''Producers' Showcase'' is an American

anthology television series An anthology series is a written series, radio program, radio, television show, television, film series, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, Season (television) ...

that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s, aired under the title every fourth Monday at 8 pm ET for three seasons, beginning October 18, 1954. The final episode, the last of 37, was broadcast May 27, 1957. Showcase Productions, Inc., packaged and produced the series, which received seven

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s, including the 1956 award for Best Dramatic Series.

Production

In 1953, stage producer Leland Hayward had the idea to create a 90-minute TV series, a series of color spectaculars to be broadcast monthly on NBC. Hayward was represented by Saul Jaffe of the

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...

law firm Jaffe & Jaffe; Henry Jaffe, the firm's senior partner, was national counsel for the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, an organization he helped found. When illness forced Hayward to withdraw from the project, NBC partnered with Showcase Productions, an independent production company created by Henry and Saul Jaffe to produce the series. ''Producers' Showcase'' went on the air October 18, 1954. The ambitious series presented a total of 37 live color programs, which included original musicals or plays, restaging of Broadway productions, great concert artists, and tribute programs. ''Producers' Showcase'' presented the first international show with live remote locations ('' Wide Wide World''), and the first full-length Broadway production on color television ('' Peter Pan''). "''Producers' Showcase'' has undoubtedly been a tremendous prestige presentation by the network with elaborate and worthy cultural productions," ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' published in 1957, the series' final year. ''Producers' Showcase'' received seven Emmy Awards, including the 1956 award for Best Dramatic Series.

Premiere episode

Director

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

was invited to produce and direct '' Tonight at 8.30'', a trio of one-act plays by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

, for the series premiere. '' Red Peppers'', ''

Still Life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

'', and '' Shadow Play'' were three of 10 plays comprising a cycle the playwright had written to be performed on stage over the course of three evenings, and under this umbrella title they were presented on ''Producers' Showcase''. The cast included

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

, Trevor Howard, Gig Young,

Ilka Chase Ilka Chase (April 8, 1905 – February 15, 1978) was an American actress, radio host, and novelist whose career spanned stage, film, and television. Born into a well-known New York family, she made her stage debut as a child and later became a ...

, and Gloria Vanderbilt. Preminger had no experience in television, but he welcomed the opportunity to work in the medium.Hirsch, Foster, ''Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf 2007. , pp. 227-229 From the beginning, the director obviously was in trouble. He believed a television production was no different from a film and lit the sets and placed the cameras accordingly. He failed to understand that during the actual live broadcast, he would be working with a monitor, pushing buttons to signal which camera should be operating. Rogers in particular was nervous about her performance, and Preminger spent a considerable amount of time with her, but basically ignored the rest of the cast. Supporting player Larkin Ford later recalled he felt Preminger had no sense of Coward's work or how it should be played. As the production entered its third week of rehearsals, a complete run-through still had not been accomplished. Three days prior to the broadcast, executive producer Fred Coe decided to take action. He privately fired Preminger and then simply told the cast and crew, "Mr. Preminger will not be with us. I will be with you through the presentation." Although they felt sorry a man of Preminger's stature had been dismissed for incompetence, they were relieved he was gone. When the show aired, Preminger introduced each act in a filmed segment, and he received sole credit as producer and director. It proved to be his first and last television venture. Mary Martin Peter Pan

''Peter Pan''

One of the most memorable productions of the first season was telecast on March 7, 1955. '' Peter Pan'', a recreation of the 1954 Broadway

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with all its original cast members, including Mary Martin as Peter Pan and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook, was so highly acclaimed by critics and well received by viewers, drawing the largest ratings for a single television program up to that time, that the program was restaged live with nearly the same cast in January 1956. A 1960 NBC revival of the production, first broadcast as a Christmas season special, was videotaped in color and later released on home video. By the time the 1960 version was made, the children had outgrown their roles and had to be replaced, but nearly all of the adult cast remained the same as those of the two earlier productions. This production also marked the first time that any version of ''Peter Pan'' had been performed on television.

