February 22, 2016

What's on TV? Friday, March 1, 1957

We're back in the Twin Cities this week, but it's an area with a station lineup much different than we're used to seeing. Nothing in Duluth, for example, or central Minnesota, but we do pick up a station from Waterloo, Iowa. TV is still TV though, regardless of where you get it or when.


KGLO, Channel 3 (Mason City, IA) (CBS)

Morning


10:10a
This I Believe

10:15a
What’s Your Troubles

10:30a
Strike it Rich

11:00a
Valliant Lady

11:15a
Love of Life

11:30a
Search for Tomorrow

11:45a
The Guiding Light

Afternoon


12:00p
Weather, News, Markets

12:30p
As the World Turns

01:00p
Our Miss Brooks

01:30p
At Home with Jay Martens

02:00p
The Big Payoff

02:30p
Your Red Cross

03:00p
The Brighter Day

03:15p
The Secret Storm

03:30p
The Edge of Night

04:00p
Super Valu Show

05:00p
Mighty Mouse Playhouse

05:30p
Leo and Pioneers

05:45p
Douglas Edwards With the News

Evening


06:00p
Farm Digest

06:05p
News (local)

06:15p
Almanac

06:30p
Beat the Clock

07:00p
West Point

07:30p
Zane Grey Theater

08:00p
Mr. Adams and Eve

08:30p
Public Defender

09:00p
The Lineup

09:30p
Person to Person (Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell, Abbe Lane and Xavier Cugat)

10:00p
Weather, News, Sports

10:30p
Movie – “Countess of Monte Cristo”

You can see from the start that the 15 minute program is still popular, particularly with soap operas. This isn't new; we'll still see a couple of the 15 minute soaps well into the '60s. What I find interesting is how quickly the standard time transitions from 30 minutes to one hour.



WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS)

Morning


06:40a
Tele-Farmer

07:00a
Good Morning!

08:00a
Captain Kangaroo

09:00a
Garry Moore

10:30a
Strike it Rich

11:00a
Valliant Lady

11:15a
Love of Life

11:30a
Search for Tomorrow

11:45a
The Guiding Light

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:15p
Take Five

12:20p
Weather (Bud Kraehling)

12:30p
As the World Turns

01:00p
Our Miss Brooks

01:30p
House Party

02:00p
The Big Payoff

02:30p
Bob Crosby (color)

03:00p
The Brighter Day

03:15p
The Secret Storm

03:30p
The Edge of Night

04:00p
Around the Town

04:30p
Axel and His Dog

05:00p
Johnny .44

05:55p
Weather (local)

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:10p
Sports (Rollie Johnson)

06:15p
Douglas Edwards With the News

06:30p
Beat the Clock

07:00p
West Point

07:30p
Zane Grey Theater

08:00p
Mr. Adams and Eve

08:30p
Schlitz Playhouse

09:00p
The Lineup

09:30p
Person to Person (Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell, Abbe Lane and Xavier Cugat)

10:00p
Do You Trust Your Wife?

10:30p
News (Rollie Johnson)

10:40p
Weather (Bud Kraehling)

10:45p
Movie – “Cowboy and the Blonde”

For those of you familiar with television in Minneapolis-St. Paul, you know that WCCO has always prided itself on being the news station in the market, and indeed for the most part they have been, with brief exceptions when KSTP and KARE took the lead in the ratings race. (I don't know how it is now, having been out of the market for four years and with Don Shelby having retired, but if you were to tell me 'CCO was still on top, I wouldn't be surprised.) It is, therefore, interesting to see that in 1957 Channel 4 didn't do their late news at 10pm, but at 10:30, preferring various half-hour dramas and quiz shows instead. But as I've said in the past, schedules weren't nearly as cast in stone back then as they would be a few years later.



