Window on Main Street
Window on Main Street is a 34-episode nostalgic American half-hour situation comedy-drama television series starring Robert Young (1907-1998), which aired on CBS during the 1961-1962 season.
Created by Roswell Rogers (1910-1998), Window on Main Street was produced for twenty-one episodes by Eugene B. Rodney (1898-1985) and for seven episodes by the star, Robert Young. The program was of high quality and usually inspirational, despite a lack of popular appeal.
Synopsis
Young's Father Knows Best had ended production in 1960. A year later, he was cast as Cameron "Cam" Garrett Brooks, a pipe-smoking author, who returns from having lived in New York and Connecticut to his hometown of fictional Millsberg (elevation 840 feet). Cam lives at the Majestic Hotel from which he has his view from "the window on main street." His wife and child had died, and he was seeking a new start in his hometown. Millsberg was possibly in New England because of the mention of town meetings, but the state is never specified. Cam renews his friendship with Lloyd Ramsey, the editor of The Courier News, the local newspaper, portrayed in eleven episodes by Ford Rainey (1908-2005). The people of Millsberg become the subjects of Cam's stories.
Constance Moore (1920-2005) appeared ten times as Cam's blonde female friend, Christina "Chris" Logan, who had remained behind years earlier, when she was known as "Tina," as he left Millsberg for points undisclosed. Widowed with a son named Arny Logan (Brad Berwick), she worked as the secretary for Lloyd Ramsey
The series aired a sentimental holiday episode "Christmas Memory" on December 18, 1961, in which Cam recalls a foolish dispute with his late wife over the gift of a butter churn.
Timothy "Tim" Lewis Matheson (born 1947) starred in an undetermined number of episodes as 13-year-old Roddy Miller. Film star Colleen Gray (1922-2015) guest starred as Miss Wycliffe in the series finale, "A Job for the Summer", which aired on May 23, 1962.[1]
Guest stars
- Malcolm Atterbury
- Ben Cooper
- Bob Hastings
- Peter Helm
- Don Keefer
- John Lupton
- Michael J. Pollard
- Brenda Scott
- Yale Summers
- Karl Swenson
Production notes
The series premiered on Monday, October 2, 1961, following the second and final season of the sitcom, Pete and Gladys, and preceding The Danny Thomas Show. The program filled the time slot vacated the previous season by the unsuccessful sitcom, Bringing Up Buddy, starring Frank George Aletter (1926-2009). Window on Main Street was paired opposite The Price Is Right starring Bill Cullen on NBC and Chuck Connors in The Rifleman on ABC.[2]
Father Knows Best was still on the CBS schedule on Wednesdays in prime time repeats during the 1961-1962 season; so Young was featured in two network comedies the same season.
Along with his Father Knows Best producer Eugene B. Rodney, Young worked in the writing and production of some of the episodes of Window on Main Street.
DVD releases
Every DVD boxed sets of Young's previous series Father Knows Best contains one episode of Window on Main Street. Also, one episode was included in Shouts! Merry Sitcom Christmas Classics from TV's Golden Age. At least eight episodes of Window on Main Street, including the pilot, can be accessed on YouTube.
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "The Return" (pilot episode) | October 2, 1961 |
| 1-2 | "The Teacher" with Lisabeth Hush and Warner Robbins | October 9, 1961 |
| 1-3 | "A Doctor Comes To Town" with John Lupton in the starring role | October 16, 1961 |
| 1-4 | "The Woman Behind Chapter Four" | October 23, 1961 |
| 1-5 | "College" | October 30, 1961 |
| 1-6 | "The Haunted House" with Stanley Fafara | November 6, 1961 |
| 1-7 | "The Editor's Daughter" with Brenda Scott and Peter Helm | November 13, 1961 |
| 1-8 | "The Big Spender" | November 20, 1961 |
| 1-9 | "A Day in the Life of the Editor" | November 27, 1961 |
| 1-10 | "$1.19 Thief" with David Macklin | December 4, 1961 |
| 1-11 | "The Double Life of Julia Cosgrove" | December 11, 1961 |
| 1-12 | "Christmas Memory" | December 18, 1961 |
| 1-13 | "The Charity Drive" | December 25, 1961 |
| 1-14 | "Arny's Revolt" with Brad Berwick | January 1, 1962 |
| 1-15 | "The Mixing Bowl" | January 8, 1962 |
| 1-16 | "Persevering Villain"" | January 15, 1962 |
| 1-17 | "Girl-Rose Colored Eyes" with Don Keefer | January 22, 1962 |
| 1-18 | "Front Page Hero" | January 29, 1962 |
| 1-19 | "A Case For Justice" | February 5, 1962 |
| 1-20 | "The Boy Who Laughed Too Much" | February 14, 1962 |
| 1-21 | "Time Runs Back" | February 21, 1962 |
| 1-22 | "The Rainmaker" | February 28, 1962 |
| 1-23 | "The Rumor on the Campus" | March 7, 1962 |
| 1-24 | "The Exclusive Story" | March 14, 1962 |
| 1-25 | "Ours Is A Nice House" | March 21, 1962 |
| 1-26 | "The Big Chance" | March 28, 1962 |
| 1-27 | "It's Blessed To Receive" | April 4, 1962 |
| 1-28 | "The Fast Shuffle" | April 11, 1962 |
| 1-29 | "To You, From Me" | April 18, 1962 |
| 1-30 | "A Classroom Romance" | April 25, 1962 |
| 1-31 | "A Voice in the Tree" | May 2, 1962 |
| 1-32 | "The Free Soul" | May 9, 1962 |
| 1-33 | "The Magic Lamp" | May 16, 1962 |
| 1-34 | "A Job for the Summer" | May 23, 1962[3] |
References
- ↑ Window on Main Street. Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved on January 24, 2020.
- ↑ 1961-1962 United States network television schedule.
- ↑ Window on Main Street. TV.com. Retrieved on January 24, 2020.
