The United States Steel Hour is ananthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by theUnited States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel).
The series originated on radio in the 1940s asTheatre Guild on the Air. Organized in 1919 to improve the quality of American theater, theTheatre Guild first experimented with radio productions inTheatre Guild Dramas, a CBS series which ran from December 6, 1943 to February 29, 1944.
Actress-playwright Armina Marshall (1895–1991), a co-administrator of the Theatre Guild, headed the Guild's newly created Radio Department, and in 1945,Theatre Guild on the Air embarked on its ambitious plan to bring Broadway theater to radio with leading actors in major productions. It premiered September 9, 1945 on ABC withBurgess Meredith,Henry Daniell and Cecil Humphreys inWings Over Europe, a play by Robert Nichols and Maurice Browne which the Theatre Guild had staged on Broadway in 1928–29.[1]
Within a year the series drew 10 to 12 million listeners each week. Presenting both classic and contemporary plays, the program was broadcast for eight years before it became a television series.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a musical production forThe United States Steel Hour on November 20, 1957, with (l to r)Jimmy Boyd,Basil Rathbone,Jack Carson.
The television version aired from October 27, 1953, to 1955 onABC, and from 1955 to 1963 onCBS. Like its radio predecessor, it was a live dramatic anthology series. Although episodes were normally dramatic productions, the series occasionally presented a musical program[4] or a comedy.[5]
While most episodes were broadcast live, some were taped. At least one combined the methods, as on April 6, 1960,Robert Loggia had three roles in an episode. The segments in which he played a 45-year-old man and his 22-year-old son were done live, while between them the segment in which he portrayed an 80-year-old uncle was on tape.[6]
By its final year in 1963, it was the last surviving live anthology series from theGolden Age of Television. It was still on the air during PresidentJohn F. Kennedy's famous April 11, 1962, confrontation with steel companies over the hefty raising of their prices. The show featured a range of television acting talent, and its episodes explored a wide variety of contemporary social issues, from the mundane to the controversial.[citation needed]
On ABC the program was broadcast from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. on alternate Tuesdays. Episodes were distributed live on 76 network affiliates and bykinescope on 31 others. The latter status caused a problem because "The television rights to a story property cannot be obtained in certain cases if the program is to be televised in some areas by delayed film broadcasts."[18] During its first season on television, the program alternated bi-weekly withThe Motorola Television Hour,[19] which was replaced byCenter Stage June 1, 1954 - September 21, 1954.[20]The Elgin Hour became the alternate program in October 1954.[21]
NBC and CBS tried to obtain the series, and CBS succeeded with the ability to have it carried live on 115 affiliates. The series's last ABC broadcast was on June 21, 1955. Its CBS debut was at 10 p.m. E. T. on July 6, 1955,[18] alternating withFront Row Center.[13] In later years it alternated withArmstrong Circle Theatre.[22] It ended on June 12, 1963.[23]
The Theatre Guild supervised production of the TV series. Executive producers included Marshall Jamison.[149] Producers includedGeorge Kondolf.[22] Episodes on ABC were produced at ABC Television Center on West 66th Street in New York.[13] Broadcasts originated fromWABC-TV.[11]
The March 15, 1955, episode ("No Time for Sergeants") was the show's first presentation before a live studio audience. A network representative said that the change should "engender honest laughter".[151]
"P. O. W.", the series's premiere episode, was used to help American armed forces personnel who had problems as they returned from fighting in Korea. At the request of theUnited States Department of Defense, ABC provided a film of the live broadcast to be used as a training film.[152]
A "full-blown West End presentation ofWho's Earnest" was produced in London in 1957.[154] The musical was an adaptation of the October 9, 1957,Steel Hour episode.[154]
The script for "Welcome Home" (March 16, 1954) was developed into a full-length play for stage performances.[155]
Rod Serling was not regarded as a controversial scriptwriter until he contributed toThe United States Steel Hour, as he recalled in his collectionPatterns (1957):
In the television seasons of 1952 and 1953, almost every television play I sold to the major networks was "non-controversial". This is to say that in terms of their themes they were socially inoffensive, and dealt with no current human problem in which battle lines might be drawn. After the production ofPatterns, when my things were considerably easier to sell, in a mad and impetuous moment I had the temerity to tackle a theme that was definitely two-sided in its implications. I think this story is worth repeating.
