HALLMARK HALL OF FAME NBC Television (1951 - 1979) CBS, PBS, ABC (1979 - present) Debuted December 24, 1951 Hallmark Hall of Fame was a drama anthology created by Hallmark Cards to be a showcase around which to market its greeting cards. Initially a half-hour weekly series hosted by Sarah Churchill, the program was changed beginning 1955 into a series of 90-minute or 120-minute specials that usually aired around holiday times. These specials were adaptations of works by major playwrights and authors such as George Bernard Shaw, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Rod Serling. The highly acclaimed anthology has received multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, Peabody, Humanitas, and Christopher awards.

The Good Fairy  

Original Airdate: February 5, 1956 (90 minutes)
Produced and narrated by Maurice Evans
Directed by George Schaefer
Adapted for television by Jean Kerr from the play by Ferenc Molnar

Guest Stars: Julie Harris (Lu), Walter Slezak (Max Sporum), Cyril Ritchard (Konrad), Roddy McDowall (waiter), Florida Friebus (Karoline), Paul Lynde (Dr Metz), Harry Ellerbee (clerk), Temple Texas (blonde)

A movie theatre usherette, who thinks of herself as a good fairy, strives to make the people she comes in contact with happy. So when a wealthy businessman asks her to dine out, she accepts, as she also considers how some of his money can be put to noble uses.

The Tempest  

Original Airdate: February 3, 1960 (90 minutes)
Produced and directed by George Schaefer
Adapted for television by John Edward Friend from the play by William Shakespeare

Guest Stars: Maurice Evans (Prospero), Lee Remick (Miranda), Richard Burton (Caliban), Roddy McDowall (Ariel), Ronald Radd (Ferdinand), Liam Redmond (Gonzalo), Geoffrey Lumb (Alonso), Paul Ballantyne (Sebastian), William H. Bassett (Antonio), Tom Poston (Trinculo)

William Shakespeare's comedy concerns a former Duke (Prospero) and his daughter (Miranda) who become rulers of an enchanted island when the Duke is usurped from his throne by his brother, Antonio, and set adrift at sea. Years later, the Duke uses magical powers to create a tempest to bring his brother's ship to the island, and proceeds to toy with the new arrivals. Complications arise when his daughter falls in love with one of the men.

Saint Joan

Original Airdate: December 4, 1967 (120 minutes)
Produced and directed by George Schaefer
Adapted for television by Robert Hartung from the play by George Bernard Shaw

Guest Stars: Genevieve Bujold (Joan of Arc), Roddy McDowall (Charles), Maurice Evans (Bishop Cauchon), James Donald (Richard), James Daly (Jack Dunois), Theodore Bikel (Robert de Baudricourt), Raymond Massey (inquisitor), Leo Genn (Archbishop of Rheims), David Birney (Ladvenie), George Rose (chaplain)

George Bernard Shaw's provocative drama traces the life of Joan of Arc from her first attempt to save France from the English to her court trial and burning at the stake.

Related Links

• Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie List at the Hallmark Press Room
• UCLA Film and Television Archive Presents 50 Years of Hallmark Hall of Fame