KSTP, Channel 5 (NBC)

Morning


06:30a
Chuck Carson

07:00a
Today (guest James Michener)

09:00a
Home

10:00a
The Price is Right

10:30a
Truth or Consequences

11:00a
Tic Tac Dough

11:30a
It Could Be You

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:15p
Weather (Johnny Morris) 

12:20p
Main Street

01:00p
Treasure Chest

01:30p
Tennessee Ernie Ford

02:00p
Matinee Theater (color)

03:00p
Queen for a Day

03:45p
Modern Romances

04:00p
It’s a Great Life

04:30p
Susie

05:00p
Side Show

05:30p
Captain Daryl

05:55p
Weather

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:15p
You Should Know

06:30p
Xavier Cugat (color)

06:45p
The Huntley-Brinkley Report

07:00p
Blondie

07:30p
Dr. Hudson’s Journal

08:00p
On Trial

08:30p
The Big Story

09:00p
Boxing – Baby Vasquez vs. Paolo Rosi

09:45p
Sports (color)

10:00p
News (local)

10:15p
Weather (Johnny Morris)

10:20p
Sports (local)

10:30p
City Detective

11:00p
Tonight! America After Dark

It was in July of 1957 that Jack Paar took over Tonight, and during the period between Steve Allen's departure as Tonight's first host and Paar's arrival, the program was called Tonight! America After Dark, and was hosted by Jack Lescoulie, Dave Garroway's longtime sidekick on Today. This version of Tonight was, in fact, more like Today than what we'd come to think of as a late-night talk show, and any number of sources will tell you that it was a bomb. Paar's arrival, even moreso than Allen's, marks the start of the contemporary talk show, although Paar himself would probably blanch at what it's become today. By the way, get off my lawn.


KMMT, Channel 6 (Austin, MN) (ABC)

Afternoon


02:00p
Afternoon Film Festival – “Miranda”

03:30p
Pendulum

04:00p
News (local)

04:10p
Movie – “Thunder Rock”

05:50p
Sports (Dick Mahar)

Evening


06:00p
Weather (Stydnicki)

06:05p
News (local)

06:15p
John Daly and the News

06:30p
Rin Tin Tin

07:00p
Jim Bowie

07:30p
Crossroads

08:00p
This is the Life

08:30p
The Vice

09:00p
Ray Anthony

10:00p
News (local)

10:15p
Weather (local)

10:20p
Sports (local)

10:30p
Movie – “Secret Valley”

Good to see John Daly and the News in the lineup - ABC was a perennially weak sister when it came to network news (or most anything else, for that matter), and as you browse through TV Guides of the era, this is the newscast that's most likely to be missing.



KWWL, Channel 7 (Waterloo, IA) (NBC, ABC)

Morning


07:00a
Today (guest James Michener)

09:00a
Home

10:00a
The Price is Right

10:30a
Truth or Consequences

11:00a
Tic Tac Dough

11:30a
It Could Be You

Afternoon


12:00p
Movie – “Hammer the Toff”

01:30p
Tennessee Ernie Ford

02:00p
Matinee Theater (color)

03:00p
Queen for a Day

03:45p
Modern Romances

04:30p
Double Feature – Gene Autry, “Smitherines”

Evening


06:00p
News, Weather, Sports (local)

06:30p
Passerby

06:45p
The Huntley-Brinkley Report

07:00p
Blondie

07:30p
Annie Oakley

08:00p
On Trial

08:30p
TBA

09:00p
Boxing – Baby Vasquez vs. Paolo Rosi

09:45p
Sports (color)

10:00p
News (local)

10:15p
Weather (local)

10:20p
Sports (local)

10:30p
China Smith

11:00p
Tonight! America After Dark

12:00a
News (Tom Miller)

No surprise that NBC stations are the ones with the most color programming. But then I seem to point that out all the time, don't I?



WKBT, Channel 8 (LaCrosse, WI) (all Networks)

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local) 

12:10p
Stand Up and Be Counted

12:30p
Strike it Rich

01:00p
Our Miss Brooks

01:30p
Tennessee Ernie Ford

02:00p
The Big Payoff

02:30p
Industry on Parade

03:00p
The Brighter Day

03:15p
The Secret Storm

03:30p
The Edge of Night

04:15p
Susie

04:45p
Musical Interlude

05:00p
Renfrew of the Mounted

05:30p
Wild Bill Hickok

Evening


06:00p
Farm Digest

06:05p
Sports (Edward Hutchings)

06:15p
News

06:25p
Weather (Chuck Waters)