The script was calledNoon on Doomsday. It was produced by the Theatre Guild onThe United States Steel Hour in April 1956. The play, in its original form, followed very closely theTill case in Mississippi, where a young Negro boy was kidnapped and killed by two white men who went to trial and were exonerated on both counts. The righteous and continuing wrath of the Northern press opened no eyes and touched no consciences in the little town in Mississippi where the two men were tried. It was like a cold wind that made them huddle together for protection against an outside force which they could equate with an adversary. It struck me at the time that the entire trial and its aftermath was simply "They're bastards, but they're our bastards." So I wrote a play in which my antagonist was not just a killer but a regional idea. It was the story of a little town banding together to protect its own against outside condemnation. At no point in the conception of my story was there a black-white issue. The victim was an old Jew who ran a pawnshop. The killer was a neurotic malcontent who lashed out at something or someone who might be materially and physically the scapegoat for his own unhappy, purposeless, miserable existence. Philosophically I felt that I was on sound ground. I felt that I was dealing with a sociological phenomenon—the need of human beings to have a scapegoat to rationalize their own shortcomings.
Noon on Doomsday finally went on the air several months later, but in a welter of publicity that came from some 15,000 letters and wires fromWhite Citizens' Councils and the like protesting the production of the play. In news stories, the play had been erroneously described as "The story of the Till case". At one point earlier, during an interview on the Coast, I told a reporter from one of the news services the story ofNoon on Doomsday. He said, "Sounds like the Till case." I shrugged it off, answering, "If the shoe fits..." This is all it took. From that moment onNoon on Doomsday was the dramatization of the Till case. And no matter how the Theatre Guild or the agency representing U.S. Steel denied it, the impression persisted. The offices of the Theatre Guild, on West 53rd Street in New York City, took on all the aspects of a football field ten seconds after the final whistle blew.[156]
A review of the broadcast inThe New York Times said, "Mr. Serling grappled with a potentially compelling theme —how the narrow-mindedness of a small town led members of the community to forgo principle."[66] To do so, the review said, "Serling indulged in a succession of rather implausible events and then coated them with so much emotion that his work seemed artificially supercharged instead of genuinely powerful."[66] It added that the episode's characters emerged as stereotypes more than "as people of persuasive dimension".[66]
Theater Guild on the Air won aPeabody Award for drama in 1947.[157]The United States Steel Hour wonEmmys in 1954 for Best Dramatic Program and Best New Program. The following year it won an Emmy for Best Dramatic Series, andAlex Segal was nominated for Best Direction. It received eight Emmy nominations in 1956, then one nomination for the years 1957, 1959, and 1961.[158] In 1962, the episode "The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon" was nominated for theHugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.[159] The program wonTV Guide's Gold Medal Award for 1953-54 as one of three programs "honored for their outstanding achievement, initiative and enterprise and their major contributions to the industry".[160]Gracie Fields won a 1956Sylvania Award for her performance in "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals".[161]
^Holland, Joan (August 27, 1955). "TV-TV Film Reviews: Janice Rule Excels 'Steel Hour' Script".The Billboard. p. 8.ProQuest1040080732.(CBS-TV, 10-11 p.m., EDT, August 17) [...]James Daly did what he could with the role of the bottle-happy first mate, and Henry Hull put a lot of heart into the captain determined to go down with his ship [...] Barbara O'Neill and Jane Seymour made a fine determined mother and grandmother team with Jamie Smith coming over well as a likable solid-type fiance.
^"Radio-TV Notes".The New York Times. May 19, 1954. p. 43. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2025.
^Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999).The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 169.ISBN0-345-42923-0.
