Hallmark Hall of Fame
Encyclopedia
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards
, a Kansas City
based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011. From 1954 onward, all of its productions have been shown in color, although color television video productions were extremely rare in 1954. Many television movies have been shown on the program since its debut, though the program began with live telecasts of dramas and then moved into videotaped productions before finally turning to filmed ones.
The series has received eighty Emmy Award
s, twenty-four Christopher Award
s, eleven Peabody Award
s, nine Golden Globes, and four Humanitas Prize
s. Once a common practice in American television, it is the last remaining television program where the title contains the name of the sponsor. Unlike other long-running TV series still on the air, it differs in that it only broadcasts occasionally and not on a weekly broadcast programming schedule (as opposed to The Simpsons
, Gunsmoke
and the news program, 60 Minutes
).
, by Gian Carlo Menotti
, starring Chet Allen
. It was the first time a major corporation developed a television project specifically as a means of promoting its products to the viewing public. The program was such a success that it was restaged by Hallmark several times over a period of fifteen years. Amahl was also staged by other NBC television anthologies.
Early productions included some of the classical works of Shakespeare: Hamlet
, Richard II
, The Taming of the Shrew
, Macbeth
and The Tempest. Biographical subjects were very eclectic, ranging from Florence Nightingale
to Father Flanagan
to Joan of Arc
. Popular Broadway plays such as Harvey, Dial M for Murder, and Kiss Me, Kate were made available to a mass audience, most of them with casts that had not appeared in the film versions released to theatres. In a few cases, the actors repeated their original Broadway roles. Noted actors such as Richard Burton, Alfred Lunt
, Lynn Fontanne
, Maurice Evans
, Katharine Cornell
, Julie Harris
, Laurence Olivier
and Peter Ustinov
all made what were then extremely rare television appearances in these plays.
Tod Griffin
appeared three times on Hallmark early in his brief acting career, including roles of George Washington
in "The Plot to Kidnap General Washington" (1952) and Patrick Henry
in "The Farmer from Monticello" (1955).
Two different productions of Hamlet
have aired on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, one starring Maurice Evans (1953) and the other starring Richard Chamberlain
(1970). Neither one was more than two hours long. Evans and actress Judith Anderson
brought their famous Macbeth to the Hallmark Hall of Fame on two separate occasions, each time with a different supporting cast. The first version (1954) was telecast live from NBC Studios; the second (1960) was filmed on location in Scotland
and released to movie theatres in Europe after being telecast in the U.S. Like Hamlet, Macbeth and the other Shakespeare plays presented on Hallmark Hall of Fame were cut (sometimes drastically) to fit the time limits of commercial broadcasting
television network
. It was left to National Educational Television
(NET) and Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) Public television to present nearly complete Shakespeare adaptations on American television in the future.
After a few decades Hallmark Hall of Fame began to offer original material, such as Aunt Mary (1979) and Thursday's Child (1983), although its lineup still primarily consisted of expensive-looking Masterpiece Theatre
-style adaptations of American and European literary classics, such as John Steinbeck
's The Winter of Our Discontent
(1983) and Robert Louis Stevenson
's The Master of Ballantrae
(1984). The late 1980s saw productions such as Foxfire (1987), My Name is Bill W.
(1989), Sarah, Plain and Tall
(1991), O Pioneers!
(1992), To Dance With the White Dog
(1993), The Piano Lesson
(1995), and What the Deaf Man Heard
(1997). One installment, Promise
(1986), starring James Garner
and James Woods
, remains the most honored two-hour movie in the history of network television, winning five Emmys, two Golden Globes, a Peabody award, a Humanitas Prize, and a Christopher Award.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, Hallmark Hall of Fame films often had twice the budget of other network films. Hallmark movies also ran (in some cases) approximately 10–15 minutes longer (or up to 110 minutes minus commercials) because Hallmark Cards fully sponsored the films and took fewer commercial breaks. Unlike most network movies of the period, Hallmark always filmed on location, and usually shot for 24 days, compared to 18–20 days for most other TV-movies.
from 1979 to 1989 (except for one episode, which was seen on PBS
in 1981), then on ABC
from 1989 to 1995, then back to CBS from 1995 until 2011, when that network cancelled the series due to low ratings.
On November 27, 2011, Hallmark Hall of Fame returned to ABC with Have a Little Faith
, which debuted to very low viewership ratings for the night. Encore broadcasts of these ABC episodes will air on Hallmark Channel
a week after its initial airing on ABC. These films will also be available for streaming on SpiritClips.com a few days after airing on ABC.
Many recent Hall of Fame movies repeat on the company's Hallmark Channel
and Hallmark Movie Channel
and are available on home video and DVD, distributed through Hallmark Gold Crown Stores and online at Hallmark Hall of Fame.
