# Alcoa Premiere

Alcoa Premiere (also known as Premiere, Presented by Fred Astaire ) is an American anthology drama series sponsored by the Alcoa Corporation that aired from October 10, 1961, to September 12, 1963, on ABC. The series was hosted by Fred Astaire, who also starred in several of the episodes.

## Overview

Each episode presented a new story, with no overriding theme to the series as a whole. While some episodes were light entertainment, and at least one variety show was aired, the dramatic episodes often offered powerful stories on painful or controversial subjects as opposed to classic drama. The series showcased writers such as Ray Bradbury, Howard Rodman, Ernest Kinoy, Donald S. Sanford, Alfred Bester, and Gene L. Coon, amongst others. The program also featured actors such as James Stewart, John Wayne, Charlton Heston, James Whitmore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Arthur Kennedy and Ray Milland. Both Stewart and Wayne appeared in an episode directed by John Ford, "Flashing Spikes".
The premiere telecast, "People Need People" starred Lee Marvin and Arthur Kennedy. Alex Segal was its director.
Several Alcoa Premiere episodes were actually pilots for TV shows, often produced by other hands and picked up as anthology episodes by Alcoa. Most of these pilots went no further than their appearance on Alcoa Premiere, but three series (Channing, Wide Country, and McHale's Navy) were developed from the pilot films shown on this anthology series.
One first-season episode ("The Jail") had been produced with the intention of airing as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but was shown on Alcoa Premiere instead. The episode was written by Ray Bradbury and produced by the AHP crew, with Hitchcock credited as executive producer of the aired episode.

## Broadcast history

During its first season, the show was broadcast on Tuesday evenings at 10:00 pm. The show moved to Thursday evenings at the same time for its second season.

## Awards

The anthology was nominated for 14 Emmy Awards during its two-year run.
| Episode | Award Season | Nomination |
| "People Need People" | 1961-1962 | Outstanding Drama Program |
| "People Need People" | 1961-1962 | Lee Marvin, Outstanding Single Performance by a Lead Actor |
| "People Need People" | 1961-1962 | Alex Segal, Outstanding Directing in Drama |
| "People Need People" | 1961-1962 | Henry F. Greenberg, Outstanding Writing in Drama |
| Alcoa Premiere | 1961-1962 | John Williams, Outstanding Music |
| "The Voice of Charlie Pont" | 1962-1963 | Program of the Year |
| Alcoa Premiere | 1962-1963 | Outstanding Drama Program |
| "The Voice of Charlie Pont" | 1962-1963 | Bradford Dillman, Outstanding Single Performance by a Leading Actor |
| "The Voice of Charlie Pont" | 1962-1963 | Diana Hyland, Outstanding Single Performance by a Leading Actress |
| "The Voice of Charlie Pont" | 1962-1963 | Robert Redford, Outstanding Supporting Actor |
| "The Voice of Charlie Pont" | 1962-1963 | Robert Ellis Miller, Outstanding Directing in Drama |
| "The Voice of Charlie Pont" | 1962-1963 | Halsted Welles, Outstanding Writing in Drama |
| Alcoa Premiere | 1962-1963 | John Williams, Outstanding Music |
| "Flashing Spikes" | 1962-1963 | Richard Belding, Howard Epstein & Tony Martinelli, Outstanding Film Editing |

