Theatre of the Mind is an American psychological drama anthology series produced by Fred Coe and Ann Marlowe for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). [1] Episodes dealt with emotional problems that might occur in homes. [2] Six 30-minute episodes were produced and aired on NBC from July 14 to September 15, 1949. [3] Each story was followed by a discussion led by moderator Dr. Houston Peterson [4] and featuring Dr. Marina Farnum, Dr. Edward Strecher, and Claire Savage Littledale, then editor of Parents Magazine. [5]
Actors included Lilia Skala, Faye Emerson, and Ilka Chase. Among its directors was Delbert Mann, later to win an Academy Award for directing Marty (film).
Marlowe was the show's writer. [4] The show was broadcast on Thursdays, initially from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time. In August 1949 it was moved to 9 to 9:30 E.T. [2]
Theatre of the Mind was an experimental effort by a then-new creative program department at NBC. Network executives planned to make the show a regular series if the experiment was successful. [6]
A review in the trade publication Variety called Theatre of the Mind "a laudable endeavor", acknowledging that covering psychological material in 30 minutes was a challenge. [5] The review added that the problem was presented in an entertaining way and comments from the panel of experts were "on a level readily understood by the layman." [5]