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
, a Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011. From 1954 onward, all of its productions have been shown in color, although color television video productions were extremely rare in 1954. Many television movies have been shown on the program since its debut, though the program began with live telecasts of dramas and then moved into videotaped productions before finally turning to filmed ones.
The series has received eighty Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s, twenty-four Christopher Award
Christopher Award
The Christopher Award is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, motion pictures and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit"...
s, eleven Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
s, nine Golden Globes, and four Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
s. Once a common practice in American television, it is the last remaining television program where the title contains the name of the sponsor. Unlike other long-running TV series still on the air, it differs in that it only broadcasts occasionally and not on a weekly broadcast programming schedule (as opposed to The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
and the news program, 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
).
Early years
The series debuted on 24 December 1951 on NBC with the first opera written specifically for television, Amahl and the Night VisitorsAmahl and the Night Visitors
Amahl and the Night Visitors is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer. It was commissioned by NBC and first performed by the NBC Opera Theatre on December 24, 1951, in New York City at NBC studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, where it was broadcast...
, by Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
, starring Chet Allen
Chet Allen
Chet Allen was an American child actor of the 1950s known for his role as Amahl in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera written for television, which he made with the NBC Opera Theatre....
. It was the first time a major corporation developed a television project specifically as a means of promoting its products to the viewing public. The program was such a success that it was restaged by Hallmark several times over a period of fifteen years. Amahl was also staged by other NBC television anthologies.
Early productions included some of the classical works of Shakespeare: Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Richard II
Richard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
, The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
, Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
and The Tempest. Biographical subjects were very eclectic, ranging from Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
to Father Flanagan
Edward J. Flanagan
Father Edward Joseph Flanagan was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He was the founder of what is arguably the most famous orphanage—Boys Town...
to Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
. Popular Broadway plays such as Harvey, Dial M for Murder, and Kiss Me, Kate were made available to a mass audience, most of them with casts that had not appeared in the film versions released to theatres. In a few cases, the actors repeated their original Broadway roles. Noted actors such as Richard Burton, Alfred Lunt
Alfred Lunt
Alfred Lunt was an American stage director and actor, often identified for a long-time professional partnership with his wife, actress Lynn Fontanne...
, Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne was a British actress and major stage star in the United States for over 40 years. She teamed with her husband Alfred Lunt.She lived in the United States for more than 60 years but never relinquished her British citizenship. Lunt and Fontanne shared a special Tony Award in 1970...
, Maurice Evans
Maurice Evans (actor)
Maurice Herbert Evans was an English actor noted for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters. In terms of his screen roles, he is probably best known as Dr...
, Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.Cornell is known as the greatest American stage actress of the 20th century...
, Julie Harris
Julie Harris
Julia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
all made what were then extremely rare television appearances in these plays.
Tod Griffin
Tod Griffin
Tod Griffin, born as Arthur Griffin , was an American actor of stage, film, and television, originally from Birmingham, Alabama.-Early years:...
appeared three times on Hallmark early in his brief acting career, including roles of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
in "The Plot to Kidnap General Washington" (1952) and Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and subsequently, from 1784 to 1786...
in "The Farmer from Monticello" (1955).
Two different productions of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
have aired on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, one starring Maurice Evans (1953) and the other starring Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare .-Early life:...
(1970). Neither one was more than two hours long. Evans and actress Judith Anderson
Judith Anderson
Dame Judith Anderson, AC, DBE was an Australian-born American-based actress of stage, film and television. She won two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award and was also nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award.-Early life:...
brought their famous Macbeth to the Hallmark Hall of Fame on two separate occasions, each time with a different supporting cast. The first version (1954) was telecast live from NBC Studios; the second (1960) was filmed on location in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and released to movie theatres in Europe after being telecast in the U.S. Like Hamlet, Macbeth and the other Shakespeare plays presented on Hallmark Hall of Fame were cut (sometimes drastically) to fit the time limits of commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. It was left to National Educational Television
National Educational Television
National Educational Television was an American non-commercial educational public television network in the United States from May 16, 1954 to October 4, 1970...
(NET) and Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) Public television to present nearly complete Shakespeare adaptations on American television in the future.
After a few decades Hallmark Hall of Fame began to offer original material, such as Aunt Mary (1979) and Thursday's Child (1983), although its lineup still primarily consisted of expensive-looking Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
-style adaptations of American and European literary classics, such as John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
's The Winter of Our Discontent
The Winter of Our Discontent
The Winter of Our Discontent, published in 1961, is John Steinbeck's last novel. The title is a reference to the first two lines of William Shakespeare's Richard III: "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun [or son] of York," .-Plot introduction:The story revolves...
