Hallmark Playhouse, The

. The Hallmark Playhouse (CBS 1948 - 1953) was an abrupt change for sponsor Hallmark Cards; away from its Radio Reader's Digest and into a literary mode. Bestselling British novelist James Hilton, author of "Random Harvest", "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" plus others, would host and select the books that would be adapted for the air. The series had many major screen stars and actors