Lux Video Theatre
| Lux Video Theatre | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Anthology |
| Presented by | James Mason (1954-1955) Otto Kruger (1955-1956) Gordon MacRae (1956-1957) Ken Carpenter (1955-1957) |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 9 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 mins. (1950-1954) 60 mins. (1954-1959) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | October 2, 1950 – September 25, 1959 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Lux Radio Theater Lux Playhouse |
Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
Overview
The Lux Video Theatre was a spin-off from the successful Lux Radio Theater series broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934-1935) and CBS (1935–55).
Lux Video Theatre began as a live 30-minute Monday evening CBS series on October 2, 1950, switching to Thursday nights during August, 1951.[1] In September 1953, the show relocated from New York to Hollywood. In August 1954, it moved to NBC as an hour-long show on Thursday nights, telecast until September 12, 1957. With the introduction of the one-hour format and the move to Hollywood, abridged versions of popular films were often used as the basis for shows.
To introduce each act and interview the stars at the conclusion, NBC added a series of regular hosts: James Mason (1954–55), Otto Kruger (1955–56), Gordon MacRae (1956–57) and Ken Carpenter (1955-57). Kruger recalled:
- All I do is come up and tell the people who I am and what we're up to. I don't have a single thing to do with producing, directing or casting the show. Yet I get letters every week complimenting me on my production, my directing, my casting, even my script adaptations.[2]
New episodes were broadcast during the summer as the Summer Video Theatre. In 1957-58, Lux shifted sponsorship to a half-hour musical variety show, The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney.
For the 1958-59 season, the dramatic series was brought back with a new name, Lux Playhouse. The new series alternated weeks with Schlitz Playhouse.
Notable guest stars
Among those cast in the productions were:
- Mary Astor
- Anne Bancroft
- Gene Barry
- Joan Blondell
- Scott Brady
- James Dean
- Melvyn Douglas
- Nelson Eddy
- Janet Gaynor
- Charlton Heston
- Celeste Holm
- Miriam Hopkins
- Ruth Hussey
- Martin Huston
- David Janssen
- Boris Karloff
- Grace Kelly
- Veronica Lake
- Angela Lansbury
- June Lockhart
- Jack Lord
- Dayton Lummis
- Karen Steele
- Jack Lemmon
- Peter Lorre
- Jeanette MacDonald
- Fredric March
- Walter Matthau
- Maureen O'Sullivan
- Vincent Price
- Luise Rainer
- Basil Rathbone
- Ronald Reagan
- Karen Sharpe
- Ann Sheridan
- Sylvia Sidney
- Franchot Tone
- Beverly Washburn
- Esther Williams
- Joanne Woodward
- Teresa Wright
References
- ^ Lux Video Theatre. Radio-TV Mirror. October 1951. pp. 46–49. Retrieved 29 January 2012. (PDF)
- ^ Becker, Christine. It's the Pictures That Got Small: Hollywood Film Stars on 1950s Television. Wesleyan University Press, 2009.
