The Great Adventure (TV series)
| The Great Adventure | |
|---|---|
 Lee Marvin and Walter Koenig in "Six Wagons to Sea", 1963. | |
| Genre | Historical Anthology |
| Directed by |
Buzz Kulik Philip Leacock Joseph M. Newman Denis Sanders Robert Stevens (director) |
| Presented by | Van Heflin |
| Theme music composer | Richard Rodgers |
| Composer(s) |
Fred Steiner Bernard Herrmann Wilbur Hatch Leon Klatzkin Nathan Scott David Buttolph Robert Drasnin Leigh Harline |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Bert Granet |
| Producer(s) |
John Houseman Ethel Winant |
| Running time | 44 mins. |
| Production company(s) | CBS |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 27, 1963 – May 1, 1964 |
The Great Adventure is a historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963-1964 television season. The series, narrated each week by Van Heflin, and featuring theme music by Richard Rodgers, presented a weekly one-hour dramatization of the lives of famous Americans and important historical events in American History.
Synopsis
The series lasted for only 26 episodes, and showed, among others, stories on the Confederate submarine, the Hunley; the life of Harriet Tubman; the Battles of Lexington and Concord; the trial and hanging of Nathan Hale; the life of "Boss" Tweed; the death of Sitting Bull; the siege of Boonesborough; the capture of Jefferson Davis; the life and death of Wild Bill Hickok; and the Battle of New Orleans.
Notable guest stars
Among those who appeared in the series were:
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "The Hunley" | September 27, 1963 |
| 1-2 | "The Death of Sitting Bull" (part one) | October 4, 1963 |
| 1-3 | "The Massacre at Wounded Knee" (part two) | October 11, 1963 |
| 1-4 | "Six Wagons To Sea" | October 18, 1963 |
| 1-5 | "The Story of Nathan Hale" | October 25, 1963 |
| 1-6 | "Go Down, Moses" | November 1, 1963 |
| 1-7 | "The Great Diamond Mountain" | November 8, 1963 |
| 1-8 | "The Treasure Train of Jefferson Davis" | November 15, 1963 |
| 1-9 | "The Outlaw and the Nun" | December 6, 1963 |
| 1-10 | "The Man Who Stole New York City" | December 13, 1963 |
| 1-11 | "A Boy At War" | December 20, 1963 |
| 1-12 | "Wild Bill Hickok- The Legend and the Man" | January 3, 1964 |
| 1-13 | "The Colonel From Connecticut" | January 10, 1964 |
| 1-14 | "Teeth of the Lion" | January 17, 1964 |
| 1-15 | "Rodger Young" | January 24, 1964 |
| 1-16 | "The Testing of Sam Houston" | February 7, 1964 |
| 1-17 | "The Special Courage of Captain Pratt" | February 14, 1964 |
| 1-18 | "The Night Raiders" | February 21, 1964 |
| 1-19 | "The Plague" | February 28, 1964 |
| 1-20 | "The Pathfinder" | March 6, 1964 |
| 1-21 | "The President Vanishes" | March 13, 1964 |
| 1-22 | "The Henry Berch Story" | March 20, 1964 |
| 1-23 | "Kentucky's Bloody Ground" (part one) | April 3, 1964 |
| 1-24 | "The Siege of Boonesborough" (part two) | April 10, 1964 |
| 1-25 | "Escape" | April 17, 1964 |
| 1-26 | "The Pirate and the Patriot" | May 1, 1964 |
External links
- The Great Adventure at the Internet Movie Database
- The Great Adventure at TV.com
- Theme music
- The Great Adventure at CVTA with episode list