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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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