Matinee Theatre

Matinee Theatre

Matinee Theatre

Matinee Theatre

Matinee Theatre

Himself - Host / ... (572 episodes, 1955-1958)

The first full-hour Monday-through-Friday colour television drama series in the United States. It was shown live 15:00-16:00.

When John Conte was notified that Matinee Theatre would be canceled, he asked the TV audience to try and help keep the program on the air by sending in one dollar to keep Matinee Theatre on the air. People sent in their dollar bills, but to no avail. The network canceled the live Matinee Theatre and Mr. Conte returned all the money to the TV audience. John Conte was absent for one or more of the live programs and Richard Conte substituted as the host. The program was on for an hour every day at 3 pm EST.

Some stories were produced more than once. For instance, there were two versions of "Wuthering Heights" (both live), and two versions of "From the Desk of Margaret Tydings" (one live, one filmed).