Breaking new ground by releasing television programming, Criterion has announced a November 24th release date for The Golden Age of Television.

The 3-disc set will feature eight live American television plays (below) from the 1950's with stars like Rod Steiger, Jack Palance, Keenan Wynn, Kim Hunter, Ed Wynn, Paul Newman, Mickey Rooney, Edmond O'Brien, Mel Torme, Cliff Robertson, Everett Sloane, Elizabeth Montgomery, Donald Woods and Piper Laurie.

Additional bonus features and a booklet with extensive liner notes are inlcuded. Retail will be 9.99, but it's available at ClassicFlix.com for only 7.99. Details below.

The Golden Age of Television
The hugely popular live American television plays of the 1950s have become the stuff of legend. Combining elements of theater, radio, and filmmaking, they were produced at a moment when TV technology was advancing and making art accessible to a newly suburban postwar demographic. These astonishingly choreographed, brilliantly acted, and socially progressive “teleplays” constituted an artistic high for the medium, bringing Broadway-quality drama to homes across the country. The following award-winning programs—curated for PBS in the early 1980s as the series The Golden Age of Television, with recollections from key cast and crew members—were conceived by such up-and-comers as Rod Serling and John Frankenheimer, and star the likes of Paul Newman, Mickey Rooney, Rod Steiger, Julie Harris, and Piper Laurie.

EPISODES:

• Marty (1953)
• Patterns (1955)
• No Time for Sergeants (1955)
• A Wind from the South (1955)
• Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956)
• Bang the Drum Slowly (1956)
• The Comedian (1957)
• Days of Wine and Roses (1958)

BONUS FEATURES:

• Commentaries by directors John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann, Ralph Nelson, and Daniel Petrie
• Interviews with key cast and crew, including Frankenheimer, Andy Griffith, Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Richard Kiley, Piper Laurie, Nancy Marchand, Jack Palance, Cliff Robertson, Mickey Rooney, Carol Serling, Rod Steiger, and Mel Torme
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by curator Ron Simon and his extensive liner notes on each program