The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre

{{Infobox television

| image =

| caption =

| alt_name = Chevrolet on Broadway
The Broadway Playhouse

| genre = Anthology

| writer = Tad Mosel
Emlyn Williams
Ernest Kinoy

| director = Barry Bernard
Garry Simpson
Gordon Duff (director)

| creative_director =

| presenter =

| starring =

| judges =

| voices =

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer =

| opentheme =

| endtheme =

| composer =

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 2

| num_episodes = 82

| list_episodes =

| executive_producer =

| producer =

| editor = Vic McLeod

| location =

| cinematography =

| camera =

| runtime = 25 minutes

| company =

| channel = NBC

| first_aired = {{start date|1948|09|27}}

| last_aired = {{end date|1950|06|26}}

}}

The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre is an American anthology series that aired live on NBC Mondays at 8 pm EST from September 27, 1948 to June 26, 1950. The program presented both news headlines and live dramatic performances of either original plays or works adapted for television from the stage. Sometimes the show was referred to as Chevrolet on Broadway or The Broadway Playhouse; particularly when the program was presenting an adapted stage work from New York City's theatre scene.{{cite news|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, 1946-present|year=1979|page=145|publisher=Ballantine Books|author=Earle Marsh, Tim Brooks|isbn=0-345-45542-8}}

The sponsor was Chevrolet, an automobile division of General Motors.{{cite book |last1=Zimmers |first1=Tighe E. |title=That's Entertainment: A Biography of Broadway Composer Arthur Schwartz |date=May 7, 2021 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-7881-8 |page=212 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIMwEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Chevrolet+Tele-Theatre%22&pg=PA212 |access-date=January 8, 2023 |language=en}} Beginning with the January 4, 1949, episode, the Chevrolet Central Office of General Motors was the sponsor, replacing Chevrolet dealers' groups.{{cite magazine |last=Small |first=Florence |date=January 3, 1949 |page=3 |title=TV Commercials: Chevrolet Assn. Humanizes Service |magazine=Broadcasting |url=https://archive.org/details/broadcasting36unse/page/n40/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=January 10, 2023}}

Production

Owen Davis Jr. was the program's first producer. When he died in a boating accident, Victor McLeod replaced him.{{cite news |title=Radio and Television: ' Aldrich Family' Leaves NBC Network June 23 -- May Be Video Show in Fall |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/06/03/archives/radio-and-television-aldrich-family-leaves-nbc-network-june-23-may.html?searchResultPosition=1 |access-date=May 31, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=June 3, 1949 |page=48|url-access=subscription }} Barry Bernard and Garry Simpson were the directors. The program originated from WNBT.{{cite magazine |date=September 18, 1949 |page=1 |title=This Week ---- Debuts, Highlights, Changes |url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele03ross/page/n56/mode/1up?view=theater|magazine=Ross Reports|accessdate=January 10, 2023}}

Effective January 24, 1949, the program was moved to the 8:30-9 p.m. Eastern Time slot on Mondays. That change allowed it to be shown live in the Midwest, via use of coaxial cable, rather than just in the East as had been the case in its previous time slot (30 minutes earlier on Mondays). The change meant that it was shown simultaneously on 12 NBC stations.{{cite magazine |date=January 26, 1949 |page=31 |title=Chevvy (sic) Show Moves Up For Wider Coverage |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety173-1949-01/page/n429/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=January 14, 2023}}

Critical reception

A review of the January 31, 1949, broadcast in the trade publication Variety called the episode "a neat comedy playlet" that featured "sharp lines snappily rendered by two vet thespers". It also complimented the way the one-act play was adapted for television.

Episode status

One episode from October 1949 is stored at the Library of Congress, along with three other episodes from that year, plus an episode from 1950. There are five kinescope recordings of 1948 programs also archived at Library of Congress, and an interview with one of the people involved in the production appears on the Archives of American Television Web Site. However, these aging 69+ year old kinescope film prints have yet to be transferred to modern media to ensure the survival of the episodes.{{Citation needed |date=August 2023}}

