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Season
4 (CBS) (1955-56)
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 4 1955-56 ##############
##############################################
CBS Sundays 5:00-6:30pm Eastern
4.01 [75] Omnibus: THE BIRTH OF MODERN TIMES
(live)
09Oct1955 CBS Sun (90mins)
Producer Robert Saudek
written by Robert Coughlan
starring
Charlton Heston
Betsy Von Furstenberg
Summary:
The program begins with the Renaissance period in 1492 with Charlton Heston and
Betsy Von Furstenberg showing modern man's
awakening to art, music and letters. Senior writer Robert Coughlan of LIFE
magazine and an authority on the period will
seek to recreate the color of the year 1492 when the Renaissance reached its
peak in ideas, discoveries, inventions,
politics and the arts.
Future plans include subjects as various as the Battle of Gettysburg, the art
of Will Shakespeare and the hydrophilia of
Esther Williams.
*Note: Although the excursions of Omnibus frequently seem to float into the
more rarified regions, Saudek insists the
show is not meant for highbrows. '"TV is too big to appeal to a United
audience," he says. "It would be a little like
using a freight train to carry one box of eggs. Instead, we go on the
assumption that we will try to appeal to the
'middlebrow'."
4.02 [76] Omnibus: THE JAZZ WORLD
16Oct1955 CBS Sun
starring
Leonard Bernstein
Summary:
1) The first segment "The Jazz World" composer-conductor-pianist Leonard
Bernstein s comments about the origin and meaning
of jazz are helped considerably by the presence of some good jazz side-men.
2) The second segment writer William Saroyan narrates "Famous America Boyhoods"
starring Sal Mineo and Pat De Simone in
scenes of Saroyan's boyhood.
4.03 [77] Omnibus: THE ADAMS HOUSE
23Oct1955 CBS Sun
Host Alistair Cooke
1) The first segment "The Adams House" is the fourth in a series about five
generations of the Adams family with a visit
to the 200-year-old home of John Quincy Adams.
2) The second segment "Television Magic" a look at new 'live' techniques.
3) The third segment "Bow Bells" a Cockney's view of London.
4) The fourth segment "Survival in the Bush" a man survives in the Canadian
wilderness with a knife as his only weapon.
4.04 [78] Omnibus: ADVICE TO BATHERS
30Oct1955 CBS Sun
starring
Esther Williams
Hume Cronyn
Jessica Tandy
Synopsis:
1) The first segment "Advice to Bathers" is devoted to advice offered by that
lovely bathing instructress Esther Williams.
She has help from Robert Kiphuth and the Yale swimming team and a few members
of the Walter Reed swimming team. The history
of swimming is covered once over lightly, and some modern strokes are
demonstrated. The Yale University pool is the scene
of this live pickup. Esther Williams dressed in an old-fashioned bathing suit,
shows some amusing and painless info on
swimming and how it got started with reference to Greek mythology.
2) The second segment of the show is in the nature of advice to actors, since
the popular team of Hume Cronyn and
Jessica Tandy is seen applying makeup for, and then performing a variety of
roles in famous theatrical courtship scenes,
one from "Pride and Prejudice" and "Mornings at Seven".
4.05 [79] Omnibus: TOBY AND THE TALL CORN
06Nov1955 CBS Sun
narrated by author Russell Lynes
1) The first segment is a re-broadcast of "Toby and the Tall Corn", the
prize-winning film showing the impact on a midwestern town of the arrival of a
troupe of traveling players, featuring the Toby Players headed by Neil
Schaffner.
2) The second segment is Antonio and his Spanish Ballet Company perform for the
first half of the show in this his first American TV appearance.
3) The third segment "Excursion House" shows the housing boom in America.
4.06 [80] Omnibus: AMERICAN BOYHOODS, CAPTAIN JOHN M. ELLICOTT
13Nov1955 CBS Sun
cast:
Art Carney
1) The first segment is another episode in the American Boyhoods series,
Captain John M. Ellicott, 96, in a filmed
interview with his daughter. Captain Ellicott reminisces about the Civil War,
the assassination of Lincoln and the
Spanish-American War. At the time of his death, which occured shortly after the
interview was filmed, Captain Ellicott
was the oldest living graduate of Annapolis.
