Underplayed Gems

The Magnavox Theatre

The Magnavox Theatre poster
Country
United States
Length
1 season, 7 episodes
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This is a 1950s American TV anthology series. It alternated weekly with another show and presented adaptations of classic literature as well as original comedies and dramas. Each of the seven hour-long episodes featured a guest star. Some episodes were broadcast live while others were on film.

retrostageyformalepisodicmelodramaticblend of live and filmedlight-heartedclassic literature feelvaried

What happens

Magnavox Theatre is an American television anthology of comedies and dramas that aired seven hour-long episodes on CBS in 1950, alternating weekly with Ford Theatre. The first episodes were live, with filmed episodes later on. Episode six (The Three Musketeers), according to CBS, was the first hour-long film made in Hollywood specifically for television. The film was made by Hal Roach Studios Inc., which also made "The Hurricane at Pilgrim Hill", which was the seventh and final episode, scheduled for broadcast on December 8, 1950. Like its alternate-week counterpart, Magnavox Theatre offered the promise of adaptations of classic literature, novels, and short stories in addition to original dramas. The program was produced by Garth Montgomery. The series was directed by Budd Boetticher and Richard L. Bare. Among its guest stars were Kim Stanley, Robert Clarke, Leslie Nielsen, Marjorie Lord, Dane Clark, Cecil Kellaway, and Edward Everett Horton. A review in The New York Times cited much negative and little positive about the program's second episode, "In the Fog". It ended with an overall opinion of the first two episodes: "A show of this type is supposed to have a little 'oomph.' All that can be said so far is 'humph.'" (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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