''General Motors Theatre'' (also known as ''CBC Theatre, Encounter, Ford Television Theatre,'' and ''General Motors Presents'') was a Canadian

television 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, ...

anthology drama series of

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television mov ...

s, which ran on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

under various titles from September 18, 1952, until January 1, 1961, and in the US on ABC from October 5 to November 2, 1958. The series mainly consisted of one-hour episodes of romance, adventure, or mystery stories, with some social realist drama plays.

Cast and crew

Austin Willis Alexander Austin Willis, (30 September 1917 – 4 April 2004) was a Canadian actor and television host. Biography Austin was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to parents Alexander Samuel and Emma Graham (Pushie) Willis. His older brother, J. Fran ...

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...

Barry Morse Herbert Morse (10 June 19182 February 2008), known professionally as Barry Morse, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the ABC television series '' The Fugitive'' and the British sci-fi drama '' ...

, and

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...

were among those who appeared in plays produced in the strand. The series also supported the earlier careers of many Canadian actors, such as

James Doohan James Montgomery Doohan (; March 3, 1920 – July 20, 2005) was a Canadian actor, author and soldier, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series '' Star Trek''. Doohan's characterization of the Scottis ...

, who starred in one of the most successful plays in the strand, ''

Flight into Danger ''Flight into Danger'' is a 1956 Canadian live television play starring James Doohan, Corinne Conley and Cec Linder. It was written by Arthur Hailey, produced and screened by CBC Television, and broadcast on April 3, 1956, on the ''General Motors ...

'' in 1956. The series was a breeding ground for writing and directing talent such as William Kotcheff,

Donald Jack Donald Lamont Jack (6 December 1924 – 2 June 2003) was an English and Canadian novelist and playwright. Life Jack was born in Radcliffe, Bury, England and grew up in Britain, attending the well regarded Bury Grammar School and Marr College an ...

, and

Arthur Hailey Arthur Frederick Hailey, AE (5 April 1920 – 24 November 2004) was a British-Canadian novelist whose plot-driven storylines were set against the backdrops of various industries. His books, which include such best sellers as ''Hotel'' (1965), ...

. Hailey's ''Flight into Danger'' was later remade as the

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

Zero Hour! ''Zero Hour!'' is a 1957 drama film directed by Hall Bartlett from a screenplay by Bartlett, Arthur Hailey, and John Champion. It stars Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, and Sterling Hayden and features Peggy King, Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, Ge ...

'', in turn providing the inspiration for the comedy film ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison (film prod ...

'', and was also screened by the BBC in the United Kingdom. It was a significant factor in ''General Motors Theatre'' producer — and CBC Supervisor of Drama —

Sydney Newman Sydney Cecil Newman (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman w ...

moving to work in the UK, where he later worked on anthology series similar to ''General Motors Theatre,'' such as ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canad ...

'' and '' The Wednesday Play''.

Canadian run

First transmitted under the sponsored title on October 5, 1954, a new 60-minute drama was aired each week. As suggested by the title, the program was sponsored by the

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

automobile company. It was effectively the same series as the unsponsored ''CBC Theatre'', which had run its first season from December 1, 1953, to April 20, 1954, with

becoming the title sponsor for the second season. Following some concerns, the series moved to a Sunday evening slot in 1956, where it had competed with the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

network CBS's enormously popular

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

spin-off '' The $64,000 Challenge'' in the key

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

market (where American broadcast signals could be received from across the border), General Motors pulled out and the show disappeared for two years. It returned in 1958 after ''The $64,000 Question'' had been cancelled, under the new title ''General Motors Presents''. For its final run in the summer of 1961, the series had not the originally-produced dramas but broadcasts of a bought-in British anthology series called '' Interplay''.

American run

The show was one of the first Canadian programs to be sold to an American network. ABC had planned to air 39 episodes of the series but aired only five. Renamed ''Encounter'', it was scheduled to follow the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series '' Colt .45''. The program faced competition on CBS from ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

'' and ''

The $64,000 Question ''The $64,000 Question'' was an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the ...

.'' Also,

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 ...

at the time aired part of '' The Dinah Shore Chevy Show''.''Total Television'', appendix

References

External links

*
''General Motors Theatre''
- Canadian Communication Foundation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Encounter (TV series) 1954 Canadian television series debuts 1961 Canadian television series endings 1950s Canadian anthology television series 1960s Canadian anthology television series Black-and-white Canadian television shows CBC Television original programming 1958 American television series debuts 1958 American television series endings 1958 Canadian television series debuts 1958 Canadian television series endings 1950s American anthology television series Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows American Broadcasting Company original programming