<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television?]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><em>Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Classic TV: The 40s</em></p>
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<p dir="auto"><strong>spqrclaudius</strong> — <em>16 years ago(February 09, 2010 10:04 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">Were there any especially pioneering sitcoms from this time period (or rather sitcom-ancestor)? Any good made for TV teledramas or miniseries?</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/topic/166395/what-were-some-classics-of-1940s-television</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 15 May 2026 09:28:43 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://filmglance.com/discuss/topic/166395.rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:04 GMT</pubDate><ttl>60</ttl><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:30 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Thor-Delta</strong> — <em>12 years ago(July 01, 2013 07:12 AM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">There is a surviving episode of "Eye Witness" from 26 February 1948certainly one of the earliest existing example of U.S. television content!<br />
Though lost now, how about the 1947 BBC production of the play "Rope", a year before the Hitchcock film? Sounds like it could have been a classic. If those original transmission signals are still travelling through space, I hope they recover them some day.<br />
"That coaxial cable looks sensational" - "Oh thank you Harry, but that's stuffed celery"</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393415</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393415</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:30 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:28 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>LucusNon</strong> — <em>12 years ago(June 29, 2013 09:28 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">Toast of the Town, Talent Scouts, The Original Amateur Hour, The Gay Nineties Review,<br />
and<br />
The Ed Wynn Show<br />
were mentioned above. I'll add:<br />
Hour Glass<br />
(1946-47),<br />
Cavalcade of Stars, Let There Be Stars, Hollywood On Television, Broadway to Hollywood, The Eyes Have It / Celebrity Time, Doorway to Fame, Hollywood Screen Test, Front Row Center, Places Please, The School House, Musical Merry-Go-Round, Inside USA With Chevrolet, Uptown Jubilee, The Little Revue, Buzzy Wuzzy<br />
(which lasted less than a month),<br />
America Song,<br />
and<br />
Memory Lane.<br />
Faraway Hill<br />
(1946) was "the first soap opera broadcast on an American television network" according to Wikipedia. Later (1949) TV soaps include<br />
These Are My Children, A Woman to Remember,<br />
and (as mentioned)<br />
One Man's Family<br />
(which started on radio in 1932).<br />
Hopalong Cassidy<br />
(1949) was the first network TV western series.<br />
The Lone Ranger<br />
TV series premiered later that year, the first western series produced specifically for television.<br />
Crusade in Europe<br />
(1949) was the "first extensive documentary series for television" according to Wikipedia.<br />
The Voice of Firestone Televues<br />
(1943-47) presented various documentary shorts.<br />
The World in Your Home<br />
(1944-48) and<br />
Serving Through Science<br />
(1946-47) were early educational shows.<br />
Eye Witness<br />
(1947-48) was a documentary series<br />
about<br />
television (not to be confused with a 1953 series of the same title).<br />
The world's first TV game show was<br />
Spelling Bee<br />
(UK) in 1938. In 1941, an experimental airing of<br />
Truth or Consequences<br />
was the first appearance of a game show on US TV.<br />
CBS Television Quiz<br />
premiered the following night. Other US game shows included<br />
Cash and Carry<br />
(1946-47),<br />
Pantomime Quiz<br />
(predecessor of<br />
Stump the Stars<br />
),<br />
Charade Quiz, Face to Face, Americana, Quiz Kids, Campus Hoopla,<br />
and<br />
Okay, Mother.<br />
According to Wikipedia,<br />
Public Prosecutor<br />
first aired in 1951, but filming began in 1947, the earliest filming of a US TV drama series. The first broadcast of a filmed US drama series was<br />
Your Show Time<br />
in 1949.<br />
Bobmck mentioned<br />
Captain Video and His Rangers.<br />
Opryphantom mentioned<br />
Kukla, Fran and Ollie.<br />
I'll add:<br />
Howdy Doody, The Adventures of Oky Doky,<br />
and<br />
Lucky Pup / Foodini the Great.<br />
Bobmck mentioned<br />
The Philco Television Playhouse.<br />
I'll add:<br />
Kraft Television Theatre, Ford Theatre, The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, Colgate Theater, The Silver Theater, Fireside Theater, Program Playhouse, Television Playhouse, Actor's Studio, ABC Television Players<br />
(a.k.a.<br />
ABC Tele-Players, ABC Penthouse Players<br />
), and<br />
Texaco Star Theater<br />
(Opryphantom mentioned "Uncle Miltie," the nickname Milton Berle introduced on that show).<br />
Bobmck mentioned<br />
Hands of Murder.<br />
I'll add:<br />
Suspense, The Plainclothesman, They Stand Accused, Your Witness, Chicagoland Mystery Players, Man Against Crime<br />
(a.k.a.<br />
Follow That Man<br />
),<br />
DuMont Mystery Theater<br />
(not listed on IMDb),<br />
Starring Boris Karloff<br />
(a.k.a.<br />
The Boris Karloff Mystery Playhouse<br />
), and<br />
Martin Kane, Private Eye.<br />
Mary Kay and Johnny<br />
(1947-50),<br />
Mama, The Aldrich Family, The Goldbergs, The Growing Paynes, The Morey Amsterdam Show, The Life of Riley,<br />
and<br />
Pinwright's Progress<br />
(UK) have all been mentioned. I'll add:<br />
The O'Neills, The Laytons,<br />
and<br />
The Ruggles.<br />
Lastly, I'll mention the<br />
Oboler Comedy Theater,<br />
and (I almost forgot)<br />
Ruthie on the Telephone.<br />
(Apologies for omissions and any errors.)</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393414</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393414</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:28 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:27 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Thor-Delta</strong> — <em>12 years ago(June 29, 2013 06:53 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">There were mini-series and feature-length one-off plays in the UK, but these are lost. Shame really.<br />
As already noted the US anthology series of the era presented one-off plays that were similar to TV movies except performed live.<br />
I read about a Soviet mini-series from the 1930s (yes, 19<br />