06:30p
Disneyland

07:30p
Zane Grey Theater

08:00p
West Point

08:30p
Schlitz Playhouse

09:00p
The Lineup

09:30p
Man Called X

10:00p
Weather, News, Sports

10:20p
Movie – “City of Chance”

This is a first - a station whose affiliation is simply listed as "all networks." And indeed - Disneyland (6:30pm) comes from ABC, The Lineup (Dragnet's great rival, as we find out in an article from this issue) is a CBS series (as are most of the afternoon soaps) and Tennessee Ernie Ford's daytime show is from NBC. First glance, however, suggests that CBS might have been the prime affiliation, and indeed that's what it is to this day.



KMGM, Channel 9 (Ind.)

Afternoon


05:00p
Movie – Western

Evening


06:00p
Adventure Time

06:30p
My Little Margie

07:00p
Movie – “A Night at the Opera”

08:30p
Mr. and Mrs. North

09:00p
MGM Time – “Keep Your Powder Dry”

10:45p
Movie – “Man With My Face”

Channel 9 has had a checkered affiliation history, going from DuMont to an independent to ABC to independent to Fox to UPN and back to Fox. The station's call letters are named after its minority owner of the time, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. When they purchased the station, they disbanded its news division and let go of its news director, a Minnesotan named Harry Reasoner.



KROC, Channel 10 (Rochester, MN) (NBC, ABC)

Morning


07:00a
Today (guest James Michener)

09:00a
Home

10:00a
The Price is Right

10:30a
Truth or Consequences

11:00a
Tic Tac Dough

11:30a
It Could Be You

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:15p
Channel Ten Calling

12:30p
Movie – “Plainsman and the Lady”

02:00p
Matinee Theater (color)

03:00p
Queen for a Day

03:45p
Modern Romances

04:00p
It’s a Great Life

04:30p
Fury

05:00p
Movie – “Trigger Trail”

Evening


06:00p
Sports (Bernie Lusk)

06:10p
Weather (local)

06:15p
News

06:30p
Foreign Legionnaire

07:00p
Soldiers of Fortune

07:30p
Blondie

08:00p
Inner Sanctum

08:30p
Captured

09:00p
Boxing – Baby Vasquez vs. Paolo Rosi

09:45p
Sports (color)

10:00p
News (local)

10:15p
Weather (local)

10:20p
Sports (local)

10:35p
Movie – “That Brennan Girl”

I mentioned earlier that Tonight! America After Dark was a bomb, and many NBC affiliates refused to carry it. I don't know if KROC ever did, but by now they don't. Probably more profitable and better ratings by running local movies anyway.



WTCN, Channel 11 (ABC)

Morning


08:50a
Kash Box

09:00a
Tel-a-Story Playhouse

09:30a
J.P. Patches

10:00a
Romper Room

11:00a
TV Theater

11:30a
Cash and Carry

11:55a
News (Paul Sevareid)

Afternoon


12:00p
Casey Jones

12:30p
Midday Matinee – “Thunder Rock”

01:55p
News (Paul Sevareid)

02:00p
Afternoon Film Festival – “Miranda”

03:30p
The Trouble With Father

04:00p
Cartoon Carnival

05:00p
Mickey Mouse Club

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:10p
Weather (local)

06:15p
John Daly and the News

06:30p
Rin Tin Tin

07:00p
Jim Bowie

07:30p
Crossroads

08:00p
Treasure Hunt

08:30p
The Vice

09:00p
Ray Anthony

10:00p
Early Movie – “Bushwackers”

11:30p
News (Frank Seifert)

J.P. Patches was a popular kids' host in the Twin Cities before moving on to Seattle, where he became a legend. His real name was Chris Wedes. I knew a relative of his, who was also named Chris Wedes. Actually, it was his wife I knew better - I worked with her for several years. Her name was Kris Anderson until she married, and then it became Kris Wedes. Of course.



