DuMont Network shows that survive at UCLA Film and Television Archive
by Thor-Delta | created - 02 May 2012 | updated - 08 Jul 2012 | PublicDuMont Television Network, one of the first commercial television networks, broadcasted from 1946 to 1956. The network existed in a time when preserving television programming was not taken seriously, also, it is well known that the archive of the network was disposed of some time in the 1970s. Nevertheless, a surprising amount of DuMont content has survived.
The following is a list of DuMont Television Network programs for which episodes are preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. It is probably incomplete, for example, 2 episodes of "Chance for a Lifetime" that aired on the network may exist at the archive, but this is unconfirmed. UCLA has 30 episodes of "Boxing From Eastern Parkway" and three episodes of "Boxing With Dennis James", neither of which are listed on IMDb.
Please note that more episodes of DuMont series surviving at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, The Paley Center for Media, the Library of Congress, elsewhere, and in private collections.
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1. The Admiral Broadway Revue (1949– )
60 min | Comedy, Music
A comedy/variety show featuring the early performances of Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca.
Stars: Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Marge Champion, Gower Champion
Votes: 28
1 Episode (March 4, 1949) (note: a near-complete run survives at the Library of Congress)
2. A.N.T.A. Album of 1955 (1955 TV Movie)
120 min | Drama, Musical
Closed circuit fund raising performance telecast live from the Adelphi Theatre in New York City to 31 movie theaters across the country. The project was a joint venture by the American National Theatre & Academy and CARE.
Director: Barry Shear | Stars: Barbara Bel Geddes, Louie Bellson, Victor Borge, Ray Boyle
Special shown March 28, 1955.
3. Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena (1946–1956)
120 min | Sport
A television series consisting of boxing matches.
Stars: Dennis James, Chris Schenkel
5 incomplete episodes (also includes several more episodes that aired on WABD after DuMont's demise)
4. Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1949–1955)
TV-Y7 | 30 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure
"Guardian of the Safety of the World", private citizen-scientist Captain Video, assisted by his teenage helper The Ranger and an army of Video Rangers, preserves the peace in the far-off ... See full summary »
Stars: Don Hastings, Al Hodge, Hal Conklin, Ben Lackland
Votes: 135
24 episodes ranging from 1949-1953
5. Cavalcade of Stars (1949–1952)
60 min | Family, Comedy, Music
An hour of live variety, in the classic sense of television's Golden Age.
Stars: Sammy Spear and His Orchestra, Jackie Gleason, Jack Lescoulie, The June Taylor Dancers
Votes: 64
15 episodes (some incomplete).
6. Champagne and Orchids (1948–1949)
30 min
A fifteen-minute Monday-night musical show.
Star: Adrienne
Two episodes (with guests Eric Thorsen and Yul Brenner)
7. Charlie Wild, Private Detective (1950–1952)
30 min | Crime, Drama
A half-hour private-eye crime show set in New York.
Stars: Cloris Leachman, John McQuade, Kevin O'Morrison, Philippa Bevans
Votes: 18
2 episodes (plus more episodes from the CBS and ABC runs)
8. Colonel Humphrey Flack (1953–1959)
30 min | Comedy, Family
Colonel Humphrey Flack is the consummate con-man, swindling swindlers at every opportunity.
Stars: Alan Mowbray, Frank Jenks, Eliot Sharfe, Boris Aplon
Votes: 35
12 episodes
9. Concert Tonight (1953–1955)
60 min | Documentary, Family, Music
An hour of classical music performed by the Chicago Symphony.
Stars: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, George Schick, Fritz Reiner, Rafael Kubelík
1 episode
10. Dark of Night (1952–1953)
30 min
The drama of this show took place in real locations in and around New York City including Bretano's Books, Idlewild Airport, and Schaeffer Brewing. The story revolved around a new set of characters each episode.
Stars: Carl Low, Michael Garrett, Joe Helgeson, Lois Nettleton
One episode (January 30, 1953)
11. Doorway to Fame (1947–1949)
30 min
An early TV talent show. It is believed that none of the 20,000 people who auditioned ever achieved any great fame beyond this show.
