The program "featured people who had unusual abilities", such as a man who picked a violin's strings with his teeth and a girl who played an instrument while tap dancing.
In April, NBC changed the title and format to ''The Henry Morgan Show'', a music-variety show featuring singers Dorothy Claire and Dorothy Jarnac in musical segments between Morgan's comedy skits. This latter format lasted until June 1.
Production
Campbell Soups sponsored the program. Dick Schreiber was the director.
Will Glickman
Will Glickman (March 7, 1910 – March 11, 1983) was an American playwright who frequently collaborated with Joseph Stein.
Glickman made his Broadway debut in 1948 with sketches he and Stein wrote for the revue '' Lend an Ear''. The two went on ...
and
Joe Stein
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage, based on the novel ''Joe'' (1991) by Larry Brown
* Joe (2023 film), an Indian film
* ''Joe'' (TV ser ...
were the writers.
It originated from
WNBT.
Critical response
A review of the premiere episode in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' said that the program did not deliver as promised. Instead of "contestants with odd and weird talents", the review said, "Two of the acts sounded most familiar."
The reviewer recalled having heard those two acts on a radio program several years earlier. The review concluded, "The 'Great Talent Hunt' is not really odd, weird or unusual."
That episode was also reviewed in the trade publication ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', which said that the show's premise "could lead to a lot of fun", but Morgan and others on the show "seemed to press too much".
The review said that Morgan, known for his "wonderfully off-beat, sardonic and often caustic wit", tried too hard to be nice.
It also noted problems in staging and said that Stang's "material was weak and served to break up the routine rather than bolster it."
Excess commercialism also drew criticism, both for the number of commercials and for devices such as asking guests about their favorite soup.
See also
*
1951-52 United States network television schedule
References
Bibliography
*Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', Fourth edition (New York:
Penguin Books
Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
, 1980)
*Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows'', Third edition (New York:
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...
, 1964)
External links
*{{IMDb title, tt0043205
1950s American variety television series
1951 American television series debuts
1951 American television series endings
NBC original programming