''The Alcoa Hour'' is an American anthology television series that was aired live on NBC from 1955 to 1957. The series was sponsored by Alcoa.

Overview

Like the '' Philco Television Playhouse'' 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 ...

'' 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' 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. Although the slip of the lip generated hundreds of complaints, the episode won a Robert E. Sherwood Television Award, with Bridges' slip being defended even by some members of the clergy. The episode, during which an innocent Puerto Rican man is targeted by a mob for a sexual crime, was cited by the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

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 The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

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 as Bob Cratchit. It was the only ''Alcoa Hour'' production to be granted an original cast album recording. ''The Stingiest Man in Town'' was

remade Bas-Lag is the fictional world in which several of English author China Miéville's novels are set. Bas-Lag is a world where both magic (referred to as "thaumaturgy") and steampunk technology exist, and is home to many intelligent races. It is inf ...

in 1978 as a Rankin-Bass 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