CTVA US Anthology - "Omnibus" (ABC) Season 5 (1956-57)

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 Season 5 (ABC) (1956-57)
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 5 1956-57 ##############
##############################################
   Change of Network from CBS to ABC
ABC Sundays 9:00-10:30pm Eastern (Primetime)


5.01 [--] Omnibus: THE AMERICAN MUSICAL COMEDY

07-Oct-1956 ABC Sun

written by Leonard Bernstein

directed by Charles S. Dubin

starring

Leonard Bernstein as Himself

Carol Burnett as Herself

 

5.02 [--] Omnibus: ANDROCLES AND THE LION

14-Oct-1956 ABC Sun

adapted by Frank Duane

story by George Bernard Shaw

directed by Lee Rothberg

starring

Bert Lahr

Jerome Kilty

Joan Diener

Philippa Bevans

Albert Corbin

Clint Young

Mark Daniels

Alvin Epstein

Douglas Watson

George Mathews

Stanley Jay

Felix Munso

Berry Kroeger

 

(2) THE SILENT WORLD

14-Oct-1956 ABC Sun

Louis Malle

Jacques Cousteau who screened his first undersea adventure on American television

 

5.03 [--] Omnibus: THE LAST DAY OF MANOLETE

21-Oct-1956 ABC Sun

Synopsis:

The last day of Manolete, the great Spanish bullfighter, is recounted through the use of still photos.

 Barnaby Conrad, author of the novel Bullfight, edited the selection. [RF]

The stranger left no card / producer, George K. Arthur ; director, Wendy Toye ;

writer, Sidney Carroll ; cast, Alan Badel (22 min.)

 -- The silent world--excerpt / a Columbia Pictures release ;

 by Jacques Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle (9 min.)

 -- Rodeo / created and staged by Agnes de Mille ; director, Andrew McCullough ;

 music, Aaron Copland ; conductor, Joseph Levine ;

dancers, John Kriza, Jenny Workman, Kelly Brown, the Ballet Theatre Company (23 min.)

 -- The day Manolete was killed / producer, Barnaby Conrad (20 min.)

 

5.04 [--] Omnibus: MY HEART'S IN THE HIGHLANDS

28-Oct-1956 ABC Sun

written by William Saroyan

Synopsis:

My heart's in the Highlands, the one-act play by William Saroyan first produced in 1938.

It's the lyrical story of a poet who refuses to take a workaday job in order to rescue himself,

his son and his Armenian mother-in-law from the dismal conditions in which they live. [RF]

(2) How different kinds of horses are used for sport. Sportscaster Bud Palmer narrates.

 3. Part three of excerpts from The silent world, Capt. Jacques-Yves Cousteau's film of underwater life.

(3) Almost all about horses / director, Hal Davis ; writer, Andy Lewis ; with Bud Palmer (21 min.) -- My heart's in the highlands / director, Charles S. Dubin ; writer, William Saroyan ; music, Paul Bowles ; with Everett Sloane, James Daly, Richard Olsen, David J. Stewart, Eda Heineman, John McGovern, Marilyn Siegel, Frank Bolgerm, Charles Saari, Joseph Boland, Meridith Schoonover, Dennis Patrick (44 min.) -- The silent world--excerpts / Columbia Pictures release ; by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle (9 min.)

 

5.05 [--] Omnibus: LET THERE BE FARCE

04-Nov-1956 ABC Sun

directed by Charles S. Dubin

starring

Judith Evelyn

Enid Markey

Jonathan Harris

Eartha Kitt

 

5.06 [--] Omnibus: MOLIERE'S SCHOOL FOR WIVES

11-Nov-1956 ABC Sun

written by Walter Kerr

story by Moliere

directed by Hal Davis

starring

Bert Lahr

Michael Strong

Elizabeth Wilson

Patricia Smith

William Shatner

Synopsis:

To provide himself with an ideal wife, Arnolphe, a bachelor, has had a girl educated

 from infancy in such a way as to keep her ignorant of the knowledge

most young ladies possess. [RF]

 

