hugo, Robert Louis Stevenson, Frank Stockton, and Mark Twain. Other episodes were adapted from chapters of novels, such as The Bishop's Experiment, an adaptation of the section featuring the bishop in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables with Leif Erickson as Jean Valjean. An adaptation of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" marked one of the earliest known television appearances of Sherlock Holmes.
Each episode opened in an old bookshop where host Arthur Shields was seated behind an old desk, from which he introduced that evening's story.[5]
Cast
[edit]The show featured appearances by such actors as Julie Adams, Robert Alda, Evelyn Ankers, Morris Carnovsky, Melville Cooper, Reginald Denny, William Frawley, Eva Gabor, Hurd Hatfield, Hugo Haas, Sterling Holloway, Marjorie Lord, Alan Napier, Dan O'Herlihy, Eve Miller, Gene Reynolds, and Selena Royle.
Critical reception
[edit]A review of "The Diamond Necklace" episode in the trade publication Variety found it to be "not good television" and "a dull half-hour."[6] The review noted that a long commercial and a long introduction by the narrator took up almost five minutes before the first dialog was heard. In addition to that "deadly beginning", it said that the rest of the episode offered "little action".[6]
Your Show Time is notable for being the first series to win an Emmy Award.[7] The 1949 episode "The Necklace", produced by Stanley Rubin, won the Emmy Award as Outstanding Made For Television Movie.[8]
Sale
[edit]In January 1950 Jerry Fairbanks Inc. bought "full rights for television, films and allied media" for the 26 episodes of Your Show Time.[9]
Preservation status
[edit]25 episodes survive at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.[10]
Episodes
[edit]| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Necklace" | January 21, 1949 | |
| 2 | "The Sire de Maletroit's Door" | January 28, 1949 | |
|
Adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson story Cast : Dan O'Herlihy, Morris Carnovsky, Allene Roberts | |||
| 3 | "Mademoiselle Fifi" | February 4, 1949 | |
|
Adapted from the Guy de Maupassant story Cast : Hurd Hatfield, Roman Bohnen, Jeanne Page, Frank Reicher, Jay Adler, Tannis Chandler | |||
| 4 | "The Mummy's Foot" | February 11, 1949 | |
|
Adapted from the Theophile Gautier story Cast : Phyllis Coates, Peggy Dow, J. Edward Bromberg, Herbert Anderson, Hand Henry | |||
| 5 | "The Substitute" | February 18, 1949 | |
|
Cast : Robert Alda, Suzanne Dalbert | |||
| 6 | "The Invisible Wound" | February 25, 1949 | |
|
Cast : Reginald Denny, Maria Palmer | |||
| 7 | "Capture" | March 4, 1949 | |
|
Adapted from the Henry C. Bunner story Cast : Jeanne Cagney, Sterling Holloway, Housely Stevenson, Richard Travis | |||
| 8 | "The Real Thing" | March 11, 1949 | |
|
Adapted from the Henry James story Cast : John Archer, Marjorie Lord | |||
| 9 | "The Treasure of Franchard" | March 18, 1949 | |
|
Cast : Alan Reed, Selena Royle, Dan Seymour | |||
| 10 | "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" | March 25, 1949 | |
|
Adapted from the Arthur Conan Doyle story Cast : Alan Napier, Melville Cooper, Evelyn Ankers | |||
| 11 | "The Tenor" | April 1, 1949 | |
| 12 | "The Manchester Marriage" | April 8, 1949 | |
|
Cast : Jan Clayton, Richard Travis | |||
| 13 | "The Lady, or the Tiger?" | April 15, 1949 | |
|
Adapted from the Frank Stockton story Cast : Leif Erickson, Eve Miller, William Frawley, Peggy Knudsen | |||
| 14 | "A Confession on New Year's Eve" | April 22, 1949 | |
|
Cast : John Archer, Stanley Waxman | |||
| 15 | "The Mysterious Picture" | April 29, 1949 | |
|
Cast : Marc Daniels, Hugo Haas, Mark Stevens | |||
| 16 | "An Old, Old Story" | May 6, 1949 | |
|
Cast : Eric Blore, Selena Royle | |||
| 17 | "The Marquise" | May 13, 1949 | |
|
Cast : Elizabeth Fraser, Leif Erickson | |||
| 18 | "The Million Pound Bank Note" | May 20, 1949 | |
|
Cast : Ross Ford, Paula Raymond | |||
| 19 | "Birthday of the Infants" | May 27, 1949 | |
|
Cast : } Gene Reynolds, Frank Wilcox, Gloria Holden | |||
| 20 | "Why Thomas Was Discharged" | June 3, 1949 | |
|
Cast : } Marc Daniels, Marcia Jones, Gil Stratton Jr., Tom Stevenson | |||
| 21 | "The Bishop's Experiment" | June 10, 1949 | |
|
Cast : } Leif Erickson, Ludwig Donath | |||
| 22 | "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" | June 17, 1949 | |
|
Cast : } Kristine Miller, Kirby Grant | |||
| 23 | "An Only Son" | June 24, 1949 | |
|
Cast : } Richard Crane, Judy Sochor | |||
| 24 | "Colonel Starbottle for the Plaintiff" | July 1, 1949 | |
|
Adapted from the Bret Harte story Cast : Robert Warwick | |||
| 25 | "Cricket on the Hearth" | July 8, 1949 | |
|
Adapted from the Charles Dickens story Cast : Heather Wilde, Thomas P. Dillon | |||
| 26 | "A Lodging for the Night" | July 15, 1949 | |
|
Adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson story Cast : Stanley Waxman, Eva Gabor | |||
Awards
[edit]| Year | Award | Result | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Emmy Award | Won | Best Film Made for Television | For episode "The Necklace" |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 938. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- ^ Stanley Rubin, "A (Very) Personal History of the First Sponsored Film Series on National Television", E-Media Studies, vol. 1, issue 1 (2008). The filmed series Public Prosecutor was produced earlier, but broadcast on DuMont later.
- ^ Napier, Alan; Bigwood, James (October 8, 2015). Not Just Batman's Butler: The Autobiography of Alan Napier. McFarland. p. 286. ISBN 978-1-4766-6287-9.
- ^ Gianakos, Larry James (1980). Television Drama Series Programming: A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1947-1959. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-8108-1330-4.
- ^ MacGregor, David (June 22, 2022). Sherlock Holmes - The Hero With a Thousand Faces: Volume 2. Andrews UK Limited. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-78705-655-8.
- ^ a b "Your Show Time". Variety. January 26, 1949. p. 36. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 1561. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
- ^ "("Your Show Time" search results)". EMMYS. Television Academy. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
- ^ "Fairbanks acquires film series". Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index. January 29, 1950. p. 4. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Story Theatre archives at the UCLA Library
External links
[edit]- Your Show Time at IMDb
- Your Show Time at CTVA with cast list for each episode
- The short film Ep. 10 The Adventure of the Speckled Band is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- Vintage 45's Blog
- YouTube uploads of episodes from Your Show Time: "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", "The Mummy's Foot"