7.4 /10 1 Votes
6.5/10 TV Country of origin United States First episode date 12 January 1958 | 8.3/10 IMDb Original language(s) English Final episode date 16 July 1961 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Directed by William CorriganBob HenryHarry HornerRichard MorrisRobert B. