''Sally'' is an American

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

during the 1957-1958 television season. The series stars

Joan Caulfield Beatrice Joan Caulfield (June 1, 1922 – June 18, 1991) was an American actress and model. After being discovered by Broadway producers, she began a stage career in 1943 that eventually led to signing as an actress with Paramount Pictures. In th ...

as Sally Truesdale, a young saleswoman at a department store who tours

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

with a widow who is the store's wealthy and scatter-brained owner. After the trip is over, Sally returns to work at the store.

Synopsis

Sally Truesdale is a young salesclerk at the Banford & Bleacher Department Store and eligible bachelorette who is reassigned to serve as the traveling companion of the store's wealthy co-owner, the matronly widow Myrtle Banford, during a lengthy trip to

.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 719.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition)'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 897.The Classic TV Archive Sally Accessed 24 November 2020
/ref>Leszczak, Bob, ''Single Season Sitcoms: A Complete Guide, 1948–1979'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2012
, p. 167. They expect a normal vacation, but Mrs. Banford is eccentric and can be a little daffy, and as the two women travel from city to city, she tends to get into various kinds of trouble, while the fun-loving Sally also is prone to having exciting adventures.De Piante, Bob, "Viewing and Listening," ''The Oneonta Star'', February 8, 1958, p. 12.
/ref>Mercer, Charles, "Joan Caulfield Meets Sunday Competition," ''The Austin Daily Herald'', November 30, 1957, p. 16.
/ref> In mid-February 1958, the two women return home, and Sally resumes work as a salesclerk at the Banford & Bleacher Department Store, located in an unidentified large city somewhere in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Working with her at the store in addition to Mrs. Banford are store manager and part-owner Bascomb Bleacher, Sr., his lovable but incompetent son Bascomb Bleacher, Jr., and Jim Kendall, an artist who works in the store's advertising department and becomes Sally's boyfriend.

Cast

...Sally Truesdale *

Marion Lorne Marion Lorne MacDougal or MacDougall (sources differ) (August 12, 1883 – May 9, 1968), known professionally as Marion Lorne, was an American actress of stage, film, and television. After a career in theatre in New York and London, Lorne ...

...Mrs. Myrtle Banford *

Gale Gordon Gale Gordon (born Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr., February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfiste ...

...Bascomb Bleacher, Sr. (1958) *

Arte Johnson Arthur Stanton Eric Johnson (January 20, 1929 – July 3, 2019) was an American comic actor who was best known for his work as a regular on television's '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''. Biography Early life Johnson was born January 20, 1929, i ...

...Bascomb Bleacher, Jr. (1958) *

Johnny Desmond Johnny Desmond (born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone; November 14, 1919 – September 6, 1985) was an American singer who was popular in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Desmond was born Giovanni de Simone in Detroit, Michigan, ...

...Jim Kendall (1958)

Production

A Caulross/ Paramount Television production, ''Sally'' was the first filmed series produced by Paramount Television. Joan Caulfield's husband, movie producer Frank Ross served as producer for the series; it was his first television production. The series included a

laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...

Reception

After the September 15, 1957, premiere of ''Sally'', Ann Wardell Saunders wrote that the first episode was "too contrived and unrealistic for an adult audience, unless it were given a mid- Victorian setting." As episodes aired over the next two months, it became apparent that viewers found the plots of Sally's and Mrs. Banford's adventures in Europe far-fetched and the constant presence of Caulfield and Marion Lorne without other regular cast members monotonous. Moreover, few American viewers could identify with the wealth, glamorous wardrobes, globe-trotting travel, and international situations depicted in the series. Hollywood reporter Bob Thomas wrote in an October 19, 1957 article, "Judging from last week's program he "Only in Paris" episode of October 13, 1957 it 'Sally''appears to be one of the brighter spots in an otherwise dismal season. It had crisp writing, bright direction and sharp acting by Marion Lorne...and other accomplished actors."Thomas, Bob, "Joan Caulfield Should Have Hit In Show 'Sally'," ''Freeport Journal-Standard'' (Freeport, Illinois), October 19, 1957, p. 10.
/ref> However, critics often expressed negative opinions of ''Sally''.Tokke, Marik, "''Sally'' Makes Changes: There′ll Be Love, Broad Humor," ''The Akron Beacon Journal'', November 28, 1957, p. 82.
/ref> Caulfield at first struck a defiant tone toward criticism and low viewership, saying in mid-October 1957, "If people don't like our show, they just don't have taste. I'm a tough audience. I've done some shows that make me cringe. But some of the ''Sally'' shows have made me real proud." Faced with stiff competition from ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, however, ''Sally'' continued to draw low ratings, to Caulfield's surprise; she told the press, "And to think, we picked the 7:30 time spot ourselves, thinking it'd be a cinch to lick a little old

