CTVA US Anthology - "Max Liebman Presents" (NBC) Season 1 (1954-55)

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 Season 1 (NBC) (1954-55)
Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by: Rina Fox
references:
TV Guide / Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive / Writers Guild of America (wga)


 ####### Max Liebman Presents #######

######### season 1 1954-55 #########

################################

Every fourth Sunday (some Saturday) from 9/12/1954 to 6/9/1956 on NBC.


1.01 Max Liebman Presents: SATINS AND SPURS

12-Sep-1954 NBC Sunday

written by Billy Friedberg & William Glickman & Max Liebman  & Fred Saidy & Neil Simon

directed by Charles O'Curran

Songs by Ray Evans & Jay Livingston

Cast:

Betty Hutton .......... Cindy Smathers

Kevin McCarthy ........ Tony

Genevieve ............. Chanteuse

Guy Richmond .......... Tex

Josh Wheeler .......... Dick

Edwin Phillips ........ Ollie

Neva Patterson ........ Ursula

Maggi McNellis

Synopsis:

Cindy Smathers, a rodeo star who appears at Madison Square Garden in New York City and

becomes the subject of a Life magazine photo essay about a country girl in the big city.

The photographer at first makes her feel like such a rube but eventually they fall in love

and the pictures land Cindy the lead in a Broadway musical.

*Note: Songs sung by Betty Hutton, include: Whoop-Diddy-Ay / Wildcat Smathers / Satins and Spurs /

The Little Roll Rock / I've Had Enough - Hutton & McCarthy / Nobody Cares / Back Home /

You're So Right for Me - Hutton & McCarthy / Sexy Sadie/Finale.

 

1.02 Max Liebman Presents: LADY IN THE DARK

25-Sep-1954 NBC Saturday

written by Billy Friedberg story by Moss Hart

directed by Max Liebman and Jeffrey Hayden

Cast:

Ann Sothern ........... Liza Elliot

James Daly ............ Charley Johnson

Carleton Carpenter .... Russell Paxton

Luella Gear ........... Maggie Grant

Paul McGrath .......... Kendall Nesbitt

Shepherd Strudwick .... Dr. Alexander Brooks

Robert Fortier ........ Randy Culver

Stephanie Augustine ... Miss Foster

Synopsis:
Liza Elliot, neurotic fashion editor of Allure magazine, seeks psychiatric help to solve her problems.
Her Freudian session leads to three musical dream sequences, including:
Glamour Dream: Oh Fabulous One/Huxley/One Life to Live/Girl of the Moment /
Wedding Dream: Mapleton High Chorale/This is New/The Princess of Pure Delight /
Circus Dream: The Greatest Show on Earth/Dance of the Tumblers/The Best Years of His Life/
Tschaikowsky/The Saga of Jenny /
Childhood Dream: My Ship.


1.03 Max Liebman Presents: SUNDAY IN TOWN

10-Oct-1954 NBC Sunday

written by Bill Friedberg & Neil Simon & William Glickman

directed by Max Liebman

Hosted by Steve Allen

Cast:

Judy Holliday

Dick Shawn

Jack Russell

 

1.04 Max Liebman Presents: THE FOLLIES OF SUZY

23-Oct-1954 NBC Saturday

written by Bill Friedberg & William Glickman & Neil Simon & William Jacobson & Fred Saidy

directed by Max Liebman

Hosted by Steve Allen

Cast:

Zizi Jeanmaire

Tom Avera

Cliff Norton

Connie Russell

Paul Whiteman

Synopsis:

Steve Allen is a young playwright who daydreams about an imaginary French ballerina, Jeanmarie,

as she appears in three romantic stories set in different time periods of American history.

*Note: Also appearing are the dance team of Harrison & Eliot.

 

1.05 Max Liebman Presents: FANFARE

Prod. no. N-5726

07-Nov-1954 NBC Sunday

written by William Friedberg, Fred Saidy, Neil Simon, Will Glickman, Bill Jacobson

directed and produced by Max Liebman

Musical Conductor Charles Sanford

 Hosted by Steve Allen

Cast:

Judy Holliday

Frank Sinatra

Dick Shawn

Jacques Tati

 

1.06 Max Liebman Presents: BEST FOOT FORWARD

20-Nov-1954 NBC Saturday

written by Neil Simon & William Glickman & Fred Saidy

& Bill Friedberg & William Jacobson

directed by Max Liebman

Guest cast:

Marilyn Maxwell ....... Gale Joy

Bob Cummings .......... Jack Haggerty

Charlie Applewhite .... Bud Hooper

Hope Holliday ......... Minerva

Jeannie Carson ........ Helen Twitterton

Harrison Miller ....... Dutch

Arte Johnson .......... Chuck

James Komack .......... Hunk

Howard St. John ....... Dean Reeber

Synopsis:

The story of a fading Hollywood movie star, Gale Joy, who descends on a boy's

prep school as a publicity stunt to accompany a student, Bud Hooper, to his prom.

