7 /10 1 Votes
5.3/10 TV Presented by Joel Aldrich Original language(s) English First episode date 21 September 1954 Number of seasons 4 | 8.8/10 IMDb Also known as ''Heinz Studio 57'' Country of origin United States Camera setup Single-camera Final episode date 1958 Genre Anthology series | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Directed by David Butler
John Brahm
Herschel Daugherty
Peter Godfrey
Richard Irving
Phil Karlson
James Neilson
Ozzie Nelson
Don Weis Networks Broadcast syndication, DuMont Television Network Directors David Butler, John Brahm, Herschel Daugherty, Peter Godfrey, Phil Karlson, James Neilson, Ozzie Nelson, Don Weis Similar The Star and the Story, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Ford Theatre, Fireside Theatre, State Trooper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Studio 57 (also known as Heinz Studio 57) is an American anthology series that was broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from September 1954 to July 1955, and in syndication from 1955 to 1958.
Contents
"It's a Small World", the pilot episode of the series Leave It to Beaver, was broadcast on the show on April 23, 1957.
Overview
The program was a filmed anthology television series sponsored by Heinz 57 and produced by Revue Studios. The program aired on the DuMont network from September 21, 1954 to July 26, 1955, making it "one of the last regularly-scheduled series ever carried on the crumbling DuMont network". (Only What's the Story and boxing matches aired on DuMont afterwards). Studio 57 aired in first-run syndication from September 1955 to 1958.
The series was exported to Australia during the late 1950s under the title Whitehall Playhouse. Since some of the episodes shown there were DuMont-aired episodes, this makes Studio 57 the only DuMont show to be broadcast outside of North America. The series began airing in Australia in late 1956, during the first few months of television in that country, continuing for several years, and eventually including episodes of other American anthology series such as The Star and the Story.
Cast
The series featured many established actors, including Robert Armstrong, Jean Byron, Lon Chaney Jr., Andy Clyde, Carolyn Jones, Brian Keith, Charles Coburn, Olive Sturgess, Peter Lawford, Mike Connors, Jane Darwell, Joanne Dru, Peter Graves, Vivi Janiss, Keenan Wynn, Keye Luke, and DeForest Kelley.
Criticism
Television historians Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh describe the scripts for Studio 57 as bland. Ailing DuMont lacked the budgets of CBS or NBC, and hence relied on cost-cutting measures, including hiring then-unknown actors to star in their series such as Hugh O'Brian and Natalie Wood.