Volume One (TV series)
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Volume One is a 30-minute American television anthology series produced, written, and hosted by Wyllis Cooper. It was a short-lived series that featured mystery and suspense stories. Six episodes aired on the American Broadcasting Company's WJZ-TV Channel 7 in New York City in 1949.[1]
The series had six episodes: "Number One", "Number Two", "Number Three", "Number Four", "Number 5", and "Number Six".[2] Airing from June 16 to July 21, 1949, each episode lasted 30 minutes, airing on ABC on Thursday from 9:30pm–10:30pm.[3][4] The show's host and narrator was Ernest Chappell, while its announcer was Ed Michael.[5] Wyllis Cooper served as its producer, director, narrator, and writer.[4][6]
The producers initially planned to title the show Quiet Please!, which had an identical title as Cooper's radio show.[6][7] Late into production, they decided against using that name.[4][6]
Episodes and cast members
The series had six episodes:
- "Volume One: The Bell Hop Story" stars Jack Lescoulie, Nancy Sheridan, and Frankie Thomas.[8]
- "Volume One: Number Two" stars Donald Briggs, Anne Seymour, and Sid Cassel.[8]
- "Volume One: Number Three" stars Alice Reinhart, Herb Sheldon, and Edgar Stehli.[8]
- "Volume One: Number 4" stars Nancy Sheridan and James Monks.[8]
- "Volume One: Number 5" stars Vicky Vola, William A. Lee, and Marie Kenney.[8]
- "Volume One: Number 6" stars Abby Lewis, Happy Felton, and Alex Segal.[8]
Titled "Volume One: The Bellhop Story", the show's first episode featured Jack Lescoulie, Nancy Sheridan, and Frankie Thomas.[4][6] It was about a man and woman played by Lescoulie and Sheridan who became stuck in their hotel rooms. They are in danger from a bellhop played by Thomas who discovers they had stolen money from a bank and had committed murder.[6][9] The show was Lescoulie's first television role, kicking off an extensive career in the industry.[10] The television series had very little scenery and a small cast.[7] The premiere episode's stage set contained a mirror, a card table, and a chair.[6] Escape, a 1950 television series, featured an identical cast and story as Volume One's first episode.[7]
The second episode was about discussed an alluring woman who orchestrated how an actor became a dictator.[11] Starring Abby Lewis, Happy Felton, and Alex Segal, "Volume One: Number 6" was about a journalist who reports on a time machine and how a scientist invented it.[8] Segal was the series' camera director and an ABC-TV staff director before he took on the role as the scientist.[12]