+Hallmark Playhouse first aired in 1948, and was hosted by distinguished author & writer James Hilton. Hallmark, meaning Hallmark Greeting Cards, was serious about producing radio drama at the highest level. And they certainly delivered! Using scripts or stories that were for the most part already known to the public, the got the best actors, scripters, and used the highest production values to produce this series. Each episode lasted 30 minutes, and again they used quality material to begin with, such as "A Man Called Peter" and "Around The World in 80 Days". After a few years the narration job fell to someone you may have heard of before....Lionel Barrymore. It was rumored that the sponsors felt that too many of the literary works of James Hilton were used in the show. In the early 1950s came out, TV carried on with the show, running it as "Hallmark Hall Of Fame", which turned out to be very popular, long running, and the first color TV show to be broadcast. Hallmark Playhouse used a good variety of genres for it's scripts, making this a show you can listen to for hours. Click here to read more about Hallmark Playhouse