Notable appearances

File:Bacall, Bogart, Fonda.jpg, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, and Henry Fonda rehearsing ''The Petrified Forest'' (1955) File:William Holden 1955.JPG, William Holden in ''Dateline II'' (1955) File:Mary Martin Peter Pan Producers Showcase 1956.jpg, Mary Martin in ''Peter Pan'' (1956) File:Katharine Cornell Barretts of Wimpole Street on television 1956.JPG, Katharine Cornell in ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' (1956) File:Louis armstrong producers showcase 1956.JPG, Louis Armstrong in ''The Lord Don't Play Favorites'' (1956) File:Audrey Hepburn Mel Ferrer Mayerling 1957.jpg, Mel Ferrer and Audrey Hepburn in ''Mayerling'' (1957) File:Mayerling 1957.jpg, Raymond Massey,

Diana Wynyard Diana Wynyard (born Dorothy Isobel Cox; 16 January 1906 – 13 May 1964) was an English stage and film actress. Life and career Born in Lewisham, South London, Wynyard began her career on the stage. After performing in Liverpool and London wi ...

(seated), Judith Evelyn,

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón FerrerAncestry Library Edition (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, and producer, active in film, theatre, and television. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ...

, and Audrey Hepburn in ''

Mayerling Mayerling is a small village (pop. 200) in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden (district of Austria), Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat river, in the Vienna Woods, Wienerwald (''Vienna woods''), so ...

'' (1957) File:John Neville Claire Bloom Romeo and Juliet 1957.JPG, John Neville and Claire Bloom in ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1957) File:Margot Fonteyn Cinderella 1957.jpg, Margot Fonteyn in ''Cinderella'' (1957) File:Mickey Rooney Mr. Broadway 1957.JPG, Mickey Rooney in ''Mr. Broadway'' (1957) *

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

and

Lauren Bacall Betty Joan Perske (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014), professionally known as Lauren Bacall ( ), was an American actress. She was named the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the America ...

made their television debuts in a production of '' The Petrified Forest'' that also starred Henry Fonda, Jack Warden, and Jack Klugman. Bogart reprised the role of Duke Mantee, which he performed in the original 1935 Broadway production and the 1936 film. Fonda portrayed

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director, producer and writer.Obituary, '' Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' an ...

's original role and Bacall played the

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

part. * Director

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a German-born American film director and producer. Known for his work in numerous genres over five decades, he received numerous awards and accolades, including three Aca ...

made his television debut with '' The Letter'', starring Siobhán McKenna, John Mills, Michael Rennie, and Anna May Wong. Wyler also directed the 1940 feature film. * Director

Anatole Litvak Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (10 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), commonly known as Anatole Litvak, was a Russian-American filmmaker. Born to Jewish parents in Kiev, he began his theatrical training at age 13 in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, ...

made his television debut with ''

'', starring Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer. Litvak also directed the 1936 feature film. * A musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder's '' Our Town'' starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, Eva Marie Saint and

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

(a last-minute replacement for James Dean). Sinatra, who plays a warbling version of the stage manager and clocks the most screen time, scored a major chart hit with the original song " Love and Marriage," which received an

. The songs were written by

Jimmy van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television, and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Award for Best Original Song, Academy Awards for ...

and Sammy Cahn in the first of their many collaborations. * In her television debut, although she was now too old for the role, Katharine Cornell recreated her original stage role as Elizabeth Barrett Browning in '' The Barretts of Wimpole Street'', with Anthony Quayle as

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

. * Husband and wife Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy reprised the roles they had played in the Broadway production of '' The Fourposter''. * Ruth Hussey, Paulette Goddard, and Mary Boland were cast in the acerbic comedy '' The Women''. Hussey and Goddard played different characters in the 1939 MGM film; Boland reprised her role as the Countess deLave.