^"Tue November 24".TV Guide. November 20, 1953. p. A-36. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
^"Tue Dec. 8".TV Guide. December 4, 1953. p. A-35. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
^"Tue Dec. 22".TV Guide. December 18, 1953. p. A-35. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
^"Television: Television Features".New York Daily News. January 5, 1954. p. 44.ProQuest2291771621.9:30 P. M. — 7 Theatre Guild: Tallulah Bankhead, Luther Adler, John Baragrey, Eugenia Rawls in 'Hedda Gabler.'
^"Tue March 30".TV Guide. March 26, 1954. p. A-36. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
^"Tuesday April 13".TV Guide. April 9, 1954. p. A-23. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
^Chan. (May 5, 1954). "Televison Reviews: Tele Follow-Up Comments".Variety. p. 27.ProQuest963297410.There's a lot of credit due Patricia Wheel and Paul Newman for giving te love affair subsatnce via some excellent thesping [...] Thomas Mitchell and Dorothy Gish, in the leads,[...] contribut[ed] moving performances. [...] Lois Smith, Jean Dixon, Colin Keith-Johnston, and Addison Richards were excellent.
^"Tuesday May 11".TV Guide. May 7, 1954. p. A-33. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
^"Tuesday May 25".TV Guide. May 21, 1954. p. A-34. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
^"Tuesday June 8".TV Guide. June 4, 1954. p. A-36. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
^Gould, Jack (June 25, 1954). "Television in Review: Kidnapping Challenged as TV Theme -- Use in 'Fearful Decision' at Issue".The New York Times. p. 28.ProQuest113108054."Ralph Bellamy as the distraught parent [...] As the child's uncle who believes the ransom should have been paid, Frank Overton was very good and Frank Wilson, as the family's butler who says a prayer for his employer, was most moving. Others in the supporting company were Meg Mundy, as the child's mother, and George Mitchell, as the understanding police chief.
^Ward, Henry (June 23, 1954)."Steel Hour Production Impressive: Ralph Bellamy Stars in Gripping Drama".The Pittsburgh Press. p. 39. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "Others in the cast included [...] Joey Fallon as the boy, Frank Wilson as Chapman, the butler, and Theodore Newton as the family physician."
^"Tuesday July 6".TV Guide. July 2, 1954. p. A-34. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
^"Tuesday July 20".Ross Reports. July 18, 1954. p. B. RetrievedFebruary 9, 2025.
^"Tuesday August 3".Ross Reports. August 1, 1954. p. B. RetrievedFebruary 9, 2025.
^"Tuesday August 17".TV Guide. August 14, 1954. p. A-34. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
^Chan. (December 14, 1955). "Tele Followup Comment: U.S. Steel Hour".Variety. p. 35.ProQuest1017025061.It was an all-Morley evening, though with generous assists from Ann Todd, Geoffrey Toone, Sally Cooper and Frederick Tozere.
^Herm. (April 18, 1956). "Tele Followup Comment: U.S. Steel Hour".Variety. p. 36.ProQuest962920011.The script had Miss Coca alternating between self-pity and downright unpleasantness in a series of stormy scenes with Jack Klugman, who was effective in the role of her husband. [...] Robert Culp, who played the role of the director, turned in the top performance on the show.
^Shanley, J.P. (April 18, 1956). "TV: Moving Portrayal; Gracie Fields Stars in Play by Barrie".The New York Times. p. 63.ProQuest113580595.Jackie Cooper performed creditably as the soldier who threatened to betray the charwoman for her deception. [...] In secondary roles, Jerome Kilty, as the narrator, and Moyna MacGill, as a Cockney neighbor, were excellent.
^Gould, Jack (September 5, 1956). "TV Review: Waring's 'Musicade' Covers 40 Years".The New York Times. p. 55.ProQuest113738644.Because of a last-minute change of the cast of 'The Five Fathers of Pepi,' presented on the 'United States Steel Hour' last Wednesday evening, this corner inadvertently listed the wrong actor in the part of Pepi. Pepi was played by Miko Oscard, and it was his interpretation that this writer thought 'engaging.'
