The Best of Broadway
The Best of Broadway | |
---|---|
Created by | Martin Manulis |
Directed by | David Alexander Sidney Lumet Paul Nickell Franklin J. Schaffner Herbert B. Swope Jr. |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 9 |
Production | |
Producers | Martin Manulis[1] Felix Jackson |
Running time | 60 mins |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | September 15, 1954 (1954-09-15) – May 4, 1955 (1955-05-04) |
The Best of Broadway is a 60-minute live television anthology series that aired on CBS Television on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time from September 15, 1954, to May 4, 1955, for a total of nine episodes. Each show was broadcast live in color from New York City, was an adaptation of a famous Broadway play, and included commercials for Westinghouse featuring Betty Furness.[2] Using a "giant new studio,"[3] plays were presented in front of a studio audience, which contributed a Broadway-like element.[1]
Production
This series ran every fourth week, with Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts being aired the other three weeks.[3]
The series originated from CBS Television Studio 72 at WCBS-TV. Martin Manulis was the initial producer, and Paul Nickell was the director. David Brookman was in charge of the music.[2] In February 1955, Felix Jackson became the producer when Manulis began producing Climax!.[4]
Episodes
Play | Author(s) | Broadcast Date | Stars | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Royal Family | George S. Kaufman, Edna Ferber | September 15, 1954 | Charles Coburn, Claudette Colbert, Helen Hayes, Fredric March, Nancy Olson[5] |
2 | The Man Who Came to Dinner | George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart | October 13, 1954 | Joan Bennett, Margaret Hamilton, Buster Keaton, Bert Lahr, Merle Oberon, ZaSu Pitts, Monty Woolley |
3 | Panama Hattie | Cole Porter, Herbert Fields, B. G. DeSylva | November 10, 1954 | Art Carney, Ethel Merman |
4 | The Philadelphia Story | Philip Barry | December 8, 1954 | Mary Astor, Herbert Marshall, Dorothy McGuire |
5 | Arsenic and Old Lace | Joseph Kesselring | January 5, 1955 | Billie Burke, Helen Hayes, Edward Everett Horton, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre |
6 | The Show-Off | George Kelly | February 2, 1955 | Carleton Carpenter, Jackie Gleason, Thelma Ritter, Cathy O'Donnell, Alice Ghostley, Russell Collins[6] |
7 | The Guardsman | Ferenc Molnár | March 2, 1955 | Claudette Colbert, Margaret Hamilton, Franchot Tone |
8 | Stage Door | George S. Kaufman, Edna Ferber (adapted by Gore Vidal) | April 6, 1955 | Rhonda Fleming, Elsa Lanchester, Diana Lynn, Victor Moore[7] |
9 | Broadway | George Abbott, Philip Dunning | May 4, 1955 | Joseph Cotten, Piper Laurie, Gene Nelson, Akim Tamiroff, Keenan Wynn |
Critical response
A review of "The Show-Off" in the trade publication Variety said that the episode was "pretty feeble stuff" but that Gleason's performance kept it from being "a trying experience, indeed."[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b Hawes, William (2001). Filmed Television Drama, 1952–1958. McFarland. pp. 22–23. ISBN 9780786411320. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Wednesday (15)" (PDF). Ross Reports on Television. September 12, 1954. p. 152. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ a b Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 89. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
- ^ "Other Network Changes & Additions" (PDF). Ross Reports on Television. February 6, 1955. p. 17. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ "Television in Review: Color Drama," The New York Times 17 Sept. 1954.
- ^ a b "The Show Off". Variety. February 9, 1955. p. 37. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ Shanley, J. P. "Television: 'Stage Door,'" The New York Times 8 Apr. 1955.
External links
- The Best of Broadway at IMDb
- The Best of Broadway list of episodes and cast lists at CTVA
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