{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox television | image = | caption = | genre = Anthology | creator = | writer = | director = | presenter = | starring = Shirley Jones<br>Alan Hale, Jr. | judges = | voices = | narrator = | theme_music_composer = | open_theme = | composer = | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = | num_episodes = | list_episodes = | executive_producer = | producer = Frank Bunetta | editor = | cinematography = | camera = Single-camera | runtime = 25 minutes | company = | channel = DuMont | first_aired = {{start date|1952|10|03}} | last_aired = {{end date|1953|05|01}} | related = }}
'''''Dark of Night''''' is an American dramatic anthology series that aired on the DuMont Television Network on Fridays at 8:30pm EST<ref name="BM"/> from October 3, 1952, to May 1, 1953.<ref name=tt>{{cite book|last1=McNeil|first1=Alex|title=Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present |date=1996|publisher=Penguin Books USA, Inc.|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-14-02-4916-8|page= 198|edition=4th}}</ref>
The series starred mostly unknown actors. In it, the character known as "The Stranger" traveled to a different site each week in order to solve a crime. Each episode was filmed at a different location in the New York City area. , Locations included a Coca-Cola bottling plant, Brentano's book store in Manhattan, a castle in New Jersey, and the American Red Cross Blood Bank.<ref name="BM">{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle F. |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present |date=2009 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-48320-1 |page=327 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Dark+of+Night%22+Dumont&pg=PA327 |access-date=April 7, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> ''Dark of Night'' was one of the first network dramas to use such locations, which saved money for the network.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Weinstein |first1=David |title=The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television |date=2004 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=978-1-59213-499-1 |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tV7fXlQQdz4C&dq=%22Dark+of+Night%22+Dumont&pg=PA44 |access-date=April 7, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
Actors who performed on the program included Joel Ashley,<ref name="rr 2-29-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele29ross/page/n31/mode/2up?q=%22Joel+ashley%22+%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday February 27"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. February 29, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Raymond Bailey,<ref name="rr 3-15-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele29ross/page/n83/mode/2up?q=%22Joel+ashley%22+%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday March 13"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. March 15, 1953. p. 7. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Martin Balsam,<ref name="rr 12-14-52">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele26ross/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday December 12"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. December 14, 1952. p. 7. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Patricia Barry,<ref name="rr 3-15-53"/> Wolfe Barzell,<ref name="rr 12-14-52"/> Ray Boyle,<ref name="rr 3-15-53"/> Frank Campanella,<ref name="rr 5-3-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele31ross/page/n53/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday May 1"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. May 3, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Flora Campbell,<ref name="rr 12-30-52">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele26ross/page/n9/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday November 28"]. ''Ross Reports''. November 30, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Hal Cooper,<ref name="rr 5-3-53"/> Joe Downing,<ref name="rr 3-22-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele30ross/page/n9/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday March 20"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. March 22, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Bramwell Fletcher,<ref name="rr 10-19-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele25ross/page/n67/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday October 17"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. October 19, 1953. p. 7. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Scott Forbes,<ref>{{cite magazine |date=January 26, 1951 |page=7 |title=Friday January 23 |url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele28ross/page/n12/mode/1up?view=theater |magazine=Ross Reports |access-date=September 11, 2025 }}</ref> Joey Forman,<ref name="rr 10-19-53"/> Joy Geffen,<ref name="rr 11-2-52">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele25ross/page/n119/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday October 31"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. November 2, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Lauren Gilbert,<ref name="rr 12-30-52"/> Bruce Gordon,<ref name="rr 12-30-52"/> Leo Gordon,<ref name="rr 10-12-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele25ross/page/n39/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday October 10"]. October 12, 1953. p. 7. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Sally Gracie,<ref name="rr 4-19-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele31ross/page/n9/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday April 17"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. April 19, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Allan Hale,<ref name="rr 1-25-52">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele28ross/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday January 23"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. January 25, 1952. p. 7. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Peg Hillias,<ref name="rr 5-3-53"/> Betty Lou Holland,<ref name="rr 2-29-53"/> Joseph Holland,<ref name="stal">{{Cite news|title=Television Review: Dark of Night|author=Stal.