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''Afternoon Film Festival'' was a series of British theatrical feature-films aired by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network from January 1956 to the summer of 1957 each weekday from 3:00 to 5:00 pm (EST). This anthology was the first (and probably the only) instance of a major over-the-air (non-cable) American television network broadcasting a package of theatrical movies as part of its Monday-through-Friday daytime television programming. Consisting mostly of films from the 1940s and early 1950s, ''Afternoon Film Festival'' was actually an offshoot from ABC's prime-time movie series ''Famous Film Festival'', which began in the fall of 1955 on Sunday evenings and featured a package of 35 British titles leased from J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors in England at a cost of $45,700 each.〔Roman, James W., ''From Daytime to Primetime: The History of American Television Programs.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. p. 19.〕 ABC signed Allyn Edwards—and later, the veteran actor Donald Woods—to host each ''Afternoon'' feature,〔Cox, Jim. ''The Daytime Serials of Television, 1946-1960.'' Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006. p. 100.〕 and on Monday, January 16, 1956, the anthology premiered with Alfred Hitchcock's espionage thriller ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938).〔"ABC's Film Festival Makes Bow," ''Milwaukee Sentinel''. (January 16, 1956): p. 23.〕 The next afternoon, the internationally successful war drama ''The Cruel Sea'' (1953) was telecast.〔"Television Programs: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday." ''New York Times''. (January 15, 1956): Section 2, p. 12X.〕 In the case of these two classics, as with the rest of the series, this would be the first time these films were ever aired on American television. ==Troubling aspects== Unfortunately, the series suffered from several handicaps that were never overcome. One of ABC's competitors, for example, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), was featuring its ''Matinee Theater'' in the same daily time slot as ''Festival''. This was a timely and interesting series of live one-hour television dramas, often highlighting controversial domestic themes, geared to divert housewives from their daily chores.〔Cassidy, Marsha F. ''What Women Watched: Daytime Television in the 1950s.'' (Introduction). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2005. p. 13.〕 ''Matinee Theater'' had one other advantage—NBC was broadcasting it in color (a relative novelty at the time), whereas ABC's series of old films were all aired in black-and-white, including those that had originally been shot and exhibited theatrically in color. (In fact, NBC's 1956 presentation of Olivier's ''Richard III'' notwithstanding, color films were not broadcast in color on network TV until the 1961-62 season.)〔Moore, Barbara, Marvin R. Bensman, and Jim Van Dyke. ''Prime-Time Television: A Concise History''. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2006. p. 166.〕 However, a second disadvantage centered on the ''Afternoon Film Festival's'' increased reliance on the limited number of films from the Rank package. This inevitably led to the re-running of films that had debuted just a week or so earlier. Thus, the aforementioned ''The Cruel Sea'', which first ran on January 17, 1956, was broadcast again ten days later.〔"Television Programs: Wednesday through Saturday." ''New York Times''. (Jan. 22, 1956): Section 2, p. X13.〕 Additionally, the films ''A Run for Your Money'' (1949) and ''Always a Bride'' (1953), which debuted during the first week's telecasts, were both rerun only two weeks later.〔"On Television: Thursday, February 2, 1956." ''New York Times''. (Feb. 2, 1956): p. 53.〕〔"On Television: Friday, February 3, 1956." ''New York Times''. (Feb. 3, 1956): p. 47.〕 But finally, it was the quality of the product itself that appeared problematic. Although the ''Afternoon Film Festival'' did provide an outlet for such prestigious British films as ''The October Man'' (1947)〔"On Television: Thursday, June 27, 1957." ''New York Times''. (June 27, 1957): p. 53.〕 and ''The Way Ahead'' (1944),〔"On Television: Monday, July 8, 1957." ''New York Times''. (July 8, 1957): p. 45.〕 a majority of the films held low-to-moderate critical and popular appeal. These lesser works were represented by entries such as those of ''The Huggetts'' series (1948-1949), as well as ''Stop Press Girl'' (1949), ''It's Not Cricket'' (1949), and ''The History of Mr. Polly'' (1949). Indeed, at a meeting of the TV Editorial Advisory Board in the spring of 1956, a questionnaire was distributed to members asking them to respond to ABC's film series and to the notion of networks exhibiting more theatrical films on television in the future. Some of their reactions were less than enthusiastic. In fact, a sizable plurality of respondents expressed concern that "these shows might provide a dumping ground for Grade B, C, and D pictures...television should be more than a fifth-rate movie house."〔"1-1/2 Hour Shows: Keep 'Em Good, Cut Us In!" ''The Billboard'' (Magazine), May 5, 1956: p. 6. The question to responding TV executives was worded thus: "What is your opinion of network programming of feature films such as "Famous Film Festival" and "Afternoon Film Festival?"〕 In the case of ''Afternoon Film Festival,'' such an apprehensive sentiment may have been justified. In September 1956, the ''Afternoon Film Festival's'' time-slot was reduced from two hours to 90 minutes; and at mid-season, there followed an announcement from ABC that the series would be cancelled some time in the near-future.〔"Lower TV-Film Costs: Receptiveness of Agencies to Techniques the Answer." ''The Billboard'' (Magazine), November 17, 1956, p.2, p. 5.〕 The paring down of broadcast time to 90 minutes, of course, necessitated heavier editing of films to allow for commercials. The anthology finally came to an end the afternoon of Friday, August 2, 1957, with a repeat telecast of the race-car comedy ''Genevieve'' (1953).〔"On Television: Friday, August 2, 1957." ''New York Times.'' (Aug. 2, 1957): p. 39.〕 The following Monday, the ''Afternoon Film Festival'' was replaced by the premiere of Dick Clark's ''American Bandstand''.〔Adams, Val. "Music Show Bows on A.B.C.-TV Aug. 5: 'American Bandstand' Will Play Records." ''New York Times.'' (July 23, 1957): p. 53.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Afternoon Film Festival」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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