Dramatic anthology and variety (1939
- 52)
Screen Guild Theater was created to help raise funds for the Motion Picture Relief Fund created on December 24, 1924 which maintained the Motion Picture Country Home. The salary usually paid to the stars went to the fund. The Motion Picture Country Home offered assistance to people in the motion picture industry from retired actors to security guards to set designers.
Big name Hollywood stars performed on Screen Guild Theater such as Ethel Barrymore, Agnes Moorehead, Dinah Shore, Lionel Barrymore, Humphrey Bogart, Eddie Cantor, Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby, Bette Davis, Jimmy Durante, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, and Frank Sinatra. Song-and-dance routines were liberally mixed with comedy and dramatic sketches to create this Hollywood dramatic anthology and variety.
The Screen Guild Theater collection contains the original shows aired between 1940 and 1948 and was originally sponsored by Lady Esther. This extensive collection contains the shows as they underwent a number of name changes as different sponsors supported the shows such as:
- The Gulf Screen Guild Show (Jan 1939 – April 1942)
- The Gulf Screen Guild Theater
- The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater (October 1942 – July 1947)
- The Camel Screen Guild Theater (Oct 1947 – June 1948)
Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2010 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved-Reproduction is prohibited. This series is similar in theme, but is not to be
confused with Screen
Director's Playhouse.
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