5.07 [--] Omnibus: PLAYS OF THE IRISH RENAISSANCE

18-Nov-1956 ABC Sun

directed by Charles S. Dubin

starring

Siobhan McKenna

Cavada Humphrey

Frances Fullerm

James Neylin

Tom Clancy

Vince Dowling

Farrell Pelly

Synopsis:

The plays will include Lennox Robinson's The whiteheaded boy (1916) and Is

life worth living (1933), and Sean O'Casey's Juno and the paycock (1924) and

The plough and the stars. John Millington Synge will be represented

 by his Deirdre of the sorrows (1910). [RF]

 

5.08 [--] Omnibus: THE BLUE HOTEL

25-Nov-1956 ABC Sun

adapted by Joseph Hurley

story by Stephen Crane

directed by Fred Carney

starring

Arthur O'Connell

Charles Aidman

William Traylor

Patrick McAlinney

Rip Torn

Jim Boles

Dan Morgan

Synopsis:

It's the story of a Swede who is confined in a little Nebraska hotel by a blizzard.

He is afraid that the other guests, though they appear to mean no harm, actually are

looking for an excuse to kill him; and his fear itself incites violence. [RF]

 

5.09 [--] Omnibus: A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY

02-Dec-1956 ABC Sun

adapted by Maurice Valency

story by Edward Everett Hale

directed by Daniel Petrie

starring

Arthur Franz

Joseph Anthony

John McGovern

Bernard Lenrow

James Coots

George Mitchell

Joe Mantell

Joan Wetmore

Frank Marth

Philip Abbott

(2) Amicable Parting

directed by Charles S. Dubin

written by George S. Kaufman and Leueen MacGrath

starring

Eli Wallach

Anne Jackson

 

5.10 [--] Omnibus: THE FINE ART OF MURDER

09-Dec-1956 ABC Sun

written by Sidney Carroll

directed by Paul Bogart

starring

James Daly

Jack Sydow

Truman Smith

Jane McArthur

Bruce Kirby

Ludie Claire

Daniel Ocko

Felix Munso

Herbert Voland

Dennis Hoey

Robert Ecles

Gene Reynolds

Rex Stout

 

5.11 [--] Omnibus: THE CHRISTMAS TIE

16-Dec-1956 ABC Sun

written by William Saroyan

directed by Andrew McCullough

starring

Helen Hayes

Ray Boyle

Iggie Wolfington

Synopsis:

The Christmas tie spots her as an elderly, quite genteel shoplifter. [RF]

 

(2) DRUG STORE, SUNDAY NOON

written by Horton Foote

story by Robert Hutchinson

directed by Andrew McCullough

starring

Helen Hayes

Jacqueline Scott

Enid Markey

Elizabeth Watts

Philip Abbott

Robert Brian

Johnny LoBianco

 

(3) [--] Omnibus: THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM

is a play about Sandor Szabo's flight from Communism.

written by Joseph Hurley

directed by Charles S. Dubin

starring

Sandor Szabo

Kato Barczy (Mrs. Szabo)

Barna Szabo

Balazs Szabo

 

5.12 [--] Omnibus: MADELINE VISITS OMNIBUS

23-Dec-1956 ABC Sun

adapted by Frank Dunne

written by Ludwig Bemelmans

starring

Evelyn Rudie

Renie Riano

Tommy White

 

5.13 [--] Omnibus: THE ART OF CHOREOGRAPHY

30-Dec-1956 ABC Sun

directed by Charles S. Dubin

starring

James Mitchell as Himself/dancer

Agnes de Mille

Gemze de Lappe

Jenny Workman

Diana Adams

Frederic Franklin

James Jamieson

Kelly Brown

Sonia Arova

Charles Queenan

 

5.14 [--] Omnibus: OEDIPUS, THE KING

06-Jan-1957 ABC Sun

produced by Robert Saudek

host Alistair Cooke

starring

Christopher Plummer ........ Oedipus

J. Robert Dietz ............ Priest

Robert Goodier ......... Creon

William Shatner ............. Palace Messenger

Carol Goodner ........ Jocasta

Donald G. Davis .......... Tiresias

Robert Carroll ............ Chorus Leader

William Needles ........... Old Shepherd

Synopsis:
The city of Thebes is afflicted with a plague; the oracle ascribes it to divine punishment for the murder of King Laius.
Oedipus, successor to Laius, pushes zealously the search for the guilty party, so that the plague will be lifted. He is,
accordingly, horrified when Tiresias, the blind old seer, informs him that he, Oedipus, killed Laius, and that, further,
he has fulfilled the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. [RF]

