Faraway Hill

Faraway Hill was the first soap opera broadcast on an American television network, running on the DuMont Television Network.

Synopsis

A widowed New York City resident, Karen St. John (played by Flora Campbell), moved to a small town to be near relatives. There she met a man who had been adopted by her family, and with whom she fell in love. However, he was already engaged to another woman. In addition, the sophisticated St. John clashed with her rural relatives.[1]

Broadcast history

The series ran from October 2, 1946 to December 18, 1946. David P. Lewis, the writer and director, had a budget of around $300 an episode.[1]

Other actors included Mel Brandt, Eve McVeagh, and Julie Christy (not to be confused with actress Julie Christie).[1]

The half-hour show was broadcast live, although filmed excerpts were interspersed, and slides of scenes from previous shows were included in later episodes to bring viewers up to date with regard to plot elements which had previously transpired. A narrator gave Karen's thoughts as bridges between scenes.[1]

Episode status

No footage from the series has survived (methods to record television such as kinescopes did not exist until 1947). The original scripts are owned by the Lewis family.