The General Motors Hour Explained

The General Motors Hour was an Australian radio and television drama series.

Radio

The radio series was a regular one hour drama broadcast over the Macquarie Radio Network at 8 pm on Thursdays.^[1] It is believed to have commenced in the late 1940s and lasted into the early 1960s. Producers included Robert Peach^[2] and Harry Dearth.^[3] The announcer was John Dease. 15 episodes are available on the RadioEchoes website.^[4]

Television

The television version of The General Motors Hour was a loosely scheduled occasional series which aired on Australian television from 1960 to 1962. The series aired on ATN-7 in Sydney and GTV-9 in Melbourne, as well as on other affiliated stations across Australia. The presentations ranged from adaptations of overseas stage plays and anthology episodes, to locally-written drama and a documentary.

Its first show was a production of The Grey Nurse Said Nothing.^[5]

Three of the TV episodes - Suspect, Candida, and Shadow Of The Vine - had been produced by English producer Peter Cotes for HSV-7 in 1961, but were shelved due to lack of sponsorship. Sponsorship was provided by GM-H in 1962, and plays were run on HSV-7 and TCN-9 under the "General Motors Hour" title.^{[6] [7]}

List of known TV episodes

• The Grey Nurse Said Nothing (1960, drama)
• This Is Television (1960, variety, documentary)^[8]
• Thunder on Sycamore Street (1960, drama)
• You, Too, Can Have a Body (1960, drama)
• Shadow of a Pale Horse (1960, drama)^[9]
• The Concert (1961, drama)^[10]
• Long Distance (1961)
• Suspect (1961, drama)
• Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1962, melodrama)^{[11] [12]}
• The One Day of the Year (1962, drama)
• Candida (1961, comedy)
• Manhaul (1962, drama)
• Shadow of the Vine (1962, drama)^[13]

See also

• Shell Presents - 1959-1960 occasional series
• Killer in Close-Up - 1957-1958 anthology of four half-hour plays on ABC

Notes and References

1. 21-27 May 1960 . [Title not known] . The Listener In TV.
2. News: 2004-01-28 . Radio star in tune with the times . . 2020-06-19.
3. Diana R. . Combe . Henry Alan (Harry) Dearth (1908–1964) . 13 . 1993 . dearth-henry-alan-harry-9934 . 2020-06-19 .
4. Web site: General Motors Hour . 2019-03-01 . RadioEchoes.
5. Vagg . Stephen . 2020-11-17 . Forgotten Australian TV Plays: The Grey Nurse Said Nothing . Filmink . 2020-11-17.
6. News: 1962-05-31 . Peter Cotes Dramas Out Of Storage . 3 . . TV & Radio Guide . 2014-10-09.
7. News: 1962-04-26 . Australian Drama on Two Channels . 1 . . TV & Radio Guide . 2020-05-03.
8. News: Musgrove . Nan . 1960-07-20 . Dreams for winners and losers . 28 . 55 . . 7 . Australia . 2020-09-06 . National Library of Australia.
9. Vagg . Stephen . 2023-09-13 . Forgotten Australian Television Plays: Shadow of a Pale Horse . Filmink . 2023-09-18.
10. News: 1961-06-01 . TV Programmes . 7 . . TV & Radio Guide . 2014-10-16.
11. News: 1961-08-17 . Author, 23 in Rare Double . 2 . . TV & Radio Guide . 2014-12-10.
12. News: 1961-08-17 . TV Programmes . 7 . . TV & Radio Guide . 2023-09-28.
13. News: 1962-10-05 . TV Programmes . 8 . . TV & Radio Guide . 2014-10-09.