Tuesday, September 30, 2014

TWICE-TOLD TALES - "MILLER'S MILLIONS"


'The O. Henry Playhouse'
"Miller's Millions"
(May 18, 1957)

'The Ford Television Theatre'
'Miller's Millions'
(May 22, 1957)

You wouldn't see that sort of thing nowadays, where two shows shared the same episode just a few days apart.  (And they were the same episode, with Thomas Mitchell and Otto Kruger starring.)

First off, the anthology series is a dinosaur, a relic of TV's first Golden Age when it was a haven for writers.  And the sponsor held sway back then, even getting their names into the titles of the shows.  I wouldn't be surprised if the Ford Motor Company was the major sponsor of 'The O. Henry Playhouse' as well.

This had no impact on Toobworld; the story only played out the one time in the timeline even if Earth Prime-Time has a rerun atmosphere.  Just something that caught my eye while working up another post.  That will be coming up soon as a Two for Tuesday feature....

BCnU!
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1 comment:

  1. Anonymous10:41 AM

    Fascinating--have you confirmed that the episodes were the same, or is this a case of IMDB-haziness? I ask because two shows I'd like to track down are versions of "A Lodging for the Night" that apparently aired on _Omnibus_, starring Yul Brynner as Francois Villon, and _Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents_, with DF as Villon; both aired in 1956, and the result is a good bit of confusion when trying to find either (interestingly enough, _My Favorite Story_ also adapted this story in 1953, with Robert Clarke as Villon). The idea that the two shows had the same program, especially when based on something by O.Henry, is not surprising, but the use of the same casts must make this stand out somewhat.

    --Hugh

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