''Saturday Night Review'' (also seen as ''Saturday Night Revue'') is a live American variety television series that was broadcast on NBC in 1953 and 1954 as a summer replacement for ''

Your Show of Shows ''Your Show of Shows'' is a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC from February 25, 1950, through June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Howar ...

''.

1953 version

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

was the host of ''Saturday Night Review'', the main premise of which was the introduction of new entertainers. NBC executives viewed the program as a vehicle for testing those performers in hopes of developing new programs that would feature some of them. Those who appeared on it included

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

, Dick Wesson,

Cass Daley Cass Daley (born Catherine Dailey; July 17, 1915 – March 22, 1975) was an American actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of an Irish streetcar conductor, Daley started to perform at night clubs and on the radio as a band vocalist in ...

Sunny Gale Sunny Gale (born Selma Segal, February 20, 1927) is a retired American pop singer who was popular in the 1950s. Gale reached the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 several times throughout the earlier half of the decade, scoring her biggest R&B hit with "W ...

Jackie Kannon Jackie Kannon (July 25, 1926 – February 1, 1974) was a stand-up comedian, club entrepreneur, and publisher. With his printer Alexander Roman, he founded the publisher Kanrom, which published primarily humorous materials, including ''The New York ...

and

George Gobel George Leslie Goebel (May 20, 1919 – February 24, 1991) was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, ''The George Gobel Show'', broadcasting from 1954 to 1959 ...

. The show featured sets representing Carmichael's penthouse apartment and a nightclub. Episodes opened with him entertaining friends in the apartment, after which they moved to the nightclub to watch performers.

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Loui ...

led the program's orchestra. The show was broadcast from 9 to 10:30 p.m. on Saturdays, beginning on June 6, 1953, and ending on September 5, 1953.

Critical reception

Critic

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 ...

found little to like about the program in his review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', describing the show as "an uninspired ninety minutes that was hard to distinguish from an audition." He wrote that the program "needs to be taken in hand vigorously, given a point of view routined with some imagination and revamped to capitalize on Mr. Carmichael's talents".

1954 version

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'', ...

was the master of ceremonies when ''Saturday Night Review'' again replaced ''Your Show of Shows'' in the summer of 1954, and the format was "more of a straight revue". Pat Carroll was a regular.

Ben Blue Ben Blue (born Benjamin Bernstein; September 12, 1901 – March 7, 1975) was a Canadian-American actor and comedian who had a career that spanned nearly 50 years. Early life He was born Benjamin Bernstein in Montreal, Quebec on Septem ...

and

Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British, Canadian and American actor, comedian, radio host and television host, whom ''TV Guide'' called "the Charlie Chaplin of television". His notable roles includ ...

alternated weeks as the show's comedians, and the

Sauter-Finegan Orchestra The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra was an American swing jazz band popular in the 1950s. The orchestra was led by Eddie Sauter and Bill Finegan, who were both experienced big band arrangers. Sauter played mellophone, trumpet, and drums, and had attende ...

provided music. The program again focused on presenting new performers. ''Saturday Night Review'' originated in Hollywood with Ernie Glucksman as producer and Jim Jordan as director. The writers were Jack Ellinson, Milton Geiger, Jerry Seelin, Phil Shukin, and Snag Werris. It began on June 12, 1954, and ended on September 18, 1954.

Critical reception

A review in 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 advertise ...

'' summed up the show as "better than most" summer programs. Albert and Blue were commended for maintaining a "free and easy atmosphere" over the 90-minutes length, regardless of the quality of the material. Reviewer June Bundy wrote, "the over-all effect was one of beguiling nonchalance".

Earlier use of title

''Saturday Night Review'' was used in 1950 as an umbrella title for two programs, ''The Jack Carter Show'' (8-9 p.m. ET) and ''Your Show of Shows'' (9-10:30 p.m. E.T.).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saturday Night Review 1953 American television series debuts 1954 American television series endings NBC original programming