30s<br />
) which may have been filmed instead of live, wonder if that still exists.<br />
Here is the link (IMDb lists it as a film):<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/board/10029726/" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.imdb.com/board/10029726/</a><br />
"That coaxial cable looks sensational" - "Oh thank you Harry, but that's stuffed celery"</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393413</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393413</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:27 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:25 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>trollomatic</strong> — <em>15 years ago(September 15, 2010 07:04 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">&lt;&lt;<br />
tv mini-series didn't start until sometime in the 1970's decade.<br />
at leasr in the U.S.<br />
although I guess technically, you could sort of count some episodes of Disneyland (The Wonderful world of Disney/Disney's Womderful World Of Color) as mini-series, such as Davy Crockett and some others, though that was in the 1950's, not the 1960's<br />
But technically, that wasn't a mini-series either since Disneyland was a regular weekly show.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393412</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393412</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:25 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:23 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>LucusNon</strong> — <em>12 years ago(June 28, 2013 11:30 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">BTW, currently Hulu has those same 17 episodes of<br />
Studio One<br />
.<br />
<a href="http://www.hulu.com/studio-one" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.hulu.com/studio-one</a><br />
<a href="http://www.hulu.com/grid/studio-one?video_type=episode" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.hulu.com/grid/studio-one?video_type=episode</a><br />
(Click "ALL" in the season selector on that page.)</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393411</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393411</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:23 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:22 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>happipuppi13</strong> — <em>15 years ago(September 25, 2010 01:41 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">It is a very interesting collection :<br />
Includes 17 restored ""STUDIO ONE"" Dramas:<br />
"1984" (original broadcast: September 21, 1953)<br />
"An Almanac of Liberty" (original broadcast: November 8, 1954)<br />
"The Arena" (original broadcast: April 8, 1956)<br />
"Confessions of a Nervous Man" (original broadcast: November 30, 1953)<br />
"Dark Possession" (original broadcast: February 15, 1954)<br />
"The Death and Life of Larry Benson" (original broadcast: May 31, 1954)<br />
"Dino" (original broadcast: January 2, 1956)<br />
"Julius Caesar" (original broadcast: August 1, 1955)<br />
"June Moon" (original broadcast: June 22, 1949)<br />
"The Medium" (original broadcast: December 12, 1948)<br />
"Pontius Pilate" (original broadcast: April 7, 1952)<br />
"The Remarkable Incident at Carson Corners" (original broadcast: January 11, 1954)<br />
"The Storm" (original broadcast: October 17, 1949)<br />
"The Strike" (original broadcast: June 7, 1954)<br />
"Summer Pavilion" (original broadcast: May 2, 1955)<br />
"Twelve Angry Men" (original broadcast: September 26, 1954)<br />
"Wuthering Heights" (original broadcast: October 30, 1950)<br />
I have no doubt that Mr. Menotti is well respected. I had just never seen a dramatic piece like that where everyone sings their dialog.<br />
A friend of mine and I when we were kids did a tape recorded version of the TV show SWAT but all the cops sang everything.<br />
I have seen people sing on silly things like "Cop Rock" &amp; "Hull High" 20 years ago.<br />
HaPpIpUPpI 13 <em>Arf!</em></p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393410</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393410</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:22 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:20 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>grantch</strong> — <em>15 years ago(September 25, 2010 03:55 AM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">"The Medium" is a Gian-Carlo Menotti opera which is still performed by repertory companies today. Menotti is a very respected composer who started the yearly Spoleto music festivals in both Italy and the U.S. His "Amahl and the Night Visitors" was commissioned for a Christmas television broadcast and is familiar to many schools and theaters as an annual holiday treat. Your report makes that vintage Studio One collection sound (no pun intended) interesting.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393409</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393409</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:20 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:19 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>happipuppi13</strong> — <em>15 years ago(September 24, 2010 04:45 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">I just checked  out a DVD Box Set from the library of CBS "Studio One" that dates back to the Fall of 1948.<br />
The episodes were not "filmed" but recorded in Kinescope style. (Putting a big camera to the TV screen and "filming" it that way. ) Good thing too or all these shows would be lost for good.<br />
The very first show is not on the DVD set.<br />
. but the oldest one and first on DVD #1 is from Dec. 12th,1948. It's a one hour "operetta/modern opera" called "The Medium".<br />
"The Medium" is an old fashioned term for a Psychic or fortune teller. In the show the actors actually "sing" every bit of their dialouge. (A lot of it doesnt rhyme but I don't think it was meant to.)<br />
Their dialouge,like talking,tells the story. I couldn't help but laugh at some of this. The "fake" fortune teller invites 3 people to have a saence and contect their long lost loved ones. I wont describe the whole plot but I was finallt able to stop laughing and watch the rest.<br />
The rest (from what I read on the box) are straight acted.<br />
It even came with the original "station identification announcements".<br />
"You're Watching CBS" etc. then the local TV station would give it's call letters (example only "this is WCBS out of New York").<br />