|date=October 8, 1952|work=Variety|page=38|quote=Grant Sullivan, as the ship' first officer, and Joseph Holland, as the captain, fared best in the cast.|id={{ProQuest|963139195}}}}</ref> Arch Johnson,<ref name="rr 3-22-53"/> Bernard Kates,<ref name="rr 12-14-52"/> Brian Keith (as Robert Keith Jr.),<ref name="rr 4-5-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele30ross/page/n61/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday April 3"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. April 5, 1953. p. 7. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Jack Klugman,<ref name="rr 3-29-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele30ross/page/n35/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday March 27"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. March 29, 1953. p. 7. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Doreen Lang,<ref name="rr 1-11-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele27ross/page/n35/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday January 9"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. January 11, 1953. p. 7.</ref> Will Lee,<ref name="rr 4-26-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele31ross/page/n31/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday April 24"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. April 26, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Paul Lipson,<ref name="rr 4-12-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele30ross/page/n85/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday April 10"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. April 12, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> George Lowther,<ref name="rr 3-15-53"/> Jock MacGregor,<ref name="rr 3-22-53"/> Jack Manning,<ref name="rr 10-12-53"/> Bill McCutcheon,<ref name="rr 2-15-52">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele28ross/page/n93/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday February 13"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. February 15, 1952. p. 8. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Mercer McLeod,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele29ross/page/n57/mode/2up?q=%22Joel+ashley%22+%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday March 6"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. March 8, 1953. p. 8. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> Robert Middleton,<ref name="rr 2-29-53"/> Dick Moore,<ref name="rr 3-22-53"/> Lois Nettleton,<ref name="rr 4-5-53"/> Allen Nourse,<ref name="rr 1-11-53"/> Vince O'Brien,<ref name="rr 1-25-52"/> Judson Pratt,<ref name="rr 3-22-53"/> Logan Ramsey,<ref name="rr 2-15-52"/> Hal Riddle,<ref name="rr 12-30-52"/> Norman Rose,<ref name="rr 10-26-53">[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele25ross/page/n93/mode/2up?q=%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday October 24"]. ''Ross Reports on Television''. October 26, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref> P. Jay Sidney,<ref name="rr 12-14-52"/> Art Smith,<ref name="rr 10-26-53"/> John Stanley,<ref name="rr 1-11-53"/> Rod Steiger,<ref name="rr 4-19-53"/> Harold Stone,<ref name="rr 4-26-53"/> Michael Strong,<ref name="rr 11-2-52"/> Grant Sullivan,<ref name="stal"/> Victor Thorley,<ref name="rr 1-25-52"/> Harry Townes,<ref name="rr 1-11-53"/> Peter Turgeon,<ref name="rr 3-29-53"/> Richard Ward,<ref name="rr 4-12-53"/> and Ruth White.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele29ross/page/n9/mode/2up?q=%22Joel+ashley%22+%22dark+of+night%22 "Friday February 20"]. ''Ross Reports on Television.'' February 22, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved September 11, 2025.</ref>
When the program was canceled, the trade publication ''Variety'' reported that it "had good critical reaction but no sponsor interest".<ref>{{cite magazine |date=April 22, 1953 |page=34 |title=DuM 'Dark of Night' Axed |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety190-1953-04/page/n273/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=September 11, 2025 }}</ref>
==Production== ''Dark of Night'' was broadcast live. Frank Bunetta was the producer and director.<ref name=tt/> Preparation for each episode began with selection of the set to be used. Then a writer was chosen to write a script suited to the set, after which actors were chosen for the cast.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mishkin |first1=Leo |title=Stories Written to Fit Location Are Big Success |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-dark-of-nigh/180839510/ |access-date=September 11, 2025 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=March 20, 1953 |page=36|via = Newspapers.com }}</ref>
==Episode status== Though most episodes of DuMont series were eventually destroyed, the UCLA Film and Television Archive has one episode of ''Dark of Night'', from January 30, 1953.<ref>{{cite web |title=Appendix Five: UCLA |url=https://dumonthistory.com/a5.html |website=DuMont Television Network |publisher=Clarke Ingram |access-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216041927/https://dumonthistory.com/a5.html |archive-date=February 16, 2022}}</ref>
==See also== *List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network *List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts *1952-53 United States network television schedule *[http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/DarkOfNight.htm at CVTA with episode list]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|0324756}} *[https://dumonthistory.com/a1.html DuMont historical website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216055809/https://dumonthistory.com/a1.html |date=February 16, 2009 }} *[http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/DarkOfNight.htm ''Dark of Night'' at CVTA with episode list]
Category:1952 American television series debuts Category:1953 American television series endings Category:1950s American anthology television series Category:1950s American drama television series Category:Black-and-white American television shows Category:DuMont Television Network original programming Category:English-language American television shows Category:Long stubs with short prose