^"'Little Bullfighter' Captivating Story About Young Dreamer".The Progress-Index. June 1, 1957. p. 2. Retrieved February 20, 2025. "Olga Bellin appeared in the Steel Hour production of 'Survival' and on Broadway in 'A Month in the Country' and 'Protective Custody.'
^"Television: Television Features".Broadcasting Telecasting. May 13, 1957. p. 15.ProQuest1401222180.Cast: Duke Ellington (narrator), Carmen De Lavallade, Talley Beatty, Joya Sherrill, Margaret Tynes, Ozzie Bailey, Duke Ellington orchestra and dancers.
^Harris, Harry (May 13, 1957). "Screening TV: The Little Bullfighter".The Philadelphia Inquirer Public Ledger. p. 18.ProQuest2877739177.Michael Oscard was splendid as the troubled youngster, even if his accent occasionally went askew, and Rip Torn, Olga Bellin, and Nehemiah Persoff contributed performances of equal sincerity.
^"TV DIAL-O-LOGUE".The San Bernardino County Sun. June 5, 1957. p. 10. Retrieved February 25, 2025. "A charming tale of a boy who dreams of the greatest toreador of becoming, Mexico will be presented when "The Little Bullfighter," by Juarez Roberts is aired. Olga Bellin, Mike Oscard, Rip Torn, Nehemiah Persoff, Jose Perez, Jerry Morris, Gene Saks star in the drama."
^Gilb. (April 18, 1956). "Tele Followup Comment: U.S. Steel Hour".Variety. p. 51.ProQuest2338264750.Plotting woman sinisterly played by Dolores del Rio in her live tv debut, cleverly led prosecutor Walter Slezak into the trap. This was all quite obvious despite Apstein's efforts to throw suspicion upon John Baragrey, Miss Del Rio's husband, as intended victim of her machinations. [Slezak performed the role of 'Lord High Executioner' a bit too broadly, while performances of Baragrey as well as supporting cast members Frank Conroy, Jerome Kilty and Alexander Clark, among others, were merely routine.
^Shain, Percy (February 9, 1961). "Night Watch: No Show to Watch With Lights Down Low (U.S. Steel Hour, Ch. 5)".Boston Globe. p. 11.ProQuest605404729.Offbeat casting of Jack Carson and Arlene Francis, usually associated with comedy, in deadly serious roles paid off handsomely. Jack gave a performance of Emmy caliber as the desperate husband. Arlene, outside of a little trouble with her French accent, was every inch the devoted wife. Elizabeth Ashley brought out the callowness of the daughter well. Michael Tolan and Keir Dullea as the hoods; Walter Greaza as an elderly bookkeeper who finally spends his life savings; and Robert Emhardt as a rival contractor, all add strong touches to the picture.
^Shain, Percy (February 9, 1961). "NIGHT WATCH: Shirley Booth Superb In Real Heart-Tugger (U.S. Steel Hour, Ch. 5)".Boston Globe. p. 22.ProQuest275826679.A company of five capable actors helped Shirley score her memorable success. Henderson Forsythe and Flora Campbell were the couple who found it so difficult to 'turn her out to pasture.' William Hansen was the handyman who feigned illness to make her feel sorry for him, and maybe marry him. Elizabeth Wilson was the investigator for the foundling home, who found her tipsy in a terrible scene of frustration. And Suzanne Storrs was the favorite daughter who rescued her, made her feel needed again.
^Shain, Percy (July 13, 1961). "'Watching Out for Dulie' Bright, Sly, Hilarious: Steel Hour, Ch. 5".Boston Globe. p. 29.ProQuest275749768.Larry Blyden and Shari Lewis, twowere just perfect as the two columnists from little old Texas who go to London on a TV junket and wind up in each other's arms. [...] Lloyd Bochner, far from his police inspector's role in 'Hong Kong,' showed a fine' comic flair as the fragile Lord Harton whose face always seemed to be running into Blyden's fist. [...] And Patricia Cutts, as a coquettish actress; Polly Rowles, as a Hedda Hopper type; Walter Greaza, as an apoplectic publisher; Michael Sivy as an ulcerous account executive; and Gerry Mathews as a sort of a parasite, all kept the tale bounding along.
