"The 20th Century-Fox Hour" (1955) TV series 1955-1957

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Directors:

John Brahm
Jules Bricken

Writers:

Vera Caspary (novel) (episode "Laura (aka A Portrait of Murder)")
Peggy Chandler (teleplay) (episode)")

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

5 October 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An Anthology of mini-features, new productions largely consisted of hasty retreads of successful Fox movies.

Plot Keywords:

Anthology | Number In Title

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Grandon Rhodes	...	Captain Stanley / ... (4 episodes, 1955-1957)
Robert Foulk	...	Clovis / ... (4 episodes, 1955-1957)
Carl Benton Reid	...	Dr, Merriam / ... (4 episodes, 1955-1957)
Jesse White	...	Doberman / ... (4 episodes, 1956-1957)
Alan Napier	...	Governor / ... (3 episodes, 1956)
Willis Bouchey	...	Alderson / ... (3 episodes, 1955-1957)
Robert Griffin	...	Bartender / ... (3 episodes, 1955-1957)
Frank Sully	...	Jake / ... (3 episodes, 1955-1957)
Johnny Washbrook	...	Danny Morgan / ... (3 episodes, 1955-1957)
Noel Drayton	...	Bridges / ... (3 episodes, 1955-1956)
Philip Tonge	...	Buzzy Loring / ... (3 episodes, 1955-1956)
Katherine Warren	...	Amelia Newcombe / ... (3 episodes, 1955-1956)
Eleanor Audley	...	Governor's Wife / ... (3 episodes, 1956)
Joseph Cotten	...	Himself / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Gavin Muir	...	Harry / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Macdonald Carey	...	Fred Gaily / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Teresa Wright	...	Doris Walker / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Ricardo Montalban	...	Cicero / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Eduard Franz	...	Dr. Benson / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Regis Toomey	...	Ephraim Strong / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Ray Collins	...	Callicott / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
James Griffith	...	Sergeant Pickens / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Don Beddoe	...	Mr. Taylor / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Whit Bissell	...	Dr. Pierce / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Dan Riss	...	Doc MacGowen / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Herb Vigran	...	Joe / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Maudie Prickett	...	Miss Prossy / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Louis Towers	...	Jackie / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Barry Coe	...	John Apley / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Richard Collier	...	Todd / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Arthur Franz	...	Ben Macready / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Boyle / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Kipp Hamilton	...	Christina Bradley / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Ann Harding	...	Abigail Clay / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Craig Hill	...	Adam Clay / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Ray Teal	...	Bartlett / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Barbara Woodell	...	Mary Elgin / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Than Wyenn	...	Freddie Ames / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1957)
Harry Carter	...	Himself / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Clark Howat	...	Farley / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Carolyn Jones	...	Marcia Bridges / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Jess Kirkpatrick	...	Draftsman #1 / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Doris Lloyd	...	Lady Beatrice / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Gerald Oliver Smith	...	Bates / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Torin Thatcher	...	Captain McCrea / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Robert Wagner	...	Wade Connors (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Victoria Ward	...	Ethel / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Howard Wendell	...	Hotel Manager / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Michael Wilding	...	Captain Robert Wilton / ... (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Cameron Mitchell	...	Robert Cosick (2 episodes, 1955)
Trevor Bardette	...	Aikens / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Paul Birch	...	John Albertson / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
John Cliff	...	2nd Brother / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Richard Conte	...	Barney Fowler / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Walter Coy	...	Prosecutor / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Richard Crane	...	Clark / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Lisa Golm	...	Tessie Vardosch / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Harry Harvey	...	Al Neavins / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Paul McGuire	...	Dispatch Rider (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Mort Mills	...	1st Brother / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Jerry Paris	...	Ferguson / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Barney Phillips	...	Max / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Denver Pyle	...	Charley / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Roy Roberts	...	Dan Chancellor / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
George E. Stone	...	Angelo / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Beverly Washburn	...	Kate as a Girl / ... (2 episodes, 1956-1957)
Mark Damon	...	Harold / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Todd Ferrell	...	Mark King / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Nina Foch	...	Joan Byrnes / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Queenie Leonard	...	Maid / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Herbert Lytton	...	Court Clerk / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Gary Merrill	...	Alan Byrnes / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Marilyn Saris	...	Maria / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Irene Seidner	...	Mrs. Schneider / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Parley Baer	...	George Wixted / ... (2 episodes, 1957)
William Challee	...	Malatta / ... (2 episodes, 1957)
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Captain Sam / ... (2 episodes, 1957)
Jim Hayward	...	Charlie / ... (2 episodes, 1957)
Percy Helton	...	Barber / ... (2 episodes, 1957)
Sydney Smith	...	Dewey Roberts / ... (2 episodes, 1957)

Also Known As:

Fox Hour of Stars (USA) (rerun title)

Runtime:

60 min (including commercials) (37 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Westrex Recording System) (season 2) | Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Company:

TCF Television Productions

Trivia:

This series has been remastered and restored, and has been showing on the Fox Movie Channel since 2002 as "Hour of Stars".

Movie Connections:

Version of "Hour of Stars" (2002)

Definitely a fascinating curiosity, but...

This long-lost series has been remastered and restored, and is currently being shown on the Fox Movie Channel under the new title "Hour of Stars". It is a fascinating curio made up of one-hour condensations of 20th Century-Fox's biggest hit films, with entirely different casts. (There are unproduced scripts featured on this series as well.) The scripts, photography, and camera angles on these hour-long shows are virtually identical to those in the films they are based on. Although this is part of what makes this series so fascinating, and although it raises the level of writing and photography far above that in the average TV series, this is unfortunately where the resemblance ends, at least judging from the episode I caught last night.

The episode was entitled "Operation Cicero", and was adapted from the hit 1952 spy film "5 Fingers". It had one advantage over the original in that the main supporting role of Moisewitch, Cicero's contact man, was played by none other than Peter Lorre, who naturally walked away with the acting honors. But the episode was compromised by the fatal miscasting of Ricardo Montalban (of all people) in the role of Diello, the traitorous valet played so memorably in the film by James Mason. Montalban may be a great Khan in "Star Trek", but he is the last person one would ever imagine playing a dryly cynical spy who is willing to betray the Allied cause in WWII just for money and his own amusement. He brings almost none of the nuances that Mason brought to his portrayal.

The other actors in this episode are not miscast, but strictly unmemorable in comparison to those in "5 Fingers". The only other actor who can stand comparison with his movie counterpart is Alan Napier (Alfred the butler in TV's "Batman"), who plays Travers, the British intelligence agent played in "5 Fingers" by Michael Rennie.

There will be more episodes in this series, and they will certainly be of interest as early TV artifacts, but if you expect the same experience that you had in seeing the original films they are based on, you might be disappointed. The impression this series gives is similar to that of watching a touring company of a Broadway show when you have already seen the original Broadway production.