The Philco Television Playhouse 1948
What is The Philco Television Playhouse?
The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of television. The program was sponsored by the electronics manufacturer Philco, which was known for its history in radio and television production.
- Type
- TV series
- Year
- 1948
- Status
- Ended
- Episodes
- 267
- Runtime
- 60 minutes
- First aired
- Oct 3, 1948
- Last aired
- Feb 12, 1956
- Original language
- EN
- Origin
- US
- Networks
- NBC
- Genres
- Drama
- Updated
How long to binge?
Estimate the schedule using 267 episodes and an average 60-minute runtime.
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Find the trailer on YouTube ↗Overview
The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of television. The program was sponsored by the electronics manufacturer Philco, which was known for its history in radio and television production. Produced by Fred Coe, the series debuted on October 3, 1948, and remained on the air until 1955. During its eight-year run, the show featured a variety of content, beginning with Broadway adaptations hosted by Bert Lytell before moving on to Book-of-the-Month Club novels and other material. The series is recognized as one of the most respected dramatic programs of its era. Its critical reception included a 1954 Peabody Award and eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956. The show, which featured performers including Jay Jackson, Bob Stanton, and E.G. Marshall, also underwent brief name changes and alternated with other programs throughout its broadcast history. The program served as a notable example of the live anthology dramas that defined early American television broadcasting.
Should you watch it?
“This influential anthology series defined the Golden Age of television with live dramatic performances on NBC.”
- prestigious historical reputation
- diverse range of literary adaptations
- limited availability of original live broadcasts
Watch it if you are interested in the early history and development of American television drama.
The series features period-appropriate dramatic content suitable for general audiences.
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Cast
Episode guide
Season 1 · 45 episodes
Open the complete Season 1 guide →- E1 Dinner at Eight Oct 3, 1948
- E2 Rebecca Oct 10, 1948
- E3 Counsellor-at-Law Oct 17, 1948
- E4 Angel in the Wings Oct 24, 1948
- E5 Street Scene Oct 31, 1948
- E6 This Thing Called Love Nov 7, 1948
- E7 Camille Nov 14, 1948
- E8 An Inspector Calls Nov 21, 1948
- E9 I Like It Here Nov 28, 1948
- E10 Suspect Dec 5, 1948
- E11 Parlor Story Dec 12, 1948
- E12 A Christmas Carol Dec 19, 1948
- E13 The Old Lady Shows Her Medals Dec 26, 1948
- E14 Ramshackle Inn Jan 2, 1949
- E15 Cyrano de Bergerac Jan 9, 1949
- E16 Papa Is All Jan 16, 1949
- E17 Pride and Prejudice Jan 23, 1949
- E18 Dark Hammock Jan 30, 1949
- E19 The Late Christopher Bean Feb 6, 1949
- E20 The Story of Mary Surratt Feb 13, 1949
- E21 Twelfth Night Feb 20, 1949
- E22 St. Helena Feb 27, 1949
- E23 The Druid Circle Mar 6, 1949
- E24 Quality Street Mar 13, 1949
- E25 Dinner at Antoine's Mar 20, 1949
- E26 Becky Sharp Mar 27, 1949
- E27 And Never Been Kissed Apr 3, 1949
- E28 What Makes Sammy Run? Apr 10, 1949
- E29 Mr. Mergenthwirker's Lobblies Apr 17, 1949
- E30 Burlesque Apr 24, 1949
- E31 Macbeth May 1, 1949
- E32 Romeo and Juliet May 15, 1949
- E33 This Time, Next Year Jun 5, 1949
