Bank on the Stars
GenreGame show
Presented by
Narrated by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes23
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time24–25 minutes
Original release
Network
ReleaseJune 20, 1953 (1953-06-20) –
August 21, 1954 (1954-08-21)

Bank on the Stars is an American game show that aired on CBS and NBC from 1953 to 1954. The series was hosted by Jack Paar, Bill Cullen, and Jimmy Nelson. Roger Price,[1] Olin Tice and Bill McCord were the announcers.

Broadcast history

CBS (1953)

Bank on the Stars premiered on June 20, 1953. The Saturday night game show was hosted by Jack Paar. The debut episode aired at 9:00 PM ET; subsequent airings were shown at 9:30 PM ET.[2] Its run on CBS ended on August 8, 1953.

NBC (1954)

Replacing The Spike Jones Show,[3] the series returned May 15, 1954, on NBC. It occupied the 8:00 PM ET time slot on Saturday nights. Bill Cullen was the host for the first several weeks until Jimmy Nelson took over in July. The final episode aired on August 21, 1954.[2][4]

Gameplay

Bank on the Stars was a memory game in which contestants, competing in two-person teams, viewed scenes from recently released feature films and were quizzed on what they had just seen.[2][5] Each correct response earns the winning team $50,[1] and the team with the most money at the end of the game advanced to the bonus round. There, the contestants were asked more difficult questions about a different movie but they could only hear, not see, the film clip.[2]

Critical response

A review of the program's premiere episode in The New York Times said that Paar's opening monologue "left one wishing for something more substantial" and indicated that he lacked "mature confidence".[6] The review also found fault with the show's format of quizzing contestants about film scenes that they had just viewed. It concluded, "If any effort was made to make the proceedings entertaining, such effort was not recognizable on the premiere."[6]

John Crosby described Paar's work as quizmaster as "a sort of weak mixture of Bob Hope and Arthur Godfrey — Telling jokes like the former and exuding charm like the latter".[7] Crosby wrote that none of the questions that he saw were "hard enough to tax the intellect of a six-year-old child, though they occasionally tax those of the contestants."[7] He also noted, "The female contestants seem to be selected for their looks rather than the nimbleness of their minds".[7]

An Associated Press review of the NBC version of the program commented, "Take Bill Cullen out of the latest version of a TV quiz, Bank on the Stars, and there would not be much left."[3]

The trade publication Variety commented that replacing Cullen with Nelson as host did not improve the program. "It's a basically bad session," the review said — rather than blaming the hosts.[8] The review added, "The question and answer periods lack complete interest."[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7864-8641-0. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (1995). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (6th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 75. ISBN 978-0345397362.
  3. 1 2 "That Peepers Wedding Is To Be Just A Stage Affair". The Paducah Sun. May 21, 1954. p. 14 B. Retrieved July 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ MacNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television (Revised ed.). New York: Penguin Books. p. 73. ISBN 978-0140249163.
  5. ↑ "In Review". Broadcasting & Cable. 46 (22): 14. May 31, 1954. ISSN 1068-6827.
  6. 1 2 Adams, Val (June 28, 1953). "Summer Television in Review: Eddie Albert Does a Fine Acting Job an 'Mirror Theatre' -Some Opinions on Various Musical Shows and Quizzes". The New York Times. p. X 11. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Crosby, John (July 20, 1953). "Radio and Television". Ledger-Star. Virginia, Norfolk. p. 17. Retrieved July 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 "Tele Follow-Up Comment". Variety. July 28, 1954. p. 35. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
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