## Episodes
### Season 1 (1961–62)

| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Writer(s) | Guest Stars | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "People Need People" | Henry F. Greenberg | Lee Marvin, James Gregory, Arthur Kennedy | October 10, 1961 (1961-10-10) |
| Dr. Harry Wilmer has just 10 days to prove his radical method of treating violent war veterans will work. ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Fugitive Eye" | Charlotte Jay (story) John Marcus (teleplay) | Charlton Heston, Leo G. Carroll | October 17, 1961 (1961-10-17) |
| Paul Malone wakes up in a forest to find an empty limousine, a dead chauffeur and three unsavory characters staring at him. ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Fortress" | Wallace L. Brown (story) John Kneubuhl (teleplay) | Lloyd Bridges, Philip Ahn, James Shigeta | October 24, 1961 (1961-10-24) |
| Shot down during the Korean War, Lt. Brown is held captive in a basement where the light is never turned off. They won't treat his mangled leg unless he gives his captors a confession. ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Moment of Decision" | Stanley Ellin (story) Larry Marcus, Porter Putnam, K.H. Lindsay (teleplay) | Fred Astaire, Maureen O'Sullivan | November 7, 1961 (1961-11-07) |
| Hugh Lozier asks for help from a mysterious man to deal with his obnoxious neighbors. ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Family Outing" | Howard Rodman | Lin McCarthy, Nancy Olson, Michael Burns | November 14, 1961 (1961-11-14) |
| Six astronauts have been trained for the first one-man space flight and the day of the final choice has arrived. ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Witch Next Door" | Ernest Kinoy | Susan Gordon, James Whitmore | November 28, 1961 (1961-11-28) |
| The Collins family has a mysterious next-door neighbor and she seems to have cast a spell on young Julie Collins. ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Breaking Point" | Bob Barbash | Brian Keith, Brad Dexter, Mary Murphy | December 5, 1961 (1961-12-05) |
| An ex-convict seems to be guilty of murder until the cop realizes that only the victim's wife profits from his death. ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Delbert, Texas" | Peter Tewksbury, James Leighton | David Wayne, Florence MacMichael | December 12, 1961 (1961-12-12) |
| Frank and Ruth Willoughby are determined to find out why their son's college grades have suddenly dropped. ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "End of a World" | David Karp | Robert Loggia, Andrew Prine, Russell Johnson | December 19, 1961 (1961-12-19) |
| The events leading up to the Sarajevo Assassination in 1914 of Archduke Ferdinand which triggered World War I are seen through the eyes of three men. ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Cake Baker" | Peggy Shaw, Lou Shaw | Shelley Winters, Ed Nelson | December 26, 1961 (1961-12-26) |
| A housewife is always daydreaming even on the night her young daughter runs away from home. ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Pattern of Guilt" | Helen Nielsen | Ray Milland, Joanna Moore | January 9, 1962 (1962-01-09) |
| A reporter covers a series of murders all perpetrated against spinsters. ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "The Hour of the Bath" | Donald S. Sanford | Robert Fuller, Barbara Luna | January 16, 1962 (1962-01-16) |
| American agricultural expert Henry Detweiler is a prisoner of Vietnam under sentence of death. ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "The Jail" | Ray Bradbury | John Gavin, Bettye Ackerman, Barry Morse | February 6, 1962 (1962-02-06) |
| In this future time a young man is charged with an offense against the state and marshaled into a huge building crammed with banks and banks of computers. These computers absorb and assess the evidence, circumstances and facts in his case -- and all of them are operated by one master button-pusher. Originally intended as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and shot, directed and produced by the AHP crew. Hitchcock is credited as executive producer of this episode. ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Mr. Easy" | Matt Taylor (story) James Brewer, Claude Binyon (teleplay) | Fred Astaire, Joanna Barnes | February 13, 1962 (1962-02-13) |
