The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air
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The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air (1946) is a CBS radio drama series produced, directed by and starring Orson Welles. It was a short-lived summer radio series sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon, on Friday evenings at 10 p.m. ET lasting 15 episodes. It harked back to Welles's earlier The Mercury Theatre on the Air (1938) and its successor, The Campbell Playhouse, but was not able to replicate its success. The series offered 30-minute adaptations of classic plays and novels, plus some adaptations of popular motion pictures, whereas the original had offered more depth in its 60-minute running time. Although the Mercury Theatre troupe had disbanded when Welles was fired from RKO studios in 1942 and the Mercury players were dismissed with him, this radio series offered a reunion of many Mercury personnel, including Richard Wilson (who would direct the rehearsals) and composer Bernard Herrmann, as well as familiar actors such as Agnes Moorehead and William Alland.
Genre | Anthology drama |
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Running time | 30 minutes |
Country of origin | United States |
Language(s) | English |
Home station | CBS |
Hosted by | Orson Welles |
Starring | Various |
Written by | Orson Welles Others |
Directed by | Orson Welles |
Produced by | Orson Welles |
Narrated by | Orson Welles |
Recording studio | New York |
Original release | June 7 (1946-06-07) ā September 13, 1946 (1946-09-13) |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 15 |
Audio format | Monaural sound |