The kids at the Junior Prom go wild over the movie star and she's forced to seek

 refuge in the boy's dormitory - a move that could get the boys expelled from school.

 

1.07 Max Liebman Presents: SPOTLIGHT

05-Dec-1954 NBC Sunday

directed by Bill Hobin

Hosted by Jimmy Durante

Guest cast:

Sonja Henie

Jack Buchanan

Jeannie Carson

Pat Carroll

 

1.08 Max Liebman Presents: BABES IN TOYLAND

18-Dec-1954 NBC Saturday

written by Bill Friedberg & Neil Simon & Fred Saidy

directed by Max Liebman

Guest cast:

Wally Cox ............ Toymaker Grumino

Dave Garroway ........ Santa Claus

Ellen Barrie ......... Joan

Dennis Day ........... Tommy Tucker

Barbara Cook ......... Jane Piper

Jack E. Leonard ...... Silas Barnaby

Karin Wolfe .......... Ann Piper

Synopsis:

A department store Santa entertains a lost young girl with tales of a land where

storybook characters live. The girl dreams of Toyland and the story of

Tommy Tucker who wants to win the hand of Jane Piper despite the evil

Silas Barnaby who wants Jane for himself.

 

1.09 Max Liebman Presents: GOOD TIMES

02-Jan-1955 NBC Sunday

written by Bill Friedberg & Neil Simon & William Glickman

& Fred Saidy & William Jacobson

directed by Max Liebman and Bill Hobin

Hosted by Steve Allen

Guest cast:

Judy Holliday

Dick Shawn

William Le Massena

Robert Gallagher

Donn Driver

Cathryn Damon

The Ritz Brothers

 

1.10 Max Liebman Presents: NAUGHTY MARIETTA

15-Jan-1955 NBC  Saturday

Guest cast:

Patrice Munsel ....... Marietta d'Altena

Alfred Drake ......... Captain Dick Warrington

John Conte ........... Lt. Governor Le Grange

Gale Sherwood ........ Yvonne

Donn Driver .......... Louis D'Arc

Robert Gallagher ..... Captain of Ship

William Le Massena ... Rudolfo

Charles Dagmar ....... Punch & Judy Puppeteer

Synopsis:

Operetta set in New Orleans circa 1780. Marietta is there to escape from an

unwanted marriage in France and Capt. Dick is there to lead his Rangers against

a pirate gang. Marietta is first attracted to the son of the lieutenant governor. But when he

 is revealed as the pirate leader, she turns her attentions to Capt. Dick. She decides he

is the man for her when he is able to finish the "Dream" melody that Marietta recalls from childhood.

 

1.11 Max Liebman Presents: VARIETY

30-Jan-1955 NBC Sunday

directed by Max Liebman

Guest cast:

Perry Como

Kitty Kallen

Buddy Hackett

Bill Hayes

Pat Carroll

Jack Russell

Herb Shriner

Bil Baird & Cora Baird, Puppeteers

Synopsis:

Music, comedy and song & dance, including a jazz version of Gilbert & Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore."

 

1.12 Max Liebman Presents: A CONNECTICUT YANKEE

12-Mar-1955 NBC Saturday

written by Billy Friedberg & Neil Simon & William Glickman & Al Schwartz

based on a novel by Mark Twain

directed by Max Liebman and Bill Hobin

Music by Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart

Guest cast:

Eddie Albert .......... Martin Barrett

Janet Blair ........... Sandy

Boris Karloff ......... King Arthur

John Conte ............ Sir Kay

Gale Sherwood ......... Morgan Le Fay

Leonard Elliott ....... Merlin

Beverly Dennis

Ray Drakeley

Synopsis:

Max Liebman presents A Connecticut Yankee, inspired by the Mark Twain tale.

It tells of a modern-day groom-to-be who is projected back in time to the days

of King Arthur. There, the people he knows at home assume the identities

of the characters about the Round Table and their lady-loves.