| Andrew Whitbeck is bored with his successful business and decides to chuck it all and "enjoy himself" by becoming a cartoonist -- which is more demanding than he realizes. ||||||
| 15 | 15 | "The Man With A Shine On His Shoes" | Prentiss Combs | Henry Hull, Peter Helm | February 20, 1962 (1962-02-20) |
| An elderly drifter decides to get work on the town newspaper because he believes he is the greatest typesetter in the world. ||||||
| 16 | 16 | "The Doctor" | Robert Yale Libott | Richard Kiley, Cloris Leachman | February 27, 1962 (1962-02-27) |
| A doctor stops to give aid to an injured man, and is shortly thereafter hit with a $100,000 malpractice suit. ||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Of This Time, Of This Place" | Lionel Trilling (story) Larry Marcus (teleplay) | Henry Jones, Jason Evers | March 6, 1962 (1962-03-06) |
| A college teacher's new job is made difficult by a brilliant, but uncompromising, student. This is the pilot for the eventual 1963/64 series Channing, which starred both Jones and Evers. ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Second Chances" | Harold Swanton | Cliff Robertson, Earl Holliman, Andrew Prine | March 13, 1962 (1962-03-13) |
| Hoby Dunlap was acquitted of treason during the Korean War, but Hoby's efforts to enter a rodeo contest are blocked by officials who fear audiences won't come see a "traitor". This episode became the pilot for the 1963-64 NBC series Wide Country . ||||||
| 19 | 19 | "The Tiger" | John Durham, Harold Swanton | Gary Merrill, Keir Dullea | March 20, 1962 (1962-03-20) |
| Someone is trying to kill Jim Hunter -- quite possibly, one of his daughter's boy friends. ||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Seven Against the Sea" | Albert Aley | Ernest Borgnine, Gary Vinson | April 3, 1962 (1962-04-03) |
| During WWII, a stranded group of American PT boat crewmen hide out on a remote South Pacific island controlled by the Japanese Navy. This drama served as a pilot for the eventual 1962-66 comedy series McHale's Navy, which starred Borgnine. ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "A Very Custom Special" | Phillip Shuken | J. Pat O'Malley, True Ellison | April 10, 1962 (1962-04-10) |
| On the night of his daughter's debutante party, a man is wiped out by the 1929 stock-market crash. ||||||
| 22 | 22 | "All My Clients Are Innocent" | Jameson Brewer, Jack Finney | Barry Morse, Vic Morrow, Joan Staley | April 17, 1962 (1962-04-17) |
| Convinced that a wife can ruin a career, San Francisco criminal lawyer Max McIntire tries to stop his partner's marriage. Pilot for an unsold series, produced by Ralph Edwards. ||||||
| 23 | 23 | "Rules of the Game" | Alvin Boretz | Hugh O'Brien, Bethel Leslie | May 1, 1962 (1962-05-01) |
| A newspaper editor discovers a man he helped to send to the electric chair was innocent. ||||||
| 24 | 24 | "Cry Out in Silence" | Fred Remington (story) Alvin Boretz (teleplay) | Celeste Holm, David McLean | May 15, 1962 (1962-05-15) |
| After having her larynx removed due to cancer, a woman struggles to learn to speak again. ||||||
| 25 | 25 | "A Place to Hide" | John Hawkins, Ward Hawkins | Joan Hackett, Dean Stockwell | May 22, 1962 (1962-05-22) |
| The nervous nature of a new housekeeper arouses the suspicions of her employers. ||||||
| 26 | 26 | "The Boy Who Wasn't Wanted" | John Hawkins, Ward Hawkins | Dana Andrews, Billy Mumy | June 5, 1962 (1962-06-05) |
| After arresting a burglar, a police detective feels responsible for the welfare of the robber's young son. ||||||
| 27 | 27 | "It Takes a Thief" | Arthur Miller (story) Oscar Millard (teleplay) | Edward Andrews, Constance Ford | June 19, 1962 (1962-06-19) |
| A robbery victim worries that he'll be in serious trouble if the police find out about one particular item stolen from his safe. ||||||
| 28 | 28 | "The Time of the Tonsils" | Bob Corcoran, Jerry Layton | Eddie Albert, Butch Patrick | June 26, 1962 (1962-06-26) |
| An orphanage director takes two children to have their tonsils out, and discovers that his must go too. ||||||

