Armstrong Circle Theatre is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with The U.S. Steel Hour. It finished in the Nielsen ratings at number 19 for the 1950–51 season and number 24 for 1951–52. The principal sponsor was Armstrong World Industries. Between July 8 and September 16, 1959, CBS aired reruns of six documentary dramas originally broadcast during the 1958–1959 season as episodes of Armstrong Circle Theatre under the title Armstrong by Request. Armstrong by Request aired during Armstrong Circle Theatre′s time slot and also alternated with The United States Steel Hour.

Synopsis

The program's first season featured episodes that tried "to please every body in a mass audience, using only highly formularized plays. The next season brought a different approach, with more emphasis on characters than on plot. Edward B. Roberts worked with writers from all over the United States to find scripts. By mid-November 1952, he estimated that he had talked to 3,000 writers and looked at 20,000 scripts. Authors received $750 for each accepted script. The series featured original dramas by noted writers, although sometimes comedies were shown. Its guidelines specifically called for the avoidance of violence. Originally a half-hour production, in 1955 the show expanded to an hour and began to emphasize dramatized versions of real-life contemporary events (including the sinking of the SS Andrea Doria) and a documentary on the history of Communism in the Soviet Union. Upon moving to CBS, the show emphasized several Cold War topics, including espionage, Radio Free Europe and escapes from East Germany. David Susskind, producer of the program, called the new episodes "actuals", describing them as "dramatizations based on truth".

Hosts and narrators

Guest stars

The series featured numerous guest stars including:

Directors

International broadcast and streaming

The series didn't air internationally until June 4, 2007 when Telecapri News aired the first 10 seasons of the show and on Telecapri with the 11th, 12th and 13th season until December 29, 2016 and with repeats both on Telecapri Sport until January 17, 2018 and on the same network until April 12, 2024, all with Italian subtitles in Italy. It is also known as "Teatro di Armstrong". The success of the Italian broadcast on Telecapri News in the late 2000s and 2010s (followed by Telecapri from 2015 to 2016) led the series to broadcast in Poland, where Polsat JimJam aired only the sixth and ninth season with Polish subtitles and in the United Kingdom on CBS Justice. It is unknown whether this show will be available to stream on Paramount+. Currently, the rights to this show are owned by Paramount Global.

Episodes

1950-1951

1952-1953

1954

1955-1956

1956-1957

1957-1958

1962-1963