Search - Golden Age Theater - Volumes 1-6 (6-DVD) on DVD

Electric Playhouse Cavalcade of Reader's Story

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 03/17/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"TV GOLDEN AGE THEATER, Vols. 1-6 offers 24 examples of five different half-hour TV drama series from the 1950s.

THE PROGRAMS--

CAVALCADE OF AMERICA-- DuPont brought their long-running radio show to TV in October of 1952 for five seasons on the NBC network. Widely considered one of the best anthology series of its day, "Cavalcade" featured true stories of Americans both famous and obscure.

FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE-- Ran from Sept. '52 to July '56 on the CBS network. The program had a regular rotation of four stars (thus the name). They were: Dick Powell, David Niven, Charles Boyer and Ida Lupino.

GENERAL ELECTRIC THEATER-- This show aired for 10 seasons (from 2/1/53 to 9/1/62) on the CBS network and was hosted by Ronald Reagan, who also appeared occasionally as part of an episode's cast.

THE STAR AND THE STORY-- A syndicated anthology series hosted by Henry Fonda. It ran for two seasons, starting in Jan '55.

TV READER'S DIGEST-- Series presented stories based on true events. The program aired on ABC from Jan '55 to July '56. The host was Hugh Reilly.


PASSPORT's GOLDEN AGE OF TV DRAMA would be a good supplement to this DVD box. It contains 15 programs not in this collection.


For synopses of all episodes, see my reviews of each individual volume.
Details below include episode and season numbers, original airdates and featured actors.

VOLUME #1 ("General Electric Theater," season #4)--
(#75) Feathertop (12/4/55) - Natalie Wood/John Carlyle/Carleton Carpenter
(#99) The Golden Key - Joe E. Brown/Kenny Delmar/Van Dyke Parks
(#86) The Honest Man (2/19/56) - Jack Benny/Charles Bronson/Zsa Zsa Gabor/Jack LaRue
(#77) Let it Rain (12/18/55) - Ronald Reagan/Cloris Leachman

VOLUME TWO ("General Electric Theater," season #4)--
(#92) The Easter Gift (4/1/56) - Macdonald Carey/Robin Lawson/Michael Allen/Edward Brian
(#80) Estaban's Legacy (1/8/56) - Ricardo Montalban/David Colmans/Sid Cassel
(#98) The Hat With Roses (5/20/56) - Gisele MacKenzie/Margaret Barker/Joseph Sullivan
(#83) In Summer Promise (1/29/56) - Joan Fontaine/Scott Marlowe/Betsy Palmer

VOLUME THREE--
(#55) The Adolescent ("Four Star Playhouse") (S.3, 10/28/54) - Ida Lupino/Hugh Beaumont/John Doucette
(_#1) The Golden Junkman ("Telephone Time") (S.1, 4/8/56) - Lon Chaney Jr./Leslie Dennison/Corey Allen
(#30) The Brainwashing of John Hayes ("TV Reader's Digest") (S.2, 11/7/55) - Vincent Price/Steven Geray
(#22) A Place of His Own ("Four Star Playhouse") (S.2, 10/8/53) - Charles Boyer/Ralph Moody/Jeanette Nolan/Ellen Corby

VOLUME FOUR--
(#10) America's First Great Lady ("TV Reader's Digest") (S.1, 3/21/55) - Gloria Talbott/John Stephenson/Richard Ney
(.#1) Dark Stranger ("The Star and the Story") (S.1, 1/8/55) - Edmond O'Brien/Joanne Woodward
(#41) Payment in Kind ("The Star and the Story") (S.2, 1/28/56) - Howard Duff/Beverly Garland/Hal March
(#71) The Wild Bunch ("Four Star Playhouse") (S.3, 2/17/55) - Charles Boyer/Natalie Wood/Barbara Stuart/Tommy Cook

VOLUME FIVE ("Four Star Playhouse")--
(_#34) House For Sale (S.2, 12/31/53) - Ida Lupino/George Macready/Howard Negley
(__#9) Man on the Train (S.1, 1/15/53) - David Niven/Alan Napier/Gordon Richards
(_#11) Sound Off, My Love (S.1, 2/12/53) - Merle Oberon/Barbara Billingsley/James Seay
(#112) The Story of Emily Cameron (S.4, 3/29/56) - Ida Lupino/Scott Forbes/Arthur Space

VOLUME SIX--
(_#41) The Bomb ("Four Star Playhouse) (S.2, 2/18/54) - David Niven/John Dehner/Anthony Marsh
(#103) The Boy Nobody Wanted (Cavalcade of America") (S.4, 5/29/56) - Johnny Crawford/Virginia Gregg/James Nolan
(#127) Don Marshall's Brat ("Cavalcade of America") (S.5, 3/19/57) - Russell Johnson/Patty McCormack/Paul Fix
(_#37) A String of Beads ("Four Star Playhouse") (S.2, 1/21/54) - Angela Lansbury/George Macready/Nigel Bruce/Ronald Colman (host)"

Interesting vintage TV

Michael Eldicott | Cyprus,ex. UK | 07/31/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"24 teleplays from the 1950s, each lasting about 25 mins., are presented on 6 discs. The first disc is a waste of time, the video quality being very poor and the stories uninteresting, but the rest are worthwile with video quality ranging from acceptable to good and interesting stories with a wide range of themes from Pocohontas to being trapped in a room with an unexploded bomb, from being alone in a house with a homicidal maniac to a Mexican villager hiding the secret of his unwillingness to work. Presumably a legacy of radio, where drama was popular, the productions have a certain stagey feel, which however does not detract from the excellence of their production, scripting and casting. The principal actors read like a Hollywood who's who including Angela Lansbury, David Niven, Howard Duff, Charles Boyer, Natalie Wood, Edmond O'Brien, Joanne Woodward, Ida Lupino, Vincent Price, Lon Chaney, Joan Fontaine, Macdonald Carey, Ricrado Montalban. The packaging is poor, each disc in it's own case, which takes up shelf space (couldn't they have used a multidisc case or better still slimline cases with a slipcase, which you don't get?). This collection would warrant 5 stars with a better selection on disc one and better packaging but even discounting disc one, you still get 5 discs for $30. PS: if you already have the Four Star Playhouse DVDs, you should note that a few films are duplicated: see list in other review."