 

 5.15 [112] Omnibus: AFTER WAGNER - WHAT?
13-Jan-1957 ABC Sun
starring
Leonard Bernstein
Summary:
A unique study of modern music with the master himself.
Among the composers whose music will be considered are Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Charles Ives.
Also included is a discussion of John Cage's "Concerto for 12 Radios".

5.16 [--] Omnibus: LEE AT GETTYSBURG
20-Jan-1957 ABC Sun
written by Alvin Sapinsley
directed by Delbert Mann
host Alistair Cooke
starring
James Daly as General Lee
William Smithers as General Hill
William Redfield as Messenger
Dick Moore as General Stuart
Bruce Gordon as General Longstreet
Bob Allen
Wesley Lau
Ralph Stantley
James Pritchett
Frank Sutton
Fred Herrick
Mort Marshall
Addison Powell
Synopsis:
The critical battle of the Civil War is dramatized in terms of the characters of three of the Southern leaders. [RF]

5.17 [114] Omnibus: THE BIG WHEEL -- THE BURLESQUE ENTERTAINMENT OF YESTERDAY
27-Jan-1957 ABC Sun
Script by S.J. Perelman
starring
Bert Lahr
1) The first segment Comedian-actor Bert Lahr performs in and narrates "The Big Wheel" a survey of the era of burlesque.
Script by S.J. Perelman, there are typical acts of the period, the spielers, the dialect routines, the jugglers, etc.
2) The second segment "The Message" is a film on the fulility of war that was produced in England makes it's American debut.
Summary:
Examples of the vaudeville acts that spawned today's comedy and TV shotvs will be shown.

5.18 [115] Omnibus: THE LOUISIANA STORY
03-Feb-1957 ABC Sun
Robert Flaherty
musical score by Virgil Thomson
starring
J.C. Boudreaux
1) The first segment "The Louisiana Story" has numerous international awards. It centers on a young boy (J.C. Boudreaux)
and the bayou country. Two other films point up the contrast in American and British military parading at Shattuck military
academy and before the queen.
Part of Odyssey
"The Baker Street Irregulars" about an organization that considers Sherlock Holmes an actual person. The meeting of the
group in New York last month was filmed for use on the program.

5.19 [116] Omnibus: THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE
10Feb1957 ABC Sun
libretto by John Latouche
music by Douglas Moore
starring
Bill Johnson
Martha Lipton
Laurel Hurley
Synopsis:
The tragic romance of Horace Tabor, powerful politician set in the silver-booming Colorado of the last quarter of the
19th century relates to the decline of the Tabor empire based on the shrewd judgment of Tabor's first wife.

5.20 [117] Omnibus: WHITE MANE
17Feb1957 ABC Sun
starring
James Agee
E.G. Marshall
John F. Kennedy
1) The first segment "White Mane" the 1953 an award winning film and tells the story of how a boy gentles an untamable
wild white stallion named White Mane. Produced and directed by Albert Lamorisse with commentary by James Agee.
2) The second segment "Combat" reports on the army's tests to determine combat potential starring E.G. Marshall.
3) The third segment has Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts discussing the subject of fitness for combat service
is being determined by a new series of tests developed by the U.S. Army.
4) The fourth segment is dedicated to film pioneer Robert Flaherty. You'll see moments of primitive live life in Samoa,
scenes with fishermen on a rugged island off the Irish coast, and shots of Eskimos fighting for existence. Recordings
made by Flaherty himself and interviews with his wife and such friends as director Fred Zinneman ("From Here to Eternity")
help give an idea of the great moviemaker's philosophy.

