The Boys from Boise (TV program)
The Boys from Boise was a television special that aired on the DuMont Network on September 28, 1944, on its New York City affiliate WABD. The special, a musical written and composed by Sam Medoff, was the first such production ever commissioned for television.
Synopsis
In Boise, Idaho, several showgirls get stranded on a ranch; willing to return home, they decide to raise money by becoming cowgirls. While doing so, they have to put up with the ranch’s wicked owner, who manipulates mortgages and controls a posse of rustlers. While on the search for a boyfriend, the ranch's manager—a female undercover agent for the FBI—is investigating the owner's exploits.Musical numbers
Though recordings and scores are scarce, the list of musical numbers is as follows:- Girls of the 8-to-the-Bar-X-Ranch
- I’ll Take the Trail to You
- Sunset Trail
- That Certain Light in your Eyes
- Chiki Chiquita
- Thousand Mile Shirt
- It’s a Mystery to Me
- Broken Hearted Blues
- Come Up and See Me Sometime
- You’ll Put Your Brand on My Heart
- Rodeo
- Western Omelet
- I’m Just a Homebody
- Star-Spangled Serenade
Development and production
The DuMont Network was a station based in New York and was one of the cardinal networks when it comes to establishing television into the monolith of arts and sciences it is today. It is often regarded by experts as the first original televised musical, though it is not often viewed as the start of the trend.DuMont broadcast The Boys from Boise at a time when less than 1 percent of Americans had a television set in their households, preceding iconic pioneers such as the Ed Sullivan Show and I Love Lucy.
The program was produced by the Charles M. Storm Company, and sponsored by Esquire magazine on its original airing. Charles M. Storm's representatives initially planned to use dancers from Broadway shows, but the need for closeups presented a problem. After 75 dancers failed to qualify through auditions because they lacked the right "combination of grace and beauty", the producers turned to Conover models. The models who were selected were taught the necessary dancing skills. The 45 women joined five men to compose the program's cast.