[Rusty]

In 1952. . . "Your Jeweler's Showcase" was broadcast on the CBS Network on Tuesday night between 10:30 and 11:00 PM Eastern Time.

* Starting on 6 January 1953, the show alternated in the Tuesday night time slot with "Demi-Tasse Tales"

* This program was sponsored by the International Silver Company and the Hamilton Watch Company.

 

[mgiraz]

Was it like a shopping channel show?

 

[Rusty]

I have been trying to get more details. I have a copy of the network primetime schedules for 1952 and in that Tuesday time slot, it is BLANK. Looks like both shows were essentially time fillers.

By 1953, that time slot on CBS was filled with SEE IT NOW, a news division program.

Ah, here we go. . . it was a dramatic anthology series, 30 min. and had an interesting mix of actors who later went on to populate other TV shows i.e. Sheldon Leonard who went on to produce the Danny Thomas Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

 

[HamiltonElectric]

In that era many advertisers sponsored full programs. It was pretty much the norm. Years ago I borrowed a 16mm commercial that was aired on "Jeweler's Showcase." A friend who worked at a TV station converted it to VHS for me. It was a film version of the famous "To Jim" print ad that Hamilton won awards for. It runs for several minutes, and only at the end does it cut to the chase and show a watch. Times were very different then, no 30 second quick-cut commercials, people were willing to sit and watch an ad in the form of a mini-movie.

 

[Rusty]

How right you are, Rene. I remember when actors would sit down, pull out cigarettes and light up, exchange lines of dialogue. . . and eventually comment on the product. . . the cigarette they were smoking. Kodak, here in my home town made famous the TIMES OF YOUR LIFE commercials which were two minutes in length and beautifully produced.

Of course the FCC stepped and said that commercials could not be part of the show and later, cigarettes on TV or radio were a NO-NO. Today there are even 5 second spots. Everything is ram-bam fast.