Plymouth Playhouse
Plymouth Playhouse, aka ABC Album, is a half-hour US television anthology series. Fifteen episodes aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) from April 12, 1953 to June 21, 1953. Some of the productions were live while others were filmed. It was hosted by David Cook. ABC, which had a reputation for producing shows that were not as good as their competitors, CBS and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), used this program featuring top notch casts to audition possible series in the hopes of gaining sponsorship for the 1953 TV season.
Three of the episodes went on to become series of their own:
Colonel Humphrey Flack (1953–54), starring Alan Mowbray on DuMont Television
Jamie (1953–54), starring Brandon De Wilde on ABC
Justice (1954–55), starring Paul Douglas (actor) and Lee Grant on NBC
Other guest stars included Eva Marie Saint, Robert Preston (actor), Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, Jane Wyatt, Gary Merrill, and Wendell Corey. Directors included two later Academy Award nominated feature directors, Martin Ritt, and Ralph Nelson.