=Episodes=

Date	Episode Title	Actors
class="wikitable" \|+ Partial List of Episodes of The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre
November 22, 1948	"The Flattering Word"	ZaSu Pitts{{cite book \|last1=Stumpf \|first1=Charles \|title=ZaSu Pitts: The Life and Career \|date=April 13, 2010 \|publisher=McFarland \|isbn=978-0-7864-6023-6 \|page=92 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSP4lHULPwsC&dq=%22Chevrolet+Tele-Theatre%22&pg=PA92 \|language=en}}
January 31, 1949	"All's Fair"	Mary Boland, Roland Young, Patricia Kirkland, Kevin McCarthy{{cite magazine \|date=February 2, 1949 \|page=28 \|title=Tele Follow-up Comment \|magazine=Variety \|url=https://archive.org/details/variety173-1949-02/page/n26/mode/1up?view=theater \|accessdate=January 18, 2023}}
November 21, 1949	"Hart to Heart"	Donald Curtis, Miriam Hopkins, Charles Martin{{cite book \|last1=Ellenberger \|first1=Allan R. \|title=Miriam Hopkins: Life and Films of a Hollywood Rebel \|date=January 12, 2018 \|publisher=University Press of Kentucky \|isbn=978-0-8131-7432-7 \|page=291 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rIg6DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Chevrolet+Tele-Theatre%22&pg=PA291 \|access-date=January 9, 2023 \|language=en}}
December 19, 1949	"The Priceless Gift"	Lee Tracy, Mary Patton, Maurice Franklin, Harry Hugenot{{cite news \|title=Monday, December 19 \|url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele04ross/page/n198/mode/1up?view=theater \|access-date=March 18, 2023 \|work=Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index \|date=December 18, 1949 \|page=5}}
December 26, 1949	"I Cover Times Square"*	Harold Huber, Jean Carson, Adrienne Bayon{{cite magazine \|date=December 25, 1949 \|page=4 \|title=Monday, December 26 \|url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele05ross/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater \|magazine=Ross Reports \|access-date=September 8, 2023 }}
February 20, 1950	"Once to Every Boy"	Carmen Mathews, Billy James, Howard Smith{{cite magazine \|date=February 18, 1950 \|page=4 \|title=Monday, February 20 \|url=https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele06ross/page/n28/mode/1up?view=theater \|magazine=Ross Reports}}
May 29, 1950	"Letter to Edith"	Nelson Olmstead, Alfreda Wallace{{cite news \|title=Television Highlights of the Week \|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77082667/the-boston-globe/ \|access-date=May 5, 2021 \|work=The Boston Globe \|date=May 28, 1590 \|page=30-A\|via = Newspapers.com}}
June 26, 1950	"The Veranda"	Hiram Sherman, Nydia Westman{{cite news \|title=Television Highlights of the Week \|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77601324/the-boston-globe/ \|access-date=May 13, 2021 \|work=The Boston Globe \|date=June 25, 1950 \|page=4-A\|via = Newspapers.com}}

"I Cover Times Square" was a pilot for the ABC TV series I Cover Times Square.{{cite book |last1=Terrace |first1=Vincent |title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. |date=January 11, 2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-8641-0 |page=490 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC&dq=%22I+Cover+Times+Square%22+ABC+Saturday&pg=PA490 |access-date=March 23, 2024 |language=en}}

Guest stars

Jonathan Harris's TV debut came on The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre in the 1949 episode "His Name Is Jason".{{cite news |last1=Gaughan |first1=Gavin |title=Jonathan Harris |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76349655/jonathan-harris/ |access-date=April 23, 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=December 17, 2002 |location=England, London |page=16|via = Newspapers.com}}

Other actors who appeared in the series included:{{Citation needed |date=April 2021}}

Edward Everett Horton
Dean Jagger
Boris Karloff
Guy Kibbee
Canada Lee{{cite book |last1=Deane |first1=Pamala S. |title=James Edwards: African American Hollywood Icon |date=October 1, 2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5816-5 |page=84 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QgsMGFUuTrMC&dq=%22Chevrolet+Tele-Theatre%22&pg=PA84 |access-date=January 9, 2023 |language=en}}
Paul Lukas
E.G. Marshall
Mercedes McCambridge
Felicia Montealegre Bernstein

Paul Muni
Barry Nelson
Luise Rainer
Basil Rathbone{{cite book |last1=Irvin |first1=Richard |title=Film Stars' Television Projects: Pilots and Series of 50+ Movie Greats, 1948-1985 |date=September 11, 2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-2843-1 |page=153 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5K40DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Chevrolet+Tele-Theatre%22&pg=PA153 |access-date=January 9, 2023 |language=en}}
Charles Ruggles
Margaret Sullavan
Arthur Treacher
Ernest Truex
Forrest Tucker