Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Drama
    Drama TV Shows - 1950s 3 Mins Read

    Schlitz Playhouse (of Stars)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 5 1 – 1 9 5 9 (USA)
    364 x 60/30 minute episodes

    Debuting on 5 October 1951, this Friday night dramatic anthology series from CBS was sponsored by the Schlitz Brewing Company for eight years.

    The series premiered under the title Schlitz Playhouse of Stars with an hour-long live drama from New York called “Not a Chance”, starring Helen Hayes and David Niven.

    The hour-long version produced some substantial dramas, including an adaptation of Herman Melville’s “Billy Budd” (with Walter Hampden and Chester Morris), Dane Clark in Ernest Hemingway’s “Fifty Grand,” and Margaret Sullavan and Wendell Corey in a version of “Still Life” – the first Noel Coward play adapted for television.

    In April 1952, plays were cut from an hour to 30 minutes, and the literary merit of the material started to slip.

    There were still occasional plays like W. Somerset Maugham’s “A String of Beads” starring Joan Caulfield and Tom Drake, and experiments like the musical love story “Autumn in New York,” with Polly Bergen and Skip Homeier, but potboilers like “The Ordeal of Dr Sutton” with Raymond Burr and Marilyn Erskine became progressively more common.

    For roughly six months, in the second half of 1952, Irene Dunne was on hand as a regular hostess, but that function was dropped to let one of the week’s stars introduce the play. That, too, was eventually phased out.

    Although essentially a live series, filmed episodes started showing up in the summer of 1953 and accounted for more than half of the telecasts during the 1954-1955 season. By 1956 there were no live episodes at all, and in November of that year, the title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse.

    The series aired on alternate Fridays with Lux Playhouse between October 1958 and July 1959.

    Many big stars appeared on the series, including a young James Dean in one of his rare television appearances (as the star of “The Unlighted Road” in 1955) and Gene Kelly in his television dramatic debut in “The Life You Save” (1957) with Agnes Moorehead and Janice Rule.

    Other notable performers included James Mason, Charlton Heston, Bette Davis, Mickey Rooney, Tallulah Bankhead, Lee Marvin, Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger, Burt Reynolds, Ronald Reagan, Charles Bronson, Ricardo Montalban and Mary Tyler Moore.

    Two Westerns that aired during the 1956-1957 season were turned into series by NBC – The Restless Gun starring John Payne and Tales of Wells Fargo starring Dale Robertson.

    Related Posts

    • Wire Service
      Wire Service
      1 9 5 6 - 1 9 5 7 (USA) 39 x 60 minute episodes This ABC drama related the…
    • Philco Television Playhouse
      Philco Television Playhouse
      1 9 4 8 - 1 9 5 5 (USA) This live dramatic series debuted on the NBC network on 3…
    • Web, The
      Web, The
      1 9 5 0 - 1 9 5 4 (USA) 175 x 30 minute episodes 1 9 5 7 (USA) 14…
    • O'Hara, U.S. Treasury
      O'Hara, U.S. Treasury
      1 9 7 1 - 1 9 7 2 (USA) 23 x 60 minute episodes This hour-long drama series premiered on…
    • Alcoa Theatre
      Alcoa Theatre
      1 9 5 7 - 1 9 6 0 (USA) 65 x 30 minute episodes Several major changes were made when…
    • Mask, The
      Mask, The
      1 9 5 4 (USA) 15 x 60 minute episodes This ABC series presented the investigations and courtroom defences of brothers…
    • Goodyear TV Playhouse
      Goodyear TV Playhouse
      1 9 5 1 - 1 9 6 0 (USA) Goodyear tyres sponsored this hour-long, early US television anthology programme that…
    • Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
      Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
      1 9 5 8 - 1 9 6 0 (USA) When Studio One's live weekly anthology series went off the air…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleNostalgic Australian TV, Films & Adverts – Playlist
    Next Article Lux Playhouse

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    You May Also Like
    • Dexter’s Laboratory
      1 9 9 6 – 2 0 0 3 (USA) 79 x 23 minute episodes Dexter is […]
    • Lighthorsemen, The (1987)
      It is the end of the third year of the Great War. The Australian […]
    • Scandal (1989)
      Back in 1963, the British public was stunned to learn that War […]
    • Within These Walls
      1 9 7 4 – 1 9 7 8 (UK) 44 x 60 minute episodes Set in HM […]
    • Japan
      Before Lewisham’s Batt brothers reinvented themselves as […]
    • Wanda, The Sadistic Hypnotist (1969)
      Following a car crash, the semi-conscious Sylvester (Richard […]
    Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

    OUR LATEST FACEBOOK POSTS

    edition.cnn.com/2023/01/30/entertainment/cindy-williams-dead/index.html

    More sad news 😢
    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    'Laverne & Shirley' star Cindy Williams dead at 75 | CNN

    edition.cnn.com

    Cindy Williams, the dynamic actress known best for playing the bubbly Shirley Feeney on the beloved sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," has died, according to a statement from her family, provided to CNN by a...
    3 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64442824 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Television frontman Tom Verlaine dies at 73

    www.bbc.co.uk

    His band rose to fame in the 1970s New York punk scene, scoring UK hits including Marquee Moon.
    5 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64418847 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Mr Blobby costume sells for more than £62,000 on eBay

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The character, made famous by BBC show Noel's House Party, had been in storage since the 1990s.
    6 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Put some beefiness into your mid-week menu with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the Radio Times on 30 September 1965.

    Put some "beefiness into your mid-week menu" with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the "Radio Times" on 30 September 1965. ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 3
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    They were awful. An overpowering savoury flavour that lingered in your mouth for hours. Heaven knows what unmentionable parts of a bull went into making them 😳

    More sad news 😪

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    US rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Crosby, who co-founded both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, had been ill for some time.
    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened? 

All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened?

    All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 54
    • Shares: 22
    • Comments: 7

    Comment on Facebook

    I thought we would have moving pavements by now when I was a kid 😂

    Totally agree!!!

    The new Tesla, 4.6 next century.

    We got transvestite story hour instead

    We appear to be going backwards

    There's actually a very good David Graeber essay on this very topic: thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

    The Jetsons strike again.

    View more comments

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

    nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    That is so sad to hear 😥 rest in peace 🙏 🕊 xx

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    😍😍😍😍

    Vale Jeff Beck. Dead at 78. 😢

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78

    www.bbc.co.uk

    One of rock's most influential guitarists, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Hi everyone. Were in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes.

    Hi everyone. We're in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes. ... See MoreSee Less

    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 5
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 2

    Comment on Facebook

    Ironically, this post has jumped off the page at me. You'll probably get most traffic today because everyone will want to see what they might be missing!

    Martin Platt

    Load more
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.