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Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet (TV series)

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Inside U.S.A. With Chevrolet is an American television revue-style[1] variety program that was broadcast on CBS September 29, 1949 - March 16, 1950.[2] The program was not related to the book with that title or the Broadway revue of the same title.[3]

Personnel

Peter Lind Hayes and his wife, Mary Healy, were co-hosts of Inside U.S.A.[2] Mary Wickes,[1] Sheila Bond and Marion Colby were regulars on the show, and Jay Blackton led the orchestra.[4] The program was the first regular TV series for Hayes and Healy,[5] and Wickes's role was her first on a live TV series.[6]

Each episode featured a "star of the week". Those stars included Celeste Holm, Oscar Levant,[7] Charles Boyer,[6] Margaret O'Brien,[8] Lucille Ball, Boris Karloff, Ethel Merman, and David Niven.[1]

Format

Hayes, "in the role of a contemporary minstrel", traveled across the United States, giving the audience information about the natural wonders of America and its people's diversity to complement each episode's songs, dances, and comedy sketches.[1] Dancers performed large production numbers that viewers might have had trouble appreciating on the small TV screens of that time.[6]

Critical reception

Critic Jack Gould, in The New York Times, cited Inside U.S.A. as an example of the difficulty of adapting "the knowhow of Broadway" to television.[9] He found that the program "fell far short" of the quality of the Admiral Broadway Revue, which had been on the air the previous season.[9] Gould said that some segments tried to include too much material for visibility on a TV screen of that era, with the result that viewers could see only parts of production numbers rather than the numbers to their full extent. He also described one segment as "one gag stretched out to sketch length".[9] Gould complimented Healy on her singing and Bond on her dancing.[9]

A review in the trade publication Billboard had few positive comments about the program's November 10, 1949, episode. saying that only two segments of the show "offered any modicum of amusement".[10] A dance number and a comedy tune received some praise, but the opening number was described as "a beat up old idea, clumsily done" and a sketch featuring guest star David Niven as a doctor was called "a direct insult".[10] The review also panned a Chevrolet commercial in which a group of singers surrounded the car, making it "virtually invisible".[10]

Reviewing the program's first two episodes, media critic John Crosby described Inside U.S.A. as "the closest thing to straight revue yet seen on television", and he praised the "wit, charm, and . . . high degree of organization".[11] He complimented the show's satirical sketches except for one that featured O'Brien, who he said "seemed to think she was in a tragedy rather than a satiric revue sketch and played it accordingly to the paralyzed astonishment of the rest of the cast".[11]

Production

An article in Life magazine described Inside U.S.A. as "the most ambitious and costliest (about $25,000) attempt yet by a Broadway showman . . . to apply Broadway techniques to a TV show".[3] As the show's title indicates, Chevrolet was the sponsor. The trade publication Billboard said in 1949 that the talent budget was reported to be $25,000, with an additional $8,000 for the show's airtime.[12] By March 1950, plans were under way to trim the budget. Billboard reported That Chevrolet had dropped its sponsorship, and that CBS had an option to sell a lower-cost package.[13]

The program was performed in CBS Studio 52.[6] It replaced the second half of 54th Street Revue, which moved to another night. (The Front Page debuted the same night, replacing the first half of 54th Street Revue.)[14] It was broadcast from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursdays,[1] alternating initially with Sugar Hill Times and later with Romance.[2] CBS officials wanted the program to be broadcast weekly, but the costs involved caused executives at Chevrolet to agree to only alternate weeks.[15]

Arthur Schwartz was the producer,[1] Sherman Marks was the director,[8] and Paul Godkin was the choreographer.[16] Writers of sketches and music used on the program included Franklin P. Adams, Marc Connelly, Howard Dietz, Corey Ford, Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Moss Hart.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 667. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 410. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  3. ^ a b "New 'Inside' Job: Third version of 'Inside U.S.A.' seems too big for TV's britches". Life. October 24, 1949. pp. 113–114, 116. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 506. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  5. ^ Tucker, David C. (April 19, 2010). Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television: Thirty Sitcoms That Faded Off Screen. McFarland. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-7864-5582-9. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d Taravella, Steve (May 17, 2013). Mary Wickes: I Know I've Seen That Face Before. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-62846-968-4. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  7. ^ Zimmers, Tighe E. (May 7, 2021). That's Entertainment: A Biography of Broadway Composer Arthur Schwartz. McFarland. p. 212. ISBN 978-1-4766-7881-8. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Ellenberger, Allan R. (September 11, 2015). Margaret O'Brien: A Career Chronicle and Biography. McFarland. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-4766-0401-5. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e Gould, Jack (October 9, 1949). "Television in Review: ' Inside U. S. A.' Opens -- Two Other Shows". The New York Times. p. X 11. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c "Program Comment". Billboard. November 19, 1949. p. 14. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Crosby, John (October 22, 1949). "'Inside U.S.A.' Rated Tops in Video". The Miami Herald. p. 14 - B. Retrieved November 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Auto makers gas up for TV". Billboard. June 25, 1949. p. 8. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  13. ^ "'Inside USA' To Be Revamped for Low Budget". Billboard. March 18, 1950. p. 11. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  14. ^ "Two Stage Shows Make Television Debuts Tonight". The Evening Sun. Maryland, Baltimore. September 29, 1949. p. 34. Retrieved November 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Baughman, James L. (March 26, 2007). Same Time, Same Station: Creating American Television, 1948–1961. JHU Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-8018-7933-3. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  16. ^ "Schwartz 'Inside' All Over U.S.A." Variety. September 7, 1949. p. 31. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
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