5.21 [118] Omnibus: SHAKESPEARE'S BOYHOOD
24Feb1957 ABC Sun
starring
Cleveland Amory
Boris Karloff
Jean-Louis Barrault
Walter Kerr
1) The first segment "Shakespeare's Boyhood" Boris Karloff narrates the journey back to the age of Shakespeare's boyhood
with drama critic Walter Kerr commenting after the sketch.
2) The second segment "End of an Era" narrated by Cleveland Amory covers an era when American High Society lived and
played in unparalleled luxury during the turn of the century.
3) The third segment will be a one-man show by French pantomime Jean-Louis Barrault in his presentation of Baptiste the sad clown.
Alistair Cooke introduces today's three features: the pantomime of Jean-Louis Barrault, a dramatic sketch about
Shakespeare's youth and a re-creation of high living among the wealthy in the early 1900's.

 

5.22 [--] Omnibus: THE THEATRE BREAKS LOOSE

03-Mar-1957 ABC Sun

written by Walter Kerr

directed by David Greene

host Alistair Cooke

starring

Lloyd Bochner

Jonathan Harris

Robinson Stone

William Marshall

(Tennis, Everyone! directed by Jack Sameth, written by Andy Lewis

starring Tony Trabert and Gussie Moran)(15min)

(And Joy is My Witness directed by Charles S. Dubin starring Pearl Lang and Bruce Marks)(15min)

Synopsis:
The drama has reflected the structure of the theater. This is the thesis that critic Walter Kerr tries to demonstrate in
one feature of today's show. He has written and narrates this chronicle of the theater from the Greeks to the present day.
There will be excerpts from Oedipus Rex performed as the Greeks did it, and Hamlet and Othello in the style of the
Elizabethan theater. The balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet is performed in Elizabethan style and as it would be done
today. There will also be a performance of the scene as rewritten in the style of a playwright of today. [RF]

 

5.23 [--] Omnibus: THE TRIAL OF CAPTAIN KIDD

10-Mar-1957ABC Sun

starring

Victor Jory ....... Kidd

Jerome Kilty ........ Lord Bellomont

Michael Strong ........ Darby Mullins

Edward Andrews ....... Colonel Livingstone

Berry Kroeger ....... Solicitor General

Synopsis:
Hot-tempered, ruthless, fiery, William Kidd was a respected sea-faring man. Later, in New York City, he was engaged by a
group of British merchants to protect English merchant ships from pirates. But he took few prize vessels, there was mutiny
aboard his ship, and in a brawl he killed the leader of the mutiny. At this point he turned pirate himself, and made some
large hauls. When he learned that criminal charges had been made against him, he returned to New York to clear himself.
Kidd was transported back to England, in chains, placed on trial and in May 1701, hanged. There is considerable doubt that
Kidd was given a fair trial, since his guilt would have implicated the highly placed men who originally hired him as a privateer. [RF]

 

5.24 [--] Omnibus: HOW THE F-100 GOT IT'S TAIL

17-Mar-1957 ABC Sun

directed by Richard Leacock

Synopsis:

A military reenactment.

 

5.25 [--] Omnibus: THE FALL RIVER LEGEND -- THE TRIAL OF LIZZIE BORDEN

24-Mar-1957ABC Sun

starring

Virginia Johnson

 

5.26 [--] Omnibus: THE MUSIC OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

31-Mar-1957 ABC Sun

starring

Leonard Bernstein

Synopsis:
Leonard Bernstein discusses Bach, with an extended excerpt from "The St. Matthew Passion", performed by members of the
Schola Cantorum and the St. Thomas Boys Choir. Other illustrations will be performed by an orchestra, and by Bernstein
himself at the piano and harpischord. The discussion will emphasize Bach's music as the culmination of nearly three
centuries of musical history and will show the diversity of his appeal, jazz improvisations borrow Bach's techniques,
he wrote quantities of church music, he wrote for organ, piano, harpischord. Bernstein will also illustrate Bach's
techniques  in harmony and counterpoint through the use of tunes familiar to viewers. [RF]
*Note: This is the final show of the current series. "Amateur Hour" moves into this time spot.

################### Omnibus ##################
############### end of season 5 ##############
##############################################

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