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Season
3 (CBS) (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
################### Omnibus ##################
############## season 3 1954-55 ##############
##############################################
CBS Sundays 5:00-6:30pm Eastern
Producer Robert Saudek
3.01 [53] Omnibus: TREADMILL TO OBLIVION
17Oct1954 CBS Sun
by Fred Allen & Jack Roche
Host Alistair Cooke
Synopsis:
Fred Allen provides an animated preview of his forthcoming book. Fred entertains
with the telling about his "Treadmill to
Oblivion", the story of his radio career, so that it really turned into a
flashback to some of the activities which made
him famous at the microphone.
Nostaligic look at the radio performers you've heard now seen on "Allen's
Alley", including "Portland", "Ajax Cassidy",
"Senator Claghorn" and "Titus Moody" Absent from the list is "Mrs. Nusbaum".
It was sheer delight to recall the moments when Allen was one of the bright
things to come along to relieve the smog
created by such dreadful bores of the heyday of radio as Joe Penner, Jack Pearl
and Eddie Cantor.
In addition to Fred's play there was a demonstration of percussion musical
instruments, an 18-minute airplane zip around the world
and the subway escape of two Hungarian dancers from East Berlin, Nora Kovach and
Istvan Rabovsky, who perform a ballet number.
3.02 [54] Omnibus: THE MAN WHO MARRIED A DUMB WIFE
24Oct1954 CBS Sun
Short play by Anatole France "The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife"
starring
Nita Talbot
Zachary Scott
1) The first segment offers "The Man With The Diamond" written by Frank D.
Gilroy with the Omnibus Reperatory Company.
"The Man With the Diamond," described as a folk tale set in the Midwest.
2) The second segment is a dramatization of Anatole France's play "The Man Who
Married A Dumb Wife" with actors
Nita Talbot and Zachary Scott.
3) The third segment is "A Child's View of the United States" interview segment.
4) The fourth segment is "Farewell To Native Dancer" a documentary segment.
3.03 [55] Omnibus: YOUNG MAN IN POLITICS
31Oct1954 CBS Sun
by Joel Sayre
starring
Richard Kiley
Eva Marie Saint
E.G. Marshall
Synopsis:
A coming of age play "Young Man in Politics" sub-titled "A Clean, Fresh Breeze".
On tour with the Toby Players with a performance of "Toby and the Tall Corn".
3.04 [56] Omnibus: BREWSIE AND WILLIE
07Nov1954 CBS Sun
1) Presents a review and discussion with Pearl S. Buck's forthcoming
autobiography, "My Several Worlds".
2) A dramatization of a story by the onetime resident of Oakland, Gertrude
Stein's "Brewsie and Willie", a short story
adapted by Ellen Violet, about two American GIs in France at the end of World
War II, starring the Omnibus Touring
Players Inc.
3) A demonstration of college and professional wrestling called "Wrestling,
Honest and Otherwise."
with pro Bert Shurtleff.
3.05 [57] Omnibus: BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH SYMPHONY
14Nov1954 CBS Sun
starring
Leonard Bernstein as Himself
1) Leonard Bernstein analyzes Beethoven's Fifth Symphony with the aid of visual
techniques.
2) "Ballet Girl" is a film from Copenhagen about a 6-year-old girl who starts
her career as a ballet dancer
in the Royal Danish Ballet.
3) A feature on College football in a midwestern town is highlighted.
3.06 [58] Omnibus: ANTIGONE
21Nov1954 CBS Sun
by Sophocles
directed by Sidney Lumet
starring
Beatrice Straight
Barry Jones
Kevin McCarthy
Marian Seldes
Philip Bourneuf
Sheppard Strudwick
Synopsis:
The story of the eternal conflict between the rights of the individual and the
demands of the state.
2) The other feature will be an ice skating lesson by Olympic champion Dick
Button. His appearance will be
on a live remote from a New York City skating rink.
3.07 [59] Omnibus: THE VIRTUOUS ISLAND
28Nov1954 CBS Sun
1) "The Virtuous Island" comedy-drama by Jean Giraudoux.
starring
Cyril Ritchard,
Burgess Meredith,
Hermione Gingold,
Rita Gam
2) A series of music lessons by
noted symphonic artists:
Performance of Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin(?) or The Flying Dutchman(?) and a
polka by French horn players
Arthur, Jack, and Harry Berv and Toscanini's NBC Symphony brass section.
Brief history of the French horn. A lesson on the French horn."
Toscanini's NBC Symphony was terminated by NBC, with last concert on June 5,
1954.
The Berv brothers Arthur, Jack, and Harry were invited to perform by CBS on the
"Omnibus" show with Alistaire Cooke.
