About this season
The Goodyear Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the "Golden Age of Television". Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the Philco Television Playhouse was seen on alternate weeks. In 1955, the title was shortened to The Goodyear Playhouse and it aired on alternate weeks with The Alcoa Hour. The three series were essentially the same, with the only real difference being the name of the sponsor. Producer Fred Coe nurtured and encouraged a group of young, mostly unknown writers that included Robert Alan Aurthur, George Baxt, Paddy Chayefsky, Horton Foote, Howard Richardson, Tad Mosel and Gore Vidal. Notable productions included Chayefsky's Marty starring Rod Steiger, Chayefsky's The Bachelor Party, Vidal's Visit to a Small Planet, Richardson's Ark of Safety and Foote's The Trip to Bountiful. From 1957 to 1960, it became a taped, half-hour series titled Goodyear Theater, seen on Mondays at 9:30pm.
Episodes (25)
1. Holiday Song
Aired 14 September 1952 • 60 min
2. The Room
Aired 28 September 1952 • 60 min
The Room symbolizes the barrier built by a small girl against her father whom she believed responsible for her mother's death.
3. O Romany
Aired 12 October 1952 • 60 min
4. Better than Walking
Aired 26 October 1952 • 60 min
5. The Darkness Below
Aired 9 November 1952 • 60 min
6. The Old Beginning
Aired 23 November 1952 • 60 min
7. The Search
Aired 7 December 1952 • 60 min
8. Mr. Quimby's Christmas Hats
Aired 21 December 1952 • 60 min
9. A Medal in the Family
Aired 1 February 1953 • 60 min
10. Wings On My Feet
Aired 22 February 1953 • 60 min
11. The Rumor
Aired 8 March 1953 • 60 min
12. The Gesture
Aired 15 March 1953 • 60 min
13. Wish on the Moon
Aired 29 March 1953 • 60 min
WISH ON THE MOON is a chronicle of two women-friends whose lives take unexpected turns. One musters all her effort to become a famous actress, but instead ends up married. The other, who lacks motivation except to find a husband, inadvertently becomes a stage and screen star. Both feel unfulfilled and secretly envy what the other has gained.
14. The Long Way Home
Aired 12 April 1953 • 60 min
15. Printer's Measure
Aired 26 April 1953 • 60 min
16. The Accident
Aired 3 May 1953 • 60 min
17. The Oil Well
Aired 17 May 1953 • 60 min
18. Marty
Aired 24 May 1953 • 60 min
Marty, a lonely homely butcher from the Bronx is in search of a wife. He finally meets a lonely girl in a dance hall with whom he can communicate.
19. Before I Wake
Aired 31 May 1953 • 60 min
20. Her Prince Charming
Aired 14 June 1953 • 60 min
21. Catch A Falling Star
Aired 28 June 1953 • 60 min
22. Nothing to Sneeze At
Aired 12 July 1953 • 60 min
23. The Young and Fair
Aired 26 July 1953 • 60 min
24. Ernie Barger is Fifty
Aired 9 August 1953 • 60 min
This drama examines several concurrent crises in the life of middle-aged Ernie Barger (Begley).
25. Hollywood Tandem a. Fade Out and b. The New Process
Aired 23 August 1953 • 60 min