''Sham'' is a 1920 one-act stage play by Frank G. Tompkins. Described as ''A Social Satire'', it was about a thief who is caught robbing a couple's home.

Plot

Consisting of four characters, the comedy is set in a room of a house in a wealthy area. A cultured thief is attempting to rob the house, after he has stolen fine art from other houses in the area, but he finds the objects in the house are of poor quality. The owners of the house, Clara and Charles, come home unexpectedly after supposedly being at the theatre (they were actually at a movie). The thief informs them that, if he does not steal something from them, they will be disgraced as people find out their home contains no real fine works.

Television adaptations

The play was adapted various times for early television. Three of these adaptations are documented. A version aired live on 28 January 1945 on New York City station

WABD WABD (97.5 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Mobile, Alabama. The station, established in 1973 as WABB-FM, is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are on Dauphin Street in Midtown Mobile, and its ...

, later part of the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

. Featuring Frieda Inescort, Melville Cooper, Harvey Stephens, and Charles Williams, A version aired 7 February 1946 on Chicago station WBKB. Directed by Beulah Zachary, it featured Betty Babbock, Sid Breese and Joe Wilson. Reviewing the program, Billboard magazine said the acting was "not of top caliber" but felt the direction was good, also commenting on the "excellent camera angles". This version aired live, and is also lost. A version aired 13 December 1948 on NBC's live anthology series '' Chevrolet on Broadway''. Featuring

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

Natalie Schafer Natalie Schafer (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991) was an American actress, known for her role as Lovey Howell on the sitcom ''Gilligan's Island'' (1964–1967). Early life and career Natalie Schafer was born on November 5, 1900, in Manhatta ...

, and

Howard St. John Howard St. John (October 9, 1905 – March 13, 1974) was a Chicago-born character actor who specialized in unsympathetic roles. His work spanned Broadway, film and television. Among his best-remembered roles are the bombastic General Bullmoose i ...

, it aired live and was probably

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 1940 ...

d, but it is not known if the kinescope recording still exists.

References

External links

1945 version on IMDb1946 version on IMDb1948 version on IMDb
1920 plays 1945 television films 1946 television films English-language television shows Black-and-white American television shows American live television shows Lost television episodes {{US-tv-film-stub