Matinee Theater
Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1955 to 1958. The series, which ran daily in the afternoon, was frequently live. It was produced by Albert McCleery, Darrell Ross, George Cahan and Frank Price with executive producer George Lowther. McCleery had previously produced the live series Cameo Theatre which introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, TV plays staged with minimal sets. Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse recalled: When Al McCleery got back to the States, he originated a most ambitious theatrical TV series for NBC called Matinee Theater: to televise five different stage plays per week live, airing around noon in order to promote color TV to the American housewife as she labored over her ironing. Al was the producer. He hired five directors and five art directors. Richard Bennett, one of our first early presidents of the Pewter Plough Corporation, was one of the directors and I was one of the art directors and, as soon as we were through televising one play, we had lunch and then met to plan next week’s show. That was over 50 years ago, and I’m trying to think; I believe the TV art director is his own set decorator —yes, of course! It had to be, since one of McCleery’s chief claims to favor with the producers was his elimination of the setting per se and simply decorating the scene with a minimum of props. It took a bit of ingenuity.
Episodes
A man who left his wife and infant son turns up years later. He drops in for a visit at the home of his now-married son and grandchildren. His sudde...
A once successful writer, who now verges on the alcoholic, makes one last attempt to sell his latest work. When this fails, he must decide which is m...
This is the tragic love story of a man and woman who fall in love as youngsters, but each married another.
A young intern tries to convince his fiance she shouldn't have the responsibility of supporting her divorced sister and the sister's child.
An elderly father is being pressured by his family to sell his orange groves to a real estate developer. He resists but starts to reconsider when he c...
During all the years of their married life, Helen has been bullied by her husband Phil--about the neglected house, her ill health and the care of thei...
In a Korean battle five Americans become detached from their company. They take over a hut in which they find and capture two North Korean soldiers, a...
A shy school principal and a rising young attorney are both in love with the same woman. A man who looks a great deal like Abraham Lincoln arrives in...
The daughter and sister of a pretty widown decide to play Cupid. Both want to marry her off to a likely suitor. - Tv Guide
A Polish merchant learns that his teen-age son and daughter have been won over to communism. He laboriously arranges an escape from the country, with...
A beautiful young socialite is found murdered.
A middle-aged bachelor thus far has avoided matrimony. His friends, knowing he is in need of money, arrange a meeting with a prospective bride who mi...
A mother discovers she is falling in love with the man her daughter has married.
A meek little file clerk turns into a veritable tiger when his boss hires an efficiency expert. His file system has worked for 30 years. and he's not...
A husband has definite ideas about bringing up his children. He feels his way of life on an isolated island is better than letting his offspring be s...
Three generations come together to celebrate the grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. During the evening the newly wedded granddaughter insists...
A woman art instructor entering her 30s falls in love with a pupil younger than she. Her overbearing brother tries to convince the woman that the art...
Following the death of her husband, a widow insists on keeping his tailor shop open even though business is falling off. A long-time friend, who has b...
An elderly man of letters supports his orphaned teen-age granddaughter. When he hires a young male secretary, the girl believes she has fallen in love...
A young couple moves into the ground floor apartment of a mansion owned by an elderly woman. The husband at first resents the fact that the old lady i...
A man is determined to prevent his teen-age daughter from leaving home and entering a convent - Tv Guide
This is the well-known story of Biblical times about Ruth, whose devotion to her mother-in-law tkes her into a new land among strangers.
When a confirmed bachelor who owns a restaurant tries to sell his special recipe for a salad dressing, he gets involved with a beautiful girl FBI agen...
A young English couple decide that they will live with the groom's aged mother after the wedding. When the bride puts up her house for sale, her five...
A governess, in love with the father of her charge, is dismayed when she learns the widower is unaware of her feelings and plans to marry another woma...
The idyllic existence of an American college professor, who has moved with his second wife and two children to Mexico, is menaced by the sudden appear...
The fifth wealthiest woman in the world hires detectives to trail her fifth husband and ensure his faithfulness. The husband decides to regain his fr...
A young man is trying to keep up pretenses even though the business he inherited from his father is failing. He is furious when a practical joker at t...
A wealthy industrialist offers to revive the dwindling industry in a small town. In his ruthless business dealings he threatens to ruin the town bank...
A college boy accidentally kills a girl who is trying to blackmail him.
An American divorcee, transplanted to Paris, receives a letter stating that she is about to be visited by a young man who doesn't know she is his moth...
Cast
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