{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox television | image = | caption = | genre = Anthology Drama | director = Sobey Martin | presenter = Arthur Shields | narrator = Arthur Shields | producer = Marshall Grant<br>Stanley Rubin | writer = Walter Doniger | starring = | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = 1 | num_episodes = 26 | runtime = 26 mins. (approx) | channel = NBC Television | first_aired = {{start date|1949|1|21}} | last_aired = {{end date|1949|7|15}} }}
'''''Your Show Time''''' is an American anthology drama series that debuted on NBC Television on the East Coast in September 1948{{Citation needed |date=August 2023}} and then on both the East and the West Coast, as a network show, on January 21, 1949.<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= 938|edition=4th}}</ref>
The show was produced by Marshall Grant/Realm Productions and was hosted by Arthur Shields.<ref name="tt" />
==Production background== Filmed by Grant Productions at Hal Roach Studios, ''Your Show Time'' was American television's first dramatic series to be shot on film instead of being aired on live television or as a kinescope. The series ''Public Prosecutor'' was produced on film in 1947–48, for a planned September 1948 debut, but remained unaired until DuMont aired that series in 1951–52.<ref>Stanley Rubin, "[http://journals.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Journals.woa/2/xmlpage/4/article/312 A (Very) Personal History of the First Sponsored Film Series on National Television]", ''E-Media Studies'', vol. 1, issue 1 (2008). The filmed series ''Public Prosecutor'' was produced earlier, but broadcast on DuMont later.</ref>
In 1949, the number of television sets in American households was till quite small. By shooting on film, it was feasible for the producers to increase their audience with theatrical releases.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Napier |first=Alan |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Not_Just_Batman_s_Butler/KUbJCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 |title=Not Just Batman's Butler: The Autobiography of Alan Napier |last2=Bigwood |first2=James |date=2015-10-08 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-6287-9 |pages=286 |language=en}}</ref>
The series was sponsored by the American Tobacco Company for Lucky Strike cigarettes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gianakos |first=Larry James |url= |title=Television Drama Series Programming: A Comprehensive Chronicle, 1947-1959 |date=1980 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-0-8108-1330-4 |pages=218 |language=en}}</ref>
==Synopsis== The show featured half-hour dramatizations of stories by renowned authors such as Guy de Maupassant, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, Victor Hugo, Robert Louis Stevenson, Frank Stockton, and Mark Twain. Other episodes were adapted from chapters of novels, such as ''The Bishop's Experiment'', an adaptation of the section featuring the bishop in Victor Hugo's ''Les Misérables'' with Leif Erickson as Jean Valjean. An adaptation of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" marked one of the earliest known television appearances of Sherlock Holmes.
Each episode opened in an old bookshop where host Arthur Shields was seated behind an old desk, from which he introduced that evening's story.<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacGregor |first=David |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sherlock_Holmes_The_Hero_With_a_Thousand/m2N2EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 |title=Sherlock Holmes - The Hero With a Thousand Faces: Volume 2 |date=2022-06-22 |publisher=Andrews UK Limited |isbn=978-1-78705-655-8 |pages=139 |language=en}}</ref>
==Cast== The show featured appearances by such actors as Julie Adams, Robert Alda, Evelyn Ankers, Morris Carnovsky, Melville Cooper, Reginald Denny, William Frawley, Eva Gabor, Hurd Hatfield, Hugo Haas, Sterling Holloway, Marjorie Lord, Alan Napier, Dan O'Herlihy, Eve Miller, Gene Reynolds, and Selena Royle.
==Critical reception== A review of "The Diamond Necklace" episode in the trade publication ''Variety'' found it to be "not good television" and "a dull half-hour."<ref name=v>{{cite magazine |date=January 26, 1949 |page=36 |title=Your Show Time |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety173-1949-01/page/n435/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=January 14, 2023}}</ref> The review noted that a long commercial and a long introduction by the narrator took up almost five minutes before the first dialog was heard. In addition to that "deadly beginning", it said that the rest of the episode offered "little action".<ref name="v" />
''Your Show Time'' is notable for being the first series to win an Emmy Award.<ref name="Brooks/Marsh">{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |author-link1=Tim Brooks (television historian) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Your+Show+Time+Dramatic+Anthology%22&pg=PA1561 |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle |date=2007 |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4 |edition=9th |location=New York |page=1561 |access-date=2026-01-03}}</ref> The 1949 episode "The Necklace", produced by Stanley Rubin, won the Emmy Award as Outstanding Made For Television Movie.<ref>{{cite web |title=("Your Show Time" search results) |url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/award-search?search_api_views_fulltext=Your+Show+Time&submit=Search&field_celebrity_details_field_display_name=&field_show_details_field_nominee_show_nr_title=&field_show_details_field_network=All&field_show_details_field_production_company=All&field_nominations_year=1949-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_nominations_year_1=2017-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_award_category=All |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006024832/http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/award-search?search_api_views_fulltext=Your+Show+Time&submit=Search&field_celebrity_details_field_display_name=&field_show_details_field_nominee_show_nr_title=&field_show_details_field_network=All&field_show_details_field_production_company=All&field_nominations_year=1949-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_nominations_year_1=2017-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_award_category=All |archive-date=6 October 2017 |access-date=6 October 2017 |website=EMMYS |publisher=Television Academy}}</ref>
==Sale== In January 1950 Jerry Fairbanks Inc. bought "full rights for television, films and allied media" for the 26 episodes of ''Your Show Time''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fairbanks acquires film series |url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele05ross/page/n170/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=June 24, 2022 |work=Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index |date=January 29, 1950 |page=4}}</ref>
==Preservation status== 25 episodes survive at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.<ref>[https://search.library.ucla.edu/discovery/search?query=any,contains,%22Your%20Show%20Time%22,AND&query=any,contains,%22Story%20theatre%22,AND&tab=Articles_books_more_slot&search_scope=ArticlesBooksMore&vid=01UCS_LAL:UCLA&mode=advanced&offset=0&searchInFulltext=false Story Theatre archives at the UCLA Library]</ref>
