The General Motors Hour

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]

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.^[5]

Its first show was a production of The Grey Nurse Said Nothing.^[6]

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.^[7][8]

List of known TV episodes

• The Grey Nurse Said Nothing (1960, drama)
• This Is Television (1960, variety, documentary)^[9]
• Thunder on Sycamore Street (1960, drama)
• You, Too, Can Have a Body (1960, drama)
• Shadow of a Pale Horse (1960, drama)^[10]
• The Concert (1961, drama)^[11]
• Long Distance (1961)
• Suspect (1961, drama)
• Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1962, melodrama)^[12][13]
• The One Day of the Year (1962, drama)
• Candida (1961, comedy)
• Manhaul (1962, drama)
• Shadow of the Vine (1962, drama)^[14]

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