^Shanley, John P. (August 10, 1961). "TV: A Comedy Stealer: Janice Rule With Hope, Moore and Durante; Youngman in Drama".The New York Times. p. 53.ProQuest115484480.Mr. Youngman received helpful support from a cast that included Keir Dullea, Nancy Kovack and Bibi Osterwald.
^Gross, Ben (January 11, 1962). "TV – Radio: What's On? the Next Mrs. F. Sinatra Scores in Como's Show".New York Daily News. p. 70.ProQuest2294020946.Jack Carson as the truck man, Anita Louise as his wife, Keir Dullea as his unpleasant son, Don Ferrone as his likable offspring and Pippa Scott as the daughter gave good performances.
^Shain, Percy (January 10, 1963). "Television Reviews: U.S. STEEL HOUR".Boston Globe. p. 31.ProQuest1017099218.'U.S. Steel Hour' returned for another season on CBS-TV, preeming Wednesday (3) night with a pedestrian telelay by John D. Hess titled, 'The White Lie.'
^"Today's Complete Television Programs: Evening".The Record. October 17, 1962. p. 68.ProQuest2682939609.Kim Hunter in 'Wanted: Someone Innocent'. Rita Fayre wants divorce from ailing husband and settlement — but Julian refuses: Robert Lansing, Diana Hyland.
^"Wednesday October 31: Evening".The Philadelphia Inquirer Public Ledger. October 28, 1962. p. TV5.ProQuest1845500483.Kim Hunter in 'Wanted: Someone Innocent'. Rita Fayre wants divorce from ailing husband and settlement — but Julian refuses: Robert Lansing, Diana Hyland.
^"Wednesday October 31: Evening".The Cocoa Tribune. November 14, 1962. p. 4-B.ProQuest3124373755.
^"Television: Today's Features".The Courier-News. November 28, 1962. p. 59.ProQuest2154897021.Conflicting adults and a young boy affected by their discord are a tense mixture in 'Farewell to Innocence.'
^"Television: Today's Features".Philadelphia Daily News. December 12, 1962. p. 33.ProQuest2068119656.U.S. Steel Hour picks an unusual setting for its drama tonight. 'Big Day for a Scrambler' is set on the professional golfers' tour. It involves the troubles of one veteran pro. James Whitmore plays Arlen Knapp, who has money trouble, back trouble and golfing trouble. The only area where he is satisfied is his home life, because he dearly loves his expectant wife (Patricia Gillette). Now he's involved in a big tournament, and has a chance to win—but his back acts up and he accidentally mis-scores a hole.
^"Television: Highlights and Sports".The Daily Home News. December 26, 1962. p. 37.ProQuest2266669129.The young daughter of a hotelkeeper on the French Riviera becomes disillusioned when she learns the truth about an English family vacationing in a house next to the hotel.
^Shain, Percy (January 10, 1963). "NIGHT WATCH: Elfin Tammy Victim Of Pasted-Up Plot: The Virginian, Ch. 4; Steel Hour, Ch. 5".Boston Globe. p. 31.ProQuest275890534.Elizabeth Ashley (Art Carney's daughter in 'Take Her, She's Mine') was just fine as the schoolteacher, but Keir Dullea botched the starring role of the lawyer in this live production. Cameron Prud'homme, who incidentally played Tammy Grimes' father in 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown,' was a wise old judge here.
^"TV Scout: Tonight's Previews".Philadelphia Daily News. January 23, 1963. p. 27.ProQuest2068089646.Knight is a Scottish girl who dallies briefly with a American officer (Lansing) during World War II. They stop at Cathleen Nesbit's remote inn. In the morning, he tells the girl about his fiancee back home, so she runs out into the path of a buzz bomb.. Years later, Lansing and his wife (Dolores Dorn) revisit inn, now run by Michael Clarke-Lawrence and inhabited by a 'benign ghost.'
