HALLMARK HALL OF FAME: DREAM GIRL (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramatic specials presented by Hallmark.
This episode is a television adaptation of the stage play of the same name by Elmer Rice, about a frequently daydreaming woman and her love life. Georgina Allerton, a young bookstore cashier and aspiring novelist, awakens one morning to prepare for work, lamenting that she is in love with her brother-in-law Jim. While taking a shower she imagines herself to be the guest of a radio psychiatry show, talking about her problems; Jim married her sister Miriam two years ago, and she has never told him about her feelings towards him. She has just started dating another man, George Hand, who has ardently pursued her despite being married himself, and she has tried to forget about Jim. She has breakfast with her parents, and she receives a letter from a publisher turning down her novel manuscript despite being recommended by Jim, who works for them as a reader. Miriam tells Georgina that she is pregnant, and Georgina congratulates her; Miriam reports that Jim does not know about it yet, and she is quite upset at the matter. While alone, Georgina has a daydream about giving birth to twins, with her parents serving the roles of hospital staff and Jim as her husband. In her dream, Miriam attempts to take the children but is repudiated by Jim, who says that there is “no real marriage” between them. She interrupts her own daydream in order to rush off to work.
Miriam tells her mother the news, but also reveals that the source of her disappointment is that Jim has just been fired from his job. Georgina arrives at work, and her boss Claire expresses frustration at their lack of customers and considers giving it up for good. Georgina is visited by Clark Redfield, a literary critic for the newspaper, who sells her some of his review copies of recent book releases. He admits that he does not always read the books he is assigned to review and is unhappy with his job, as he would much rather be a sports columnist. He also informs Georgina that Jim was fired from the publishing house for rejecting a manuscript that went on to be an extremely popular novel. She also learns that Jim passed on Georgina’s manuscript to him and that he read the whole thing and believes that it “stinks.” They get into a fight and Georgina tells him to leave and never come back. She has another daydream in which she murders Clark and is defended in court by Jim, acquitting her of the crime. She awakens from her daydream and is visited by the real Jim to tell her that he got fired. He appreciates her friendship, although she clearly still has romantic designs on him. Georgina then leaves for her date with George, although she expresses disdain for him.
George seems quite taken with Georgina and asks her to stay with him at his friend’s house in Mexico for a weekend. Initially she protests, but she imagines what such a stay would be like in her mind. In her dream, George tells her that he and his wife have separated and he asks Georgina to be his new wife. Back in reality, George again asks her to accompany him to Mexico, and she tells him she will consider it; she is extremely uneasy about being George’s mistress, and feels she is “in a bad way.” She tells Claire about the date, and confides in her that she is worried that she might lose control of herself if she takes up George on his offer. Georgina has yet another daydream wherein she has become a rude, irate, 1920’s-era streetwalker before eventually dying in Jim’s arms. She snaps out of it when, in real life, Clark calls and invites her out to see a performance of “The Merchant of Venice” with him, although she is still indignant with him and refuses. He proves to be persistent and asks her to call him back. George calls immediately thereafter and invites her out to dinner, but she claims that she has already made plans. She calls Clark back and agrees to go to the show and to dinner with him, but “only on a strictly business basis,” making her distaste for him quite clear. She hangs up on Clark when Jim returns, claiming that he and Miriam are getting divorced and that he has always wanted to be with her, asking her to fly to Reno with him. She is overwhelmed by this sudden display; he offers to meet her at the airport that night before his flight leaves and she agrees.
Georgina goes on her date with Clark, having dinner with him at an Italian restaurant. She is interested in seeing the play that night because her old college friend is playing one of the lead roles. Clark is in an upbeat mood, as a sudden dismissal at the newspaper means that he has just been given an opportunity to fulfill his dream of becoming a sports columnist. The conversation turns to her novel manuscript, and Georgina becomes quite offended at Clark’s comments. He perceives that the events of her novel mirror her own desires about her relationship with Jim, and she nearly storms out before Clark convinces her not to leave. Later they take their seats at the play and encounter George there with his date, much to Georgina’s embarrassment. “The Merchant of Venice” begins, and Georgina has a daydream that one of the performers has fallen ill and that she is asked to be her understudy. In her dream she goes onstage, portraying the character of Portia, and delivers a command performance. She wakes up during the play and continues to argue with Clark.
After the play, Clark takes Georgina out for cocktails and he says that he noticed her daydreaming during the play. He believes that she is using her imagination in order to avoid facing the consequences of her real life. They have a debate over the merits of her frequent descents into her own dreams, and Clark posits that they have no impact on her life because they have no true substance. Georgina admits that she is afraid of facing reality and asks about her situation with Jim, although she does not mention him by name. He advises her that it is good to make ones’ dreams come true, but not to linger on them if they do not come to fruition. She is anxious about leaving, hoping to leave with Jim that night, but she stays with Clark a while longer. She admits that she does appreciate his attentions somewhat, and he compliments her. He soon discerns that she is planning to run away with Jim, and he finds the idea faintly ridiculous. The two of them dance together, and Clark reveals that while he has “been around,” he has never been married and has never proposed. As they dance, an attraction between the two of them becomes clearer. While he goes to make a phone call, Georgina has another dream about her and Clark rushing off to a Justice of the Peace in the middle of the night to get married, only to be interrupted by Jim’s arrival. Jim and Clark argue over Georgina, each claiming that she wants to be with him; in the dream, Georgina chooses to be with Clark instead of Jim, recognizing that her love for him was all in her imagination.
However, Georgina awakens and convinces herself that Clark does not actually care for her, and that staying with him would be a mistake. She goes to leave for the airport but is stopped by Clark. He says he had hoped they could go for a carriage ride together, and says that he will approve of whatever decision she makes. Georgina calls her mother from the airport; she ultimately decided not to go with Jim, but has instead decided to go down to Mexico to get married to Clark. Her parents are happy for her, although they are somewhat reticent about her choice of husband. They go to leave, and Georgina resolves to “taper off” of her daydreaming gradually. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: December 11, 1955 4:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:28:06
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:19904
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: TV - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1951-1978
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV – Commercials – Hallmark greeting cards
- TV – Promos – “Hallmark Hall of Fame”
- TV – Promos – “The Sleeping Beauty”
- TV – Promos – “Wide, Wide World”
CREDITS
- Jack Rayel … Executive Producer
- Mildred Freed Alberg … Associate Producer
- George Schaefer … Director
- Elmer Rice … Writer
- Mark S. Smith … Adapted by
- Maurice Evans … Host
- Vivian Blaine … Cast, Georgina Allerton
- Hal March … Cast, Clark Redfield
- Evelyn Varden … Cast, Mrs. Allerton
- Edmon Ryan … Cast, George Hand
- Mary Fickett … Cast, Miriam Lucas
- William A. Lee … Cast, Mr. Allerton
- Donald Symington … Cast, Jim Lucas
- Priscilla Morill … Cast, Claire
- Diane Rust … Cast, Woman in Bookshop
- Walter Klavun … Cast, District Attorney
- Bjorn Koefoed … Cast, Waiter at Canard Rouge
- Pepito Arvello … Cast, Mexican Singer
- Jose Duval … Cast, Mexican Singer
- Winston Ross … Cast, Policeman
- Louis Sorin … Cast, Luigi
- Kathleen Mansfield … Cast, Miss Delahanty
- Michael Hogan … Cast, Waiter
- Eve Le Gallienne