The Screen Guild Theater is a radio anthology series broadcast from 1939 until 1952 during the Golden Age of Radio. Leading Hollywood stars performed adaptations of popular motion pictures. Originating on CBS Radio, it aired under several different titles including The Gulf Screen Guild Show, The Gulf Screen Guild Theater, The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater and The Camel Screen Guild Players. Fees that would ordinarily have been paid to the stars and studios were instead donated to the Motion Picture Relief Fund, and were used for the construction and maintenance of the Motion Picture Country House.[2][3]
The series began with a variety format, with mixed success. The program increasingly came to rely on adaptations of major motion pictures—presenting a considerable challenge to writers who had to compress the narrative into 22 minutes.[5]: 601
Fees these actors would typically charge were donated to the Motion Picture Relief Fund, in order to support the creation and maintenance of the Motion Picture Country Home for retired actors. A 1940 magazine article noted that The Screen Guild Theater was "the only sponsored program on the air which gives all its profits to charity."[6] Nearly $800,000 had been contributed by the summer of 1942.[5]: 600
The first three seasons of the CBS series were sponsored by Gulf Oil. With uncertainties in the oil market due to World War II, Gulf dropped the show, and in 1942 the Lady Esther cosmetics corporation assumed sponsorship. The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater was consistently one of the top ten radio programs. Reverses in the cosmetics industry led Lady Esther to withdraw in 1947, and Camel Cigarettes purchased a three-year contract. Changing time slots and networks brought about a decline in ratings. In the fall of 1950, the series returned to CBS, where it ran until its final broadcast June 30, 1952. The Screen Guild Theater earned a total of $5,235,607 for the Motion Picture Relief Fund.[7]
Notable broadcastsedit
"A table of highlights would run many pages," wrote radio historian John Dunning, who lists the following notable Screen Guild broadcasts:[5]: 601
Shirley Temple's parents declined an offer of $35,000 for her to perform a radio version of The Blue Bird on a commercial broadcast; instead, she presented it on the Screen Guild program without payment.[5]: 601 An attempt was made on her life during the show. As Temple was singing "Someday You'll Find Your Bluebird", a woman in the audience rose from her seat and pulled out a handgun, pointing it directly at her. The woman hesitated and was disarmed. It was later discovered that she had lost a child on the day it was publicly stated that Temple was born, and blamed her for stealing her daughter's soul.[11]
The series benefited during its 1950–51 season on ABC, when it was expanded to a full hour. Few broadcasts are known to have survived in radio collections:[5]: 601 [12]
^"Sunday's Highlights" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 13 (5): 44. March 1940. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
^"Biography". Guide to the Screen Guild Players Recordings Collection, 1942–1948. University of California, Santa Barbara, Online Archive of California. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
^ abcdefghijpokermatt (2007-06-11). "Screen Guild Theater". Internet Archive. Retrieved 22 November 2020. 348 episodes, Public Domain: 1939-01-08 to 1951-01-18
screen, guild, theater, radio, anthology, series, broadcast, from, 1939, until, 1952, during, golden, radio, leading, hollywood, stars, performed, adaptations, popular, motion, pictures, originating, radio, aired, under, several, different, titles, including, . The Screen Guild Theater is a radio anthology series broadcast from 1939 until 1952 during the Golden Age of Radio Leading Hollywood stars performed adaptations of popular motion pictures Originating on CBS Radio it aired under several different titles including The Gulf Screen Guild Show The Gulf Screen Guild Theater The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater and The Camel Screen Guild Players Fees that would ordinarily have been paid to the stars