A well-received anthology series presenting live television dramas.
Top-Rated Episodes
S11.E22
A shy girl who lost her immigrant parents is taken in by a stranger, Joe, and nursed back to health. She lost her ability to speak in a concentration camp; Joe helps her to regain her words.
S8.E20
Fred Staples is the newest executive in a large firm. He strikes up a friendship with Andy Sloane, the Vice President to whom he nominally reports. Staples is good at his job and the company's ...
S9.E26
On its maiden voyage in April 1912, the supposedly unsinkable RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.
Troop Zero Star Mckenna Grace gets a new hairdo, plays the ukulele, and makes two new furry friends.
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Title: Kraft Theatre (1947–1958)
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Cast
| Series cast summary: | |||
| Vaughn Taylor | ... | Mr. Mergenthwirker / ... 31 episodes, 1947-1957 | |
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Ed Herlihy | ... | Announcer / ... 28 episodes, 1947-1958 |
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Valerie Cossart | ... | Mrs. Ryerson / ... 21 episodes, 1947-1956 |
| E.G. Marshall | ... | Colonel Hodges / ... 20 episodes, 1950-1957 | |
| Joe Maross | ... | Don Birnham 17 episodes, 1952-1957 | |
| Richard Kiley | ... | Fred Staples / ... 16 episodes, 1948-1958 | |
| Harry Townes | ... | Bill / ... 15 episodes, 1949-1958 | |
| Margaret Phillips | ... | Kate 14 episodes, 1947-1953 | |
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Mercer McLeod | ... | Hardcastle 14 episodes, 1947-1951 |
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John Stephen | ... | Loomis 14 episodes, 1947-1954 |
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Dan Morgan | ... | 3rd Class Passenger / ... 14 episodes, 1950-1958 |
| J. Pat O'Malley | ... | Dovetail 13 episodes, 1951-1958 | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
A well-received anthology series presenting live television dramas.
Plot Keywords:
live television | early television | kinescope | partially lost tv series | company sponsor name in title |Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
7 May 1947 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Kraft Mystery Theatre See more »Filming Locations:
New York City, New York, USACompany Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Unlike some other early television series, many episodes of this series survive as kinescope recordings. The March 3, 1948 episode is the oldest episode for which a complete copy exists. See more »Connections
Referenced in American Masters: Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval (1995) See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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A LONG TIME TILL DAWN was one of James Dean's last television appearances (out of 25 or so between 1951 and 1954). A Kraft Playhouse hour long presentation in 1953, it starred Dean as Joe Harris, a sociopathic young man who has been unable to make it in NYC with his young wife and whose barely repressed rage has resulted in felony charges - beatings and robberies - that have ended in two prison terms. The drama opens as he has just been let out of his last six month prison term and returns to his NYC neighborhood, looking for his wife, who has returned home to their small town and is living with his father.
Joe's rage erupts at the storekeeper who advised his wife to leave and he assaults him. Back in his hometown he attempts to make believe he has turned over a new leaf and that all of his mistakes are behind him. However, the old man he has assaulted dies and the police are looking for Joe.
This production is typical of early television dramas but it is far better written (Rod Serling) than most and Dean is brilliant in a very complex role. He far outshines everyone else in the cast. Although the ending is melodramatic and a bit irrational in terms of continuity, it doesn't really hurt the essentially way ahead of its time character study of the sociopathic personality. All fans of Dean are encouraged to add this to their collection.
A kinescope of the final dress rehearsal in b&w is available on videotape. The lighting tends to vary from good to rather dark, but it tends to apply mainly to the quality of the commercials (which are left in) and only infringes on a few minutes of act two of the drama.