Studio 57

Studio 57 (also known as Heinz Studio 57) is an American anthology series that was broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from September 1954 to July 1955, and in syndication from 1955 to 1958.

Studio 57
Title screenshot
Also known asHeinz Studio 57
GenreAnthology
Directed byDavid Butler
John Brahm
Herschel Daugherty
Peter Godfrey
Richard Irving
Phil Karlson
James Neilson
Ozzie Nelson
Don Weis
Presented byJoel Aldrich
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time25 mins.
Release
Original networkDuMont (1954–1955)
Syndication (1955–1956)
Picture formatBlack-and-white
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 21, 1954 (1954-09-21) –
1958 (1958)

"It's a Small World", the pilot episode of the series Leave It to Beaver, was broadcast on the show on April 23, 1957.[1]

Overview

The program was a filmed anthology television series sponsored by Heinz 57 and produced by Revue Studios. The program aired on the DuMont network from September 21, 1954, to July 26, 1955,[2][3] making it "one of the last regularly-scheduled series ever carried on the crumbling DuMont network".[4] (Only What's the Story and boxing matches aired on DuMont afterwards). Studio 57 aired in first-run syndication from September 1955 to 1958.[3]

The series was exported to Australia during the late 1950s under the title Whitehall Playhouse. Since some of the episodes shown there were DuMont-aired episodes, this makes Studio 57 the only DuMont show to be broadcast outside of North America. The series began airing in Australia in late 1956, during the first few months of television in that country, continuing for several years, and eventually including episodes of other American anthology series such as The Star and the Story.

Cast

The series featured many established actors, including Robert Armstrong,[5] Jean Byron,[6] Lon Chaney Jr.,[7] Andy Clyde,[8] Carolyn Jones,[9] Brian Keith,[10] Charles Coburn,[11] Olive Sturgess,[12] Peter Lawford, Mike Connors, Jane Darwell, Joanne Dru, Peter Graves, Vivi Janiss, Keenan Wynn, Keye Luke, and DeForest Kelley.[13]

Criticism

Television historians Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh describe the scripts for Studio 57 as bland. Ailing DuMont lacked the budgets of CBS or NBC, and hence relied on cost-cutting measures, including hiring then-unknown actors to star in their series such as Hugh O'Brian and Natalie Wood.[4]

See also

References
  1. "It's A Small World". incredibletvandmovies.com. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  2. Internet Movie Database
  3. McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television (4th ed.), p. 797. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8
  4. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network Cable and TV Shows, 1946-Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. p. 1322. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  5. "Secret Message" at IMDb
  6. "The Last Day on Earth" at IMDb
  7. Lon Chaney Jr. at IMDb
  8. Andy Clyde at IMDb
  9. "The Black Sheep's Daughter" at IMDb
  10. Brian Keith at IMDb
  11. "Sam" at IMDb
  12. Olive Sturgess at IMDb
  13. DeForest Kelley at IMDb

Bibliography
  • David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) ISBN 1-59213-245-6
  • Alex McNeil, Total Television, Fourth edition (New York: Penguin Books, 1980) ISBN 0-14-024916-8
  • Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, Third edition (New York: Ballantine Books, 1964) ISBN 0-345-31864-1
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