WEAU, Channel 13 (Eau Claire, WI) (NBC, ABC)

Morning


07:00a
Today (guest James Michener)

09:00a
Home

10:00a
The Price is Right

10:30a
Truth or Consequences

11:00a
Tic Tac Dough

11:30a
It Could Be You

Afternoon


12:00p
Cartoons

12:30p
Movie – To Be Announced

02:00p
Matinee Theater (color)

03:00p
Queen for a Day

03:45p
Modern Romances

04:00p
It’s a Great Life

04:30p
Passerby

04:50p
Story Time

05:00p
School Reporter

05:25p
Superman

05:55p
Crusader Rabbit

Evening


06:00p
Music and News

06:30p
Film Feature

06:40p
Weather (Swenson)

06:45p
News

07:00p
Disneyland

08:00p
Dr. Christian

08:30p
Blondie

09:00p
Boxing – Baby Vasquez vs. Paolo Rosi

09:45p
Sports (color)

10:00p
News, Weather, Sports (local)

10:30p
Uncovered

11:00p
Movie – To Be Announced

Even a movie that's to be announced has to be better than Tonight! America After Dark. Right? TV  

5 comments:

  1. "Afternoon Film Festival", consisting mainly of British movies produced and/or distributed by J. Arthur Rank Ltd., vanished from ABC on August 2nd.

    The following Monday (the 5th), it would be replaced by a low-budget music program geared towards teenagers coming home from school featuring that newfangled rock-and-roll music and which had been a local hit in Philadelphia before "going network".

    That show was "American Bandstand", which quickly became the most popular daytime program on network TV.

    ReplyDelete
  2. By March of 1957, I suspect the networks began using videotape for delayed-broadcast purposes.

    Thus, Will Rogers Jr.'s "Good Morning" at 7 A.M. CST and "Captain Kangaroo" at 8 CST on CBS were both likely tapes of episodes broadcast live an hour earlier on the East Coast.

    And I would think that by the spring of 1957 in the Central time zone, the second hour of "Today" was shown live on NBC stations in that region with the first hour (seen live on the East Coast from 7 to 8 A.M. EST) being shown on tape at 8 CST.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Odds and ends:

    - The Vise (note spelling), on ABC on Friday night, has a strange history.

    Initially, this was a British-produced anthology of suspense stories, in the wake of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
    After about half a season, this format was dropped, and by 1957, The Vise turned into a "reboot" of the old Mark Saber detective show from several years earlier.
    Only this time, Saber was a private eye operating in London (the production stayed in GB).
    The star was Donald Gray, who had lost an arm in war service; this was written into the character, and the one-armed op enjoyed some popularity on both sides of the pond for several seasons.

    - Some while back, I mentioned another ABC Friday show, Crossroads. This was another anthology, concerned with the experiences of clergymen of many faiths.
    I mentioned at the time that Crossroads employed an advisory board, consisting of a priest, a minister, and a rabbi (although as recall, Catholic priests got most of the star parts; Protestants were second, rabbis were third and paid $2.40 *rimshot*)
    This drew a comment here, which I meant to respond to at the time, but I didn't get around to it.
    I wish to do so now:

    Yes, the priest, the minister, and the rabbi did indeed walk into a bar.
    And the bartender said, "What is this, a joke?"

    - Noting that Person To Person has Ed Murrow visiting two "happy Hollywood couples", both of whose marriages came to acrimonious ends (see my comment about Tattletales a few weeks back).
    Many of those who seek to canonize Murrow as a patron saint of journalism like to disparage Person To Person as something beneath him, which he only did as a favor to friends.
    In reading contemporary accounts, I've found that Ed Murrow actively enjoyed his celebrity status; he was a regular patron of Toots Shor's saloon, as were just about everybody else on Broadcasting Row in New York.
    I suppose it bothered the old London crew to go with Murrow to a place whose owner greeted everybody with "How are ya, ya crumb bum?"
    It was, as they say, A Different Time ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder if they were the same religious folks who approved all the scripts involving Lucy Ricardo's pregnancy (and, incidentally, agreed they could not comprehend why CBS wouldn't allow the use of the word "pregnant"

      And when Dinah Shore wasn't singing about them...Chevrolet sponsored CROSSROADS

      Delete
  4. Interesting that Bob Crosby's CBS afternoon show was broadcast in color...perhaps that was done to please and possibly attract his brother Harry Lilas--a.k.a. Bing.

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Thanks for writing! Drive safely!