John Mason Brown

Presents a filmed, intercontinental conversation that links moderator Edward R. Murrow in New York with three internationally known figures located in different parts of the world. What set this apart from other televised interview/discussion programs was the fact that its participants could not see each other but could hear one another via telephone lines and radio.

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In New York, a surly, down-on-his-heels playwright meets a country girl who's giving up trying to act and returning home. He goes with her for inspiration when his agent convinces a stage star to take his next effort. When he returns to Broadway, his girl stays behind and starts seeing a local businessman.

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Author and critic John Mason Brown, who once commented that "some television programs are so much chewing gum for the eyes," offered this intellectual alternative in 1948-1949. It consisted of an informal living-room discussion on the arts with two or three guests, of the caliber of author James Michener, producer Billy Rose, publishrer Bennet Cerf, and critic Bosley Crowther. The subjects ranged from modern art to new novels, films, the theater and fashions.

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Americana is a weekly game show which ran on NBC from December 8, 1947 to July 4, 1949. The series was originally hosted by literary critic John Mason Brown and produced by Martin Stone Productions with NBC Television. Each week's show was sponsored by Encyclopedia Americana. The 30-minute show aired Mondays at 8:10pm ET in the 1947-48 television season, and Mondays at 8:30pm ET in the 1948-49 season.

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