### Season 2 (1962–63)

| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Writer(s) | Guest Stars | Original release date |
| 29 | 1 | "Flashing Spikes" | Frank O'Rourke (story) Jameson Brewer (teleplay) | John Wayne, James Stewart, Jack Warden | October 4, 1962 (1962-10-04) |
| 30 | 2 | "Guest in the House" | Philip MacDonald (story) James Gunn (teleplay) | Fred Astaire, Susan Gordon, Lloyd Bochner | October 11, 1962 (1962-10-11) |
| 31 | 3 | "The Long Walk Home" | Everett Freeman | Lin McCarthy, Nancy Rennick | October 18, 1962 (1962-10-18) |
| 32 | 4 | "The Voice of Charlie Pont" | Douglas Fairbairn (story) Halsted Welles (teleplay) | Bradford Dillman, Diana Hyland, Robert Redford | October 25, 1962 (1962-10-25) |
| 33 | 5 | "Mr. Lucifer" | Alfred Bester | Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Montgomery | November 1, 1962 (1962-11-01) |
| 34 | 6 | "The Masked Marine" | Robert Leckie (story) John Kneubuhl, Joseph Petracca (teleplay) | Harry Guardino, James Caan | November 8, 1962 (1962-11-08) |
| 35 | 7 | "Ordeal in Darkness" | William McGivern, Richard Fielder | Keir Dullea, Richard Conte | November 15, 1962 (1962-11-15) |
| 36 | 8 | "Whatever Happened to Miss Illinois?" | Alvin Boretz | Carol Lynley, Anthony George, Arch Johnson | November 22, 1962 (1962-11-22) |
| 37 | 9 | "The Hands of Danofrio" | Larry Marcus (story) James Gunn (teleplay) | Joseph Campanella, Telly Savalas | November 29, 1962 (1962-11-29) |
| 38 | 10 | "The Contenders" | James Lee | Suzanne Pleshette, Signe Hasso, Ed Asner | December 6, 1962 (1962-12-06) |
| 39 | 11 | "The Way From Darkness" | Oscar Millard | Shelley Winters, Joan Hackett | December 13, 1962 (1962-12-13) |
| 40 | 12 | "The Potentate" | William Fennerton (story) David Karp (teleplay) | Theodore Bikel, Milton Selzer | December 20, 1962 (1962-12-20) |
| 41 | 13 | "Blues For a Hanging" | John Hawkins, Ward Hawkins (story) John Hawkins (teleplay) | Fred Astaire, Janis Paige | December 27, 1962 (1962-12-27) |
| 42 | 14 | "Impact of an Execution" | Saul Levitt, Mark Rodgers | Ralph Bellamy, Ruby Dee | January 3, 1963 (1963-01-03) |
| 43 | 15 | "Lollipop Louie" | Fred F. Finklehoffe | Aldo Ray, Kurt Kasznar | January 10, 1963 (1963-01-10) |
| 44 | 16 | "The Glass Palace" | Gilbert Ralston | Ricardo Montalbán, Anne Francis | January 17, 1963 (1963-01-17) |
| 45 | 17 | "Five, Six, Pick Up Sticks" | John T. Kelly | Mickey Rooney, John Forsythe | January 24, 1963 (1963-01-24) |
| 46 | 18 | "George Gobel Presents" | Howard Leeds, Elton Packard | George Gobel, Cliff Norton | January 31, 1963 (1963-01-31) |
| 47 | 19 | "The Hat of Sergeant Martin" | Gene L. Coon | Claude Akins, Roger Perry | February 7, 1963 (1963-02-07) |
| 48 | 20 | "Blow High, Blow Clear" | Harold Swanton | Tommy Sands, Jane Wyatt, Dan Duryea | February 14, 1963 (1963-02-14) |
| 49 | 21 | "Chain Reaction" | Mitchell Wilson | Ralph Bellamy, Bradford Dillman | February 21, 1963 (1963-02-21) |
| 50 | 22 | "Hornblower" | C.S. Forester (story) Donald Wilson (teleplay) | David Buck, Nigel Green | February 28, 1963 (1963-02-28) |
| 51 | 23 | "Jeeney Ray" | Iris Dornfield (story) Richard DeRoy, Iris Dornfield (teleplay) | Brenda Scott, Joanna Moore | March 14, 1963 (1963-03-14) |
| 52 | 24 | "The Dark Labyrinth" | Lawrence Durrell (story) Mark Rodgers (teleplay) | Carroll O'Connor, Patrick O'Neal | March 21, 1963 (1963-03-21) |
| 53 | 25 | "Of Struggle and Flight" | Alvin Boretz | Janice Rule, Jack Kruschen, Dabney Coleman | March 28, 1963 (1963-03-28) |
| 54 | 26 | "The Broken Year" | Richard P. Brickner (story) John Furia, Jr. (teleplay) | Keir Dullea, Shirley Knight | April 4, 1963 (1963-04-04) |
| 55 | 27 | "This Will Kill You" | William Fay | Howard Morris, Ernest Borgnine | April 11, 1963 (1963-04-11) |
| 56 | 28 | "Million Dollar Hospital" | Oscar Millard, Larry Marcus | Charles Bickford, William Shatner | April 18, 1963 (1963-04-18) |
| 57 | 29 | "The Town That Died" | Richard DeRoy, DeWitt Copp | Dana Andrews, Gene Evans | April 25, 1963 (1963-04-25) |

## Production

Alcoa Premiere was filmed.