''The Armed Forces Hour'' is an American

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

broadcast on NBC October 30, 1949 - June 11, 1950 and on 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 ...

February 4, 1951 - May 6, 1951. Despite the title of the series, it was a half-hour program.

NBC version

The program's purpose was to demonstrate that unification of American armed forces had brought about "increased efficiency and economy". ''The Armed Forces Hour'' was one of four TV series on the air in 1950 that resulted from creation of a single radio and television department for the American military with Charles E. Dillon heading the unit.

Production

''The Armed Forces Hour'' was "culled from the estimated 500 million feet of film" archived at the U.S. Department of Defense. Production was supervised by Major Robert Keim and Lieutenant Benjamin Greenberg. The program originated in NBC's studios in the

Wardman Park Hotel The Washington Marriott Wardman Park was a hotel on Connecticut Avenue adjacent to the Woodley Park station of the Washington Metro in the Woodley Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The hotel had 1,152 rooms, of event space, and of exhibit sp ...

in Washington with segments coming from military bases and field activities of military units. The Concert Orchestra and Singing Sergeants of the Air Force Band provided background music. Major Bob Keim and Navy Lieutenant Ben Greenberg were co-producers. The program was broadcast at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Sundays.

Episodes

Episodes of the program included: *October 30, 1949 - "Your Defense Dollar" *November 6, 1949 - "Medicine in the Armed Forces" *November 13, 1949 - "Amphibious Warfare" *November 20, 1949 - "Service Academies" *December 4, 1949 - "Music in the Air" *December 11, 1949 - "Joint Chiefs of Staff" *December 18, 1949 - "Geronimo" *December 25, 1949 - "Sky Pilot" *January 1, 1950 - "Defense Diary"

Critical response

A review of the premiere episode 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 ...

'' found it "quite satisfactory" in documenting how defense money was spent but "somewhat less successful" in reducing viewers' pain of paying taxes. The review commended use of a pie chart in conjunction with film that showed related military activity when each segment of the chart was discussed. Overall, the review said the episode was "much too talky", with some participants hesitant or uncertain while others were "just plain dull".

DuMont version

After a one-season run on NBC, the network cancelled the series in 1950. However, on February 4, 1951, the series started again on the

, with the last DuMont episode airing on May 6, 1951. This version emphasized entertainment by "using a musical variety format to lure viewers to watch short films about the services." Episodes using a set resembling a USO club featured The Singing Sergeants, the U. S. Navy Dance Band and other performers from the military. Guest professional performers included

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nighting ...

and

Marion Morgan Marion Morgan (born Marion Swires; December 14, 1923 – October 21, 2013) was an American vocalist who sang with big band leader Harry James. Career Born in Detroit, Michigan, Morgan was billed as Lee Barrie when she sang on the Pacific Coast. ...

. Films about the military completed each episode. The show was broadcast from 8 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Sundays.

References

Bibliography

*David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia:

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach t ...

, 2004)

External links

*
DuMont historical website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armed Forces Hour DuMont Television Network original programming NBC original programming 1949 American television series debuts 1951 American television series endings 1940s American documentary television series 1950s American documentary television series Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows DuMont news programming