The Bervs had been with the NBC Symphony since the late 1930's.
3) An action-packed feature showing for the first time the capture of a live
musk-ox by John Teal Jr. Arctic archeologist.
4) A five minute dissertation on Christmas gift wrapping by comedian Orson Bean.
3.08 [60] Omnibus: A MAINE LOBSTERMAN
05Dec1954 CBS Sun
1) The first segment E.B. White's narration of "A Maine Lobsterman".
2) The second segment "Toys" shows new novelty toys out on the market.
3) The third segment is a performance by French puppeteers.
4) The fourth segment is a visit to New York's Lexington School for the Deaf.
3.09 [61] Omnibus: THE CONTRAST
12Dec1954 CBS Sun
written by Royall Tyler
starring
Nita Talbot
James Mulhollin
Lee Richardson
Synopsis:
The play, first staged in 1787 in New York, is a comedy of manners with a
Revolutionary War background.
*NOTE: "The Contrast" It was the earliest comedy produced in America.
*NOTE: Second appearance of The Omnibus Repertory Company.
3.10 [62] Omnibus: SECOND SHEPHERD'S PLAY
19Dec1954 CBS Sun
by John Gassner & Ed Jurist
starring
Jessica Tandy
Hume Cronyn
A rare performance of anonymous "Second Shepherd's Play", one of the oldest
dramas in English literature,
a curious mixture of wonderfully low folk comedy and medieval Christianity that
is staged in the cloisters.
An unusual piece of theater.
Then you'll hear carols by the Vienna Boys Choir and readings of children's
stories by Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn that include pieces from Kipling, Dr.
Suess, and Robert L. Stevenson.
3.11 [63] Omnibus: THE MERRY WIDOW
26Dec1954 CBS Sun (90mins)
Opera by Franz Lehar
Conducted by Eugene Ormandy
Staged by Cyril Ritchard
starring
Patrice Munsel
Theodor Uppman ... Prince Danilo
and a cast of 30 performers, including separate dancing and singing choruses.
*NOTE: Eugene Ormandy conducts the first TV color show of Omnibus.
3.12 [64] Omnibus: THE TRIAL OF ST. JOAN
02Jan1955 CBS Sun
based on George Bernard Shaw's play "Saint Joan".
"The Trial of G.B. Shaw's 'St. Joan'"
Kim Hunter ....... Joan
Everett Sloane ... The Inquistor
2) Modern architect Elliot Noyes shows films and models to tell the story of
architecture from the Roman arch,
ancient Greece's temples through the period of the 16th century Gothic
cathedral.
3.13 [65] Omnibus: THE ADAMS FAMILY
09Jan1955 CBS Sun
1) The first segment "The Adams Family" is a staging biographical look at four
generations of "The Adams Family"
from John Adams, the second President of the United States to his son John
Quincy Adams, the sixth President and others.
2) The second segment is an on-the-spot look at the functioning of New York's
Grand Central Station, the world's largest
railway terminal.
3) The third segment is a film of skin-divers in a battle with a shark.
3.14 [66] Omnibus: H.M.S. PINAFORE
16Jan1955 CBS Sun
starring
Martyn Green
1) The first segment "H.M.S. Pinafore" Martyn Green who has majored in Gilbert
and Sullivan music, will be heard in six
"patter" songs half-recited - half-sung from "Pinafore", "Pirates of Penzance",
"Iolanthe", "Patience", "The Sorcerer"
and "Ruddigore".
2) The second segment is the story of the family of Hideki Yukawa, Japanese
physicist who won the 1949 Nobel Prize in
physics.
3) The fourth segment takes a look at your neighbor's facial expression when
called for duty as cameras go along with
Allen Funt and his "Candid Camera" are shown.
3.15 [67] Omnibus: JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
23Jan1955 CBS Sun
starring
Hume Cronyn ...... John Quincy Adams
Jessica Tandy .... Louisa Catherine Johnson
1) The first segment is the second in a series of four programs on "The Adams
Family" biographies with Hume Cronyn
playing John Quincy Adams and Jessica Tandy.
2) The second segment is a violin lesson by Yehudi Menuhin. Menuhin performs on
his instrument and discusses its
history and structure.
3) The third segment, The Plider Brothers will be shown in the film on
skin-diving.
3.16 [68] Omnibus: HAMLET
30Jan1955 CBS Sun
Based on the Play by William Shakespeare
Directed by Seymour Robbie
Host and drama critic Walter Kerr
1) The first segment "Hamlet" is performed by the Canadian Players Ltd the
players from the Stratford (Ontario)
Shakespearean Playhouse perform excerpts from Hamlet.
2) The second segment The United States Olympic Fencing team will demonstrate
its art in a feature devoted to the
history of fencing.
