1h 24min | Comedy, Drama, Music | Episode aired 6 October 1956 | b'cast in color
Director: Seymour Berns
Stars: Louis Armstrong, George Chakiris, Don Crichton, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Dandridge, Sally Forrest, Dolores Gray, Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Shirley Jones, Gordon MacRae, Cole Porter, George Sanders.
Robert Alton ... producer
Bootleg, blurry.
Next time, maybe document the songs performed; Soundtracks is empty.
I think everyone got at least 2 appearances/numbers. BC did an opening explanation of the show, and near the end we got a clip, a full number, from High Society ('56) with LA. LA also sang with DD, and performed with GS.
I probably bought this for Dolores Gray, who is fabulous here again.
I finally gained a little appreciation of Gordon MacRae, who sang imitating other singers, and just belted out some as himself. I think he's constrained when acting. He's really better as a nightclub singer, free to do his own interpretations.
I think they were mostly singing live, at least for the taping; some lyrics were flubbed. The one song that was clearly pre-recorded was Chakiris lip syncing to someone else's voice; if he sang that well he would have been a star much sooner. But he danced a couple of times with Sally Forrest.
Looking at Don Crichton's other credits, I think he may be the excellent solo dancer early in the program.
I still wouldn't recognize D.Dandridge's singing voice; she seems to have different voices for different songs. She danced some too. Nice that she had black men dancing with her, everyone in evening wear.
Always interesting to see such early TV.
CBS (Ford Star Jubilee), dir. Berns; 7
