Studio One (American TV series)

Fletcher Markle directing CBS Radio's Studio One (1948)

On April 29, 1947, Fletcher Markle launched the 60-minute CBS Radio series with an adaptation of Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano. Broadcast on Tuesdays opposite Fibber McGee and Molly and The Bob Hope Show at 9:30 pm Eastern Time, the radio series continued until July 27, 1948, showcasing such adaptations as Dodsworth, Pride and Prejudice, The Red Badge of Courage and Ah, Wilderness. Top performers were heard on this series, including John Garfield, Walter Huston, Mercedes McCambridge, Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum.

CBS Radio received a Peabody Award for Studio One in 1947, citing Markle's choice of material and the authenticity of his adaptations "in a production, which at its best, is distinguished for its taste, restraint, and radio craftsmanship".[1]

Jackie Gleason in "The Laugh Maker" (1953)

Eddie Albert (third from left) on the set of "1984" (1953), the first screen adaptation George Orwell's novel

Alexander Scourby (right) in "The Night America Trembled" (1957)

In 1948, Markle made a leap from radio to television. Sponsored by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the television series was seen on CBS (which Westinghouse later owned between 1995 and 2000), from 1948 through 1958, under several variant titles: Studio One Summer Theatre, Studio One in Hollywood, Summer Theatre, Westinghouse Studio One and Westinghouse Summer Theatre. It was telecast in black-and-white only.

Offering a wide range of dramas, Studio One received Emmy nominations every year from 1950 to 1958. The series staged some notable and memorable teleplays among its 467 episodes. Some created such an impact, they were adapted into theatrical films. William Templeton's 1953 adaptation of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, starring Eddie Albert as Winston Smith, led to the 1956 feature-film version with Edmond O'Brien in the principal role. Reginald Rose's drama "Twelve Angry Men", about the conflicts of jurors deciding a murder case, originated on Studio One on September 20, 1954; and the 1957 motion picture remake with Henry Fonda was nominated for three Academy Awards. Sal Mineo had the title role in the January 2, 1956, episode of Reginald Rose's "Dino", and he reprised the role for the film Dino (1957).

In 1954, "Crime at Blossoms", scripted by Jerome Ross, was given an Edgar Award for Best Episode in a TV Series. Nathaniel Hawthorne's granddaughter received a plaque in recognition of her grandfather's writing achievements during the April 3, 1950, telecast of The Scarlet Letter. "The Night America Trembled"[2] was Studio One's September 9, 1957, top-rated television recreation of Orson Welles' October 30, 1938, radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds. The cast included Alexander Scourby, Ed Asner (credited as Edward Asner) and Vincent Gardenia; James Coburn (credited as Jim Coburn), Warren Beatty and Warren Oates all made their television debuts in bit parts. John Astin appeared uncredited as a reporter.

Another notable presentation was an adaptation in 1952 of a medieval mystery play about the Nativity of Jesus, "The Nativity", based on the Chester and York Mystery Plays of the 14th and 15th centuries, reworked into Elizabethan English. With musical accompaniment by the Robert Shaw Chorale, and presented during the Christmas season of 1952, it was one of the few medieval mystery plays telecast on commercial network television. The cast included Thomas Hardie Chalmers, Miriam Wolfe, Hurd Hatfield and Paul Tripp.[3]

During the 1953 presentation "Dry Run", whole sections of a submarine were built inside the studio, and the entire cast was nearly electrocuted when water that was being used for special effects got very close to power cables.[4]

Worthington Miner, Martin Manulis and others produced. As the official commercial spokeswoman for Westinghouse, Betty Furness became strongly identified with the Westinghouse products she advertised and demonstrated during the commercial breaks, and she was also seen as an actress in eight Studio One dramas. The show's musical directors were Milton C. Anderson, who also created music for Playhouse 90, and Eugene Cines. The show's musical orchestra was also directed in several episodes during the 1950s by Alfredo Antonini.

The show's run ended when Westinghouse switched its sponsorship to the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, which premiered in 1958.[5] The series finished at number 24 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1950–1951 season.[6]

• Studio One (September 29, 1952): Westinghouse spokeswoman Betty Furness explains UHF and demonstrates the UHF adapter
• Studio One (May 18, 1953): Opening scenes of "The Laughmaker" with Jackie Gleason and Art Carney

• Wisconsin Public Radio; Studio One: Babbitt
• Studio One in the Internet Archive's Old-Time Radio Collection