Faraway Hill
| Faraway Hill | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Soap opera |
| Starring |
Flora Campbell Mel Brandt Eve McVeagh Julie Christy Barry Doig Munroe Gabler Jack Halloran Vivian King Ben Low Frederic Meyer Lorene Scott Ann Stell Hal Studer Jacqueline Waite |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | David P. Lewis |
| Release | |
| Original network | DuMont Television Network |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | October 2 – December 18, 1946 |
Faraway Hill was the first soap opera broadcast on an American television network, airing on the DuMont Television Network on Wednesday nights at 9 pm[1] between October 2 and December 18, 1946.
Synopsis
A widowed New York City resident, Karen St. John (played by Flora Campbell), moved to a small town to be near relatives. There she met a man who had been adopted by her family, and with whom she fell in love. However, he was already engaged to another woman. In addition, the sophisticated St. John clashed with her rural relatives.[2]
Broadcast history
The series ran from October 2, 1946, to December 18, 1946. David P. Lewis, the writer and director, had a budget of around $300 an episode.[2]
Other actors included Mel Brandt, Eve McVeagh, and Julie Christy (not to be confused with actress Julie Christie).[2]
The half-hour show was broadcast live, although filmed excerpts were interspersed, and slides of scenes from previous shows were included in later episodes to bring viewers up to date with regard to plot elements which had previously transpired. A narrator gave Karen's thoughts as bridges between scenes.[2]
Episode status
No footage from the series has survived (methods to record television, such as kinescopes, did not exist until 1947). The original scripts are owned by the Lewis family.
See also
- List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network
- List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts
- 1946-47 United States network television schedule
- Highway to the Stars (1947) another early DuMont soap opera
References
Bibliography
- David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) ISBN 1-59213-245-6
- Alex McNeil, Total Television, Fourth edition (New York: Penguin Books, 1980) ISBN 0-14-024916-8
- Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, Third edition (New York: Ballantine Books, 1964) ISBN 0-345-31864-1