The biggest variety show that came out of Hollywood for many years was the Screen Guild Theater. It was unique in that the show always brought many famous talents together. The show was never ever in the same form, and it was this variety that allowed the show to run from 1939 for 13 years.

The show began as a charity. The Motion Picture Relief Fund stood to gain a lot from fellow actors that starred in the show. All in all the stars raised more than $800,000 to help build the Motion Picture Country House.

This facility was created and maintained to house retired film stars who were elderly or impoverished and needed a comfortable place to live. Many of the biggest stars of Hollywood were further driven to appear on the show in the name of helping fellow actors by raising money.

From its inception in 1939 the show was hosted by George Murphy. From 1940 on, Roger Pryor hosted the show. Old Time Radio adaptations of the movies of the day soon replaced the initial show format. Amongst the biggest faces of Hollywood starred in the shows.

Notable guest stars ranged from Bing Crosby and George Burns to Marlene Dietrich and Gracie Allen. Even though the show was an absolute runaway success, it was not always like that.

During the first year of production, the show seemed disjointed. Just because the show had huge celebrities guest star, that was not enough for the show to be a runaway success, at least not immediately. Roger Pryor being brought in as the new host of the show helped the show flow much better and become something of a more worthy listen.

The Second World War took its toll on the oil industry, so much so that Gulf, the show’s sponsor, had to leave their position as sponsor. However, it didn’t take long to find a new sponsor. Lady Esther began to sponsor the show and a new format was added.

Old Time Radio shows were soon used commonly to create adaptations of classic movies. They were turned into short scripts of about 22 minutes. The likes of Humphrey Bogart and Betty Davis were just some of the top-flight Hollywood stars to appear on the show. Anyone who was anyone appeared on the Screen Guild Theater show.

By June 1952, the Screen Guild Theater left the radio. While it was no longer live, there are many recordings of it. In fact more than 200 shows can be heard from this era. The Screen Guild Theater was the biggest show of the day and always brought together the biggest stars of Hollywood.

If you live in a northern climate, tomorrow marks the first real day of hunkering down for the cold, cold winter with nothing to look forward to until spring. We used to have the new season of Deadwood starting up in February, but HBO killed it.

Now there’s nothing. If you’re down with old-school movies, though, Hammacher’s selling 100 – count ‘em – 100 action films spanning 24 double-sided DVDs for $45.

These are movies from the 1920s through the 1990s, when men were men and the women were too. There’s also a collection of 100 Westerns available for $45 as well.

The 100 Classic Action Films [Hammacher Schlemmer]

If you’re creating a home theater, then you’ll undoubtedly ask yourself the question, “Should I get a projection screen and theater projector, or should I just get an HDTV?” There are several pros to home projectors. For instance, you can pay up to $9,000 for the new 65-inch Panasonic plasma TV or you can spend $2,500 on a 61-inch Samsung rear-projection unit. Economically, it makes sense.

Also, projection screens fit up against the wall and maximizes more space in a room, and the screen and projector won’t mess with the acoustics in your room like a big clunky television set might, so your home theater will be perfectly calibrated with this type of system. Here are some factors to consider when shopping for that perfect, home theater projector.

digital projector
One point to consider when looking at projectors is what aspect ratio do you want? “Aspect ratio” refers to the shape of the video image. For instance, most TV sets have aspect ratios of 4:3 (4 units wide, 3 units high), whereas HDTV standard models have an aspect ration of 16:9 (16 units wide, 9 units high).

If you view a lot of classic films or DVD TV series, then a 4:3 configuration may be preferable to you; it’s easy to shrink a larger picture down, with black borders to account for any discrepancies. However, most home video projectors are being marketed in the 16:9 ratio. If you watch a lot of HDTV or wide screen DVD, then a 16:9 ratio makes sense.

The one drawback is that viewing 4:3 content on this massive unit will make the display look tiny and even if you stretch the frame to fit the screen, the resolution won’t be as good. There is yet a third choice for wide screen movie aficionados; the 2.35:1.

projection screens
For instance, Lord of the Rings, Tombstone and Star Wars are all set wider than 16:9. A “constant image height” setup can stretch the image out to its ideal size, although you will need to purchase a 16:9 digital projector along with an expensive anamorphic lens to accomplish this task.

Next, you’ll need to choose a resolution and brightness for your projector. Resolution refers to the clarity of the picture and it can be as low as 854 x 480 or as high as 1920 x 1080, although most consumers choose 1280 x 720, which lets you view HDTV and Blu Ray discs perfectly. When considering projector lamp brightness, be aware that brighter is not better.

Brightness is measured in ANSI lumen rating and foot-lamberts. In a dark room, luminance of 12-22 fL will provide comfortable brightness for you. If you still have some ambient light filtering into the room, then screen luminance of 30-50 fL will compensate for any loss of contrast due to the room’s natural lighting.

The most high-end format on the market is the 1920 x 1080, which doesn’t require any scaling and gives you the sharpest picture, with virtually no pixel shape visible.

theater projectors
Lastly, you’ll want to check out contrast specifications for your home theater projector. The bare bones contrast level is 2000:1, which is just enough black level and color saturation to avoid a muddled picture. Many consumers have a 5000:1 projector, which provides good definition on a midrange unit.

For top-of-the-line color saturation and definition, you’ll want a 10,000:1 contrast for the best shadow detail. While this may sound very confusing, often times, you can get someone to come out to your house and calibrate everything just right to be sure you’re getting the most out of your home theater experience.