Stars: Johnny Olson, The Four Tophatters, The Ned Harvey Orchestra, Ned Harvey
Two episodes (March 30 and April 1949)
12. Front Row Center (1949–1950)
60 min | Comedy, Family, Western
Stars: Jan Murray, Marilyn Maxwell, Joan Fields, Marilyn Cantor Baker
Votes: 13
One episode
One episode (December 13, 1951)
14. The Goldbergs (1949–1957)
30 min | Comedy
Comedy-drama about a Jewish-American family living in New York City.
Stars: Gertrude Berg, Arlene McQuade, Eli Mintz, Robert H. Harris
Votes: 218
22 DuMont Network-aired episodes survive of this series, along with a surprisingly good amount of the CBS and NBC episodes, plus all the first-run syndication. Shout! Factory gave this series a DVD release!)
15. The Growing Paynes (1948–1949)
30 min | Family, Comedy
Mr.Paynes son falls in love.
Stars: Judy Parrish, John Harvey, David Anderson, Ed Holmes
One episode
16. Gruen Guild Theater (1951–1953)
30 min | Drama
An American dramatic anthology series that was known as Gruen Guild Playhouse when it debuted on ABC. "Guild" was dropped from the title when it was shown on the DuMont Television Network in 1952. Sponsored by the Gruen Watch Company.
Stars: Robert Hutton, Steve Brodie, Bonita Granville, Ludwig Donath
Votes: 36
Two episodes (May 22 and June 19, 1952)
18 episodes
12 episodes (but not all have been confirmed as DuMont episodes)
19. Jimmy Hughes, Rookie Cop (1953– )
30 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Jimmy Hughes, a Korean War veteran now on the New York Police force, seeks the killer of his father, also a policeman.
Stars: Conrad Janis, Marian Russell, Dorrit Kelton, Frank Sutton
1 episode (May 8, 1953)
20. The Johns Hopkins Science Review (1948–1954)
Documentary
A regularly-aired documentary series covering a very wide range of subjects related to science.
Stars: Lynn Poole, Joel Chaseman, Wernher von Braun, John Mauchly
Votes: 15
3 episodes (note: a much larger number of episodes survive at the Johns Hopkins university)
21. Joseph Schildkraut Presents (1952– )
30 min | Drama, Family
A filmed dramatic anthology series.
Stars: Joseph Schildkraut, Sylvia Sidney, Edward Binns, Madeleine Sherwood
1 episode (November 18, 1953)
22. Kids and Company (1951–1952)
30 min | Family
A Saturday-morning chidren's series.
Stars: Johnny Olson, Ham Fisher, Leslie Uggams, Johnny Desmond
1 episode (series finale)
23. Life Is Worth Living (1952–1965)
30 min | Family, Talk-Show
The show featured Most Reverent Fulton J. Sheen, the Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of New York City, offering anecdotes and moral lessons. Many of the talks were about the evils of the Communist form of government.
Stars: Fulton J. Sheen, Don Russell
Votes: 99
Four episodes (note: a much larger number episodes are preserved by a Catholic organisation)
24. The Magic Cottage (1949–1955)
A well-received children's series that was broadcast live from New York City.
Stars: Pat Meikle, Don Hastings, Ruth White, Martin Balsam
Votes: 27
Two episodes
25. Marge and Jeff (1953– )
15 min | Comedy, Family
A domestic sitcom about a Manhattan newlywed couple.
Stars: Dick Stark, Jess Cain, Marge Greene
27 episodes (yes, I am too shocked by the large number of surviving episodes of this series).
26. Melody Street (1953– )
30 min
A presentation of music, in which a group of performers lip-synced to other artists hits. This series was short-lived, but the format later had success....in Australia, under the title "Hit Parade".
Stars: Tony Mottola, Elliot Lawrence
2 episodes, plus an excerpt from another episode
27. The Morey Amsterdam Show (1948–1950)
30 min | Comedy, Family, Music
The show had two venues. In December 1948 to March 1949, Morey Amsterdam was the emcee at a small fictional nightclub in New York City's Times Square. Charlie the Doorman (later Newton the ... See full summary »
Stars: Morey Amsterdam, Art Carney, Johnny Guarnieri, Don Russell
Votes: 41
A near-complete run of the 1948-1950 series, consisting of many episodes, and even including a couple of the 1948 CBS episodes. We can only hope this gets a DVD release some day)
28. Newsweek Views the News (1948– )
30 min | News, Talk-Show
A prime-time public-affairs program featuring editors of Newsweek magazine interviewing guests and discussing current events.