and studios were instead donated to the Motion Picture Relief Fund and were used for the construction and maintenance of the Motion Picture Country House 2 3 The Screen Guild TheaterJack Benny George Murphy Joan Crawford and Reginald Gardiner on the premiere of The Screen Guild Theater January 8 1939 1 Other namesThe Gulf Screen Guild Show The Gulf Screen Guild Theater The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater The Camel Screen Guild Players Stars in the Air Hollywood Sound Stage Hollywood On StageGenreAnthology dramaRunning time30 minutes 60 minutes 1950 51 Country of originUnited StatesLanguage s EnglishHome stationCBS 1939 48 NBC 1948 50 ABC 1950 51 CBS 1951 52 Hosted byGeorge Murphy 1939 Roger Pryor 1940 52 AnnouncerJohn Conte Gulf Oil 1939 42 Truman Bradley Lady Esther Cosmetics 1942 47 Michael Roy Camel 1947 50 Written byBill Hampton Harry KronmanDirected byBill LawrenceProduced byBill LawrenceOriginal releaseJanuary 8 1939 June 29 1952No of series14No of episodes527Audio formatMonaural sound Dinah Shore and Gail Patrick in the CBS Radio studio at a rehearsal for Belle of the Yukon February 12 1945 4 Contents 1 Production 2 Notable broadcasts 3 Broadcast history 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksProduction editThe Screen Guild Theater had a long run beginning January 8 1939 lasting for 14 seasons and 527 episodes Actors on the series included Ethel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore Ingrid Bergman Humphrey Bogart Eddie Cantor Gary Cooper Bing Crosby Bette Davis Jimmy Durante Nelson Eddy Douglas Fairbanks Jr Clark Gable Judy Garland Gene Kelly Sam Levene Johnny Mercer Agnes Moorehead Dennis Morgan Gregory Peck Fred Astaire Frank Sinatra Shirley Temple and Dinah Shore The series began with a variety format with mixed success The program increasingly came to rely on adaptations of major motion pictures presenting a considerable challenge to writers who had to compress the narrative into 22 minutes 5 601 Fees these actors would typically charge were donated to the Motion Picture Relief Fund in order to support the creation and maintenance of the Motion Picture Country Home for retired actors A 1940 magazine article noted that The Screen Guild Theater was the only sponsored program on the air which gives all its profits to charity 6 Nearly 800 000 had been contributed by the summer of 1942 5 600 The first three seasons of the CBS series were sponsored by Gulf Oil With uncertainties in the oil market due to World War II Gulf dropped the show and in 1942 the Lady Esther cosmetics corporation assumed sponsorship The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater was consistently one of the top ten radio programs Reverses in the cosmetics industry led Lady Esther to withdraw in 1947 and Camel Cigarettes purchased a three year contract Changing time slots and networks brought about a decline in ratings In the fall of 1950 the series returned to CBS where it ran until its final broadcast June 30 1952 The Screen Guild Theater earned a total of 5 235 607 for the Motion Picture Relief Fund 7 Notable broadcasts edit A table of highlights would run many pages wrote radio historian John Dunning who lists the following notable Screen Guild broadcasts 5 601 The Blue Bird with Shirley Temple and Nelson Eddy December 24 1939 8 9 High Sierra with Humphrey Bogart January 4 1942 8 9 Sergeant York with Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan January 19 1942 8 9 Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable October 19 1942 4 9 Command Decision with Clark Gable Walter Pidgeon Van Johnson John Hodiak Edward Arnold and Brian Donlevy March 3 1949 9 10 Shirley Temple s parents declined an offer of 35 000 for her to perform a radio version of The Blue Bird on a commercial broadcast instead she presented it on the Screen Guild program without payment 5 601 An attempt was made on her life during the show As Temple was singing Someday You ll Find Your Bluebird a woman in the audience rose from her seat and pulled out a handgun pointing it directly at her The woman hesitated and was disarmed It was later discovered that she had lost a child on the day it was publicly stated that