| NBC Matinee Theater | |
|---|---|
 Host John Conte | |
| Also known as | Matinee Theater |
| Genre | Anthology |
| Directed by | John Drew Barrymore Alan Cooke Walter Grauman Arthur Hiller Lamont Johnson Sherman Marks Lawrence Menkin Albert McCleery Boris Sagal Pace Woods Alan Hanson |
| Presented by | John Conte |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 650 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | George Lowther |
| Producers | George Cahan Albert McCleery Frank Price Darrell Ross |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company | NBC Television Network |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 31, 1955 – June 27, 1958 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from October 31, 1955,[1] to June 27, 1958.[2] Its name is often seen as Matinee Theatre.
The series, which ran daily from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.[2] Eastern Time, was usually broadcast live and most of the time in color. Its live dramas were presented with minimal sets and costumes.[3] It was the first daily hour-long dramatic series on television.[4]
When it was broadcast, Matinee Theater was the most heavily promoted regularly scheduled daytime program on U.S. television.[5] Along with NBC's Home, the show was part of the network's effort to "provide quality 'adult' entertainment" in daytime programming.[1]
In its second season, the program had an audience of 7 million daily viewers.[3]
The series ended in 1958 due to its high budget; much higher than any other daytime program in television.[citation needed] In 1956, the program's budget was "about $73,000" to produce five episodes per week.[6] A few of the later episodes were preserved on color film for later rerun syndication under different titles. The scripts of the series' episodes are archived at the University of California, Los Angeles. Several episodes are preserved at the UCLA Film & Television Archive, The Paley Center, and the Library of Congress.
- ^ a b Cassidy, Marsha F. (2009). What Women Watched: Daytime Television in the 1950s. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292782723. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ a b Hawes, William (2001). Filmed Television Drama, 1952-1958. McFarland. pp. 47–51. ISBN 9780786411320. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ a b McGilligan, Patrick (2015). Jack's Life: A Biography of Jack Nicholson (Updated and Expanded). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393350975. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "M'Cleery agrees to new N.B.C. pact". The New York Times. February 27, 1957. p. 49. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ Thumin, Janet (2002). Small Screens, Big Ideas: Television in the 1950s. I.B.Tauris. pp. 131–148. ISBN 9781860646836. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ Crosby, John (March 18, 1956). "Matinee Theater Is 'Greatest Show Business Factory In The Worle'". The Tampa Tribune. Florida, Tampa. New York Herald Tribune. p. 16-D. Retrieved April 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
