"The Desert Song" is the fifteenth episode of the American television musical variety series ''

Max Liebman Presents ''Max Liebman Presents'', aka ''Max Liebman Spectaculars'', is an American television musical variety series, presented monthly in a 90-minute format on NBC, beginning September 12, 1954, and ending on June 6, 1956. Throughout the show's run, epi ...

'', adapted from the 1926 operetta ''

The Desert Song ''The Desert Song'' is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel. It was inspired by the 1925 uprising of the Riffs, a group of Berber fighters, against French colonia ...

'', which was based on a true event - an uprising of the Riff tribes against French colonial rule in Morocco in 1925. The music for the

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

was composed by

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his Musical theatre, musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moo ...

. The book and the lyrics were written by

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

Otto Harbach Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading B ...

Frank Mandel Frank Mandel (1884 – April 20, 1958) was an American playwright and producer. He co-wrote several productions. Some of his works were adapted by others. Several of his collaborations were adapted into films. UCLA's libraries have a collection of ...

, and

Laurence Schwab Laurence Schwab (1893 – May 29, 1951) was an American theater and film producer, writer, and director. He was born in Boston and attended Harvard University. His first success was as co-producer of '' The Gingham Girl'' (1922). He co-authored a ...

. Writers for the television adaptation were William Friedberg,

Will Glickman Will Glickman (March 7, 1910 – March 11, 1983) was an American playwright who frequently collaborated with Joseph Stein. Glickman made his Broadway debut in 1948 with sketches he and Stein wrote for the revue '' Lend an Ear''. The two went on ...

and

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

. First telecast live in the United States on May 7, 1955, on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. The conductor for the production was Charles Sanford - while the choreographer for all of the dances and musical segments was Rod Alexander. Due to the time constraints for the live telecast, the television version had to be abridged and adapted and it is therefore slightly different from the original operetta.

broadcast the live telecast two years after the film version of ''

'' with

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer, and television and radio host. He appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956), and ...

and

Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano. From the age of 12, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ...

was made. The television version features the only surviving footage of

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs ...

in a complete live musical.

Plot

French efforts to turn

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

into a modern colony are balked by a native Riff rebellion, led by the mysterious Red Shadow. Unknown to all, including his own father, the daring and fearless rebel leader is none other than Pierre, the unassuming son of the French commanding officer, General Birabeau. At the French military outpost, Pierre effectively conceals his Red Shadow identity by assuming a meek persona. Pierre loves the lively and adventurous Margot. However Margot, who wants excitement in her life, only thinks of the likable, mild-mannered Pierre as a friend. So Pierre, in his disguise as the Red Shadow, kidnaps Margot and takes her to the desert fortress of his friend, Ali Ben Ali, Caid of the Riff tribes. It is here that the Red Shadow declares his love for Margot, and where Margot falls in love with the Red Shadow, despite not knowing who he really is. When the Red Shadow refuses to fight a duel with General Birabeau, he loses the respect of his men and is banished to the desert, with only a broken sword to defend himself. Later, the Red Shadow's true identity is revealed to the General and Margot, and all ends happily.

Cast members

(lyric baritone) as Pierre Birabeau / Red Shadow, fearless leader of the Riffs *

Gale Sherwood Gale Sherwood (born Jacqueline Nash;Sherwood stated in 1967 that her birth name was Jacqueline Nutt. See Thomas, Bob"Gale Sherwood, Eddy Partner, Makes Debut" ''The San Bernardino Sun'', September 19, 1967, p. B-9 March 4, 1929 – December ...

(soprano) as Margot Bonvalet *

Otto Kruger Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885 – September 6, 1974) was an American actor. Originally a Broadway matinée idol, he established a niche as a charming villain in films, such as in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Saboteur (film), Saboteur'' (1942) and Dougla ...

as General Birabeau * John Conte (baritone) as Captain Paul Fontaine * Earl William (tenor) as Hassi (the Red Shadow's second in command) *

Salvatore Baccaloni Salvatore Baccaloni (14 April 190031 December 1969) was an Italian operatic bass and buffo artist. Life and career Baccaloni was born in Rome. After attending the Sistine Chapel choir school from age seven, he studied voice with the celebrat ...

