''The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre'' is an American

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

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 ...

Mondays at 8 pm EST from September 27, 1948 to June 26, 1950. The program presented both news headlines and live dramatic performances of either original plays or works adapted for television from the stage. Sometimes the show was referred to as ''Chevrolet on Broadway'' or ''The Broadway Playhouse''; particularly when the program was presenting an adapted stage work from New York City's theatre scene. The sponsor was

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

, an automobile division of

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

. Beginning with the January 4, 1949, episode, the Chevrolet Central Office of General Motors was the sponsor, replacing Chevrolet dealers' groups.

Production

Owen Davis Jr. was the program's first producer. When he died in a boating accident, Victor McLeod replaced him. Barry Bernard and Garry Simpson were the directors. The program originated from WNBT. Effective January 24, 1949, the program was moved to the 8:30-9 p.m. Eastern Time slot on Mondays. That change allowed it to be shown live in the Midwest, via use of coaxial cable, rather than just in the East as had been the case in its previous time slot (30 minutes earlier on Mondays). The change meant that it was shown simultaneously on 12 NBC stations.

Critical reception

A review of the January 31, 1949, broadcast in the trade publication '' Variety'' called the episode "a neat comedy playlet" that featured "sharp lines snappily rendered by two vet thespers". It also complimented the way the one-act play was adapted for television.

Episode status

One episode from October 1949 is stored at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, along with three other episodes from that year, plus an episode from 1950. There are five

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...

recordings of 1948 programs also archived at Library of Congress, and an interview with one of the people involved in the production appears on the Archives of American Television Web Site. However, these aging 69+ year old kinescope film prints have yet to be transferred to modern media to ensure the survival of the episodes.

Episodes

*"I Cover Times Square" was a pilot for the ABC TV series '' I Cover Times Square''.

Guest stars

Jonathan Harris Jonathan Daniel Harris ( Charasuchin; November 6, 1914 – November 3, 2002) was an American character actor whose career included more than 500 television and film appearances, as well as Voice-over, voiceovers. Two of his best-known roles we ...

's TV debut came on ''The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre'' in the 1949 episode "His Name Is Jason". Other actors who appeared in the series included: * Eddie Albert *

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, repertory theatre, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 19 ...

* Mischa Auer * Fay Bainter * Bertha Belmore *

Gertrude Berg Gertrude Berg (born Tillie Edelstein; October 3, 1899 – September 14, 1966) was an American actress, screenwriter, and producer. A pioneer of classic old-time radio, radio, she was one of the first women to create, write, produce, and star in a ...

* Elisabeth Bergner *

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later J ...

* Leo G. Carroll * Jackie Cooper * Hume Cronyn *

Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, who was noted for playing dangerous and tough characters. Usually appearing in supporting roles, among his best-known films are '' Beau Geste'' (1939), '' The Great ...

* Faye Emerson * Nanette Fabray * Nina Foch * Dick Foran * Will Geer *

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French W ...

* Edward Everett Horton * Dean Jagger *

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

* Guy Kibbee * Canada Lee *

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, for his performance in the film ''Wat ...

* E.G. Marshall *

Mercedes McCambridge Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress of radio, stage, film, and television. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress". She won an Academy Award for Best Support ...

* Felicia Montealegre Bernstein * Paul Muni * Barry Nelson * Luise Rainer *

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 ...

* Charles Ruggles *

Margaret Sullavan Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1933, she caught the attention of film direct ...

* Arthur Treacher * Ernest Truex * Forrest Tucker

References

External links

''The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre'' at CVTA with episode list
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chevrolet Tele-Theatre 1948 American television series debuts 1950 American television series endings 1940s American anthology television series 1950s American anthology television series 1940s American drama television series 1950s American drama television series Black-and-white American television shows American live television series American English-language television shows Chevrolet NBC television dramas