Highlights

Songs : "This is My Night to Howl ", "My Heart Stood Still", "Thou Swell" ........Eddie Albert

"At the Round Table" ......... Boris Karloff

"On a Desert Island with Thee", "To Keep My Love Alive" ........ Gale Sherwood

"Hymn to the Sun", "Ye Lunchtime Follies", "Can't You Do a Friend a Favor?" ....... Eddie Albert

"I Feel At Home with You" ............. Jack Thompson

"You Always Love the Same Girl" ............ Eddie Albert / The Camelot Samba.

 

1.13 Max Liebman Presents: THE MERRY WIDOW

09-Apr-1955 NBC Saturday

Written by Bill Friedberg & Neil Simon & William Glickman

Adapted from the 1907 play with music by Franz Lehar and book by Leo Stein & Victor Leon

Produced & Directed by Max Liebman

Guest cast:

Anne Jeffreys ......... Sonia Sadoya

Barry Sullivan ........ Prince Danilo

Edward Everett Horton . Baron Zelta

Helena Bliss .......... Valencienne

Jack Russell .......... Lieutenant Nicholas

John Conte ............ Georges

Synopsis 1:

The pretty widow, Sonia, comes to Paris for a gay fling. Since she owns most of

her native Marsovia, her government wants to make certain her second marriage

does not take her wealth away from home. Their choice of a groom

 the dashing Marsovian Prince Danilo.

Synopsis 2:

Sonja Sadoya is a wealthy young widow who is being romanced by the dashing

Prince Danilo, a womanizing Marsovian embassy attache who is courting Sonia in hopes

of using her money to restore his country's fiscal solvency. Sonia attempts to convince

 Dalio that she is penniless and still get him to marry her.

Highlights

ACT I

"Can-Can" ..................... Dancers

"Maxim's" ..................... Sullivan

"Girls, Girls, Girls .......... Sullivan, Conte

"You'll Love Love in Paris .... Jeffreys

"Fidelity" .................... Conte

"Love Song" ................... Jeffreys, Sullivan

"Merry Widow Waltz" ........... Ensemble

ACT II

"Marsovian Dance" ............. Kraft, Linn & Alexander

"Vilia" ....................... Jeffreys

"Lovely Is The Music" ......... Ensemble

"Fidelity" .................... Conte

"Ladies of the Chorus" ........ Singers

"The Merry Widow Waltz" ....... Ensemble

 

1.14 Max Liebman Presents: KALEIDOSCOPE

24-Apr-1955 NBC Sunday

Hosted by Judy Holliday

Guest cast:

Frank Sinatra

Dick Shawn

George S. Irving

Robert Gallagher

Beatrice Arthur

Synopsis:

Judy appears with George Irving in the "Museum Sketch"

and with Bea Arthur in "The Hat Sketch".

Dick Shawn appears in "The Dario Sketch" and sings "Not Since Nineveh",

from the musical "Kismet" supported by singers and dancers.

Bambi Linn and Rod Alexander dance to "Whatever Lola Wants",

from  the forthcoming musical, "Damn Yankees".

The dancers and singers perform in a production number

of "You're Devastating". The New York finale features the entire cast in

"Razz-a-ma-tazz". From Hollywood Frank Sinatra appears in a comedy sketch

and sings: "I'm Gonna Live till I Die", "One For the Road" and "Learnin' the Blues".

 

1.15 Max Liebman Presents: THE DESERT SONG

07-May-1955 NBC Saturday

written by Billy Friedberg & Neil Simon & William Glickman

Based on Sigmund Romberg's "The Desert Song"

Book by Otto Harbach

Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein & Frank Mandel

Staged by Milton Lyon

Produced & Directed by Max Liebman

Musical numbers staged by Rod Alexander

Musical conductor, Charles Sanford

Musical adaptation by Clay Warnick and Mel Pahl

Arrangements by Irwin Kostal

Choral director, Clay Warnick

Lighting by Fred McKinnon

Adaptation of the 1926 Broadway operetta

Guest cast:

Nelson Eddy ........... Pierre/The Red Shadow

Gale Sherwood ......... Margot

Otto Kruger ........... General Birabeau

John Conte ............ Paul Fontaine

Salvatore Baccalone ... Ali Ben Ali

Viola Essen ........... Azuri

Earl William .......... Hassi

Felisha Conde ......... Castenette Dancer

Synopsis 1:

Pierre Birabeau, son of the general of all French troops in Morocco,

is secretly sympathetic to the local Riffs. Disguising himself in a red costume,

 he leads the Moroccans against his own countrymen, but at the garrison he

pretends to be a weakly simpleton. His behavior with his fellow Frenchmen

does not help further his desire for romance with the beautiful Margot. She

prefers dashing, but fickle, Captain Paul Fontaine. Pierre has no choice but to

go to Margot in his other identity, the notorious Red Shadow, and carry her off to

his desert camp. Complications arise when Azuri, a dancing girl, reveals

the camp's location to the French.

