The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel).
Theatre Guild on the Air
The series originated on radio in the 1940s as Theatre Guild on the Air. Organized in 1919 to improve the quality of American theater, the Theatre Guild first experimented with radio productions in Theatre Guild Dramas, a CBS series which ran from December 6, 1943 to February 29, 1944.
Actress-playwright Armina Marshall (1895–1991), a co-administrator of the Theatre Guild, headed the Guild's newly created Radio Department, and in 1945, Theatre Guild on the Air embarked on its ambitious plan to bring Broadway theater to radio with leading actors in major productions. It premiered September 9, 1945 on ABC with Burgess Meredith, Henry Daniell and Cecil Humphreys in Wings Over Europe, a play by Robert Nichols and Maurice Browne which the Theatre Guild had staged on Broadway in 1928–29.Fowler, Glenn. "Armina Marshall Is Dead at 96," The New York Times, July 22, 1991.
Within a year the series drew 10 to 12 million listeners each week. Presenting both classic and contemporary plays, the program was broadcast for eight years before it became a television series.
Playwrights adapted to radio ranged from Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde to Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams. Numerous Broadway and Hollywood stars acted in the series, including Ingrid Bergman, Ronald Colman, Bette Davis, Rex Harrison, Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Sam Levene, Agnes Moorehead, Basil Rathbone, Charles Tyner and Mary Sinclair. One notable performance was John Gielgud as Hamlet, in an expanded 90-minute broadcast with Dorothy McGuire as Ophelia. Fredric March was heard in his only performance as Cyrano de Bergerac, a role he played neither onstage or onscreen. The series also featured the only radio broadcast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's flop musical, Allegro.
The radio series was broadcast until June 7, 1953, when U.S. Steel decided to move the show to television.
The September 8, 1946, episode was "Angel Street", starring Hayes, Victor Jory, and Leo G. Carroll.
Television overview
The television version aired from October 27, 1953, to 1955 on ABC, and from 1955 to 1963 on CBS. Like its radio predecessor, it was a live dramatic anthology series. Although episodes were normally dramatic productions, the series occasionally presented a musical program or a comedy.
While most episodes were broadcast live, some were taped. At least one combined the methods, as on April 6, 1960, Robert Loggia had three roles in an episode. The segments in which he played a 45-year-old man and his 22-year-old son were done live, while between them the segment in which he portrayed an 80-year-old uncle was on tape.
By its final year in 1963, it was the last surviving live anthology series from the Golden Age of Television. It was still on the air during President John F. Kennedy's famous April 11, 1962, confrontation with steel companies over the hefty raising of their prices. The show featured a range of television acting talent, and its episodes explored a wide variety of contemporary social issues, from the mundane to the controversial.
Notable guest star actors included Martin Balsam, Tallulah Bankhead, Ralph Bellamy, James Dean, Dolores del Río, Keir Dullea, Bennye Gatteys, Andy Griffith, Dick Van Dyke, Harrison, Celeste Holm, Sally Ann Howes, Jack Klugman, Sam Levene, Peter Lorre, Walter Matthau, Paul Newman, George Peppard, Janice Rule, Albert Salmi, George Segal, Jamie Smith, Suzanne Storrs, and Johnny Washbrook. Washbrook played Johnny Sullivan in The Roads Home in his first ever screen role. Griffith made his onscreen debut in the show's production of No Time for Sergeants, and would reprise the lead role in the 1958 big screen adaptation. In 1956–57, Read Morgan made his television debut on the Steel Hour as a young boxer in two episodes titled "Sideshow". Child actor Darryl Richard, later of The Donna Reed Show, also made his acting debut in the episode "The Bogey Man", which aired January 18, 1955. On August 17, 1955, in her series debut, Janice Rule played the titular protagonist–and actor Jamie Smith her "likable, solid-type fiancé"–in the episode "The Bride Cried". In 1960, Johnny Carson starred with Anne Francis in "Queen of the Orange Bowl".
Many notable writers contributed episodes, including Ira Levin, Richard Maibaum and Rod Serling. The program also broadcast one-hour musical versions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The latter was broadcast on November 20, 1957, with a cast including Jimmy Boyd, Earle Hyman, Basil Rathbone, Jack Carson and Florence Henderson. Boyd had previously played Finn in the earlier telecast of Tom Sawyer."Musical Huck Finn Catches Book's Spirit; Has Fine Tunes", by Harriet Van Horne, syndicated column in Evansville (IN) Press, November 21, 1957, p.54"'Huck Finn' to Music Is Wildly Improbable", by Jack Gould, The New York Times, November 21, 1957, p.50"Musical 'Huck Finn' Is Called Totally Inept", by Jack Gould, reprinted in The Courier-Journal (Louisville KY), November 21, 1957, p.2-2
Jackson Beck was the announcer when the program was on ABC.
Debuts Debuts that occurred during the series's run included:
Imogene Coca's dramatic debut (April 11, 1956) Griffith's TV debut (March 15, 1955) Gene Hackman's TV debut (April 22, 1959) Shari Lewis's "drama debut for grownups" (July 12, 1961) Robert Morley's American TV debut (December 7, 1955) Patti Page's acting debut (June 19, 1957) Richard's acting debut (January 18, 1955)
Broadcast schedule On ABC the program was broadcast from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. on alternate Tuesdays. Episodes were distributed live on 76 network affiliates and by kinescope on 31 others. The latter status caused a problem because "The television rights to a story property cannot be obtained in certain cases if the program is to be televised in some areas by delayed film broadcasts." During its first season on television, the program alternated bi-weekly with The Motorola Television Hour, which was replaced by Center Stage June 1, 1954 - September 21, 1954. The Elgin Hour became the alternate program in October 1954.