==Episodes== {{Episode table |background = #005F6C |overall= |title= |airdate= |episodes= {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 1 |Title = The Necklace |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|01|21}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Guy de Maupassant story {{Episode cast}} John Beal |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 2 |Title = The Sire de Maletroit's Door |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|01|28}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson story {{Episode cast}} Dan O'Herlihy, Morris Carnovsky, Allene Roberts |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 3 |Title = Mademoiselle Fifi |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|02|04}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Guy de Maupassant story {{Episode cast}} Hurd Hatfield, Roman Bohnen, Jeanne Page, Frank Reicher, Jay Adler, Tannis Chandler |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 4 |Title = The Mummy's Foot |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|02|11}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Theophile Gautier story {{Episode cast}} Phyllis Coates, Peggy Dow, J. Edward Bromberg, Herbert Anderson, Hand Henry |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 5 |Title = The Substitute |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|02|18}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}} Robert Alda, Suzanne Dalbert |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 6 |Title = The Invisible Wound |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|02|25}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}} Reginald Denny, Maria Palmer |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 7 |Title = Capture |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|03|04}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Henry C. Bunner story {{Episode cast}} Jeanne Cagney, Sterling Holloway, Housely Stevenson, Richard Travis |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 8 |Title = The Real Thing |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|03|11}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Henry James story {{Episode cast}} John Archer, Marjorie Lord |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 9 |Title = The Treasure of Franchard |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|03|18}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}} Alan Reed, Selena Royle, Dan Seymour |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 10 |Title = The Adventure of the Speckled Band |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|03|25}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Arthur Conan Doyle story {{Episode cast}} Alan Napier, Melville Cooper, Evelyn Ankers |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 11 |Title = The Tenor |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|04|01}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Henry C. Bunner story {{Episode cast}} Hugo Haas, Carol Brennan, Lee Patrick, Betty Adams |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 12 |Title = The Manchester Marriage |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|04|08}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}} Jan Clayton, Richard Travis |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 13 |Title = The Lady, or the Tiger? |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|04|15}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Frank Stockton story {{Episode cast}} Leif Erickson, Eve Miller, William Frawley, Peggy Knudsen |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 14 |Title = A Confession on New Year's Eve |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|04|22}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}} John Archer, Stanley Waxman |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 15 |Title = The Mysterious Picture |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|04|29}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}} Marc Daniels, Hugo Haas, Mark Stevens |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 16 |Title = An Old, Old Story |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|05|06}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}} Eric Blore, Selena Royle |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 17 |Title = The Marquise |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|05|13}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}} Elizabeth Fraser, Leif Erickson |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 18 |Title = The Million Pound Bank Note |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|05|20}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}} Ross Ford, Paula Raymond |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 19 |Title = Birthday of the Infants |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|05|27}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}}} Gene Reynolds, Frank Wilcox, Gloria Holden |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 20 |Title = Why Thomas Was Discharged |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|06|03}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}}} Marc Daniels, Marcia Jones, Gil Stratton Jr., Tom Stevenson |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 21 |Title = The Bishop's Experiment |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|06|10}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}}} Leif Erickson, Ludwig Donath |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 22 |Title = The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|06|17}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}}} Kristine Miller, Kirby Grant |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 23 |Title = An Only Son |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|06|24}} |ShortSummary = {{Episode cast|hr=n}}} Richard Crane, Judy Sochor |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 24 |Title = Colonel Starbottle for the Plaintiff |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|07|01}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Bret Harte story {{Episode cast}} Robert Warwick |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 25 |Title = Cricket on the Hearth |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|07|08}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Charles Dickens story {{Episode cast}} Heather Wilde, Thomas P. Dillon |LineColor = #005F6C }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 26 |Title = A Lodging for the Night |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1949|07|15}} |ShortSummary = Adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson story {{Episode cast}} Stanley Waxman, Eva Gabor |LineColor = #005F6C }} }}
==Awards== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" |- ! Year ! Award ! Result ! Category ! Notes |- | 1950 ||Emmy Award || '''Won''' || Best Film Made for Television || For episode "The Necklace" |- |}
==See also== *1948-49 United States network television schedule
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0041076}} *[http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/YourShowTime.htm ''Your Show Time'' at CTVA with cast list for each episode] *{{Internet Archive short film|id=TheAdventuresOfTheSpeckledBand|name=Ep. 10 The Adventure of the Speckled Band}} *[https://vintage45.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/your-show-time-1949/ Vintage 45's Blog] * YouTube uploads of episodes from ''Your Show Time'': "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi3DnPbBiwQ The Adventure of the Speckled Band]", "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnQzbCPxg2c The Mummy's Foot]"
Category:1940s American anthology television series Category:1949 American television series debuts Category:1949 American television series endings Category:1940s American drama television series Category:Black-and-white American television shows Category:NBC television dramas Category:English-language American television shows