3) The third segment is the story of the flight as told by Major Arthur Murray
who recently broke the world's
altitude record.
3.17 [69] Omnibus: MR. LINCOLN
06Feb1955 CBS Sun (90mins)
Based on James Agee's novel
starring
Royal Dano ......... Abraham Lincoln
Joanne Woodward .... Ann Ruthledge
Crahan Denton ...... Tom Lincoln
Marian Seldes
Blanche Cholet
Joanna Roos
Synopsis:
A feature film on the young Lincoln has been made from the applauded series
shown on "Omnibus" in previous seasons,
and will occupy the entire program. The film was shot on location in Lincoln
country in Kentucky and Illinois.
3.18 [70] Omnibus: THE TURN OF THE SCREW
13Feb1955 CBS Sun
Teleplay by Gore Vidal
story by Henry James
starring
Geraldine Page ..... Governess
Kathleen Nesbitt ... Mrs. Grose
Rex Thompson ....... Master
Nina Reader ........ Miss Jessel
Robert Goodier ..... Peter Quint
Stanley Lemin ...... Miles
Synopsis:
1) The first segment "The Turn of the Screw" adapted by Gore Vidal from Henry
James' novel is the story about a governess
believes she sees two ghosts who exert a sinister influence on her charges.
2) The second feature of the show will be a dance portrayal of the history of
playing cards with choreography by
John Butler.
3) The third segment will tell the story of the drilling of France's first oil
well and its effect on the community
in which it was located.
3.19 [71] Omnibus: THE NEW WORLD
20Feb1955 CBS Sun
story by J.M. Barrie
starring
Barry Jones
1) The first segment "The New World" story by J.M. Barrie depicts the
complications in a father-son relationship.
Starring Barry Jones.
2) The second segment is an informative study of the problems of reading which
are considerable for many people and
of new methods of both teaching and remedying readers is shown.
3) The third segment is a film depicting the changing look of the sea, with
painter Winslow Homer's pictures as
illustrations.
3.20 [72] Omnibus: THE LIVES OF HENRY ADAMS AND CHARLES FRANCES ADAMS JR.
27Feb1955 CBS Sun
by James Flexner
starring
Sheppard Strudwick ..... Charles Francis Adams
William Windom
1) The first segment is the third in a series of Adams Family biographies with
Sheppard Strudwick portraying Charles
Francis Adams is dramatized.
2) The second segment presents "Command Post" showing how radar installations
would react in the event of an aerial
attack on the U.S.
3) The third segment is a feature on the human brain the first in a new series.
3.21 [73] Omnibus: ILIAD (90 mins)
03Apr1955 CBS Sun
Adapted by Andrew K. Lewis
Based on Homer's "Iliad"
Directed by Tad Danielewski
Staged by Elliot Silverstein
Music score by Gene Cines
Off-camera voice of "Homer", Michael Kane
starring
Dorothy Hart ........ Helen
Florence Reed ....... Andromache's Servant
Paul Sparer ......... Achilles
Frederic Tozere ..... Agamemnon
Michael Higgins ..... Hector
Frederick Rolf ...... Priam
Susan Douglas ....... Andromache
Herbert Evers ....... Paris
Alexander Scourby ... Odysseus
LeRoi Operti ........ Nestor
Edgar Stehli ........ Idaios
Grant Sullivan ...... Ajax
Roger Evan Boxill ... Petroclos
Sorrell Booke ....... Dolon
Donald Harens ....... Polydamos
Synopsis:
During the 10th year of the Trojan War, which was precipitated by the departure
to Troy of the beautiful Helen,
wife of the King of Sparta.
3.22 [74] Omnibus: UNCLE TOM'S CABIN
10Apr1955 CBS Sun (last show of this season)
adapted by Ellen Violett
story by Harriet Beecher Stowe
starring
John Marriott ....... Uncle Tom
Doreen Lang ......... Ophelia
James Daly .......... St. Clare
Lynn Loring ......... Eva
Phyllis Hill ........ Marie
Irene Treadwell ..... Topsy
Synopsis:
This three part program consists of,
1) "Uncle Tom's Cabin" the heart-rending chronicle of the slave, Uncle Tom, who
passes into the hands of one master after
another.
2) "Dances From India" The prominent classical dancer of the country, Shanta Rao,
and an equally prominent player on the
sarod, Ali Akbar Kahn. A singer and other musicians also take part. World-famous
violinist Yehudi Menuhuin provides an
interpretive commentary.
3) "Change Ringing" a centuries old art of producing patterns of sound with
bells, is shown as practiced by students of
Kent School, Conn.
################### Omnibus
##################
############### end of season 3 ##############
##############################################
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