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The United States Steel Hour

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox television

The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel).

Theatre Guild on the AirEdit

The series originated on radio in the 1940s as Theatre Guild on the Air. Organized in 1919 to improve the quality of American theater, the Theatre Guild first experimented with radio productions in Theatre Guild Dramas, a CBS series which ran from December 6, 1943 to February 29, 1944.

File:Ussteelemperor.jpg

Actress-playwright Armina Marshall (1895–1991), a co-administrator of the Theatre Guild, headed the Guild's newly created Radio Department, and in 1945, Theatre Guild on the Air embarked on its ambitious plan to bring Broadway theater to radio with leading actors in major productions. It premiered September 9, 1945 on ABC with Burgess Meredith, Henry Daniell and Cecil Humphreys in Wings Over Europe, a play by Robert Nichols and Maurice Browne which the Theatre Guild had staged on Broadway in 1928–29.<ref>Fowler, Glenn. "Armina Marshall Is Dead at 96," The New York Times, July 22, 1991.</ref>

Within a year the series drew 10 to 12 million listeners each week. Presenting both classic and contemporary plays, the program was broadcast for eight years before it became a television series.

Playwrights adapted to radio ranged from Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde to Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams. Numerous Broadway and Hollywood stars acted in the series, including Ingrid Bergman, Ronald Colman, Bette Davis, Rex Harrison, Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Sam Levene, Agnes Moorehead, Basil Rathbone, Charles Tyner and Mary Sinclair. One notable performance was John Gielgud as Hamlet, in an expanded 90-minute broadcast with Dorothy McGuire as Ophelia.<ref name=theaterguild>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fredric March was heard in his only performance as Cyrano de Bergerac, a role he played neither onstage or onscreen.<ref name=theaterguild/> The series also featured the only radio broadcast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's flop musical, Allegro.<ref name=theaterguild/>

The radio series was broadcast until June 7, 1953, when U.S. Steel decided to move the show to television.

The September 8, 1946, episode was "Angel Street", starring Hayes, Victor Jory, and Leo G. Carroll.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Television overviewEdit

File:The United States Steel Hour's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (promotional photo, 1957).jpg
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a musical production for The United States Steel Hour on November 20, 1957, with (l to r) Jimmy Boyd, Basil Rathbone, Jack Carson.

The television version aired from October 27, 1953, to 1955 on ABC, and from 1955 to 1963 on CBS. Like its radio predecessor, it was a live dramatic anthology series. Although episodes were normally dramatic productions, the series occasionally presented a musical program<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> or a comedy.<ref name="taste" />

While most episodes were broadcast live, some were taped. At least one combined the methods, as on April 6, 1960, Robert Loggia had three roles in an episode. The segments in which he played a 45-year-old man and his 22-year-old son were done live, while between them the segment in which he portrayed an 80-year-old uncle was on tape.<ref name="loggia" />

By its final year in 1963, it was the last surviving live anthology series from the Golden Age of Television. It was still on the air during President John F. Kennedy's famous April 11, 1962, confrontation with steel companies over the hefty raising of their prices. The show featured a range of television acting talent, and its episodes explored a wide variety of contemporary social issues, from the mundane to the controversial.Template:Citation needed

Notable guest star actors included Martin Balsam, Tallulah Bankhead, Ralph Bellamy, James Dean, Dolores del Río, Keir Dullea, Bennye Gatteys, Andy Griffith, Dick Van Dyke, Harrison, Celeste Holm, Sally Ann Howes, Jack Klugman, Sam Levene, Peter Lorre, Walter Matthau, Paul Newman, George Peppard, Janice Rule, Albert Salmi, George Segal, Jamie Smith, Suzanne Storrs, and Johnny Washbrook. Washbrook played Johnny Sullivan in The Roads Home in his first ever screen role. Griffith made his onscreen debut in the show's production of No Time for Sergeants, and would reprise the lead role in the 1958 big screen adaptation. In 1956–57, Read Morgan made his television debut on the Steel Hour as a young boxer in two episodes titled "Sideshow". Child actor Darryl Richard, later of The Donna Reed Show, also made his acting debut in the episode "The Bogey Man", which aired January 18, 1955. On August 17, 1955, in her series debut, Janice Rule played the titular protagonist–and actor Jamie Smith her "likable, solid-type fiancé"–in the episode "The Bride Cried".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1960, Johnny Carson starred with Anne Francis in "Queen of the Orange Bowl".