Additional productions

* The

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s '' The Sleeping Beauty'' (by Tchaikovsky) and ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' (by Prokofiev), both with

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE ( Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn (), was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with th ...

and Michael Somes marked the first time these two ballets had ever been broadcast on television. * A staging of Sidney Howard's 1934 adaptation of the 1929

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the America ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

'' Dodsworth'', starring Fredric March, Claire Trevor and Geraldine Fitzgerald * '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' with

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

and Mary Martin * '' Cyrano de Bergerac'', with José Ferrer (recreating his award-winning stage and film role), Claire Bloom, and Christopher Plummer (a future Cyrano himself) *''The Great Sebastians'', directed by Franklin J. Schaffner with Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt and Alan Furlan, was set in 1948 in Communist-controlled Prague, Czechoslovakia. A mind-reading act is commanded by the authorities to entertain at a private party. They discover what the authorities really want is for them to use their "powers" to expose spies and traitors to the regime. Realizing the kind of trouble they are in for, they decide to escape using their best stage tricks. *

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', with Claire Bloom, John Neville, and Paul Rogers * ''Festival of Music'', two 90-minute programs, were devoted to classical music, featuring such performers as Jan Peerce, Arthur Rubinstein, Roberta Peters, Andrés Segovia, Jussi Björling, tenor Thomas Hayward, Boris Christoff,

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Ukraine, Stern moved to the United States when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union a ...

, Leonard Warren, Zinka Milanov, Risë Stevens, and Renata Tebaldi. Most of these classical artists (except for Roberta Peters, who had appeared on George Jessel's show, and Leonard Warren, who had sung Iago in the historic 1948 first complete telecast of Verdi's ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

'') were appearing on commercial American network television for the first time. The programs were hosted respectively by Charles Laughton and José Ferrer. * The final episode, "Festival of Magic", featured Ernie Kovacs playing host to magicians from the United States, England, South Africa, Ireland, India, France, and China.

''Wide Wide World''

''Producers' Showcase'' served as the springboard for the live

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

series '' Wide Wide World''. Conceived by network head Pat Weaver and hosted by Dave Garroway, the show was introduced on ''Showcase'' on June 27, 1955. The premiere episode, featuring entertainment from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, was the first international North American telecast in the history of the medium. It received a regular Sunday afternoon time slot the following October.

Episodes

These 37 episodes comprise the ''Producers' Showcase'' library:

Reception

''Producers' Showcase'' averaged a 36.5 percent audience share.Production value
Showcase Productions, Inc.; archived 2012-06-07 from the original at the Internet Archive. Retrieved 2013-06-13. Sixty-five million viewers watched the first presentation of ''Peter Pan'', garnering a 68.3 audience share that made it the highest-rated episode in the series. The restaged ''Peter Pan'' earned a 54.9 share; and ''The Petrified Forest'' earned a 50.6 share. The series had this level of success even though its last third aired opposite ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'', the highest or second-highest rated series on television during the three seasons ''Producers' Showcase'' was broadcast.

Awards

''Presenters' Showcase'' received the following awards and nominations from the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the Television in the United States, television industry in the United S ...

.Official Primetime Emmy Awards Search
accessed October 17, 2011

Home media

Video Artists Internationalbr>
has formed joint ventures with Showcase Productions, Inc. for the release of a number of ''Producers' Showcase'' programs, as well as Showcase programs from other "Golden Age of Television" series, complete with their commercial announcements, on DVD: ''Festival of Music'' (#4244), ''Festival of Music II'' (#4245), ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (#4295) and ''Cinderella'' (#4296). Although these episodes were broadcast live and in color, the kinescope process by which they were preserved is black-and-white.

References

External links

*
''Producers' Showcase'', "The Petrified Forest"
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

Showcase Productions, Inc.
* (

Kirk Browning Kirk Browning (March 28, 1921 – February 10, 2008) was an American television director and Television producer, producer who had hundreds of productions to his credit, including 185 broadcasts of ''Live from Lincoln Center''. Born in New York ...

, Charles Dubin, Jack Klugman, Delbert Mann, Tad Mosel,

Arthur Penn Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, and producer. He was a three-time Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director, and a Tony Awards, Tony Awa ...

and Ellen M. Violett) {{Anita Loos 1954 American television series debuts 1957 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series 1950s American drama television series American English-language television shows Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series winners American live television series NBC television dramas