#KraftTheatre TV ep #7.07 "Keep Our Honor Bright" (14-Oct-53).
This surviving ep stars James Dean, still with nearly 2 years left to live God rest him.
Review: soon
@bernardjkd.bsky.social
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre TV ep #7.07 "Keep Our Honor Bright" (14-Oct-53).
This surviving ep stars James Dean, still with nearly 2 years left to live God rest him.
Review: soon
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Of the 56 eps in S7 (1953/54). 22 survive. 4 are available in the wild!
TBTG!!
Ratings 1953/54:
KTT is back in #21.
Fair play to Mark Stevens as #MartinKane is back in too at #29.
BTW I don't consider the ABC version of "Kraft Television Theater" on Thursdays part of this show.
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Season 7 of "Kraft Television Theater" spanned the 1953/54 TV season.
56 weekly eps, Wednesday 9pm on NBC.
Against:
DuMont TV: Colonel Humphrey Flack / On Your Way
CBS TV: Strike it Rich / I've Got A Secret
ABC TV: Take if From Me / Dr I.Q.
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Of the 47 eps in S6 (1952/53). 16 survive. 0 are available in the wild! FFS not again!! I don't believe it!!
Ratings 1952/53:
KTT is demoted outside the top 30. The Kraft people won't be happy!
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Season 6 of "Kraft Television Theater" spanned the 1952/53 TV season.
47 weekly eps, Wednesday 9pm.
Against:
DuMont TV: Stage A Number (talent show)
CBS TV: Strike it Rich/ #ManAgainstCrime
ABC TV: The Adventures of Ellery Queen / Wrestling from Rainbo Arena
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Of the 54 eps in S5 (1951/52). 12 survive. 0 are available in the wild! FFS!! All 12 are locke. d in the Library of Congress archive.
Ratings 1951/52:
KTT was down to #23.
Lloyd Nolan's #MartinKane is demoted [>30] but Ralph in #ManAgainstCrime is hanging in there. 29th of the 30!
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Season 5 of "Kraft Television Theater" spanned the 1951/52 TV season.
54 weekly eps, Wednesday 9pm.
Against:
DuMont TV: The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong / #ShadowOfTheCloak
CBS TV: Strike it Rich / The Web
ABC TV: Don McNeill's TV club / The Arthur Murray Party / The Clock
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre TV 4.16 cont'd.
While I'm at it I've new seen #Superman George Reeves in:
#Suspense #2.19 (16-Jan-50), #2.33 (18-Apr-50), #3.12 (14-Nov-50).
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre TV 4.16 cont'd.
Now seen Olive Deering in:
#TalesOfTomorrow #1.11 (09-Nov-51)
#Suspense #4.18 (15-Jan-52) & #4.29 (08-Apr-52)
#SteveRandall #1.01 (12-Jun-52) & #1.13 (11-Sep-52)
##OneStepBeyond #1.16 (05-May-59)
#TheOuterLimits #1.14 (30-Dec-63)
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Of the 50 eps in S4 (1950/51). 12 survive. 1 is available in the wild!!!! Hallelujah an an actual darn ep for me to watch!
Ratings 1950/51:
KTT is up to 14th place but still behind #MartinKane (William Gargan) and my boy Ralph Bellamy in #ManAgainstCrime!
Also the TV set numbers:
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Season 4 of "Kraft Television Theater" spanned the 1950/51 TV season.
50 live weekly eps, Wednesday 9pm.
Against:
DuMont TV: Famous Jury Trials / #ThePlainclothesman
CBS TV: Teller of Tales / The Web
ABC TV: Wrestling from the Rainbo in Chicago
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#PhilcoTelevisionPlayhouse
I'll wait till my #StudioOne (CBS) & #KraftTheatre (NBC) walkthroughs are done before starting this as almost every existing ep is imprisoned in archives.
So far I've found in the wild just:
Philco: 5 of 262 TV eps
Goodyear: 1 of 124 TV eps
Alcoa: 1 of 52 TV eps
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Ok need a break. Spoiler alert: Season 4 will have an actual surviving ep that has escaped to the wild that I can watch!
TBF I was about 3 weeks of slog into my #TheLoneRanger walkthrough before I even reached its first surviving Radio ep!
PS: I kinda love "The Bigelow Show"!
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre 53 eps in S3 (1949/50). 14 survive. 0 are available as they're in the Library of Congress and UCLA archives.
FFS!!!! Be nice if I soon see an actual ep!!!
Ratings for 1949/50:
KTT is 21st place. Jeepers #MartinKane was 18th! #LightsOut was 8th somehow!
Also the TV set numbers:
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Season 3 of "Kraft Television Theater" spanned the 1949/50 TV season.
53 weekly eps, Wednesday 9.00pm .
Against:
DuMont TV: #ThePlainclothesman / Famous Jury Trials
CBS TV: The Bigelow Show / International Boxing Club bouts
ABC TV: local / Wrestling from the Rainbo in Chicago
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre 52 eps in S2 (1948/49). 6 survive. 0 are available as they're in the Library of Congress and UCLA archives.
All the eps broacast live from Studio 8H, floor 8 of the Rockefeller Building, NY. More recently the live "30 Rock" eps were made there.
TV is growing exponentially....
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Onto Season 2 of "Kraft Television Theater" which spanned the 1948/49 TV season.
52 weekly ep that aired later now on Wednesday at 9.00pm to 10.00pm.
Up against:
DuMont TV: Boxing from Jamaica Arena
CBS TV: Tournament of Champions (boxing)
ABC TV: Wrestling from Washington DC
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre TV 1.08 cont'd.
WNBT is NBC New York. Operating as TV since 1928, commerical TV since 1941.
As the opening credits survive we know the original logo.
Ok that pic of the mini cameraman makes sense now!
Who watched US TV in 1946/47 & 1947/48? Below is the max no of viewers possible.
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre TV ep #1.08 "I Like it Here" (25-Jun-47).
The only clip of "Kraft Television Theatre" surviving from the 1946/47 TV season!
There are two cameras operating (at least). It is live TV obviously.
The younger actress died 2012 so won't make my 100 Club.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn-l...
@bernardjkd.bsky.social#KraftTheatre Of the 70 eps in Season 1 five fully exist and two partially. All 5 are locked away in archives in the Library of Congress or The Paley Center. These 5 from Spring 1948 are the earliest surviving TV kinescopes. One stars Grace Kelly.
But one partial clip does exist in the world...