Ah,
Wilderness! Studio One
Broadcast:
CBS - Tuesday, July
15, 1947
Adapted:
Fletcher Markle Director:
Fletcher Markle
Host -
Fletcher Markle Richard - Donald Harron
Nat Miller - Everett Sloane Essie Miller -
Katherine Roth
Sid Davis -
Robert Dryden Muriel Macomber
- Ruth Gilbert Belle - Anne Burr
The post-war 1940's was a time of experimentation and expansion inradio. One such show from this era was
Studio One, a drama anthology,
which first aired Tuesday, April 29, 1947, at 9:00 over CBS stations.It brought hour-long presentations of books and plays to radio,
manyof which had not been attempted before.
Fletcher Markle, a CBS radioveteran, produced, hosted and occasionally acted in the series.Initially, he was supported by a troupe of seasoned radio actors,because he felt the actor's name was not as important as the
play.The works selected were adapted to be as
true as possible to theoriginal, a tough job
considering the shows were to air only an hour.It was directed by Robert Landry and was written by Vincent
McConnor.
Half way through the season, ratings were not as expected, possiblybecause the series didn't air on the West Coast. Big name actors
werebrought in to help improve ratings. The
sustained series still leftthe air after only
one season. Studio One ran until July
27, 1948,when it was replaced by Rooftops of the City. However, the
standardsit set led to a TV series of the
same name which ran for nine seasons.
Interestingly, when The Ford Theater
moved from NBC to CBS in 1948,Fletcher Markle
became producer for it and brought his troupe ofStudio One radio actors with
him. The Ford Theater followed the sameformula as Studio One, using
Hollywood screen actors in the lead,supported
by a cast of radio actors.