2) The second segment Art Carney's comedy monologue.
3) The third segment are scenes from Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of
Penzance" by D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
4.07 [81] Omnibus: SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER
20Nov1955 CBS Sun
based on Oliver Goldsmith's 18th century comedy of manners.
cast:
Michael Redgrave ... Marlo
Barbara Jefford .... Kate Hardcastle
Hermione Gingold ... Mrs. Hardcastle
Walter Fitzgerald .. Mr. Hardcastle
Rex Everhart
The stammering suitor attempts to seduce Kate who is pretending to be a barmaid
in a Country house where everyone is a
bit nutty.
1) The first segment "She Stoops to Conquer is a complicated story finds the
upper-class Miss Hardcastle smitten with
young Marlo. When she learns he is ill at ease with ladies, she poses as a
barmaid, thus stooping to conquer.
*Note: This was Barbara Jefford's American TV debut.
[--] Omnibus:
27Nov1955 CBS Sun
pre-empted by SEE IT NOW an Edward R. Murrow documentary on the Nation's
Schools
4.08 [82] Omnibus: THE ART OF CONDUCTING
04Dec1955 CBS Sun
starring
Leonard Bernstein as Himself
1) The first segment "The Art of Conducting" is a demonstrated by Leonard
Bernstein and the interpretations by different
musical intonations and vibrato.
2) The second segment "American Boyhood" with an interview with the Rev. Dr.
Harry Emerson Fosdick.
3) The third segment is a demonstration of the Harlem Globetrotters.
4.09 [83] Omnibus: THE ROYAL GAME
11Dec1955 CBS Sun
play by Stefan Zweig
adapted by David Swift
starring
Joseph Anthony
Carmen Matthews
Mercer McLeod
Synopsis:
A chess-obsessed man finds that the cruise he's taken with his wife is
populated with European chess champions.
1) The first segment "The Royal Game" about a chess champion who plays a game
with an imaginary opponent.
2) The second segment "Jack Be Normal" written by Arnold Sundgaard starring
Darren McGavin, Dickie Olsen and Ed Binns.
Deals with the question "What is a Normal Child?"
4.10 [84] Omnibus: SALOME
18Dec1955 CBS Sun
Producer Robert Saudek
Adapted for television by Ellen Violett
Based on the Oscar Wilde play "Salome".
Directed by John Stix
Music Leonard Bernstein
Set Decorator Henry May
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino
Choral Director Merrill Staton
Casting Joe Scully
starring
Eartha Kitt ...... Salome
Patricia Neal .... Herodius
Leo Genn ......... Herod
Martin Landau .... Jochanaan/John the Baptist
Mario Alcade ..... Narraboth, Captain of the Guards
Sal Mineo ........ Guard's Brother (as Salvatore Mineo)
Synopsis:
The Princess Salome is bored with her stepfather and his court. Hearing the
voice of the prophet Jochanaan from the
confines of the prison chamber Salome turns her wiles on Narraboth the Captain
of the Guards to gain access to Jochanaan
whose deathly pallor fascinates her.
2) A segment with Anna Russell and English concert comedienne.
4.11 [85] Omnibus: HANDEL'S MESSIAH
25Dec1955 CBS Sun
Synopsis:
Leonard Bernstein conducts the Symphony of the Air and the 40 voice Schola
Canotorum will be featured with soloist
William Warfield, Gloria Lane and Adele Addison, directed by Hugh Ross.
4.12 [86] Omnibus: THE BEST YEAR IN THE HISTORY OF THE WHOLE WORLD
01Jan1956 CBS Sun
written by William Saroyan
directed by Delbert Mann
starring
Orson Bean
Alice Pearce
Paul Hartman
Dancing, poetry, sports and animal life and a humorous sketch by Saroyan.
1) The first segment "The Best Year in the History of the Whole World" is a
humorous play by William Saroyan starring
Orson Bean, Alice Pearce and Paul Hartman.
2) The second segment is an appearance of the Azuma Kabuki dancers who appear
in the native dance-art-drama form of Japan.
