As the 1950s dawned America was a colossus militarily, economically and culturally. It bestrode a globe it was doing so much to shape in its own image. But it had concerns; the threat of communism. And for the Movies and Radio there was another concern: the emerging rise of Television.

For Radio, still in its golden age of mass audiences and star filled programmes, they had a handy solution with 'The Big Show'. Its premise was simple but effective. Take 90 minutes of air-time and fill it with the stars of stage, screen and radio doing comedy sketches, drama extracts and musical numbers.

It sounds simple enough and aided by a huge budget from NBC it was a success, staffed by the best writers and technical team in the business.

Hosted by Tallulah Bankhead, with her sharp and acidic wit and her brilliance at ad-libbing 'The Big Show' was big entertainment with big stars for a big audience.