(bass) as Ali Ben Ali, Caid of the Riff tribe * Viola Essen as Azuri, an Arabian dancing girl *

Bambi Linn Bambi Linn (born Bambina Aennchen Linnemeier; April 26, 1926) is an American retired dancer, choreographer and actress. Born to Henry William Linnemeier (a surveyor and accountant) and Mary "Mimi" (Tweer) Linnemeier in 1926, Bambi Linn trained e ...

and Rod Alexander as the dancers in "The Desert Song" ballet * Felisa Conde as a Castagnette Dancer *

Lee Bowman Lee Bowman (December 28, 1914 – December 25, 1979) was an American film and television actor. According to one obituary, "his roles ranged from romantic lead to worldly, wisecracking lout in his most famous years". Career Born in Cincinnati, ...

, the announcer who gives information about the operetta, immediately following the opening credits of the telecast

Music

Act I

# Overture # Sound Test - Nelson Eddy singing the end of ''The Desert Song'' # ''Ho! Bold Men of Morocco'' — Red Shadow, Hassi, Riffs # ''The Riff Song'' — Red Shadow, Hassi, Riffs # * Arabian dance - woman dancer (title of music unknown) # ''Why Did We Marry Soldiers?'' — soldiers' wives # * French dance - wives or girlfriends, Moroccan men (title of music unknown) # ''French Military Marching Song'' — soldiers, wives # ''O! Pretty Maid of France'' / ''Margot'' — Paul, Margot, soldiers # ''Romance'' — Margot, women's ensemble # ''Soft as a Pigeon Lights Upon the Sand'' — Hassi, chorus # * Azuri's Dance - Azuri, dancers (music: "Soft as a Pigeon Lights Upon the Sand") # ''Then You Will Know'' — Pierre, Margot # ''Romance'' (reprise - last part of song, only) — Margot # ''The Desert Song'' — Red Shadow, Margot # * The Desert Song Ballet -

Pas de deux In ballet, a ( French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The ''pas de deux'' is characteristic of classical ballet and can be found in many well-known ...

by Rod Alexander & Bambi Linn, as the Red Shadow & Margot (music: "The Desert Song")

Act II

# ''My Little Castagnette'' - women's chorus (sung off-stage, accompanying the "Spanish Dance") - Castagnette dancer, dancers # ''Let Love Go'' — Ali Ben Ali # ''One Flower Grows Alone In Your Garden'' — Hassi # ''One Alone'' — Red Shadow, Hassi, Ali Ben Ali # ''One Flower Grows Alone in Your Garden'' (music only) # ''The Sabre Song'' — Margot # ''Farewell / One Alone'' (reprise) — Red Shadow # ''French Military Marching Song'' (reprise) — Paul, soldiers and wives # * Arabian dance - Azuri, chorus and dancers (music: "One Flower Grows Alone In Your Garden" (small part only) # ''The Desert Song'' (reprise) — Pierre, Margot # ''One Alone'' (reprise) — sung by the entire company during the closing credits

Broadcast

The live operetta was originally telecast on May 7, 1955 on

Home media

A DVD-version was published by Video Artists International. A complete CD soundtrack of the telecast, which includes the added feature of an interview with

(who starred as Margot in the live telecast), was also published by Video Artists International. The photo, shown on the front cover of both the DVD and CD, was courtesy of Gale Sherwood, according to VAI Music (Video Artists International), who published both the DVD and CD. A comment about this is listed on the back cover of the DVD, when the DVD is bought direct from VAI Music.

Reception

A retrospective review wrote, "The picture is a

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...

(a camera filming a television screen) and the sound is obviously not up to today's standards. But it is such fun and a must for lovers of the old romantic times when Romberg gave the people what they wanted."

References

External links

* (includes photos and an interview about the operetta with Earl William, who played Hassi in the live telecast) *
''The Desert Song''
at AllMusic
''The Desert Song''
DVD and CD soundtrack recording of the operetta at VAI Music - Video Artists International. The soundtrack includes an added feature of an interview with Gale Sherwood, who played Margot in the live telecast
CD soundtrack recording of the operetta
at

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

A listing of tracks on the soundtrack recording of the operetta

Stanford University Library The Stanford University Libraries (SUL), formerly known as "Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources" ("SULAIR"), is the library system of Stanford University in California. It encompasses more than 24 libraries in all. S ...

CastAlbums - 'The Desert Song > (TV)

Detailed cast
on Ovrtur
''The Desert Song''
at CultCritic

at CTVA
''The Desert Song''
at Letterbox
Nelson Eddy - includes mention of the live telecast of ''The Desert Song''
at ''Los Angeles Times'' - Hollywood Star Walk {{DEFAULTSORT:Desert Song (Max Liebman Presents), The 1955 American television episodes English-language operettas Max Liebman Presents Musical theatre television specials Musicals by Oscar Hammerstein II Musicals by Otto Harbach Musicals by Sigmund Romberg Musicals inspired by real-life events