Our Town (Producer's Showcase)
| "Our Town" | |
|---|---|
| Producers' Showcase episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Delbert Mann |
| Written by |
David Shaw (adaptation) Thornton Wilder (play) |
| Produced by | Fred Coe |
| Featured music | Jimmy Van Heusen |
| Original air date | September 19, 1955 |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
Our Town is a 1955 episode of the American series Producers' Showcase directed by Delbert Mann and starring Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint. The episode is a musical adaption of Thornton Wilder's 1938 play Our Town, with songs by Jimmy van Heusen and Sammy Cahn. It was Sinatra's only performance in a dramatic role specifically for television until Contract on Cherry Street in 1977.
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.
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", 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. The show was also Nelson Riddle's first time to take charge as conductor of an entire television production.
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