Many notable writers contributed episodes, including Ira Levin, Richard Maibaum and Rod Serling. The program also broadcast one-hour musical versions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The latter was broadcast on November 20, 1957, with a cast including Jimmy Boyd, Earle Hyman, Basil Rathbone, Jack Carson and Florence Henderson. Boyd had previously played Finn in the earlier telecast of Tom Sawyer.<ref>"Musical Huck Finn Catches Book's Spirit; Has Fine Tunes", by Harriet Van Horne, syndicated column in Evansville (IN) Press, November 21, 1957, p.54</ref><ref>"'Huck Finn' to Music Is Wildly Improbable", by Jack Gould, The New York Times, November 21, 1957, p.50</ref><ref>"Musical 'Huck Finn' Is Called Totally Inept", by Jack Gould, reprinted in The Courier-Journal (Louisville KY), November 21, 1957, p.2-2</ref>

Jackson Beck was the announcer when the program was on ABC.<ref name="ross102653" />

DebutsEdit

Debuts that occurred during the series's run included:

Broadcast scheduleEdit

On ABC the program was broadcast from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. on alternate Tuesdays. Episodes were distributed live on 76 network affiliates and by kinescope on 31 others. The latter status caused a problem because "The television rights to a story property cannot be obtained in certain cases if the program is to be televised in some areas by delayed film broadcasts."<ref name=switch>Template:Cite news</ref> During its first season on television, the program alternated bi-weekly with The Motorola Television Hour,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which was replaced by Center Stage June 1, 1954 - September 21, 1954.<ref name="brooks">Template:Cite book</ref> The Elgin Hour became the alternate program in October 1954.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

NBC and CBS tried to obtain the series, and CBS succeeded with the ability to have it carried live on 115 affiliates. The series's last ABC broadcast was on June 21, 1955. Its CBS debut was at 10 p.m. E. T. on July 6, 1955,<ref name="switch" /> alternating with Front Row Center.<ref name="ftd">Template:Cite book</ref> In later years it alternated with Armstrong Circle Theatre.<ref name="9th" /> It ended on June 12, 1963.<ref name="final">Template:Cite news</ref>

