Philip Morris Playhouse
| Genre | Dramatic anthology |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Syndicates | CBS |
| Hosted by | Charles Martin |
| Announcer | Joe King Bud Collyer Ken Roberts Art Ballinger Nelson Case Carl Frank |
| Written by |
Morton Fine David Friedkin Milton Geiger David Ellis John Hobish Harold Swanton |
| Directed by | William Spier Jack Johnstone Charles Martin |
| Produced by | William Spier |
| Air dates | June 30, 1939 to September 2, 1953 |
| Opening theme | On the Trail from Grand Canyon Suite |
| Sponsored by | Philip Morris cigarettes |
Philip Morris Playhouse is a 30-minute old-time radio dramatic anthology series.
The program "[g]enerally ... featured straight and crime drama," radio historian John Dunning wrote. He noted that one of the directors was William Spier, who "had directed Suspense in its salad days and brought to The Philip Morris Playhouse the same slick production" that was used in Suspense.
Philip Morris Playhouse was broadcast on CBS June 30, 1939 – February 18, 1944, then returned to the air (again on CBS) November 5, 1948 – July 29, 1949. The 1948 edition replaced a giveaway show, Everybody Wins. Its third and final incarnation on radio was a bit more complicated, as explained on The Digital Deli Too website:
The emerging popularity of between three and five other popular playhouse formats of the early 1950s persuaded Philip Morris to resurrect its Philip Morris Playhouse a third time as Phillip Morris Playhouse On Broadway, beginning with its initial CBS run on March 15, 1951. Emphasizing Broadway productions, the subsequent series ran over CBS for twenty-six installments, only to jump to NBC on September 11, 1951. The series ran on NBC for the remainder of 1951, jumping back to CBS on January 13, 1952. CBS aired the remainder of the canon through September 2, 1953.
In 1951, a trade publication reported that the program's annual budget was $1 million.
Philip Morris Playhouse evolved from an earlier radio program, Johnny Presents, which featured both music and a dramatic segment in each episode. That program's name referred to Johnny Roventini (sometimes known as "Little Johnny"), a midget bellhop who made famous the advertising slogan "Call for Philip Morris." In 1939, the segments were separated to create two programs, a musical show featuring Johnny Green on NBC and the drama-oriented Philip Morris Playhouse on CBS.
A newspaper article published when the show resumed in 1948 summarized its format as it replaced a giveaway show, saying, "Instead of a carload full of prizes, the listeners will get big-name Hollywood and Broadway stars in a weekly series based mostly on original scripts of a crime-mystery nature with a strong psychological element."
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