4.13 [87] Omnibus: DEAR BRUTUS
08Jan1956 CBS Sun
written by James M. Barrie in 1917
starring
Helen Hayes ....... Mrs. Dearth
Susan Strasberg ... Joanna Trout
Franchot Tone ..... Jack Purdie
Neva Patterson ... Mrs. Coade
Synopsis:
The fantasy about a woman who fantasizes about having a daughter. The tale
unfolds in this midsummernight fantasy when
eight people disappear into a magical wood to life a different life for one
night.
*Note: Helen Hayes made her theatrical debut in the Broadway version of "Dear
Brutus" in 1918 playing the daughter and
in this presentation she plays the mother.
4.14 [88] Omnibus: THE GREAT FORGERY
15Jan1956 CBS Sun
Adapted from an autobiography by George Bidwell
starring
Hal March
Elliott Reid
John Heldebrand
Harry Townes
1) The first segment "The Great Forgery" is the story of four Americans who
forged bills of credit and bilked the Bank
of England of a fortune in English money. Second feature of today's show is
Part i of the widely acclaimed feature film
"The Great Adventure" depicting some of the varied rhythms of nature, and
filmed by Arne Sucksdorff.
2) The second segment is part 1 of "The Great Adventure" Arne Sucksdorff's film
about the story of nature and life.
[--] Omnibus:
22Jan1956 CBS Sun
pre-empted by a special program "Out of Darkness" about mental patients in
hospitals.
4.15 [89] Omnibus: MINDS OVER MANNERS
29Jan1956 CBS Sun
written by Russell Lynes
starring
Jessica Tandy
Hume Cronyn
Sugar Ray Robinson
1) The first segment "Minds Over Manners" is a series three dramatic vignettes
illustrating the changes in American customs
and manners, using January 29, 1856, January 29, 1906 and the present as
examples. Starring are the husband and wife team
Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.
2) The second segment is a demonstration by boxer Sugar Ray Robinson who shows
the finer points of boxing from Stillman's
gym.
4.16 [90] Omnibus: ONE NATION
05Feb1956 CBS Sun
Producer Robert Saudek
starring
Lilia Skala ...... Rosica Schwimmer
1) The first segment is the first of a 3-part dramatic expository study of the
United States Constitution.
Hosted by Joseph N. Welch the famed Boston attorney.
The program focuses on the document which galvanized 13 states into the Union
and held that Union together in the
face of repeated attempts to divide it.
4.17 [91] Omnibus: MR. LINCOLN
12Feb1956 CBS Sun
starring
Royal Dano ....... Lincoln
Joanne Woodward .. Ann Rutledge
Crahan Denton
Marian Seldes
Blanche Cholet
Joanna Roos
Synopsis:
A traditional Lincoln Day showing of a feature length film on the early life of
Abraham Lincoln.
*Note: This is a condensation of the five-part documentary produced by the Ford
Foundation.
*Note: One of the most poignant sequences is the prayerful silence of the
people standing by the funeral train as the
train slowly chugged taking Lincoln to his last resting place.
4.18 [92] Omnibus: ONE NATION INDIVISIBLE
19Feb1956 CBS Sun
written by E.J. Kahn
1) "One Nation Indivisible" presents the second of the three-part examination
of the U.S. Constitution with guide
attorney Joseph N. Welch, shows the country's struggle for unity during the
19th century.
4.19 [93] Omnibus: THE ART OF BALLET (aka The Evolution of the Ballet)
26Feb1956 CBS Sun
starring
Agnes de Mille
James Mitchell
Andre Eglevesky
Melle
1) The first segment "The Art of Ballet" takes a look at dance with famed
choreographer Agnes De Mille and a cast of
26 dancers show the evolution of ballet.
Andre Eglevesky, James Mitchell and other dancers will demonstrate modern and
classical ballet.
2) The second segment "The Boyhood of William Shakespeare" is sketch on the
Bard's early life by Walter Kerr &
Alfred Harbage
3) The third segment E. Power Biggs will bring his portable organ to the studio
for a musical program.
