''The Alcoa Hour'' is an American

anthology television series An anthology series is a written series, radio program, radio, television show, television, film series, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, Season (television) ...

sponsored by the Alcoa Corporation that aired live on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from October 16, 1955, to September 22, 1957.

Overview

''The Alcoa Hour'' is a one-hour live anthology series that primarily presented dramas but occasionally presented a musical or a comedy. The series alternated weeks in the same time slot with the ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' until both series ended in 1957.

Notable episodes

The series's premiere episode, ''The Black Wings'', marked the American TV debut of

Ann Todd Dorothy Ann Todd (24 January 1907 – 6 May 1993) was an English film, television and stage actress who achieved international fame when she starred in '' The Seventh Veil'' (1945). From 1949 to 1957 she was married to David Lean who directed ...

. The show garnered press in February 1956 for actor

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

's emotional performance in an episode titled " Tragedy in a Temporary Town", directed by

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

. During the performance, Bridges inadvertently slipped in some profanity while ad-libbing. Although the slip of the lip generated hundreds of complaints, the episode won a

Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of ''Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, There Shall Be No Night'', and ''The Best Years of Our Li ...

Television Award, with Bridges's slip defended by many, including some members of the clergy. The episode, during which an innocent

Puerto Rica Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

n man is targeted by a mob for a sexual crime, was cited by the Anti-Defamation League as "the best dramatic program of the year dealing with interethnic group relations". One episode was the telecast of ''The Stingiest Man in Town'', a musical adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

's ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'', starring

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was an Anglo-South African actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume drama ...

, Johnny Desmond and

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My ...

. It is the only ''Alcoa Hour'' production to be granted an

original cast album A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

recording. ''The Stingiest Man in Town'' was

remade Bas-Lag is a fictional universe in which several of China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic (referred to as thaumaturgy) and steampunk technology exist, and where many intelligent races live. This world and the nove ...

in 1978 as a

Rankin-Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City. It was known for its seasonal television specials, ...

animated cartoon Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

featuring the voice of

Walter Matthau Walter John Matthau ( Matthow; ; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters. He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friend Jack Lemmon, including '' The Od ...

as Scrooge, and was also sponsored by Alcoa. Another record album, ''The Magic Horn'' (Victor LPM-1332), was "not the soundtrack, but largely a re-creation of the music that was played" on the show's episode "The Magic Horn".

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1955-56)

Season 2 (1956-57)

*No information found for this episode.

Production

Herbert Brodkin Herbert Brodkin (November 9, 1912 – October 29, 1990) was an American producer and director of film and television. Brodkin was best known as the producer of the television shows ''Playhouse 90'', '' The Defenders'', the miniseries ''Holoc ...

was the producer. During his 12-week vacation in 1956, associate producer Philip Barry Jr. produced the series. Its first color episode was broadcast on April 19, 1956, from NBC's Brooklyn studio. The trade publication ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' reported in September 1956 that the budget for the Alcoa-Goodyear program had been increased to an estimated $65,000 per production for the upcoming season. It had been $45,000 during the previous season. The extra funding was said to allow the shows to "go in more for established properties which have greater exploitation possibilities to awaken audience interest".

Critical response

Jack Gould John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television. Early life and education Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomis ...

, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', commended the presentation of "The Big Wave" as one that "added further luster to the ''Alcoa Hour''". He commended the director's and producer's conveying the story "to the home screen with deeply understanding fidelity", and noted that the episode "was one of the most rewarding programs yet seen" for viewers who had color receivers. In contrast, ''The Times'' called the series's final episode, "Night", "a pointless and offensive exercise in violence and inanity". The brief review ended with, "There was no excuse at all for this one."

References

External links

''The Alcoa Hour'' at CVTA with episode list
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcoa Hour 1955 American television series debuts 1957 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series 1950s American drama television series American live television series Black-and-white American television shows American English-language television shows Alcoa NBC television dramas