- E34 It Pays to Advertise Jun 12, 1949
- E35 Summer Formal Jun 19, 1949
- E36 Jenny Kissed Me Jun 26, 1949
- E37 Dark of the Moon Jul 3, 1949
- E38 For Love or Money Jul 10, 1949
- E39 The Five Lives of Richard Gordon Jul 17, 1949
- E40 You Touched Me! Jul 24, 1949
- E41 The Fourth Wall Jul 31, 1949
- E42 Enter Madame Aug 7, 1949
- E43 A Murder Has Been Arranged Aug 14, 1949
- E44 Pretty Little Parlor Aug 21, 1949
- E45 Three Cornered Moon Aug 28, 1949
Season 2 · 45 episodes
- E1 What Every Woman Knows Sep 4, 1949
- E2 Pride's Castle Sep 11, 1949
- E3 The Little Sister Sep 18, 1949
- E4 The Lonely Sep 25, 1949
- E5 The Queen Bee Oct 2, 1949
- E6 Something's Got to Give Oct 9, 1949
- E7 The Last Tycoon Oct 16, 1949
- E8 Because of the Lockwoods Oct 23, 1949
- E9 Damion's Daughter Oct 30, 1949
- E10 The House of Seven Gables Nov 6, 1949
- E11 The Promise Nov 13, 1949
- E12 Medical Meeting Nov 20, 1949
- E13 The Wonderful Mrs. Ingram Nov 27, 1949
- E14 Mist on the Waters Dec 4, 1949
- E15 The Beautiful Bequest Dec 11, 1949
- E16 The Strange Christmas Dinner Dec 18, 1949
- E17 In Beauty Like the Night Dec 25, 1949
- E18 Little Boy Lost Jan 1, 1950
- E19 Bethel Merriday Jan 8, 1950
- E20 Murder at the Stork Club Jan 15, 1950
- E21 The Marriages Jan 22, 1950
- E22 Uncle Dynamite Jan 29, 1950
- E23 The Sudden Guest Feb 5, 1950
- E24 Ann Rutledge Feb 12, 1950
- E25 A Letter to Mr. Priest Feb 19, 1950
- E26 Hometown Feb 26, 1950
- E27 The Life of Vincent Van Gogh Mar 5, 1950
- E28 The Uncertain Molly Collicutt Mar 12, 1950
- E29 The Trial of Steven Kent Mar 19, 1950
- E30 The Second Oldest Profession Mar 26, 1950
- E31 Nocturne Apr 2, 1950
- E32 Dirty Eddie Apr 9, 1950
- E33 The End is Known Apr 16, 1950
- E34 The Man in the Black Hat Apr 23, 1950
- E35 The American Apr 30, 1950
- E36 The Feast May 7, 1950
- E37 Brat Farrar May 14, 1950
- E38 The Charmed Circle May 21, 1950
- E39 Semmelweis May 28, 1950
- E40 Sense and Sensibility Jun 4, 1950
- E41 The Bump on Brannigan's Head Jun 11, 1950
- E42 Anything Can Happen Jun 18, 1950
- E43 Hear My Heart Speak Jun 25, 1950
- E44 The Reluctant Landlord Jul 2, 1950
- E45 The Tentacles Jul 9, 1950
Season 3 · 56 episodes
- E1 High Tor Sep 10, 1950
- E2 The Long Run Sep 17, 1950
- E3 Dear Guest and Ghost Sep 24, 1950
- E4 The Touch of a Stranger Oct 1, 1950
- E5 The Vine That Grew on Fiftieth Street Oct 8, 1950
- E6 A Husband for Mama Oct 15, 1950
- E7 Portrait in Smoke Oct 22, 1950
- E8 The Gambler Oct 29, 1950
- E9 The Power Devil Nov 5, 1950
- E10 The Man Who Got Away With It Nov 12, 1950
- E11 I'm Still Alive Nov 19, 1950
- E12 Torch for a Dark Journey Nov 26, 1950
- E13 Wacky, the Small Boy Dec 3, 1950
- E14 Bonanza Dec 10, 1950
- E15 Decoy Dec 17, 1950
- E16 The Pupil Dec 24, 1950
- E17 Leaf out of a Book Dec 31, 1950
- E18 The Symbol: Jefferson Davis Jan 7, 1951
- E19 The Lost Diplomat Jan 14, 1951
- E20 Confession Jan 21, 1951
- E21 The Great Escape Jan 28, 1951
- E22 A Matter of Life and Death Feb 4, 1951
- E23 Kitty Doone Feb 11, 1951
- E24 Let Them Be Sea Captains Feb 18, 1951
- E25 The Man Who Bought a Town Feb 25, 1951
- E26 No Medals on Pop Mar 11, 1951
- E27 The Dark Corridor Mar 18, 1951
- E28 Bulletin 120 Mar 25, 1951
- E29 Parnassus on Wheels Apr 1, 1951
- E30 Routine Assignment Apr 8, 1951
- E31 Hour of Destiny Apr 15, 1951
- E32 The Birth of the Movies Apr 22, 1951
- E33 Mr. Arcularis Apr 29, 1951
- E34 A Secret Island May 6, 1951