Synopsis 2:

This is the tale of a dashing Frenchman who, opposing his own father,

General Birabeau's campaign, joins the Riffs of Morocco in their battle against

the French. Our hero leads a double life, at home the playboy, Pierre; in the desert,

 Red Shadow, the fighter for Moroccan independence. Neither his girl nor his father

suspects that these two are one and the same.

Highlights:

ACT I

Scene 1. Desert Oasis

"Riff Song" .................... Eddy

Scene 2. Street and cafe

"Why Do We Marry Soldiers?"..... Girls

"French Marching Song" ......... Eddy

"Pretty Maid of France" ........ Conte, Sherwood

"Girls, Girls, Girls" .......... Conte, Sherwood

"Romance" ...................... Conte

Scene 3. General Birabeau's Mansion

Dance .......................... Viola Essen

"Then You Will Know" ........... Eddy, Sherwood

"I Want a Kiss" ................ Eddy, Sherwood

"Romance" ...................... Sherwood

"Desert Song" .................. Eddy

ACT II

Scene 1. Ali Ben's Desert Fortress

"My Little Castognette" ........ Dancers

"Eastern-Western Love" ......... Eddy, Williams, Baccaloni

Scene 2. General Birabeau's Mansion

"Sabre Song" ................... Sherwood

Scene 3. Ali's Fortress

"Desert Song" .................. Eddy

ACT III

Scene 1. General Birabeau's Mansion

"Dance of Triumph" ............. Viola Essen

"French Military Song" ......... Conte

Scene 2. Town Square

"One Alone" .................... Eddy, Sherwood

*Note: "The Desert Song" debuted at New York's Casino Theater in 1926.

 

1.16 Max Liebman Presents: PROMENADE

22-May-1955 NBC Sunday

written by Bill Friedberg & William Glickman & Neil Simon

 & William Jacobson & Fred Saidy

directed by Max Liebman

Hosted by Tyrone Power

Guest cast:

Judy Holliday

Janet Blair

Kay Starr

George S. Irving

Barbara Baxley

Jack Russell

Herb Shriner

Zachary A. Charles

Bil Baird & Cora Baird, Puppeteers

Synopsis:

Actor Tyrone Power is the host and actresses Judy Holliday and Janet Blair

as well as dancers Bambi Linn & Rod Alexander; singers Kay Starr,

Jack Russell, Herb Shriner and Barbara Baxley perform.

Highlights:

"It's A Great Feeling" .............. Cast

"What Part of Indiana?" ............. Shriner

Baseball Wives ...................... Holliday, Blair, Baxley

Trapped ............................. Holliday, Russell, Baxley,

George Irving, Zachary Charles

Girl Singers ........................ Holliday, Blair, Starr

"I Love To Rhyme" ................... Blair

"Carabelle" ......................... Russell

"The Carioca" ....................... Linn & Alexander

"Chattanooga Choo-choo" ............. Cast

"Side By Side" ...................... Starr

"If You Love Me" .................... Starr

"That Ain't Love" ................... Starr

"Wheel of Fortune" .................. Starr

 

1.17 Max Liebman Presents: THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER

04-Jun-1955 NBC Saturday

written by Neil Simon & Bill Friedberg & William Glickman

 Based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play "Arms and the Man."

directed by Jeffrey Hayden

Guest cast:

Eddie Albert ......... Captain Bumerli

Rise Stevens ......... Nadina

Akim Tamaroff ........ Major Ludek

David Atkinson ....... Alexius Spiridoff

George Ebeling ....... General Masakroff

Synopsis:

Captain Bumerli, a cowardly Swiss Army pastry chef, finds himself in the midst

of battle and flees the scene. He escapes up a trellis and ends up in the bedroom

of Nadina, the fiancee of a war hero. Nadina helps him avoid capture by the

 Bulgarians and later helps him escape. A year later Bumerli returns to win

Nadina's love and prevent her loveless marriage to Major Spiridoff.

NOTE: Adapted from the 1909 Broadway opera, with music by Oscar Straus

and libretto by Rudolph Bernauer & Leopold Jacobson.

 

 ############ Max Liebman Presents ############
############### end of season 1 ##############
##############################################

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