The Great Adventure (American TV series)
The Great Adventure is an American historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963–1964 television season.[1] The series, narrated each week by Van Heflin, and featuring theme music by Richard Rodgers, presented a weekly one-hour dramatization of the lives of famous Americans and important historical events in American history.
The Great Adventure | |
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Lee Marvin and Walter Koenig in "Six Wagons to Sea", 1963. | |
Genre | Historical Anthology |
Directed by | Buzz Kulik Philip Leacock Joseph M. Newman Denis Sanders Robert Stevens |
Narrated by | Van Heflin Russell Johnson |
Theme music composer | Richard Rodgers |
Composer(s) | Fred Steiner Bernard Herrmann Wilbur Hatch Leon Klatzkin Nathan Scott David Buttolph Robert Drasnin Leigh Harline |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Bert Granet |
Producer(s) | John Houseman Ethel Winant |
Running time | 44 mins. |
Production company(s) | CBS |
Release | |
Original network | CBS |
Picture format | Black-and-white |
Audio format | Monaural |
Original release | September 27, 1963 – May 1, 1964 |
Synopsis
The series lasted for only 26 episodes, and showed, among others, stories on the Confederate submarine, the Hunley; the life of Harriet Tubman; the Battles of Lexington and Concord; the trial and hanging of Nathan Hale; the life of "Boss" Tweed; the death of Sitting Bull; the siege of Boonesborough; the capture of Jefferson Davis; the life and death of Wild Bill Hickok; and the Battle of New Orleans.
Notable guest stars
Among those who appeared in the series were:
- Claude Akins
- Whit Bissell
- Lloyd Bridges
- Howard Caine
- Carroll O'Connor
- Michael Constantine
- Jackie Cooper
- Joseph Cotten
- Robert Culp
- Bob Cummings
- Ossie Davis
- Ruby Dee
- John Dehner
- Ivan Dixon
- Andrew Duggan
- Bernard Fox
- Peter Graves
- Ron Howard
- Russell Johnson
- Victor Jory
- Jack Klugman
- James MacArthur
- Lee Marvin
- David McCallum
- Peggy McCay
- Ricardo Montalban
- Denver Pyle
- Wayne Rogers
- Marion Ross
- Rip Torn
- Jack Warden
- H. M. Wynant
Episode list
Episode # | Episode title | Episode era and topic | Key historical character(s) | Actor portrayal | Original airdate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1-1 | "The Hunley" | 1864 H. L. Hunley (submarine) | Lieutenant George E. Dixon | Jackie Cooper | September 27, 1963 |
1-2 | "The Death of Sitting Bull" (part one) | 1890 Sitting Bull#Death and burial | Chief Sitting Bull General Nelson A. Miles | Anthony Caruso Kent Smith | October 4, 1963 |
1-3 | "The Massacre at Wounded Knee" (part two) | 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre | General Nelson A. Miles | Kent Smith | October 11, 1963 |
1-4 | "Six Wagons to Sea" | 1892 Seropian brothers, top of page 5 | farmer Misok Bedrozian | Lee Marvin | October 18, 1963 |
1-5 | "The Story of Nathan Hale" | 1776 Nathan Hale | Captain Nathan Hale General Howe | Jeremy Slate Torin Thatcher | October 25, 1963 |
1-6 | "Go Down, Moses" | 1855 Underground Railroad | Harriet Tubman | Ruby Dee | November 1, 1963 |
1-7 | "The Great Diamond Mountain" | 1872 The Great Diamond Hoax | William Chapman Ralston Clarence King | Barry Sullivan J. D. Cannon | November 8, 1963 |
1-8 | "The Treasure Train of Jefferson Davis" | 1865 Jefferson Davis#Final days of the Confederacy | President Jefferson Davis Judah P. Benjamin | Michael Rennie Harry Townes | November 15, 1963 |
1-9 | "The Outlaw and the Nun" | 1881 Sister Blandina#Legends | Sister Blandina Billy the Kid | Joan Hackett Andrew Prine | December 6, 1963 |
1-10 | "The Man Who Stole New York City" | 1878 William M. Tweed#Scandal | Boss Tweed | Edward Andrews | December 13, 1963 |
1-11 | "A Boy at War" | 1781 Andrew Jackson#Revolutionary War service | Andrew Jackson | Flip Mark | December 20, 1963 |
1-12 | "Wild Bill Hickok – The Legend and the Man" | 1876 Wild Bill Hickok#Death | Wild Bill Hickok Jack McCall | Lloyd Bridges Neil Nephew | January 3, 1964 |
1-13 | "The Colonel from Connecticut" | 1859 Edwin L. Drake#Drilling for oil | Colonel Edwin L. Drake Benjamin Silliman Jr. | Richard Kiley Whit Bissell | January 10, 1964 |
1-14 | "Teeth of the Lion" | 1875 Great Plains#Pioneer settlement | settler Will Cross | Earl Holliman | January 17, 1964 |
1-15 | "Rodger Young" | 1943 Rodger Young#Military service | Private Rodger Young | James MacArthur | January 24, 1964 |
1-16 | "The Testing of Sam Houston" | 1817 Sam Houston#War of 1812 and aftermath | Sam Houston Andrew Jackson | Robert Culp Victor Jory | February 7, 1964 |
1-17 | "The Special Courage of Captain Pratt" | 1879 Richard Henry Pratt#Cultural assimilation of Native Americans | Richard Henry Pratt General Davidson | Paul Burke Curt Conway | February 14, 1964 |
1-18 | "The Night Raiders" | 1859 John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry | John Brown Colonel Lewis Washington | Jack Klugman Torin Thatcher | February 21, 1964 |
1-19 | "The Plague" | 1801 Benjamin Waterhouse#Smallpox vaccine | Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse President Jefferson | Bob Cummings John Dehner | February 28, 1964 |
1-20 | "The Pathfinder" | 1846 John C. Fremont#Mexican–American War (1846–1848) | Major John C. Fremont John Sutter | Rip Torn Carroll O'Connor | March 6, 1964 |
1-21 | "The President Vanishes" | 1893 Elisha Jay Edwards and President Cleveland | journalist E. J. Edwards Grover Cleveland | Barry Sullivan Leif Erickson | March 13, 1964 |
1-22 | "The Henry Bergh Story" | 1866 Henry Bergh#Animal welfare work | Henry Bergh | Brian Keith | March 20, 1964 |
1-23 | "Kentucky's Bloody Ground" (part one) | 1778 Siege of Boonesborough#Capture of Daniel Boone | Daniel Boone Colonel Callaway | Peter Graves Andrew Duggan | April 3, 1964 |
1-24 | "The Siege of Boonesborough" (part two) | 1778 Siege of Boonesborough#Siege | Daniel Boone Simon Kenton | Peter Graves Arthur Hunnicutt | April 10, 1964 |
1-25 | "Escape" | 1864 Libby Prison escape | Colonel Thomas E. Rose Colonel Abel Streight | Fritz Weaver Michael Constantine | April 17, 1964 |
1-26 | "The Pirate and the Patriot" | 1814 General Andrew Jackson, Jean Lafitte#Battle of New Orleans | Jean Lafitte Andrew Jackson | Ricardo Montalban John Anderson | May 1, 1964 |
References
- Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 202–203. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.