Stars: Ernest K. Lindley, John Daly, Whittaker Chambers, Peter Pirogov
Two episodes (both from 1950)
29. Not for Publication (1951– )
30 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Collins is an investigative reporter for the New York Ledger in this dramatic series.
Stars: Jerome Cowan, William Adler, Jon Silo, Martin Brandt
12 episodes
30. Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour (1948–1970)
TV-G | Comedy, Family, Music
A direct descendant of radio's "Major Bowes Original Amateur Hour" (1934-1946), hosted by Major Edward Bowes until his death. After a one-year hiatus, Ted Mack, who had directed Bowes' ... See full summary »
Stars: Ted Mack, Pat Boone, Barney Ross, Jerry Vale
Votes: 56
3 (incomplete?) episodes, plus an excerpt from another episode
31. Stump the Stars (1947– )
30 min | Game-Show
Television's first treatment of "Charades" as played by Hollywood celebrities. The giveaway was the use of gestures that defined "film", "TV show", "book" or "song" as well as "small word (... See full summary »
Stars: Mike Stokey, Vincent Price, Sebastian Cabot, Beverly Garland
Votes: 106
2 episodes (there is also a much larger number of surviving episodes from the CBS and ABC runs at the archive).
32. The Paul Dixon Show (1951– )
60 min | Comedy, Music, Talk-Show
Local talk and variety show that ABC picked up for only one season. It was picked up again a couple of years later by DuMont. Continued locally for another 23 years. Some of the regulars ... See full summary »
Stars: Paul Dixon, Dottie Mack, Wanda Lewis, Sis Camp
Votes: 9
1 episode (network premiere from September 29, 1952)
33. The Pulse of the City (1953– )
15 min
Stars: Owen Bush, Kermit Echols, Art Ellison, Harriet Levitt
3 episodes
34. Rocky King, Detective (1950–1954)
30 min | Action, Drama, Crime
At the end of each show, Rocky King (Roscoe Karns) calls his wife, Mabel, and says, "Case is closed Mabel, I'm coming home".
Stars: Roscoe Karns, Todd Karns, Grace Carney, Stephen Elliott
Votes: 75
37 episodes
35. Star Time (1950–1951)
60 min | Comedy, Family, Music
Stars: Frances Langford, Lew Parker, Benny Goodman, Dick Haymes
Four episodes, plus an excerpt from another episode
36. The Ted Steele Show (1948–1957)
30 min | Music
A variety show.
Stars: Ted Steele, Helen Wood, Mardi Bryant, Nola Day
1 episode (series finale from July 12, 1949)
37. This Is Music (1951–1959)
30 min | Family, Music
Stars: Alexander Gray, Nancy Carr, Bruce Foote, Bill Snary
2 episodes
38. Vincent Lopez (1949– )
15 min
A music program aired in a 15-minute time-slot.
Star: Vincent Lopez
One episode (from 1950)
39. Window on the World (1949– )
30 min | Comedy, Family, Music
This show featured entertainers from all over the world. Scenes o the performers homeland would be shown behind the entertainer as they performed.
Stars: Merle Kendrick, Gil Lamb
One episode (March 25, 1949)
40. Wisdom of the Ages (1952–1953)
Stars: Jack Barry, Marcia Van Dyke, Ronny Moluzzo, Leo Greene
Votes: 8
1 episode
41. You Asked for It (1950–1959)
30 min | Family, Game-Show
This show responded to requests from the viewer, e.g., a look into the vaults at Fort Knox, showing $1 million dollars in $1 bills, etc.
Stars: Art Baker, Jack Smith, Jackie Coogan, Lon Chaney Jr.
Votes: 71
2 episodes
42. The Stranger (1954– )
30 min
The Stranger was a mysterious man who would appear at the moment some distressed person needed assistance.
Stars: Robert Carroll, Donald Briggs, Nehemiah Persoff, Edward Binns
1 episode (12 November 1954)
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