(1983) and Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
's The Master of Ballantrae
The Master of Ballantrae
The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale is a book by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, focusing upon the conflict between two brothers, Scottish noblemen whose family is torn apart by the Jacobite rising of 1745...
(1984). The late 1980s saw productions such as Foxfire (1987), My Name is Bill W.
My Name is Bill W.
My Name Is Bill W. is a 1989 CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie directed by Daniel Petrie, starring James Woods, JoBeth Williams and James Garner. William G. Borchert, who wrote the film for television, based it on the true story of William Griffith Wilson and Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith,...
(1989), Sarah, Plain and Tall
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Sarah, Plain and Tall is a children's book written by Patricia MacLachlan, and the winner of the 1986 Newbery Medal and the 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. It explores themes of loneliness, abandonment, and coping with change....
(1991), O Pioneers!
O Pioneers! (film)
O Pioneers! is a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie based on the novel of the same title by Willa Cather. It originally aired in 1992 on CBS and stars Jessica Lange.-Plot summary:...
(1992), To Dance With the White Dog
To Dance with the White Dog
To Dance with the White Dog is a 1990 novel by Georgia author Terry Kay, based on the experiences of his father.-Plot summary:Sam Peek happily resides in Hart County, Georgia as a pecan farmer and local celebrity featured in many gardening/horticultural magazines. He and his wife Cora are both in...
(1993), The Piano Lesson
The Piano Lesson
The Piano Lesson is a 1990 play by American playwright August Wilson. The Piano Lesson is the fifth play in Wilson's The Pittsburgh Cycle. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir[ing] a sense of self-worth by denying ones past"...
(1995), and What the Deaf Man Heard
What the Deaf Man Heard
What the Deaf Man Heard is a 1997 Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie that aired on CBS television on November 23, 1997. It concerns Sammy, a boy who pretends to be deaf and mute, when in reality he can hear and speak perfectly well. The movie starred Matthew Modine and James Earl Jones.-Plot...
(1997). One installment, Promise
Promise (film)
Promise is a 1986 Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie that aired on December 14, 1986. The award-winning film is based on a story by Ken Blackwell and Tennyson Flowers, and stars James Garner and James Woods.-Plot:...
(1986), starring James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
and James Woods
James Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
, remains the most honored two-hour movie in the history of network television, winning five Emmys, two Golden Globes, a Peabody award, a Humanitas Prize, and a Christopher Award.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, Hallmark Hall of Fame films often had twice the budget of other network films. Hallmark movies also ran (in some cases) approximately 10–15 minutes longer (or up to 110 minutes minus commercials) because Hallmark Cards fully sponsored the films and took fewer commercial breaks. Unlike most network movies of the period, Hallmark always filmed on location, and usually shot for 24 days, compared to 18–20 days for most other TV-movies.
Post-NBC
For nearly three decades, the series ran on NBC, but dropped it in late-1978 due to declining ratings. Since then, the series was seen on CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from 1979 to 1989 (except for one episode, which was seen on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
in 1981), then on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from 1989 to 1995, then back to CBS from 1995 until 2011, when that network cancelled the series due to low ratings.
On November 27, 2011, Hallmark Hall of Fame returned to ABC with Have a Little Faith
Have a Little Faith (film)
Have a Little Faith is a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie. The film debuted on ABC on November 27, 2011; it was the first Hallmark Hall of Fame film broadcast since CBS cancelled the series earlier in 2011; it was also the first Hallmark Hall of Fame film broadcast on ABC since...
, which debuted to very low viewership ratings for the night. Encore broadcasts of these ABC episodes will air on Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
a week after its initial airing on ABC. These films will also be available for streaming on SpiritClips.com a few days after airing on ABC.
Many recent Hall of Fame movies repeat on the company's Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
and Hallmark Movie Channel
Hallmark Movie Channel
Hallmark Movie Channel is a digital cable channel that is a spin-off of its sister network Hallmark Channel that airs family friendly movies and other television programming.-Hallmark Movie Channel HD:...
and are available on home video and DVD, distributed through Hallmark Gold Crown Stores and online at Hallmark Hall of Fame.
Episode list
Only a small number of Hallmark Hall of Fame programming (considering how long the series has lasted) has been released to VHS and DVD. The 1960 production of the Tempest appeared on VHS, but is not yet on DVD. The 1954 Macbeth has been available on a bootleg DVD, but not on an official one.External links
- Hallmark Hall of Fame episodes
- Streaming Hallmark Hall of Fame episodes
- Hallmark Hall of Fame at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- 50 Years of Hallmark Hall of Fame at the UCLA Film and Television ArchiveUCLA Film and Television ArchiveThe UCLA Film and Television Archive is an internationally renowned visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles. It holds more than 220,000 film and television titles and 27 million feet of...