''The Alcoa Hour'' is an American

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

that was aired live on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from 1955 to 1957. The series was sponsored by Alcoa.

Overview

Like the ''

Philco Television Playhouse ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golde ...

'' and ''

Goodyear Television Playhouse ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television. Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the ''Philco Te ...

'' that had preceded it, ''The Alcoa Hour'' was a one-hour live dramatic anthology series presenting both original stories and adaptations of popular works. The three series were essentially the same, with the only real difference being the name of the sponsor. The series alternated weeks in the same time slot with the ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' until both series ended in 1957.

Notable episodes

The series' premiere episode, ''The Black Wings'', marked the American TV debut of Ann Todd. The show garnered press in February 1956 for actor

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

' emotional performance in an episode titled " Tragedy in a Temporary Town", directed by Sidney Lumet. During the performance, Bridges inadvertently slipped some profanity in while

ad-libbing In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The r ...

. Although the slip of the lip generated hundreds of complaints, the episode won a

Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of '' Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Rebecca, There Shall Be No Night, The Best Years of Our ...

Television Award, with Bridges' slip being defended even by some members of the clergy. The episode, during which an innocent

Puerto Rica Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

n man is targeted by a mob for a sexual crime, was cited by the Anti-Defamation League as "the best dramatic program of the year dealing with interethnic group relations." During the second season, one memorable episode was the 23 December 1956, telecast of ''The Stingiest Man in Town'', a

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

al adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's '' A Christmas Carol'', starring Basil Rathbone as Scrooge and

Martyn Green William Martin Green (22 April 1899 – 8 February 1975), known by his stage name, Martyn Green, was an English actor and singer. He is remembered for his performances and recordings as principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, in t ...

Bob Cratchit Bob Cratchit is a fictional character in the Charles Dickens 1843 novel ''A Christmas Carol''. The abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge (and possibly Jacob Marley, when he was alive), Cratchit has come to symbolize the poor working condi ...

. It was the only ''Alcoa Hour'' production to be granted an

original cast album A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

recording. ''The Stingiest Man in Town'' was remade in 1978 as a

Rankin-Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

animated cartoon, featuring the voice of Walter Matthau as Scrooge.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1955-56)

Season 2 (1956-57)

*No information found for this episode.

References

External links

''The Alcoa Hour'' at CVTA with episode list
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcoa Hour 1955 American television series debuts 1957 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series 1950s American drama television series American live television series Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows NBC original programming Alcoa