The Edsel Show (1957)

Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra host a program that's wall-to-wall music.

Director:

Seymour Berns

Writer:

William Morrow

Stars:

Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview:
Bing Crosby	...	Himself - Host / Performer
Frank Sinatra	...	Himself - Host / Performer
Rosemary Clooney	...	Herself - Singer
Louis Armstrong	...	Himself - Singer / Trumpet Player
Lindsay Crosby	...	Himself - Singer
The Four Preps	...	Ivy League Quartet (as The 4 Preps)
Edmond Hall	...	Himself - Clarinetist
James Young	...	Himself - Trombonist (as Trummy Young)
Billy Kyle	...	Himself - Pianist
Barrett Deems	...	Himself - Drummer
Bob Hope	...	Himself - Sketch Actor / Singer
The Norman Luboff Choir	...	Themselves - Singers
Conn and Mann	...	Themselves - Dance Team (as Mr. Conn and Mr. Mann)

Storyline

Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra host a program that's wall-to-wall music.

---

Plot Keywords:

tv special | tap dance | college campus | jazz music | trumpet | 

---

Genres:

Music

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1957 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Studio 33, CBS Television City - 7800 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gonzaga University Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Not the first, but currently the oldest surviving show on videotape. It was aired live in 1957 in prime time, and simultaneously taped and filmed in kinescope for the sole purpose of broadcasting for the three-hour time delay on the West coast. In those days, shows which were taped (and not erased later) were ALSO kinescoped because the thought was that the tape might malfunction in the middle of the broadcast, but a kinescope film- which was all recorded off of a monitor and developed like motion picture film- would remain intact. Most TV retrospectives only air the kinescope, but a clip of the very pristine tape can be seen in the 2002 documentary "CBS: 50 Years from Television City."

---

Connections

Referenced in The Nick at Nite Holiday Special (2003)

---

Soundtracks

"I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'"
(uncredited)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics by Arthur Freed
Performed as part of a medley by Rosemary Clooney

User Reviews

Videotape pioneer.

"The Edsel Show" is generally not remembered today, but if you saw the 2002 retrospective of the famed CBS Television City studio in Hollywood, you saw a clip of this 1957 show in a medley of memorable musical variety moments. Its place in history is more technical than anything else; it has the distinction of being one of the first ever TV shows to be videotaped (and currently resides as the oldest surviving videotaped show), as opposed to being filmed on kinescope. If you were to purchase the tape of this show today, you'll only find a kinescope print on VHS, but there is a surviving show videotape of it which looks sensational (it resembles a live performance, clear as a bell, but in black-and-white) and is begging to be digitally restored. Maybe a DVD edition of this could be researched?