Matinee Theatre is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 anthology series that aired on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 during the Golden Age of Television

Golden Age of Television

The Golden Age of Television in the United States began sometime in the late 1940s and extended to the late 1950s or early 1960s.-Evolutions of drama on television:...

, from 1955 to 1958. The series, which ran daily in the afternoon, was frequently live. It was produced by Albert McCleery

Albert McCleery

Albert McCleery was a pioneering television producer during the 1950s.He created his innovative Cameo Theatre for television in 1950. A weekly live production, it continued until 1955. On this half-hour series, McCleery offered dramas seen against pure black backgrounds instead of walls of a set...

, Darrell Ross, George Cahan and Frank Price with executive producer George Lowther

George Lowther (writer)

George F. Lowther was a writer, producer, director in the earliest days of radio and television. During the 1940s, he was a scriptwriter for the Superman radio programs on the Mutual Radio Network and the author of The Adventures of Superman .Born in New York City, Lowther broke into radio at 13...

. McCleery had previously produced the live series Cameo Theatre

Cameo Theatre

Cameo Theatre was an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1950 to 1955.-Television in the round:...

which introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, TV plays staged with minimal sets.

Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse (Cambria, California) recalled:

When Al McCleery got back to the States, he originated a most ambitious theatrical TV series for NBC called Matinee Theater: to televise five different stage plays per week live, airing around noon in order to promote color TV (which had just been developed) to the American housewife as she labored over her ironing. Al was the producer. He hired five directors and five art directors. Richard Bennett, one of our first early presidents of the Pewter Plough Corporation, was one of the directors and I was one of the art directors and, as soon as we were through televising one play, we had lunch and then met to plan next week’s show. That was over 50 years ago, and I’m trying to think; I believe the TV art director is (or was) his own set decorator (selecting furnishings and hand props)—yes, of course! It had to be, since one of McCleery’s chief claims to favor with the producers was his elimination of the setting per se and simply decorating the scene with a minimum of props. It took a bit of ingenuity.

Award nominations

Year	Result	Award	Category	Notes
1955	Nominated	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...	Best Contributing to Daytime Programming
1957	Won	Golden Globe	Best TV Show	Tied with The Mickey Mouse Club, Cheyenne, Playhouse 90 Playhouse 90 Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California... , and This Is Your Life This Is Your Life This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...