*Note: Agnes de Mille's father was playwright William De Mille and her uncle
was the legendary Cecil B. De Mille and
her maternal grandfather was Henry George, the renowned single-taxer.
Trivia: Agnes de Mille as a little girl in Los Angeles watched the late Isadora
Duncan dance and heard her admonish
the audience to go out and run barefoot through the hills. The little girl did
and filled her feet with cactus thorns.
It was the beginning of Agnes De Mille's love for dance.
4.20 [94] Omnibus: WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
04Mar1956 CBS Sun
Narrated by Attorney Joseph Welch
starring
Lilia Skala
Vaughan Taylor
Ray Bramley
Reynolds Evans
David Stewart
Synopsis:
This is the third and last in the series on the U.S. Constitution. This episode
emphasizes the role of the Federal
Judiciary in protecting civil liberties.
4.21 [95] Omnibus: THE BETTER HALF
11Mar1956 CBS Sun
Teleplay by Alvin Sapinsley
Play by Noel Coward
starring
Hume Cronyn
Jessica Tandy
1) The first segment "The Better Half" based on Noel Coward's play is about an
unhappy married couple with the husband
about to have an affair with his wife's best friend. The wife however is aware
of their flirtation and encourages them
to have an affair. Being an honorable man he refuses to engage in the affair.
2) The second segment "The Museum That Jack Built" takes a visual essay on
clouds, the museum that Jack built
(Boston Museum of Science) with Dr. Suess helping guide the tour.
*Note: Robert Saudek, producer, received a letter from a little girl, Robina
Storm, asking him about the sky. Since
she'd heard about the sky so much, she wanted to know what it was. Saudek fell
in love, with the idea and hired
Rachel Carson, who wrote "The Sea "Around Us" to create a visual essay on the
sky and clouds.
It should make a memorable,
100th "Omnibus".
[--] Omnibus:
18Mar1956 CBS Sun
pre-empted for "Out of Darkness" rebroadcast of the National Association for
Mental Health special program.
4.22 [96] Omnibus: HARVARD UNIVERSITY REMOTE
25Mar1956 CBS Sun
written by Andy Lewis
directed by Delbert Mann
starring
Alistair Cooke
Nathan Pusey
John F. Kennedy
Leverett Saltonstall
Leonard Bernstein
Samuel Eliot Morison
Synopsis:
An examination of the role that the modern university-college plays in American
life is explored. Appearing will be
Dr. D.W. Barry Wood, former All-American football star, now a vice president
and surgeon of Johns Hopkins University,
conductor Leonard Bernstein, U.S. Senators Leverell Saltonstall and John F.
Kennedy, skating champion Tenley Albright,
Dr. Nathan M. Pusey president of Harvard will also guest from the Cambridge,
Mass University.
4.23 [97] Omnibus: THE COURT MARTIAL OF BILLY MITCHELL
01Apr1956 CBS Sun
starring
John Daly ........ Colonel Billy Mitchell
Richard Carlson
1) The first segment "The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell" is the unrevealed
official transcript of the court-martial
of Col. William (Billy) Mitchell is revealed. An authentic re-enactment of some
of the proceedings which led to the
court-martial of the air service hero.
With a cast of 45 performers, the dramatization of the trial held in the
closing month of 1925 is presented.
Testimony heard in the presentation was organized for the program by E. J.
Kahn, stall writer for The New Yorker, on
commission from the Ford Foundation's TV-Radio Workshop.
2) The second segment "How the F-100 Got It's Tail" deals with the jet plane
test pilots who checked out the manuevers
of the jet.
*Note: Omnibus will make public for the first time the official transcript of
the court-martial trial of Col. William
Mitchell, the Air Service hero who sacrificed his career to the cause of a
strong, independent air defense-
Heading the cast of 45 performers in the dramatization of the trial, held in
the closing month of 1925, will be John Daly,
portraying Col Mitchell. Testimony heard in the presentation was organized for
the program by E. J. Kahn, stall writer
for The New Yorker, on commission from the Ford Foundation's TV-Radio Workshop.
################### Omnibus
##################
############### end of season 4 ##############
##############################################
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