Broadway Television Theatre

American TV series or program

Broadway Television Theatre
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	73
Production
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	WOR-TV
Original release
Release	14 April 1952 (1952-04-14) – 18 January 1954 (1954-01-18)

Broadway Television Theatre is a one-hour syndicated television anthology series produced by WOR-TV in New York City. The series premiered April 14, 1952 and ran through January 25, 1954.^[1]

Overview

Broadway Television Theatre featured a new adaptation of a famous play each week "with a brand-new performance every night of the week".^[2] Christopher Plummer, who starred in two episodes, described the performances as "like doing summer stock with cameras".^[3]

Production

The shows were performed live on WOR, and kinescope recordings were made for potential syndication to stations in other markets, with limited success.^[2]

Warren Wade created the program and was its producer.^[3] Ray Boyle directed the show.^[4]

Episodes

Ann Dvorak starred in the title role in the premiere episode, The Trial of Mary Dugan.^[3]

The list of shows adapted^{[citation needed]} include:

Angel Street, written by Patrick Hamilton (writer)
Craig's Wife, written by George Kelly (playwright)
Dark Victory
The Front Page, written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Gramercy Ghost, written by John Cecil Holm
The Hasty Heart, written by John Patrick (dramatist)
Janie
Kind Lady, written by Edward Chodorov
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, written by Frederick Lonsdale
The Letter, written by W. Somerset Maugham
Night Must Fall, written by Emlyn Williams
Night of January 16th, written by Ayn Rand
Reflected Glory, written by George Kelly (playwright)
R.U.R., written by Karel Čapek
Room Service
The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood
The Jazz Singer, written by Samson Raphaelson
The Thirteenth Chair, written by Bayard Veiller
Three Men on a Horse, written by George Abbott
The Trial of Mary Dugan, written by Bayard Veiller
Twentieth Century, written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Your Uncle Dudley, written by Howard Lindsay and Bertrand Robinson

References

^ Hawes, William (2001). Filmed Television Drama, 1952-1958. McFarland. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-7864-1132-0. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Erickson, Hal (1989). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987'. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 61–62. ISBN 0-7864-1198-8.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rice, Christina (2013). Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-4439-9. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
^ "Hilltop Director". The York Dispatch. September 23, 1953. p. 29. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.