EpisodesEdit

1953–1954Edit

Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour
Date Title Actor(s)
October 27, 1953 "P. O. W." Richard Kiley, Gary Merrill, Phyllis Kirk.<ref name="ftd"/>
November 10, 1953 "Hope for a Harvest" Faye Emerson, Robert Preston<ref name="ftd"/>
November 24, 1953 "Tin Wedding" Phyllis Thaxter, Eddie Albert, Audrey Christie<ref>"Tue November 24". TV Guide. November 20, 1953. p. A-36. Retrieved February 11, 2025.</ref>
December 8, 1953 "The Man in Possession" Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer<ref>"Tue Dec. 8". TV Guide. December 4, 1953. p. A-35. Retrieved February 10, 2025.</ref>
December 22, 1953 "Vanishing Point" Peter Lorre, Viveca Lindfors, Claude Dauphin<ref>"Tue Dec. 22". TV Guide. December 18, 1953. p. A-35. Retrieved February 10, 2025.</ref>
January 5, 1954 "Hedda Gabler" Tallulah Bankhead, Luther Adler, John Baragrey, Eugenia Rawls<ref name="ftd"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
January 19, 1954 "The Rise of Carthage" Nina Foch, Paul Douglas<ref>"TV Preview: 'Rise of Carthage' Night's Best Drama". The Pittsburgh Press. January 19, 1954. p. 31. Retrieved February 15, 2025.</ref>
February 2, 1954 "Papa Is All" Walter Slezak, Jessie Royce Landis<ref>"Tue February 2". TV Guide. January 29, 1954. p. A-36. Retrieved February 11, 2025.}</ref>
February 16, 1954 "Highway" Diana Lynn, Kevin McCarthy<ref>"Tue February 16". TV Guide. February 12, 1954. p. A-36. Retrieved February 11, 2025.}</ref>
March 2, 1954 "Morning Star" Gertrude Berg, Oscar Karlweis Marilyn Erskine, Jo Van Fleet, Sidney Armin, Fred Sadoff, Pat Breslin, Hal Gary, Anatole Winogradof<ref>"Tue March 2". TV Guide. February 26, 1954. p. A-23. Retrieved February 11, 2025.}</ref>
March 16, 1954 "Welcome Home" Helen Hayes, Charlie Ruggles<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
March 30, 1954 "The Last Notch" Richard Jaeckel, Jeff Morrow, Louisa Horton, John McQuade, Harry Bellaver, Royal Dano, John Kellogg<ref>"Tue March 30". TV Guide. March 26, 1954. p. A-36. Retrieved February 11, 2025.</ref>
April 13, 1954 "Late Date" Jessie Royce Landis, Walter Matthau<ref>"Tuesday April 13". TV Guide. April 9, 1954. p. A-23. Retrieved February 10, 2025.</ref>
April 27, 1954 "The Laphams of Boston" Dorothy Gish, Thomas Mitchell, Patricia Wheel, Paul Newman, Lois Smith, Jean Dixon, Colin Keith-Johnston, Addison Richards<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
May 11, 1954 "The End of Paul Dane" Robert Preston, Teresa Wright, Warren Stevens<ref>"Tuesday May 11". TV Guide. May 7, 1954. p. A-33. Retrieved February 11, 2025.</ref>
May 25, 1954 "The Great Chair" Walter Hampden, Gary Merrill, Lori March<ref>"Tuesday May 25". TV Guide. May 21, 1954. p. A-34. Retrieved February 11, 2025.</ref>
June 8, 1954 "Good for You" Diana Lynn, Orson Bean, Kenny Delmar, Barbara Nichols, Jack Klugman<ref>"Tuesday June 8". TV Guide. June 4, 1954. p. A-36. Retrieved February 14, 2025.</ref>
June 22, 1954 "Fearful Decision" Ralph Bellamy, Sam Levene, Meg Mundy, Frank Overton, Joey Fallon, Frank Wilson, George Mitchell, Theodore Newton<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Ward, Henry (June 23, 1954). "Steel Hour Production Impressive: Ralph Bellamy Stars in Gripping Drama". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 39. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "Others in the cast included [...] Joey Fallon as the boy, Frank Wilson as Chapman, the butler, and Theodore Newton as the family physician."</ref>
July 6, 1954 "Haven's End" Howard Lindsay, Betsy Palmer, Richard Hylton, Royal Beal, Jamie Smith, Russell Hardie, Chester Stratton, Dana Wynter, Lauren Gilbert<ref>"Tuesday July 6". TV Guide. July 2, 1954. p. A-34. Retrieved February 10, 2025.</ref>
July 20, 1954 "A Garden in the Sea" Dorothy McGuire, Mildred Natwick, Donald Murphy<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
August 3, 1954 "Oberstrasse 49" Dan O'Herlihy, Margaret Phillips, Tom Helmore, Murray Matheson, Colin Keith-Johnston, Rosalind Ivan, Ben Astar<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
August 17, 1954 "Grand Tour" Julie Haydon, Zachary Scott, Ruth Ford, Addison Richards, Jon Richards, John Vivyan, Louis Sorin, Fran Keegan, Helen Ray, Albert Hesse, Robert Dryden<ref>"Tuesday August 17". TV Guide. August 14, 1954. p. A-34. Retrieved February 11, 2025.</ref>