HaPpIpUPpI 13 <em>Arf!</em></p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393408</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393408</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:19 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:18 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Reality_TV_Sucks</strong> — <em>15 years ago(April 21, 2010 01:14 AM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">Probably correct, though I guess you could say those TV anthology series were like very short TV movies.<br />
"It's Bucket 'o Nothing! Surprise your friends, amaze your family, annoy perfect strangers!"</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393407</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393407</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:18 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:16 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Walloon</strong> — <em>15 years ago(April 19, 2010 10:44 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">Any good made for TV teledramas or miniseries?<br />
No made-for-television movies back in the 1940s, nor any television mini-series.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393406</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393406</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:16 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:14 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>bobmck</strong> — <em>16 years ago(February 12, 2010 01:32 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">I don't recall anything that could be classified a miniseries, but<br />
in the categories of either Drama or Comedy:<br />
"Mama"<br />
"The Goldbergs"<br />
"The Aldrich Family"<br />
"One Man's Family"<br />
"Candid Camera"<br />
"The Philco Television Playhouse"<br />
"Hands of Murder"<br />
Variety:<br />
"Toast of the Town"<br />
"Talent Scouts"<br />
"Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour"<br />
Sports:<br />
"Gillette Cavalcade of Sports"<br />
Adventure:<br />
"Captain Video and His Video Rangers"<br />
"The Lone Ranger"<br />
Culture:<br />
"Voice of Firestone"<br />
Long-lasting:<br />
"Meet the Press"</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393405</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393405</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:14 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:13 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Reality_TV_Sucks</strong> — <em>16 years ago(February 11, 2010 05:29 AM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">Uh, no. Most early TV stars came from Radio, the stage and in some cases from Jewish Nightclubs (or something along those lines).<br />
"I Love Lucy" wasn't the first sitcom to have a pregnant chartacter. That was "Mary Kay and Johnny"  in 1948 (like "I Love Lucy", Mary was pregant in real life and they decided to include this into the show).<br />
"It's Bucket 'o Nothing! Surprise your friends, amaze your family, annoy perfect strangers!"</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393404</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393404</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:13 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:11 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>spqrclaudius</strong> — <em>16 years ago(February 10, 2010 07:04 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">Interesting. I suppose the 1950s I Love Lucy was more socially daring than these earlier models, insofar as she was married to a Cuban man and was even shown pregnant.<br />
Were the earliest television stars Hollywood B-listers who latched onto a new medium? Was there a stigma associated with television acting as opposed to film acting?</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393403</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393403</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:11 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:10 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Reality_TV_Sucks</strong> — <em>16 years ago(February 10, 2010 11:10 AM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">In response to sitcoms: 1940s TV sitcoms included "Mary Kay and Johnny" (1947-1950, with a premise similar to 50s sitcoms like "I Love Lucy", "I Married Joan", etc), "The Growing Paynes" (1948-1949), and "Pinwright's Progress" (1946-1947)<br />
"It's Bucket 'o Nothing! Surprise your friends, amaze your family, annoy perfect strangers!"</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393402</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393402</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:10 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:08 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>opryphantom</strong> — <em>16 years ago(February 10, 2010 08:54 AM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">No, but Uncle Miltie and KUKLA FRAN and OLLIE, started in late forties.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393401</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393401</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:08 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:07 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>socrates17</strong> — <em>15 years ago(February 04, 2011 04:58 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">The show may be dated, but he was a tremendous talent.  His work on The Twilight Zone was exquisite.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393400</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393400</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:07 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to What Were Some Classics of 1940s Television? on Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:05 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Reality_TV_Sucks</strong> — <em>16 years ago(February 10, 2010 07:15 AM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">"The Morey Amsterdam Show" was and still is a pretty good sketch-comedy/sitcom hybrid..<br />
"The Gay Nineties Revue" was among the better shows on what would one day be ABC.<br />
"The Life of Riley" with Jackie Gleason is pretty good.<br />
"The Ed Wynn Show" is rather dated but is fun.<br />
"Public Prosecutor" is very low budget but still a good crime-drama.<br />
"It's Bucket 'o Nothing! Surprise your friends, amaze your family, annoy perfect strangers!"</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393399</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1393399</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:29:05 GMT</pubDate></item></channel></rss>