American TV series or program
DuPont Show of the Month
was a 90-minute television
anthology series
that aired monthly on
CBS
from 1957 to 1961. The
DuPont Company
also sponsored a weekly half-hour dramatic
anthology series
hosted by
June Allyson
,
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
(1959?61).
During the
Golden Age of Television
,
DuPont Show of the Month
was one of numerous anthology series telecast between 1949 and 1962. Superficially, it resembled
Playhouse 90
and other anthologies, but
DuPont Show of the Month
focused less on contemporary dramas and more on adaptations of literary classics, including
Oliver Twist
,
The Prince and the Pauper
,
Billy Budd
,
The Prisoner of Zenda
,
A Tale of Two Cities
and
The Count of Monte Cristo
.
Directors and writers
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The directors for the series included
Sidney Lumet
,
Ralph Nelson
,
Alex Segal
and
Robert Mulligan
.
DuPont Show of the Month
was the first anthology series to stage a television dramatization of
Thornton Wilder
's only novel,
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
. It also presented original dramas, such as
The Lincoln Murder Case
.
Dale Wasserman
wrote for the show, and it was Wasserman's
I, Don Quixote
on this series (November 9, 1959) that was eventually developed into
Man of La Mancha
six years later. The plot and much of the dialogue is identical.
[
citation needed
]
Other writers included
Sidney Kingsley
and
Terence Rattigan
.
Awards and actors
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The show was nominated for a total of 12
Emmy Awards
.
John Gielgud
,
Gracie Fields
,
Richard Burton
,
Lee J. Cobb
,
Colleen Dewhurst
,
Eli Wallach
,
Hurd Hatfield
,
Judith Anderson
,
Hume Cronyn
,
Maureen O'Hara
,
Michael Rennie
,
Suzanne Storrs
,
Farley Granger
,
Fritz Weaver
, and
George C. Scott
made appearances. Johnny Washbrook of the
My Friend Flicka
TV series appeared as Tom Canty in
The Prince and the Pauper
.
With its stage cast,
DuPont Show of the Month
telecast the 1958
Old Vic
production of
William Shakespeare
's
Hamlet
immediately following its brief run on Broadway.
[1]
Sally Benson's
Junior Miss
, on Broadway from 1941 to 1943 came to television on December 20, 1957, as a production of
DuPont Show of the Month
.
Carol Lynley
had the lead role of Judy Graves with
Don Ameche
and
Joan Bennett
as her parents and Susanne Sidney as Fuffy Adams. Others in the cast were
Diana Lynn
,
Paul Ford
,
Jill St. John
and
David Wayne
.
Episodes
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References
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External links
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