1954–1955Edit

Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour
Date Title Actor(s)
September 14, 1954 "The Notebook Warriors" Sidney Blackmer, Ben Gazzara, Richard Kiley, Bob Scheerer<ref>"Tuesday September 14". TV Guide. September 11, 1954. p. A-30. Retrieved February 12, 2025.</ref>
September 28, 1954 "Baseball Blues" Frank Lovejoy, Billie Worth, House Jameson, Harry Bellaver, Edward Andrews, Bert Thorn, Robert Brivic, Bernice McLanglin<ref>"Tuesday September 28". TV Guide. September 25, 1954. p. A-30. Retrieved February 12, 2025.</ref>
October 12, 1954 "The Man With the Gun" Gary Merrill, Leueen MacGrath, Alexander Scourby, Frederic Worlock Dana Wynter, Edward Binns, Ralph Clanton<ref>"Tuesday October 12". TV Guide. October 9, 1954. p. A-30. Retrieved February 12, 2025.</ref>
October 26, 1954 "The Fifth Wheel" Faye Emerson, Franchot Tone, Orson Bean, Marjorie Barrett Howard St. John, Margaret Hamilton<ref>"Tuesday October 26". TV Guide. October 23, 1954. p. A-30. Retrieved February 13, 2025.</ref>
November 9, 1954 "Goodbye ... But It Doesn't Go Away" Jack Carson, June Lockhart, Geraldine Brooks<ref>"Tuesday November 9". TV Guide. November 6, 1954. p. A-20. Retrieved February 12, 2025.</ref>
November 23, 1954 "King's Pawn" John Forsythe, Janet Blair, Neil Hamilton, Anne Seymour, Michael Gorrin<ref>"Tuesday November 23". TV Guide. November 20, 1954. p. A-29. Retrieved February 12, 2025.</ref>
January 4, 1955 "The Thief" Diana Lynn, Paul Lukas, Mary Astor, Patric Knowles, James Dean, Nehemiah Persoff<ref>"Tuesday January 4". TV Guide. January 1, 1955. p. A-30. Retrieved February 13, 2025.</ref>
February 15, 1955 "Freighter" Thomas Mitchell, James Daly, Henry Hull, J. Patrick O'Malley, Jamie Smith, Martin Balsam, Mitchell Agruss, Jocelyn Brando<ref>"Tuesday February 15". TV Guide. February 12, 1955. p. A-30. Retrieved February 10, 2025.</ref>
March 1, 1955 "Man in the Corner" Jack Carson, Harold Vermilyea, Claire Kirby, Don Keefer, Phyllis Hill, Cliff Norton<ref>"Tuesday March 1". TV Guide. February 26, 1955. p. A-31. Retrieved February 12, 2025.</ref>
March 15, 1955 "No Time for Sergeants" Andy Griffith, Harry Clark, Robert Emhardt, Eddie LeRoy<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 26, 1955 "The Roads to Home" James Daly, Beatrice Straight, Frances Heflin, Katherine Squire, Joseph Warden<ref>"Tuesday April 26". TV Guide. April 23, 1955. p. A-30. Retrieved February 12, 2025.</ref>
June 7, 1955 "Hung for a Sheep" Hugh Marlowe, Jerome Thor, Don Briggs, George Macready, Chester Stratton<ref>"Tuesday June 7". TV Guide. June 4, 1955. p. A-29. Retrieved February 13, 2025.</ref>
July 6, 1955 "The Meanest Man in the World" Wally Cox, Kenny Delmar, Josephine HullTemplate:R
August 17, 1955 "The Bride Cried" Janice Rule, Barbara O'Neil, Jamie Smith, Ruth Ford, Jane Seymour, Tammy Grimes, Lee Philips, Allen Nourse, Stephen Chase<ref>"Tuesday August 17". TV Guide. August 13, 1955. p. A-28. Retrieved February 10, 2025.</ref>
August 31, 1955 "Counterfeit" Edna Best, Boris Karloff<ref name=4stars>Template:Cite news</ref>

1955–1956Edit

Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour
Date Title Actor(s)
September 28, 1955 "Ashton Buys a Horse" Menasha Skulnik<ref name=4stars/>
November 9, 1955 "Outcast" Lillian Roth, Barbara Baxley, Beverly Lunsford, Doris Dalton, Bert Thorn, Bert Freed, Joe Maross<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
November 23, 1955 "Incident in an Alley" Farley Granger, Larry Gates, Lori March, Alan Hewitt, Don Hanmer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
December 7, 1955 "Edward, My Son" Robert Morley, Ann Todd, Geoffrey Toone, Sally Cooper, Frederick Tozere<ref name=morley>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
January 18, 1956 "The Great Adventure" Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
February 29, 1956 "Moments of Courage" Kim Hunter, Macdonald Carey<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
March 14, 1956 "The Candidate" Ralph Bellamy<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 11, 1956 "The Funny Heart Imogene Coca, Jack Klugman, Robert Culp<ref name=coca/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 25, 1956 "Noon on Doomsday" Everett Sloane, Albert Salmi, Jack Warden<ref name=doomsday>Template:Cite news</ref>
May 23, 1956 "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals" Gracie Fields, Jackie Cooper, Jerome Kilty, Moyna MacGill<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
June 6, 1956 "The Boarding House" Evelyn Varden, Jerome Kilty, Walter Burke, Charles Aidman, Lisa Daniels<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
August 29, 1956 "The Five Fathers of Pepi" Paul Newman, Miko Oscard<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1956–1957Edit

Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour
Date Title Actor(s)
October 10, 1956 "Sauce for the Goose" Gypsy Rose Lee, Leora Dana, Robert Emmett<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
November 7, 1956 "Survival" Arnold Moss, Franchot Tone, Albert Salmi,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Olga Bellin<ref>"'Little Bullfighter' Captivating Story About Young Dreamer". The Progress-Index. June 1, 1957. p. 2. Retrieved February 20, 2025. "Olga Bellin appeared in the Steel Hour production of 'Survival' and on Broadway in 'A Month in the Country' and 'Protective Custody.'</ref>
December 19, 1956 "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals" Gracie Fields, Biff McGuire, William LeMassena<ref name=fields>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Nadel, Norman (1969). A Pictorial History of the Theatre Guild. New York: Crown Publishers. p. 298. Template:LCCN.</ref>
February 13, 1957 "Inspired Alibi" Shelley Winters, Pat Hingle<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 24, 1957 "A Matter of Pride" Burt Brinckerhoff, Robert Simon, Joseph Sweeney, Philip Abbott<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
May 8, 1957 "A Drum Is a Woman" Duke Ellington, Carmen De Lavallade, Talley Beatty, Joya Sherrill, Margaret Tynes, Ozzie Bailey, Duke Ellington orchestra and dancers<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
June 5, 1957 "The Little Bullfighter" Michael Oscard, Rip Torn, Olga Bellin, Nehemiah Persoff, Jose Perez, Jerry Morris, Gene Saks<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>"TV DIAL-O-LOGUE". The San Bernardino County Sun. June 5, 1957. p. 10. Retrieved February 25, 2025. "A charming tale of a boy who dreams of the greatest toreador of becoming, Mexico will be presented when "The Little Bullfighter," by Juarez Roberts is aired. Olga Bellin, Mike Oscard, Rip Torn, Nehemiah Persoff, Jose Perez, Jerry Morris, Gene Saks star in the drama."</ref>
June 19, 1957 "Upbeat" Patti Page, John Cypher<ref name=page/>
July 17, 1957 "Victim" Dean Stockwell, Walter Matthau<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1957–1958Edit

Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour
Date Title Actor(s)
October 9, 1957 "Who's Earnest?" Edward Mulhare, Dorothy Collins, David Atkinson, Martyn Green, Louise Troy, Rex O'Malley<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
November 6, 1957 "The Locked Door" Ralph Bellamy, June Lockhart, Brandon deWilde<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
December 4, 1957 "You Can't Win" Bert Lahr, Margaret Hamilton, Doro Merande<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
December 18, 1957 "Little Charlie Don't Want a Saddle" June Lockhart<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
January 1, 1958 "The Charmer" Gypsy Rose Lee, Kim Smith, Rip Torn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
January 15, 1958 "The Bromley Touch" Cameron Mitchell, Leora Dana, Biff McGuire<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
January 29, 1958 "Never Know the End" Andy Griffith, Nehemiah Persoff, Larry Blyden<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
February 12, 1958 "The Reward" Cathleen Nesbitt, Nancy Coleman, Patty Duke, Laurence Hugo<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
February 26, 1958 "Walk With a Stranger" Ed Begley, William Shatner<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 9, 1958 "Beaver Patrol" Walter Slezak<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 23, 1958 "The Public Prosecutor" Walter Slezak, Dolores Del Rio, John Baragrey, Frank Conroy, Jerome Kilty, Alexander Clark<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
May 7, 1958 "A Man in Hiding" William Shatner, Nicholas Pryor, Joseph Sweeney<ref name=strife>Template:Cite news</ref>
June 18, 1958 "The Littlest Enemy" Mary Astor, Frank Conroy, Miko Oscard, Lili Darvas<ref name=littlest>Template:Cite news</ref>
July 2, 1958 "The Hidden River" George Voskovec, Richard Kiley, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Farley Granger<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
July 16, 1958 "Flint and Fire" Gloria Vanderbilt, Robert Culp, Edward Andrews<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
August 13, 1958 "Old Marshals Never Die" Cameron Prud'homme, William Shatner<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1958–1959Edit

Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour
Date Title Actor(s)
October 8, 1958 "Mid-Summer" Barbara Bel Geddes, Jackie Cooper<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
January 14, 1959 "Dangerous Interlude" Viveca Lindfors, Torin Thatcher<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
February 11, 1959 "Family Happiness" Gloria Vanderbilt, Jean-Pierre Aumont<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
March 11, 1959 "The Square Egghead" June Lockhart, Tom Ewell<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 8, 1959 "Trouble-in-Law" Gertrude Berg, Betsy von Furstenberg, John McGiver<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 22, 1959 "Little Tin God" Richard Boone, Fritz Weaver, Jeff Donnell, Paul McGrath, Gene Hackman, Sid Raymond<ref name=ltg>Template:Cite news</ref>
June 17, 1959 "No Leave for the Captain" Maurice Evans, Diana van der Vlis, Geraldine Brooks<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
July 15, 1959 "The Pink Burro" June Havoc, Jane Withers, Jan Norris, Edward Andrews, Elizabeth Wilson<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
August 26, 1959 "A Taste of Champagne" Hans Conried, Monique van Vooren, Scott McKay, Alice Ghostley, Diana Millay, John McGovern<ref name=taste>Template:Cite news</ref>