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. Maybe we should have looked into a

crystal ball A crystal ball, also known as an orbuculum or crystal sphere, is a crystal or glass ball and common fortune-telling object. It is generally associated with the performance of clairvoyance and scrying in particular. In more recent times, the cry ...

." By the end of November 1957, she was promising changes, with Sally returning to the

to work in a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

, wearing plainer clothes, and having a steady romantic interest. She also said that scripts would change to reflect broad comedy, and a man would be introduced into Mrs. Banford's life. Due to ''Sally''′s low ratings,

was considering its cancellation by mid-December 1957. On February 8, 1958, an article by Bob de Piante in the ''

Oneonta Star Local Media Group, Inc., formerly Dow Jones Local Media Group and Ottaway Newspapers Inc., owned newspapers, Web sites and niche publications in California, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania. It was headquarte ...

'' described ''Sally'' as "one of the most miserable flops of the current TV season." However, in describing the cast and premise changes Caulfield had promised, which were to roll out in the upcoming February 16 episode, he gave the revamped show a qualified endorsement, writing that ''Sally''′s future was uncertain and that "if NBC is planning the new format just to satisfy a disgruntled sponsor, then the show will end up by the wayside," but adding: "If, however, the network is trying to make an honest change, ''Sally'' has the potential of being a top half-hour of entertainment." NBC promoted the February 16, 1958, broadcast of the first episode of ''Sally'' with its new premise and cast it as a "premiere" of the revamped show. However, the changes did not save ''Sally''. In ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' on February 20, 1958, features writer Harry Harris described the overhaul of the show as "frantic but not very amusing" and said that ''Sally'' "seems certain to go down the drain." The show lasted only seven episodes with its new premise and cast. Despite ''Sally''′s failure, Marion Lorne was nominated in 1958 for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begi ...

for her portrayal of Myrtle Banford. She lost to

Ann B. Davis Ann Bradford Davis (May 3, 1926 – June 1, 2014) was an American actress. She achieved prominence for her role in the NBC situation comedy '' The Bob Cummings Show'' (1955–1959), for which she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

, who received the award for her work on ''

The Bob Cummings Show ''The Bob Cummings Show'' (also known in reruns as ''Love That Bob'') is an American sitcom starring Bob Cummings, which was broadcast from January 2, 1955, to September 15, 1959. The program began with a half-season run on NBC, then ran for tw ...

''. Caulfield separated from Ross in 1959 and divorced him in 1960. She blamed the end of their marriage on the stress of working together on ''Sally''.

Broadcast history

''Sally'' premiered on

on September 15, 1957. It lasted only a single season, and its last episode aired on March 30, 1958. It was broadcast at 7:30 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...

on Sundays throughout its 26-episode run.

Episodes

SOURCE "The Globe's Complete Television Schedules for This Week," ''The Boston Globe'', March 16, 1957, p. 68.
/ref>

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0050059
''Sally'' opening credits on YouTube
1950s American sitcoms 1957 American television series debuts 1958 American television series endings Black-and-white American television shows NBC original programming Television shows set in the United States English-language television shows