"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 ''Studio One'' is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948 and ended on Septem ...

'' broadcast September 21, 1953, on CBS. Starring

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

Norma Crane Norma Crane (born Norma Anna Bella Zuckerman; November 10, 1928 — September 28, 1973) was an American actress of stage, film, and television best known for her role as Golde in the 1971 film adaptation of ''Fiddler on the Roof''. She also star ...

and

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; 12 February 1915 – 11 September 1987) was a Canadian actor, musician, singer and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Ada ...

, 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 ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

''.

Production and transmission

The adaptation was written by William Templeton, directed by Paul Nickell, and produced by

Felix Jackson Felix Jackson (born Felix Joachimson; June 5, 1902 – December 7, 1992) was a German-born American screenwriter and film producer. Biography Jackson was born in Hamburg. He was a city editor in Germany at 21, then a dramatic and music critic, ...

for the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

'' series. Music was by

Alfredo Antonini Alfredo Antonini (May 31, 1901 – November 3, 1983) was a leading Italian-American symphony conductor and composer who was active on the international concert stage as well as on the CBS radio and television networks from the 1930s through the ea ...

and the title drawing was by

Dong Kingman Dong Kingman (, 31 March 1911 – 12 May 2000) was a Chinese American artist and one of America's leading watercolor masters. As a painter on the forefront of the California Style School of painting, he was known for his urban and landscape ...

. 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 Emmanuel Goldstein is a fictional character in George Orwell's 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''. He is the principal enemy of the state according to the Party of the totalitarian Oceania. He is depicted as the head of a mysterious ...

being changed to "Cassandra". Templeton co-wrote the 1956 film version, in which the character was similarly renamed as "Cellador". An uncredited

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...

is very briefly glimpsed in one scene.Williams, Joe. "Oceania is the place to be…" (''Willceau Illo News'', August 13, 2012)
/ref>

Cast

as Winston *

Julia Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g. ...

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