- E35 The Visitors May 13, 1951
- E36 Justice and Mr. Pleznik May 20, 1951
- E37 Rescue May 27, 1951
- E38 The Adventures of Hiram Holliday Jun 3, 1951
- E39 The Fast Dollar Jun 10, 1951
- E40 Operation: Airlift Jun 17, 1951
- E41 Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal Jun 24, 1951
- E42 The Plot Jul 1, 1951
- E43 Case History Jul 8, 1951
- E44 I Want to March Jul 15, 1951
- E45 Pretend I Am A Stranger Jul 22, 1951
- E46 Television Story Jul 29, 1951
- E47 The Return Aug 5, 1951
- E48 Ephraim Tutt's Clean Hands Aug 12, 1951
- E49 Come Alive Aug 19, 1951
- E50 Night at the Vulcan Aug 26, 1951
- E51 This Time Next Year Sep 2, 1951
- E52 Women of Intrigue Sep 9, 1951
- E53 The Wayward Season Sep 16, 1951
- E54 The Spur Sep 23, 1951
- E55 By-Line for Murder Sep 30, 1951
- E56 Requiem for a Model A Oct 7, 1951
Season 4 · 25 episodes
- E1 Marcia Akers Oct 21, 1951
- E2 The Education of a Fullback Nov 4, 1951
- E3 A Little Night Music Nov 18, 1951
- E4 Incident at Golden's Creek Dec 2, 1951
- E5 Perspective Dec 16, 1951
- E6 The Sisters Dec 30, 1951
- E7 Without Fear or Favor Jan 13, 1952
- E8 Segment Jan 27, 1952
- E9 Rich Boy Feb 10, 1952
- E10 Tender Age Feb 24, 1952
- E11 Dusty Portrait Mar 9, 1952
- E12 The Best Laid Schemes Mar 23, 1952
- E13 The Room Next Door Apr 5, 1952
- E14 The Basket Weaver Apr 19, 1952
- E15 We Were Children May 4, 1952
- E16 A Cowboy for Chris May 18, 1952
- E17 A Man's Game Jun 1, 1952
- E18 Flight into Darkness Jun 15, 1952
- E19 The Monument Jun 29, 1952
- E20 A Letter to Mr. Priest Jul 13, 1952
- E21 Bratt Farrar Jul 27, 1952
- E22 The Five Fathers of Pepi Aug 10, 1952
- E23 Three Sundays Aug 24, 1952
- E24 The Last Hour Sep 7, 1952
- E25 Holiday Song Sep 14, 1952
Season 5 · 33 episodes
- E1 The Thin Air Sep 21, 1952
- E2 The Black Sheep Oct 5, 1952
- E3 Uncertain Heritage Oct 19, 1952
- E4 The Winter of the Dog Nov 2, 1952
- E5 Parole Chief Nov 16, 1952
- E6 The Gift Nov 30, 1952
- E7 Tempest of Tick Creek Dec 14, 1952
- E8 Magic Morning Dec 28, 1952
- E9 Double Jeopardy Jan 4, 1953
- E10 Pride's Way Jan 11, 1953
- E11 Two for One Jan 18, 1953
- E12 Elegy Jan 25, 1953
- E13 The Reluctant Citizen Feb 8, 1953
- E14 Mr. Pettengill Here Feb 15, 1953
- E15 Wings on My Feet Feb 22, 1953
- E16 The Trip to Bountiful Mar 1, 1953
- E17 The Gesture Mar 15, 1953
- E18 The Velvet Mitten Mar 22, 1953
- E19 A Young Lady of Property Apr 5, 1953
- E20 The Recluse Apr 19, 1953
- E21 Printer's Measure Apr 26, 1953
- E22 A Little Something in Reserve May 10, 1953
- E23 Marty May 24, 1953
- E24 The Way of an Eagle Jun 7, 1953
- E25 Baby and Me Jun 14, 1953
- E26 Expectant Relations Jun 21, 1953
- E27 The House in Athens Jul 5, 1953
- E28 The Big Deal Jul 19, 1953
- E29 The Cipher Aug 2, 1953
- E30 Ernie Barger is 50 Aug 9, 1953
- E31 The Rainmaker Aug 16, 1953
- E32 Othello Sep 6, 1953
- E33 Holiday Song Sep 20, 1953
Frequently asked questions
When did the series air?
The program was broadcast live on NBC from October 3, 1948, until October 2, 1955.
Who produced the show?
The series was produced by Fred Coe.
What kind of stories were featured?
The show presented original television plays as well as adaptations of Broadway productions, novels, and short stories.
Did the show receive any awards?
The series was recognized with a 1954 Peabody Award and received eight Emmy nominations between 1951 and 1956.
Who hosted the program?
Bert Lytell served as a host during the series' run.