Temple was born and blamed her for stealing her daughter s soul 11 The series benefited during its 1950 51 season on ABC when it was expanded to a full hour Few broadcasts are known to have survived in radio collections 5 601 12 Twelve O Clock High with Gregory Peck Ward Bond Reed Hadley Millard Mitchell John Kellogg and Hugh Marlowe September 7 1950 9 13 Ninotchka with Joan Fontaine and William Powell September 14 1950 9 13 Champagne for Caesar with Ronald Colman Vincent Price Audrey Totter Barbara Britton and Art Linkletter October 5 1950 5 601 9 13 Tell It to the Judge with Rosalind Russell and Robert Cummings November 2 1950 9 13 Birth of the Blues with Bing Crosby Dinah Shore and Phil Harris January 18 1951 5 601 9 13 Broadcast history editThe Screen Guild Theater was hosted by George Murphy in 1939 and Roger Pryor for the remainder of its run 5 600 CBS January 8 1939 June 28 1948 as The Gulf Screen Guild Show 1939 40 The Gulf Screen Guild Theater 1940 42 The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater 1942 47 and The Camel Screen Guild Players 1947 48 5 600 NBC October 7 1948 June 29 1950 as The Camel Screen Guild Players 5 600 ABC September 7 1950 May 31 1951 5 600 as The Screen Guild Players 12 CBS December 13 1951 June 14 1952 as Stars in the Air 5 600 12 CBS December 13 1951 March 6 1952 as Hollywood Sound Stage and Hollywood On Stage 5 600 12 CBS March 13 June 29 1952 as The Screen Guild Theater 5 600 12 AFRS Playhouse 25 12 AFRTS Screen Guild Theatre 12 AFRS The Frontline Theatre 12 AFRS The Globe Theatre hosted by Herbert Marshall 12 14 15 16 AFRTS Hollywood Sound Stage 12 See also editAcademy Award Author s Playhouse The Campbell Playhouse Cavalcade of America The CBS Radio Workshop The Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players Curtain Time Ford Theatre General Electric Theater Hollywood Playhouse Lux Radio Theater The Mercury Theatre on the Air The MGM Theater of the Air Screen Director s Playhouse Stars over Hollywood radio program Suspense The United States Steel HourReferences edit Gulf Screen Guild Show 1939 01 08 episode 1 archive org 2007 08 13 Retrieved 22 November 2020 Hollywood s Heart Movie Radio Guide December 21 1940 Retrieved August 2 2023 Elliott Jordan Summer 2015 Hooray for Hollywood Nostalgia Digest 41 3 24 30 a b The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre RadioGOLDINdex Retrieved 2015 06 30 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Dunning John 1998 On the Air The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio New York Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0195076783 Sunday s Highlights PDF Radio and Television Mirror 13 5 44 March 1940 Retrieved 23 February 2015 Biography Guide to the Screen Guild Players Recordings Collection 1942 1948 University of California Santa Barbara Online Archive of California Retrieved 2015 06 30 a b c The Gulf Screen Guild Theatre RadioGOLDINdex Retrieved 2015 06 30 a b c d e f g h i j pokermatt 2007 06 11 Screen Guild Theater Internet Archive Retrieved 22 November 2020 348 episodes Public Domain 1939 01 08 to 1951 01 18 The Camel Screen Guild Theatre RadioGOLDINdex Retrieved 2015 06 30 Black Shirley Temple 1988 Child Star An Autobiography New York McGraw Hill Publishing Company pp 293 295 ISBN 9780070055322 a b c d e f g h i j The Screen Guild Radio Programs Digital Deli Too Retrieved 2015 06 30 a b c d e The Screen Guild Theatre RadioGOLDINdex Retrieved 2015 06 30 Hilmes Michele 1997 Radio Voices American Broadcasting 1922 1952 U of Minnesota Press p 260 ISBN 978 0816626212 Globe Verma Neil 2012 Theater of the Mind Imagination Aesthetics and American Radio Drama University of Chicago Press ISBN 978 0226853529 Fred Allen s Old Time Radio Home The Globe Theater 44 12 23 a Christmas Carol 19 December 2015 External links editScreen Guild Theater 348 episodes at the Internet Archive Screen Guild Theater biography and complete episode guide at Digital Deli Guide to the Screen Guild Players Recordings Collection 1942 1948 at the University of California Santa Barbara Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Screen Guild Theater amp oldid 1220382914, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
