Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from October 31, 1955,[1] to June 27, 1958.

[5] Along with NBC's Home, the show was part of the network's effort to "provide quality 'adult' entertainment" in daytime programming.

Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse (Cambria, California) recalled:[7] When Al McCleery got back to the States, he originated a most ambitious theatrical TV series for NBC called Matinee Theater: to televise five different stage plays per week.

This series aired live at 3 p.m. Eastern time and 12 noon Pacific, in order to promote color TV (which had just been developed) to the American housewife as she labored over her ironing.

It had to be, since one of McCleery’s chief claims to favor with the producers was his elimination of the setting per se and simply decorating the scene with a minimum of props.

It took a bit of ingenuity.Directors included Walter Grauman, Boris Sagal, Lamont Johnson, Arthur Hiller, Lawrence Schwab, Allen A. Buckhantz, Alan Cooke, and Livia Granito.