BELL TELEPHONE HOUR, THE: THE WORLD OF CHRISTMAS (TV)
Summary
One in this series of music programs. Victor Borge hosts this Christmas special in which 549 children from all around the world present the various Yuletide songs and traditions of their homelands. The Bell Telephone Chorus sings "Angels We Have Heard on High" as a number of the children's drawings are shown, and a group of Polish children perform a dance, the krakowiak, and sing a song. Another group sings a Dutch-language version of "Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone" and performs a wooden-shoe dance, and Austrian children sing a carol about shepherds. Next, German youths perform "O Tannenbaum" and dance, and Greek children sing a "hallelujah" song. Guests from Spain visit a nativity scene and sing "Campanas de Bélen," and Ukrainian girls perform a dance called the hopak. Italian children perform a Christmas number, and a quintet of Irish children play a number, after which Borge chats with a youngster dressed as a leprechaun. A number of Czech children dance a polka, and Borge questions them about their various holiday traditions. Yugoslavian girls play a stringed instrument called the tamburica, then performing a call-and-response folk dance with a number of boys, hoping to land a sweetheart.
The Bell Telephone Chorus reappears to sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and a group of Korean children sing a song about snow blossoms and perform a dance symbolic of a willow tree. Borge then explains that Christmas lasts for twenty-two days in the Philippines, and a group of girls performs a dance with sticks. Vietnamese children sing a song as well as Borge expresses hope for peace in the war-torn land. An African adult leader guides a group of children in a song about the town of Bethlehem, and Colombian children present one another with gifts. A Mexican children's ballet performs a number, and the chorus sings "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Borge then explains the highlights of Scandinavian Christmas, which can last for up to seven weeks, and a group of Norwegian children perform a dance. Finnish girls dressed as elves prepare for the holiday, and Swedish children sing "Hosianna" and perform a traditional candle ceremony honoring St. Lucia, which occurs on December 13. Borge discusses the traditions of food and drink in his homeland of Denmark, and the children perform a dance called the "Bitte mand i knibe." He then plays his favorite Danish carol on the piano, followed by another number with the children, and eventually the entire group gathers around together, singing "O Come All Ye Faithful" in many different languages and then closing the evening with "Silent Night." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: December 3, 1968 7:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:37
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:17237
- GENRE: Music
- SUBJECT HEADING: Music
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1959-1968
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Henry Jaffe … Executive Producer
- Dan Lounsbery … Producer
- Ernest Walling … Associate Producer
- Clark Jones … Director
- Margaret Lewerth … Writer
- Robert Sherman … Writer
- Donald Voorhees … Conductor
- James Starbuck … Choreographer
- The Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra and Chorus … Symphony Orchestra, Chorus
- Victor Borge … Host
- Mel Brant … Announcer