The Great Adventure is an American historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963–64 television season.[1] The initial 13 episodes were narrated by Van Heflin, with the second grouping of 13 episodes narrated by Russell Johnson. The series, which featured theme music by Richard Rodgers, presented a weekly one-hour dramatization of the lives of famous Americans and important events in American history.
The Great Adventure | |
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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 |
Composers | Fred Steiner Bernard Herrmann Wilbur Hatch Leon Klatzkin Nathan Scott David Buttolph Robert Drasnin Leigh Harline |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Bert Granet |
Producers | John Houseman Ethel Winant |
Running time | 44 mins. |
Production company | CBS |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | September 27, 1963 May 1, 1964 | –
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.
Among those who appeared in the series were:
Episode # | Episode title | Episode era and topic | Key historical character(s) | Actor portrayal | Original airdate |
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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 the Sea" | 1907 Seropian brothers of Fresno, California, top of page 5 | Armenian immigrant farmer Misok Bedrozian, a character based on the Seropian brothers | Lee Marvin | October 18, 1963 |
1-5 | "The Secret" | 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[a] |
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, a character based on a compendium of pioneer settlers | 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 | Captain Richard H. Pratt General Grierson General Miles |
Paul Burke Curt Conway Denver Pyle |
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 Montalbán (credited as Ricardo Montalban) John Anderson |
May 1, 1964 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "The Hunley" | Paul Stanley | Francis M. Cockrell | September 27, 1963 | |
Starring Jackie Cooper | ||||||
2 | 2 | "The Death of Sitting Bull" | Joseph M. Newman | Otis Carney | October 4, 1963 | |
Starring Joseph Cotten, Ricardo Montalbán (credited as Ricardo Montalban), Kent Smith, Lloyd Nolan, Claude Akins, James Dunn, Miriam Colon, Noah Beery Jr. | ||||||
3 | 3 | "The Massacre at Wounded Knee" | Joseph M. Newman | Unknown | October 11, 1963 | |
Starring Joseph Cotten, Ricardo Montalbán (credited as Ricardo Montalban), Kent Smith, Lloyd Nolan, Claude Akins, James Dunn, Miriam Colon, Noah Beery Jr. | ||||||
4 | 4 | "Six Wagons to the Sea" | Richard C. Sarafian | A. I. Bezzerides | October 18, 1963 | |
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5 | 5 | "The Secret" | Alan Crosland | Robert J. Hilliard and Murray Osborn | October 25, 1963 | |
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6 | 6 | "Go Down Moses" | Paul Stanley | James Bridges | November 1, 1963 | |
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7 | 7 | "The Great Diamond Mountain" | Buzz Kulik | Unknown | November 8, 1963 | |
Starring Barry Sullivan, Philip Abbott | ||||||
8 | 8 | "The Treasure Train of Jefferson Davis" | Arthur Nadel | Unknown | November 15, 1963 | |
Starring Michael Rennie, Harry Townes, Carl Benton Reid | ||||||
9 | 9 | "The Outlaw and the Nun" | Bernard Girard | Unknown | December 6, 1963 | |
Starring Andrew Prine, Joan Hackett, Leif Erickson, Marion Ross | ||||||
10 | 10 | "The Man Who Stole New York City" | Robert Florey | Unknown | December 13, 1963 | |
Starring Edward Andrews, James Daly, Carroll O'Connor | ||||||
11 | 11 | "A Boy at War" | Christian Nyby | Malvin Wald and Clyde Ware | December 20, 1963 | |
Starring Flip Mark, Richard Eyer | ||||||
12 | 12 | "Wild Bill Hickok – the Legend and the Man" | Buzz Kulik | Unknown | January 3, 1964 | |
Starring Lloyd Bridges, Sheree North | ||||||
13 | 13 | "The Colonel from Connecticut" | Bernard Girard | Raphael Hayes | January 10, 1964 | |
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14 | 14 | "Teeth of the Lion" | Lamont Johnson | Unknown | January 17, 1964 | |
Starring Earl Holliman, Julie Sommars, Collin Wilcox
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15 | 15 | "Rodger Young" | Philip Leacock | Unknown | January 24, 1964 | |
Starring James MacArthur, George Kennedy, Diane Ladd, H. M. Wynant | ||||||
16 | 16 | "The Testing of Sam Houston" | Denis Sanders | Story by : Joseph Hoffman and John Mantley Teleplay by : Henry F. Greenberg | January 31, 1964 | |
Starring Robert Culp, Victor Jory, Kent Smith | ||||||
17 | 17 | "The Special Courage of Captain Pratt" | Joseph Sargent | Story by : William Tunberg Teleplay by : Raphael Hayes and William Tunberg | February 14, 1964 | |
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18 | 18 | "The Night Raiders" | Philip Leacock | Alvin Sapinsley | February 21, 1964 | |
Starring Jack Klugman, Torin Thatcher | ||||||
19 | 19 | "Plague" | Joseph Sargent | Raphael Hayes | February 28, 1964 | |
Starring Bob Cummings, John Dehner, Katharine Ross | ||||||
20 | 20 | "The Pathfinder" | Bernard Girard | Unknown | March 6, 1964 | |
Starring Rip Torn, Channing Pollock, Carroll O'Connor | ||||||
21 | 21 | "The President Vanishes" | Robert Stevens | Unknown | March 13, 1964 | |
Starring Barry Sullivan, Leif Erickson, Marion Ross | ||||||
22 | 22 | "The Henry Bergh Story" | James Sheldon | Unknown | March 20, 1964 | |
Starring Brian Keith, Frank Aletter, Marion Ross, H. M. Wynant | ||||||
23 | 23 | "Kentucky's Bloody Ground" | Philip Leacock | Calvin Clements | April 3, 1964 | |
Starring Peter Graves, David McCallum, Andrew Duggan | ||||||
24 | 24 | "The Siege of Boonesborough" | Philip Leacock | Calvin Clements | April 10, 1964 | |
Starring Peter Graves, David McCallum, Andrew Duggan | ||||||
25 | 25 | "Escape" | Robert Gist | Unknown | April 17, 1964 | |
Starring Jack Warden, Fritz Weaver, Michael Constantine | ||||||
26 | 26 | "The Pirate and the Patriot" | Philip Leacock | Unknown | May 1, 1964 | |
Starring Ricardo Montalbán (credited as Ricardo Montalban), Kent Smith, John Anderson, John McGiver |