"1984" is an episode of the

American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...

series '' Westinghouse Studio One'' broadcast September 21, 1953, on CBS. Starring Eddie Albert, Norma Crane and Lorne Greene, it was the first adaptation of

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

's 1949 novel '' Nineteen Eighty-Four''.

Production and transmission

The adaptation was written by William Templeton, directed by Paul Nickell, and produced by Felix Jackson for the CBS '' Westinghouse Studio One'' series. Music was by Alfredo Antonini and the title drawing was by Dong Kingman. Broadcast on September 21, 1953, it was the first screen adaptation of the novel. Running to just under 50 minutes, it is a much-shortened version of the novel's narrative, with some changes, such as the character of Emmanuel Goldstein being changed to "Cassandra". Templeton co-wrote the 1956 film version, in which the character was similarly renamed as "Cellador". An uncredited Martin Landau is very briefly glimpsed in one scene.Williams, Joe. "Oceania is the place to be…" (''Willceau Illo News'', August 13, 2012)
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Cast

* Eddie Albert as Winston * Norma Crane as Julia * Lorne Greene as O'Brien * Noel Leslie as Charrington * Truman Smith as Parsons * Midge Donaldson as Female Telescreen Voice * Robert M. Culp as Male Telescreen Voice * Victor Thorley as

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, , also , and sometimes referred to as Alexandra) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be believe ...

* Peter A. Ostroff as Syme * Janice Mars as Singer * Susan Hallaran as Selina *

Fred Scollay Fred J. Scollay (March 19, 1923 – November 3, 2015) was an American character actor with dozens of credits in daytime and primetime television, as well as film and stage work Early years and military service Scollay was born in Roxbury, M ...

as Man in Cell * Vincent Vanlynn as Prison Officer *

Don Hollenbeck Don Hollenbeck (March 30, 1905June 22, 1954) was a CBS newscaster, commentator, and associate of Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly. He died from fuel gas inhalation as it was discovered that his stove and oven had been turned on but not lit ...

as Narrator *

Betty Furness Elizabeth Mary Furness (January 3, 1916 – April 2, 1994) was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator. Early years Furness was born in Manhattan, the daughter of wealthy business executive George Choate Furness ...

as Commercial spokeswoman

DVD release

In 2008,

Koch Vision Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...

released the ''Studio One Anthology'', containing "1984" and 16 other episodes from the series, as well as an interview with director Paul Nickell.

References

External links

* 1953 American television episodes Works based on Nineteen Eighty-Four Television episodes based on works Studio One (American TV series) {{US-tv-episode-stub