October 5, 1951 (1951-10-05) – March 27, 1959 (1959-03-27)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse beginning with the fall 1957 season.
Live to film
Initially, the show was broadcast live, but starting in the summer of 1953, some episodes were filmed in advance. Beginning with the 1956-1957 season, all of the shows were filmed.
Between October 1951 and March 1952, the hour-long show was aired at 9 p.m.[clarification needed] In April 1952, the running time was reduced from an hour to 30 minutes. The series moved to 9:30 p.m. in the 1955 fall season.
Pilots
Three episodes served as pilots for later NBC Western series: The Restless Gun with John Payne (March 29, 1957 pilot) and Tales of Wells Fargo with Dale Robertson (as Jim Hardie; season 6, episode 12 - A Tale of Wells Fargo - aired on December 14, 1956), and the first-run syndication series Shotgun Slade[1] with Scott Brady (season eight, episode 14 aired on March 27, 1959). The Restless Gun pilot was based on the radio series The Six Shooter, and Payne's character had the same name, Britt Ponset, as the radio character; that name was changed to Vint Bonner when the actual series began, possibly to prevent confusion with Bret Maverick in Maverick, which debuted in 1957. The same year, Jacques Tourneur directed one episode, "Outlaw's Boots" (25 min), broadcast in December 1957. For the 1958-1959 season, the series alternated weeks with the Lux Playhouse.
An episode of the series also was the pilot for China Smith.[2]
Child actor Michael Winkelman, later of The Real McCoys, also appeared twice, as Joey Harlow in the 1955 episode "Fast Break" and as Jimmy Quinlin in the 1956 segment "Weapon of Courage."
Phyllis Avery appeared six times, including the episodes "The Girl Who Scared Men Off" and "Bluebeard's Seventh Wife".
Walter Coy appeared four times, including the role of Paul Hunter in "Fool Proof" in 1956.
Dayton Lummis appeared as editor Cartwright in "The Last Pilot Schooner" and as Arthur Healy in "Ambitious Cop" (both 1955). Tyler MacDuff made his television debut in the 1954 episode "At the Natchez Inn".
In 1958, Paul Monash won an Emmy Award for Best Teleplay Writing - One Hour or Less for the episode "The Lonely Wizard".[4] In 1954, Billboard ranked it sixth-best filmed network dramatic series; it received 264 votes, compared to 826 votes for list-topping Ford Theater, but well ahead of the series at 10th place, Revlon Mirror Theater, which only got 35 votes.[5]
Summer reruns
Episodes of the series were rerun during the summer under several titles. In 1958, repeats aired for two months as Adorn Playhouse. In 1960 and 1961, the summer reruns aired as Adventure Theater.[4]
Episodes
Season 1 (1951-52)
No. overall
No. in season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
TBA
1
"Not a Chance"
Frank Telford
Story by : Teleplay by : Thomas W. Phipps
October 5, 1951 (1951-10-05)
TBA
2
"The Name Is Bellingham"
Unknown
Story by : Teleplay by :
October 12, 1951 (1951-10-12)
TBA
3
"Never Wave at a WAC"
William H. Brown Jr.
Story by : William Dozier Teleplay by : Don Mankiewicz
Story by : Milo Wood Teleplay by : Donald S. Sanford
September 12, 1958 (1958-09-12)
TBA
2
"Kinsman"
Jules Bricken
Story by : Teleplay by : Tom Seller
September 19, 1958 (1958-09-19)
TBA
3
"A Thing To Fight For"
John Brahm
Story by : Wyatt Blassingame Teleplay by : Paul Monash
September 26, 1958 (1958-09-26)
TBA
4
"The Hasty Hanging"
John Brahm
Story by : Teleplay by : Charles Larson
October 10, 1958 (1958-10-10)
TBA
5
"The Trouble With Ruth"
John Brahm
Story by : Henry Slesar Teleplay by : Jameson Brewer
October 24, 1958 (1958-10-24)
TBA
6
"False Impression"
Don Medford
Story by : Teleplay by : Jameson Brewer
November 7, 1958 (1958-11-07)
TBA
7
"The Last Edition"
John Brahm
Story by : Teleplay by : Helen Cooper & Irving H. Cooper
November 21, 1958 (1958-11-21)
TBA
8
"Third Son"
Unknown
Story by : Ernest Haycox Teleplay by : Tom Seller
December 5, 1958 (1958-12-05)
TBA
9
"No Answer"
Arthur Hiller
Story by : Theodore Sturgeon Teleplay by : Tom Seller
December 19, 1958 (1958-12-19)
TBA
10
"A Fistful Of Love"
Allen H. Miner
Story by : Teleplay by : Allen H. Miner
January 2, 1959 (1959-01-02)
TBA
11
"You Can’t Win'em All"
David Butler
Story by : Mac Shoub Teleplay by : Charles Larson
January 16, 1959 (1959-01-16)
TBA
12
"And Practically Strangers"
Jules Bricken
Story by : Robert Bristow Teleplay by : Halsey Melone
January 30, 1959 (1959-01-30)
TBA
13
"The Man Who Had No Friends"
Anton M. Leader
Story by : Hugh Pentecost Teleplay by : Tom Seller
February 13, 1959 (1959-02-13)
TBA
14
"On The Brink"
Sidney Lanfield
Story by : James Yaffe Teleplay by : Kathleen Hite
February 27, 1959 (1959-02-27)
TBA
15
"Ivy League"
Richard Whorf
Story by : Jameson Brewer Teleplay by : Everett Freeman
March 13, 1959 (1959-03-13)
TBA
16
"The Salted Mine"
James Nielson
Story by : Teleplay by : Frank Gruber
March 27, 1959 (1959-03-27)
TBA
17
"The Rumor"
Richard Haydn
Story by : Erskine Caldwell Teleplay by : Everett Greenbaum and Fritzell Greenbaum
June 5, 1959 (1959-06-05)
TBA
18
"Hostage"
John Brahm
Story by : Teleplay by : Tom Seller
June 19, 1959 (1959-06-19)
TBA
19
"Cowboy Five Seven"
James Stewart
Story by : Teleplay by : Beirne Lay Jr.
July 17, 1959 (1959-07-17)
TBA
20
"A Ballad to Die By"
Robert M. Leeds
Story by : Roy Chanslor Teleplay by : Otis Carney
July 31, 1959 (1959-07-31)
Production
In April 1957 Schlitz extended its contract with Revue Productions, agreeing to pay approximately $2 million for 40 episodes. The increased budget enabled Revue to seek top-name stars for the series. Jules Bricken and Frank P. Rosenberg were the producers.[7]
Sale
CBS-TV bought the negative rights to 104 episodes of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars for about $1.2 million in 1957 with RKO Teleradio serving as an intermediary between the network and Meridian Productions. CBS tried to buy the property outright, but Meridian wanted payments spread over 10 years, and the network did not want a long-term commitment. RKO Teleradio solved the problem by accepting the short-term payment from CBS and, in turn, paying 10 percent to Meridian each year for a decade.[8]
^ abBrooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN978-0-345-49773-4.
^Inc, Nielsen Business Media (31 July 1954). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^"The Show-Makers". Motion Picture Daily. January 16, 1956. p. 12. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
