As worthy a rival to motion pictures as television would prove to be, the medium of radio did its best to keep moviegoers away from the cinemas and at home in front of the wireless. When a compromise was struck between the industries, one method of profit sharing was radio adaptations of popular films. Whereas the long-running anthology Lux Radio Theatre adapted Broadway plays for the airwaves, Screen Director's Guild Playhouse offered condensed versions of hit films, introduced by their original directors and featuring one or more original stars. The radio show ran from 1949 to 1951, totaling 122 episodes. In 1955, a TV version was launched, which distinguished itself by presenting original screenplays and literary adaptations. Turner Classic Movies is proud to present ten of the series' 35 episodes, including Robert Louis Stevenson's "Markheim," directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Ray Milland and Rod Steiger; H. C. Potter's "Lincoln Doctor's Dog" starring Robert Ryan as Abraham Lincoln; George Waggner's "The Sword of Villon" with Errol Flynn; "Rookie of the Year," which marks the only TV partnership of John Ford and John Wayne; Allan Dwan's "High Air," starring William Bendix and Dennis Hopper as father and son sandhogs trapped in a tunnel collapse; and "No. 5 Checked Out," which reunites The Hitch-Hiker (1953) director Ida Lupino with star William Talman, alongside Teresa Wright and Peter Lorre.

By Richard Harland Smith