1959–1960Edit

Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour
Date Title Actor(s)
October 21, 1959 "Holiday on Wheels" Sid Caesar, Gisele MacKenzie, Audrey Meadows, Tony Randall<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
November 18, 1959 "The Last Autumn" Pat Hingle, Alexis Smith<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
December 16, 1959 "One Red Rose" Helen Hayes<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
February 10, 1960 "The American Cowboy" Fred MacMurray, Edie Adams, Hans Conried, Wally Cox<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
February 24, 1960 "Women of Hadley" Richard Kiley, Mona Freeman, Mary Astor, Rita Gam, Cedric Hardwicke<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
April 6, 1960 "How to Make a Killing" Robert Loggia, Eva Gabor, Claude Dauphin<ref name=loggia>Template:Cite news</ref>
July 20, 1960 "Shadow of a Pale Horse" Dan Duryea, Frank Lovejoy, Ian Wolfe, William Hansen<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
August 10, 1960 "The Case of the Missing Wife" Red Buttons <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
August 24, 1960 "Bride of the Fox" Ina Balin, Richard Kiley<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1960–1961Edit

Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour
Date Title Actor(s)
October 19, 1960 "Step on the Gas: The Story of the American Motorist" Jackie Cooper, Shirley Jones, Pat Carroll, Hans Conreid<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
November 30, 1960 "The Yum-Yum Girl" Anne Francis, Robert Sterling, Leon Janney<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
February 8, 1961 "The Big Splash" Jack Carson, Arlene Francis, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Tolan, Keir Dullea, Walter Greaza, Robert Emhardt<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
March 22, 1961 "Welcome Home" Shirley Booth, Henderson Forsythe, Flora Campbell, William Hansen, Elizabeth Wilson, Suzanne Storrs<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
July 12, 1961 "Watching Out for Dulie" Larry Blyden Shari Lewis, Lloyd Bochner, Patricia Cutts, Polly Rowles, Walter Greaza, Michael Sivy, Gerry Matthews<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
August 9, 1961 "The Golden Thirty" Henny Youngman, Keir Dullea, Nancy Kovack, Bibi Osterwald<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1961–1962Edit

Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour
Date Title Actor(s)
September 6, 1961 "Delayed Honeymoon" Nancy Carroll<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
September 20, 1961 "Street of Love" Millie Perkins, Doug McClure<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
January 10, 1962 "Far From the Shade" Jack Carson, Anita Louise, Keir Dullea, Dan Ferrone, Pippa Scott<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gene Hackman<ref name=hackman/>
February 7, 1962 "Nightmare at Bleak Hill" Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Leora Dana, Donald Madden, Ken Renard<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
May 2, 1962 "A Man for Oona" Tallulah Bankhead, Nancy Carroll<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1962–1963Edit

Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour
Date Title Actor(s)
October 3, 1962 "The White Lie" David Wayne, Neva Patterson, Sallie Brophy, Leta Bonynge, Paul Mace, Adam Kennedy, Billie McNally, Mardette Perkins, Heywood Hale Broun<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
October 17, 1962 "Wanted: Someone Innocent" Kim Hunter, Robert Lansing, Diana Hyland<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
October 31, 1962 "A Break in the Weather" Eddie Albert, Augusta Dabney, Lawrence Weber<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
November 14, 1962 "Marriage Marks the Spot" Darren McGavin, Julius La Rosa, Pippa Scott<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
November 28, 1962 "Farewell to Innocence" Jeff Donnell, John Beal, Royston Thomas, Vicki Cummings, Thomas Chalmers<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
December 12, 1962 "Big Day for a Scrambler" James Whitmore, Priscilla Gillette<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
December 26, 1962 "The Duchess and the Smugs" Patty Duke, Fritz Weaver, Scott Forbes, Eugenie Leontovich<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
January 9, 1963 "The Young Avengers" Keir Dullea, Elizabeth Ashley, Cameron Prud'homme<ref name="tcft">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
January 23, 1963 "Fair Young Ghost" Shirley Knight, Robert Lansing, Cathleen Nesbitt, Dolores Dorn, Michael Clarke-Lawrence<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
February 6, 1963 "The Troubled Heart" John Colicos, Toby Robins<ref name="Philadelphia Daily News">Template:Cite news</ref>
February 20, 1963 "Night Run to the West" Colleen Dewhurst, Ralph Meeker, Henderson Forsythe<ref name="Philadelphia Daily News"/>
March 6, 1963 "Moment of Rage" Charles Aidman, Kathryn Hays, Clifton James, Glenda Farrell, Marc Connelly<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>"TV Tonight". Santa Barbara News-Press. March 6, 1963. p. B-20. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "When Charles Aidman as the teacher goes to private detective Clifton James you know he will wind up blackmailed with the information James learns. You also know Aidman will become haunted by the fact his father was a convicted murderer The best scenes come late in the show when Aidman meets Glenda Farrell, his mother, and begins to understand his heritage a bit better."</ref>
March 20, 1963 "The Secrets of Stella Crozier" Diana Millay, Frank Overton, Patricia Morison, Elinor Donahue<ref>"TV Tonight: Best Bet". Santa Barbara News-Press. March 20, 1963 p. B-20. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "A fine old Booth Tarkington story is the basis for a slow-starting but fast-finishing drama, 'The Secrets of Stella Crozier,' on The US Steel Hour. Miss Crozier, played by Diana Millay, is one of those willful women who likes to play games with the people around her. These include her father (Frank Overton), Daddy's opera-star girl friend (Patricia Morison) and poor cousin Lucy (Elinor Donahue)."</ref>
April 3, 1963 "Mission of Fear" Salome Jens, Robert Horton<ref>"TV Tonight: Best Bet". Ledger-Enquirer. April 3, 1963 p. 15. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "Salome Jens and Robert Horton in 'Mission of Fear'. Marion Hayden, certain that the past died with her first husband, is happily married — until a blackmailer brings the past back to life."</ref>
April 17, 1963 "The Soldier Ran Away" Royston Thomas, Martin Sheen, John Beal<ref>"Tonight's Television". The Columbia Record. April 17, 1963 p. 4-A. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "A poignant drama about an American Army officer's young son (Royston Thomas), living in West Germany, who discovers a homesick, AWOL soldier (Martin Sheen) hiding the attic of his home, in 'The Soldier Ran Away.' John Beal is the boy's medical officer father."</ref>
May 1, 1963 "The Many Ways to Heaven" Cayce Peters, Dan Duryea, Cathleen Nesbitt, Nancy Wickwire, Jonathan Carter<ref>"Television Fare for Tonight". The Columbia Record. May 1, 1963 p. 4-A. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "A poignant drama about an American Army officer's young son (Royston Thomas), living in West Germany, who discovers a homesick, AWOL soldier (Martin Sheen) hiding the attic of his home, in 'The Soldier Ran Away.' John Beal is the boy's medical officer father."</ref>
May 15, 1963 "Don't Shake the Family Tree" Jim Backus, Orson Bean, Fred Gwynne<ref>"Television Fare for Tonight". Times Colonist. May 15, 1963. p. 29. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "Jim Bakus, Orson Bean and Fred Gwyne star [sic]. This one's all about intrigue in an Irish marching and chowder band."</ref>
May 29, 1963 "A Taste of Champagne" (rebroadcast of episode originally aired August 26, 1959) Hans Conried, Monique van Vooren, Scott McKay, Alice Ghostley, Diana Millay, John McGovern<ref>"The Best on TV Today". The Des Moines Register. May 29, 1963 p. 11. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "U. S. STEEL HOUR-'A Taste of Champagne.' (Rerun) Hans Conried is delightful as a long-faithful bookkeeper who steals the payroll and takes off for Paris."</ref><ref>"The Best on TV Today". Fort Lauderdale News. May 29, 1963 p. 10-C. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "Hans Conried is a bookkeeper who flees to Paris with $5,000 of the company's funds. He leaves behind him a spinsterish co-worker (Alice Ghostley) and meets a flashy gold-digger (Monique Van Vooren) on the plane.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
June 12, 1963 "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals" Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne<ref name=final/>

ProductionEdit

The Theatre Guild supervised production of the TV series. Executive producers included Marshall Jamison.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Producers included George Kondolf.<ref name=9th>Template:Cite news</ref> Episodes on ABC were produced at ABC Television Center on West 66th Street in New York.<ref name="ftd"/> Broadcasts originated from WABC-TV.<ref name=ross102653>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

During its time on ABC, Alex Segal was the director.<ref name="switch" /> Directors on CBS included Boris Sagal,<ref name="loggia" /> Marshall Jamison,<ref name="strife" /> Paul Bogart,<ref name="taste" /> Don Richardson,<ref name="littlest" /> Tom Donovan,<ref name="ltg" /> Norman Felton, Dan Petrie, and Sidney Lumet.Template:R Concurrent with the change of networks, the Guild applied "the well-known theory that a certain director may be skilléd in staging a comedy, but somewhat inept at serious drama".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The March 15, 1955, episode ("No Time for Sergeants") was the show's first presentation before a live studio audience. A network representative said that the change should "engender honest laughter".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Adaptations and other uses of episodesEdit

