The Buick Circus Hour

The Buick Circus Hour
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseOctober 7, 1952 (1952-10-07) –
1953 (1953)

The Buick Circus Hour is an American television series that aired October 7, 1952 - June 16, 1953, on NBC.[1]

Overview

It was a variety series with a circus theme. It was a 60-minute show. As the title suggests, it was sponsored by Buick.[2] Archival status is not known, but the debut episode appears on the Internet Archive.

Plot

Kim O'Neill was a young singer who is in love with Bill Sothern, owner of the circus in which she worked. An old clown tried to help O'Neill,[3] whom he had adopted as an infant about two decades earlier.[4] Episodes dealt with both personal and professional situations. Real circus acts and musical numbers were included in the stories.[3]

Cast

Others who appeared on the program included Ben Blue[5] and Edd Byrnes in his first TV job.[6]

Production

The producer of The Buick Circus Hour was John C. Wilson,[7] and the director was Frank Burns.[8] Writers included Nat Hiken,[9] Anita Loos,[10] and Jerry Seelen.[8] Victor Young directed the music.[11] This series aired once a month in the Tuesday night 8 PM Eastern time slot normally occupied by the Texaco Star Theater which starred Milton Berle.[3] The series originated from WNBT in New York.[4]

Critical response

Peg Simpson wrote in The (Syracuse) Post-Standard that the program made "little impression on the public in its first show" but added that it "shows great promise".[12] Simpson suggested that having stronger motivations for characters and better integrating stories and music would improve the show.[12]

A reviewer for the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper felt the series was not up to 1952 standards (comparing the show with a 1948 variety show), though also describing the cast and crew as being talented.[13]

John Crosby wrote that the show "was a sort of undigested mixture" of circus, musical comedy, and television without being any one of the three.[5] Crosby wrote that after a circus-themed opening, the rest of the program "was more routine song and dance stuff".[5]

A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety said that the program showed promise and was exciting, but "too many diverse elements were tossed together".[14] As a result, "the plot gets lost in the shuffle, with the drama telescoped into skeletonized, sketchy segments".[14]

References

  1. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 125. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  2. ^ Terrace, Vincent (January 2, 2025). 1950s Television Advertising: The Sponsors and Programs. McFarland. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-4766-5251-1. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "This Week (Cont'd)". Ross Reports. October 5, 1952. p. 2. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Crosby, John (October 24, 1952). "Sees Lack of 'Something' In Buick's Circus Hour". The Muskegon Chronicle. New York Herald Tribune. p. 14. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Aaker, Everett (October 17, 2024). Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters: All Regular Cast Members in American Crime and Mystery Series, 1948-1959. McFarland. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-4766-0636-1. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  7. ^ Wilson, John C. (October 22, 2015). Noel, Tallulah, Cole, and Me: A Memoir of Broadway's Golden Age. Rowman & Littlefield. p. xxiii. ISBN 978-1-4422-5573-9. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Hyatt, Wesley (October 6, 2015). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4766-0515-9. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  9. ^ Everitt, David (March 1, 2001). King of the Half Hour: Nat Hiken and the Golden Age of TV Comedy. Syracuse University Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-8156-0676-5. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  10. ^ Smyth, J. E. (March 2, 2018). Nobody's Girl Friday: The Women Who Ran Hollywood. Oxford University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-19-084083-9. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  11. ^ "'Buick Circus Hour,' New Musical Show with Book by Anita Loos, to Star Joe E. Brown, Dolores Gray and John Raitt" (Press release). New York: NBC. October 1, 1952. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Simpson, Peg (November 4, 1952). "Series of Telecasts By Bishop Sheen To Be Resumed". The Post-Standard. New York, Syracuse. p. 19. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Lanigan, Bob (October 12, 1952). "'Buick Circus Hour' Needs A Very Thorough Shakeup" (PDF). Brooklyn Eagle. p. 34. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Buick Circus Hour". Variety. October 15, 1952. p. 27. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
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