Tongues of Angels (Studio One)


"Tongues of Angels" is a 1958 American television play by John Vlahos, directed by Herbert Hirschman, and produced by Norman Felton as a final-season episode of the CBS dramatic anthology series, Studio One. Unveiled on St. Patrick's Day, this episode starred Margaret O'Brien, Leon Ames, Frances Farmer and James MacArthur, and featured an early score by Jerry Goldsmith.

Cast

Production

The writer John Vlahos modeled his young protagonist, the seemingly deaf-mute hired hand Ben, on the story of a real-life counterpart in Iowa, as recounted to him by the episode's producer, Norman Felton. Shortly after the script was completed, it was seen by a fellow client of Vlahos's agent, actress Helen Hayes, who saw the work as a great fit for her adopted son, James MacArthur.
The episode marked a reunion of sorts for Ames and O'Brien, once again cast as father and daughter, just as they had been 14 years before, in MGM's Meet Me in St. Louis. For Frances Farmer, cast as the devoted but charitable mother, it represented arguably the most substantive and impactful of the less-than-handful of TV appearances made near the tail end of her screen career.

Reception

Time Magazine is mixed in its assessment of the play as a whole but wholehearted in praising what is deemed a breakout performance by 20-year-old James MacArthur, credited here for all but single-handedly raising the level of this final-season installment of an undeniably storied but by-then-sputtering anthology series.
Fledgling actor James MacArthur, 20, turned 'The Tongues of Angels' into one of the best hours of Studio One since the rating-rickety show deserted Manhattan for Hollywood last January. MacArthur caught the withdrawn dignity and explosive rage of a troubled teen-ager who was befriended and helped by a farm girl. His acting persevered over a plot that did wonders for the hero’s stammer but never overcame its own.

In a brief but glowing review, New York Times critic J.P. Shanley rated the drama "an impressive return to professionalism" following the "series of excursions into mediocrity" that had characterized Studio One's West-Coast incarnation thus far. After summarizing the episode's plot and praising all parties involved in its production, Shanley doubled down on his initial point.
With 'Tongues of Angels,' 'Studio One in Hollywood' has conquered the blight that seemed to infect the series since it moved from New York to the West Coast. Its recovery was exciting and gratifying.