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The 20th Century Fox Hour
Ed Wynn and Kathleen Crowley in "The Great American Hoax"
Genre	Anthology
Presented by	Joseph Cotten (1955-56) Robert Sterling (1956-57)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	37
Production
Running time	48–50 minutes
Production company	TCF Television Productions
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	October 5, 1955 (1955-10-05) – June 12, 1957 (1957-06-12)

The 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title Hour of Stars (its title when the series was originally syndicated after 1957). The season one episode Overnight Haul, starring Richard Conte and Lizabeth Scott, was released in Australia as a feature film.

Characters and stories

Presenting both originals and remakes, The 20th Century Fox Hour was telecast on Wednesday nights at 10pm, alternating each week with The U.S. Steel Hour. Many of the programs were shortened versions of classic 20th Century Fox films, remade with a far lower budget than the originals. Films receiving this treatment included The Ox-Bow Incident, The Late George Apley and Miracle on 34th Street. Some were retitled; Man on the Ledge was a remake of Fourteen Hours (1951).

Guest stars

Guest stars on the series included Bette Davis, Joan Fontaine, Gary Merrill, Thomas Mitchell and Teresa Wright. Steve McQueen made an appearance before he became a major star. Child actor Johnny Washbrook appeared three times on the series while he was also in the lead role of the Western series, My Friend Flicka. Judson Pratt appeared as MacIntyre in the 1956 episode, "The Moneymaker". Child actress Beverly Washburn appeared as Ruthie in "The Hefferan Family" (1956) and as the character Kate as a girl in "Men in Her Life" (1957).

Following his Philco Television Playhouse years, Paddy Chayefsky's The Great American Hoax, starring Ed Wynn, was seen May 15, 1957 during the second season. This script was actually a rewrite of his earlier Fox film, As Young as You Feel (1951) with Monty Woolley and Marilyn Monroe. Lizabeth Scott appeared in the season one episode Overnight Haul. The episode was later released in Australia as a feature film, after her final starring role in 1957's Loving You and many of the films in the series were released in the UK as supporting films in the late 1950s.

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

Production

Michel Kraike produced the show, and Peter Godfrey directed. General Electric sponsored the program until February 6, 1957, when Revlon became the sponsor.

References

1. "GEORGE SANDERS TO BE VIDEO HOST / Cast as Narrator of Filmed Series, 'The Ringmaster.' Built on Circus Stories", The New York Times (September 1, 1955, p.46) Retrieved February 12, 2019
2. A film clip "The Miracle on 34th Street" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
3. "The Show-Makers". Motion Picture Daily. January 16, 1956. p. 12. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
4. "GE's '20th Hour' Axing; Revlon In". Variety. January 23, 1957. p. 20. Retrieved May 26, 2023.

• Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows

External links

• The 20th Century Fox Hour at IMDb
• The 20th Century Fox Hour at CVTA with episode lists

• 1955 American television series debuts
• 1957 American television series endings
• 1950s American anthology television series
• Black-and-white American television shows
• CBS television dramas
• American English-language television shows
• Television series by TCF Television Productions