^ab"The News of Television: Wednesday Evening".Philadelphia Daily News. January 23, 1963. p. 24.ProQuest2068079023.U. S. Steel Hour – John Colicos, Toby Robin in 'The Troubled Heart'
^"The News of Television: Wednesday Evening".The Record. March 6, 1963. p. 56.ProQuest2683033227.Paul Gardiner, Latin teacher at a private school, was an adopted child who never learned who real parents were. Now snobbish future mother-in-law insists he learn their identities: Charles Aidman, Kathryn Hays
^"TV Tonight".Santa Barbara News-Press. March 6, 1963. p. B-20. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "When Charles Aidman as the teacher goes to private detective Clifton James you know he will wind up blackmailed with the information James learns. You also know Aidman will become haunted by the fact his father was a convicted murderer The best scenes come late in the show when Aidman meets Glenda Farrell, his mother, and begins to understand his heritage a bit better."
^"TV Tonight: Best Bet".Santa Barbara News-Press. March 20, 1963 p. B-20. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "A fine old Booth Tarkington story is the basis for a slow-starting but fast-finishing drama, 'The Secrets of Stella Crozier,' onThe US Steel Hour. Miss Crozier, played by Diana Millay, is one of those willful women who likes to play games with the people around her. These include her father (Frank Overton), Daddy's opera-star girl friend (Patricia Morison) and poor cousin Lucy (Elinor Donahue)."
^"TV Tonight: Best Bet".Ledger-Enquirer. April 3, 1963 p. 15. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "Salome Jens and Robert Horton in 'Mission of Fear'. Marion Hayden, certain that the past died with her first husband, is happily married — until a blackmailer brings the past back to life."
^"Tonight's Television".The Columbia Record. April 17, 1963 p. 4-A. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "A poignant drama about an American Army officer's young son (Royston Thomas), living in West Germany, who discovers a homesick, AWOL soldier (Martin Sheen) hiding the attic of his home, in 'The Soldier Ran Away.' John Beal is the boy's medical officer father."
^"Television Fare for Tonight".The Columbia Record. May 1, 1963 p. 4-A. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "A poignant drama about an American Army officer's young son (Royston Thomas), living in West Germany, who discovers a homesick, AWOL soldier (Martin Sheen) hiding the attic of his home, in 'The Soldier Ran Away.' John Beal is the boy's medical officer father."
^"Television Fare for Tonight".Times Colonist. May 15, 1963. p. 29. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "Jim Bakus, Orson Bean and Fred Gwyne star [sic]. This one's all about intrigue in an Irish marching and chowder band."
^"The Best on TV Today".The Des Moines Register. May 29, 1963 p. 11. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "U. S. STEEL HOUR-'A Taste of Champagne.' (Rerun) Hans Conried is delightful as a long-faithful bookkeeper who steals the payroll and takes off for Paris."
^"The Best on TV Today".Fort Lauderdale News. May 29, 1963 p. 10-C. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "Hans Conried is a bookkeeper who flees to Paris with $5,000 of the company's funds. He leaves behind him a spinsterish co-worker (Alice Ghostley) and meets a flashy gold-digger (Monique Van Vooren) on the plane.
^Shanley, John P. (August 27, 1959). "TV: 'Taste of Champagne': Comedy on 'Steel Hour' Offers Conried in Role of Embezzling Bookkeeper".The New York Times. p. 55.ProQuest114673131.Hans Conried portrayed the absconding bookkeeper in superb style. Monique van Vooren acted, sang, danced and breathed artistically in the role of a dazzling Parisienne. Scott McKay, as a futile sleuth, Alice Ghostley, a feminine sad sack, Diana Millay, a man-wary airline stewardess, and John McGovern, a trusting employer, contributed to what fun there was.
^Schlich, Stephen (1957). "Introduction to the 1957 Bantam paperback "Patterns"".Patterns (Paperback ed.). New York, New York, United States:Bantam Books.
William L. Bird, Jr."Better Living": Advertising, Media, and the New Vocabulary of Business Leadership, 1935–1955. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1999.[ISBN missing]
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