Two Girls Named Smith is an American television situation comedy that was broadcast on ABC from January 20, 1951, through October 13, 1951.[1]
Premise
editFrances Smith and Barbara Smith were cousins who moved to New York City from Omaha hoping to become a fashion designer and a singer, respectively. They shared an apartment at 514 East 51st Street. Their landlord, Mr. Basmany, became advisor and friend to them.[2]
Cast
edit| Character | Actor(s) |
|---|---|
| Frances Smith | Peggy French[1] |
| Babs Smith | Peggy Ann Garner,[1] Nina Foch, Marcia Henderson[2]* |
| Mr. Basmany | Joseph Buloff[1] |
| Babs's boyfriend | Richard Hayes[1] |
| Jeffrey Carter (another boyfriend) | Kermit Kegley[2] |
- Foch replaced Garner in several episodes in July and August; Henderson appeared in the role after Garner left the show in September.[2]
Production
editRichard Lewis produced Two Girls Named Smith. Its directors included Charles Durbin, Mervyn Nelson, and Cort Steen. Peter Barry was one of the writers, and Jacques Press provided the music.[2]
The show was broadcast on Saturdays at noon Eastern Time. The sponsor was B. T. Babbitt (for Bab-O soap and Glim dishwashing detergent). It originated live[2] from WJZ[3] in New York City. Its competition included The Big Top on CBS. It was replaced by the Betty Crocker Star Matinee[4] after the Babbitt company dropped it.[2]
Lawsuit
editThe program was the focus of a lawsuit for piracy. Jerome Chodorov, Joseph A. Fields, and Ruth McKenney considered the show's characters and premise to be too much like those of the book My Sister Eileen and the film of the same title, which they created.[2] The suit, filed in Federal Court in May 1951, said that Lewis and Bernard Schubert had a deal with the plaintiffs that permitted use of the book "under specified conditions", but that those rights were to be terminated if the resulting script was not used prior to November 25, 1950.[5] Schubert adapted the film for ABC in 1950, making a pilot titled Ruth and Eileen on July 13, 1950, but the episode was never broadcast. The project, which had originally been titled My Sister Eileen, was reworked into Two Girls Named Smith.[6]
Critical response
editA review in the trade publication Billboard called Two Girls Named Smith "a well-cast, slickly produced, cleverly scripted concoction that should find its way into many TV homes."[7]
A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety said, "the series opener was a cute story" and called the series "a topflight situation comedy".[8] The review noted "some delightful moments" in the script, that were "well played" by the actors.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 873. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Leszczak, Bob (November 16, 2012). Single Season Sitcoms, 1948-1979: A Complete Guide. McFarland. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-7864-6812-6. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ "Debuts, Highlights, Changes, (Continued)". Ross Reports. January 14, 1951. p. 3. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ Plotnik, Gene (November 17, 1951). "Betty Crocker Star Matinee". Billboard. p. 12. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ "Writers Claim TV Piracy of 'Sister Eileen'". Billboard. May 5, 1951. p. 4. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (October 12, 2018). Encyclopedia of Unaired Television Pilots, 1945-2018. McFarland. p. 282. ISBN 978-1-4766-7206-9. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ Morse, Leon (February 10, 1951). "Two Girls Named Smith". Billboard. p. 8. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ a b "Two Girls Named Smith". Variety. January 24, 1951. p. 26. Retrieved September 14, 2024.