"P. O. W.", the series's premiere episode, was used to help American armed forces personnel who had problems as they returned from fighting in Korea. At the request of the United States Department of Defense, ABC provided a film of the live broadcast to be used as a training film.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The series's musical adaptation of Tom Sawyer was itself adapted into a stage musical. The production debuted on July 13, 1958, at the Starlight Theatre in Swope Park in Kansas City, Missouri.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A "full-blown West End presentation of Who's Earnest" was produced in London in 1957.<ref name=earnest/> The musical was an adaptation of the October 9, 1957, Steel Hour episode.<ref name=earnest>Template:Cite news</ref>

The script for "Welcome Home" (March 16, 1954) was developed into a full-length play for stage performances.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

ControversyEdit

Rod Serling was not regarded as a controversial scriptwriter until he contributed to The United States Steel Hour, as he recalled in his collection Patterns (1957):

In the television seasons of 1952 and 1953, almost every television play I sold to the major networks was "non-controversial". This is to say that in terms of their themes they were socially inoffensive, and dealt with no current human problem in which battle lines might be drawn. After the production of Patterns, when my things were considerably easier to sell, in a mad and impetuous moment I had the temerity to tackle a theme that was definitely two-sided in its implications. I think this story is worth repeating.

The script was called Noon on Doomsday. It was produced by the Theatre Guild on The United States Steel Hour in April 1956. The play, in its original form, followed very closely the Till case in Mississippi, where a young Negro boy was kidnapped and killed by two white men who went to trial and were exonerated on both counts. The righteous and continuing wrath of the Northern press opened no eyes and touched no consciences in the little town in Mississippi where the two men were tried. It was like a cold wind that made them huddle together for protection against an outside force which they could equate with an adversary. It struck me at the time that the entire trial and its aftermath was simply "They're bastards, but they're our bastards." So I wrote a play in which my antagonist was not just a killer but a regional idea. It was the story of a little town banding together to protect its own against outside condemnation. At no point in the conception of my story was there a black-white issue. The victim was an old Jew who ran a pawnshop. The killer was a neurotic malcontent who lashed out at something or someone who might be materially and physically the scapegoat for his own unhappy, purposeless, miserable existence. Philosophically I felt that I was on sound ground. I felt that I was dealing with a sociological phenomenon—the need of human beings to have a scapegoat to rationalize their own shortcomings.

Noon on Doomsday finally went on the air several months later, but in a welter of publicity that came from some 15,000 letters and wires from White Citizens' Councils and the like protesting the production of the play. In news stories, the play had been erroneously described as "The story of the Till case". At one point earlier, during an interview on the Coast, I told a reporter from one of the news services the story of Noon on Doomsday. He said, "Sounds like the Till case." I shrugged it off, answering, "If the shoe fits..." This is all it took. From that moment on Noon on Doomsday was the dramatization of the Till case. And no matter how the Theatre Guild or the agency representing U.S. Steel denied it, the impression persisted. The offices of the Theatre Guild, on West 53rd Street in New York City, took on all the aspects of a football field ten seconds after the final whistle blew.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Critical responseEdit

A review of the broadcast in The New York Times said, "Mr. Serling grappled with a potentially compelling theme —how the narrow-mindedness of a small town led members of the community to forgo principle."<ref name=doomsday/> To do so, the review said, "Serling indulged in a succession of rather implausible events and then coated them with so much emotion that his work seemed artificially supercharged instead of genuinely powerful."<ref name=doomsday/> It added that the episode's characters emerged as stereotypes more than "as people of persuasive dimension".<ref name=doomsday/>

AwardsEdit

Theater Guild on the Air won a Peabody Award for drama in 1947.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The United States Steel Hour won Emmys in 1954 for Best Dramatic Program and Best New Program. The following year it won an Emmy for Best Dramatic Series, and Alex Segal was nominated for Best Direction. It received eight Emmy nominations in 1956, then one nomination for the years 1957, 1959, and 1961.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1962, the episode "The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon" was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The program won TV Guide's Gold Medal Award for 1953-54 as one of three programs "honored for their outstanding achievement, initiative and enterprise and their major contributions to the industry".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Gracie Fields won a 1956 Sylvania Award for her performance in "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

Further readingEdit

  • William L. Bird, Jr. "Better Living": Advertising, Media, and the New Vocabulary of Business Leadership, 1935–1955. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1999. Template:ISBN?

Listen toEdit

External linksEdit

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