"Our Town" is a 1955 episode of the American anthology series ''

Producers' Showcase ''Producers' Showcase'' is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of genres, aired under the title every fourth ...

'' directed by

Delbert Mann Delbert Martin Mann Jr. (January 30, 1920 – November 11, 2007) was an American television and film director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film '' Marty'' (1955), adapted from a 1953 teleplay of the same name which he ...

and starring Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman and

Eva Marie Saint Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American actress of film, theatre and television. In a career spanning over 70 years, she has won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Brit ...

. Sinatra plays the stage manager and Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint portray the teenagers who fall in love and get married. The episode is a musical adaptation of

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

's 1938 play ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thro ...

'', with songs by Jimmy van Heusen and

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

, mostly sung by Sinatra the stage manager between and during scenes from the play, and including a duet with Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint. The 90-minute show was Sinatra's only performance in a dramatic role specifically for television until '' Contract on Cherry Street'' in 1977.Tom Santopietro, ''Sinatra in Hollywood'' ( Macmillan, 2009), , pp. 183ff.
Excerpts available
at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

Production

Frank Sinatra wears a suit and tie during the live broadcast, and intermittently dons a cocked fedora during the show. This is the only time Paul Newman and Sinatra headlined together in a narrative production. Newman and Eva Marie Saint would subsequently lead the cast of '' Exodus'' together in 1960. All episodes of ''Producers' Showcase'' were broadcast in full color although only black and white kinescopes remain for most of the shows, including "Our Town" as well as a 90-minute version of '"

The Petrified Forest ''The Petrified Forest'' is a 1936 American film directed by Archie Mayo and based on Robert E. Sherwood's 1935 Broadway drama of the same name. The motion picture stars Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. The screenplay was written ...

" starring Humphrey Bogart,

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

and Lauren Bacall.

Reception

The show was praised by television critics, although several writers have questioned Sinatra's suitability for the role of the Stage Manager. Thornton Wilder reportedly disliked the production.Peter J. Levinson, ''September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle'' ( Taylor Trade, 2005), , pp. 121-124
Excerpts available
at

Cast

* Frank Sinatra as Stage Manager * Paul Newman as George Gibbs *

as Emily Webb *

Shelley Fabares Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares (; born January 19, 1944) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcom ''The Donna Reed Show'' (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitcom ...

as Rebecca Gibbs *

Sylvia Field Sylvia Field (born Harriet Louisa Johnson; February 14, 1901 – July 31, 1998) was an American actress whose career encompassed performances on stage, screen, and TV. She was best known for playing the understanding Mrs. Martha Wilson (Mr. Wilso ...

as Mrs. Gibbs *

Paul Hartman Paul Hartman (March 1, 1904 – October 2, 1973) was an American dancer, stage performer and television actor. Early years Born in San Francisco, California, Hartman was the son of Ferris Hartman, who was sometimes called the "Ziegfeld of ...

as Mr. Webb * Peg Hillias as Mrs. Webb * Harvey B. Dunn * Charlotte Knight * David Saber *

Ernest Truex Ernest Truex (September 19, 1889 – June 26, 1973) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Career Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Truex learned acting at an early age after his father, a doctor, treated actor Edwin Melvin, who ...

as Dr. Gibbs * Carol Veazie as Mrs. Soames *

Anthony Sydes Thomas Anthony Sydes (May 4, 1941 – June 20, 2015) was an American child actor on film and television. Biography Sydes was born May 4, 1941, in North Hollywood, California. He was the son of Thomas and Ruth Sydes, and he had a brother, Jonath ...

Soundtrack

This television production marked the beginning of the lengthy and successful collaboration between Cahn and Van Heusen. Among their songs for the production was "

Love and Marriage "Love and Marriage" is a 1955 song with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. It is published by Barton Music Corporation ( ASCAP). Frank Sinatra versions "Love and Marriage" was introduced by Frank Sinatra in the 1955 televi ...

", later known as the theme song to the TV show '' Married... with Children''. Sinatra's version of the song from the program became a chart success, as did another version quickly recorded by

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

.Murray Forman, ''One Night on TV Is Worth Weeks at the Paramount: Popular Music on Early Television'' (

Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 D ...

, 2012), , p. 113.
Excerpts available
at

. The show was also Nelson Riddle's first time to take charge as conductor of an entire television production.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Our Town 1955 American television episodes Television anthology episodes Musical television episodes Television episodes directed by Delbert Mann