NBC and CBS tried to obtain the series, and CBS succeeded with the ability to have it carried live on 115 affiliates. The series's last ABC broadcast was on June 21, 1955. Its CBS debut was at 10 p.m. E. T. on July 6, 1955, alternating with Front Row Center. In later years it alternated with Armstrong Circle Theatre. It ended on June 12, 1963.
Episodes
1953–1954 + Partial List of Episodes of The United States Steel Hour Date Title Actor(s) October 27, 1953 "P. O. W." Richard Kiley, Gary Merrill, Phyllis Kirk. November 10, 1953 "Hope for a Harvest" Faye Emerson, Robert Preston November 24, 1953 "Tin Wedding" Phyllis Thaxter, Eddie Albert, Audrey Christie"Tue November 24". TV Guide. November 20, 1953. p. A-36. Retrieved February 11, 2025. December 8, 1953 "The Man in Possession" Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer"Tue Dec. 8". TV Guide. December 4, 1953. p. A-35. Retrieved February 10, 2025. December 22, 1953 "Vanishing Point" Peter Lorre, Viveca Lindfors, Claude Dauphin"Tue Dec. 22". TV Guide. December 18, 1953. p. A-35. Retrieved February 10, 2025. January 5, 1954 "Hedda Gabler" Tallulah Bankhead, Luther Adler, John Baragrey, Eugenia Rawls January 19, 1954 "The Rise of Carthage" Nina Foch, Paul Douglas"TV Preview: 'Rise of Carthage' Night's Best Drama". The Pittsburgh Press. January 19, 1954. p. 31. Retrieved February 15, 2025. February 2, 1954 "Papa Is All" Walter Slezak, Jessie Royce Landis"Tue February 2". TV Guide. January 29, 1954. p. A-36. Retrieved February 11, 2025.} February 16, 1954 "Highway" Diana Lynn, Kevin McCarthy"Tue February 16". TV Guide. February 12, 1954. p. A-36. Retrieved February 11, 2025.} March 2, 1954 "Morning Star" Gertrude Berg, Oscar Karlweis Marilyn Erskine, Jo Van Fleet, Sidney Armin, Fred Sadoff, Pat Breslin, Hal Gary, Anatole Winogradof"Tue March 2". TV Guide. February 26, 1954. p. A-23. Retrieved February 11, 2025.} March 16, 1954 "Welcome Home" Helen Hayes, Charlie Ruggles March 30, 1954 "The Last Notch" Richard Jaeckel, Jeff Morrow, Louisa Horton, John McQuade, Harry Bellaver, Royal Dano, John Kellogg"Tue March 30". TV Guide. March 26, 1954. p. A-36. Retrieved February 11, 2025. April 13, 1954 "Late Date" Jessie Royce Landis, Walter Matthau"Tuesday April 13". TV Guide. April 9, 1954. p. A-23. Retrieved February 10, 2025. April 27, 1954 "The Laphams of Boston" Dorothy Gish, Thomas Mitchell, Patricia Wheel, Paul Newman, Lois Smith, Jean Dixon, Colin Keith-Johnston, Addison Richards May 11, 1954 "The End of Paul Dane" Robert Preston, Teresa Wright, Warren Stevens"Tuesday May 11". TV Guide. May 7, 1954. p. A-33. Retrieved February 11, 2025. May 25, 1954 "The Great Chair" Walter Hampden, Gary Merrill, Lori March"Tuesday May 25". TV Guide. May 21, 1954. p. A-34. Retrieved February 11, 2025. June 8, 1954 "Good for You" Diana Lynn, Orson Bean, Kenny Delmar, Barbara Nichols, Jack Klugman"Tuesday June 8". TV Guide. June 4, 1954. p. A-36. Retrieved February 14, 2025. June 22, 1954 "Fearful Decision" Ralph Bellamy, Sam Levene, Meg Mundy, Frank Overton, Joey Fallon, Frank Wilson, George Mitchell, Theodore NewtonWard, Henry (June 23, 1954). "Steel Hour Production Impressive: Ralph Bellamy Stars in Gripping Drama". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 39. Retrieved February 15, 2025. "Others in the cast included [...] Joey Fallon as the boy, Frank Wilson as Chapman, the butler, and Theodore Newton as the family physician." July 6, 1954 "Haven's End" Howard Lindsay, Betsy Palmer, Richard Hylton, Royal Beal, Jamie Smith, Russell Hardie, Chester Stratton, Dana Wynter, Lauren Gilbert"Tuesday July 6". TV Guide. July 2, 1954. p. A-34. Retrieved February 10, 2025. July 20, 1954 "A Garden in the Sea" Dorothy McGuire, Mildred Natwick, Donald Murphy August 3, 1954 "Oberstrasse 49" Dan O'Herlihy, Margaret Phillips, Tom Helmore, Murray Matheson, Colin Keith-Johnston, Rosalind Ivan, Ben Astar August 17, 1954 "Grand Tour" Julie Haydon, Zachary Scott, Ruth Ford, Addison Richards, Jon Richards, John Vivyan, Louis Sorin, Fran Keegan, Helen Ray, Albert Hesse, Robert Dryden"Tuesday August 17". TV Guide. August 14, 1954. p. A-34. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
1954–1955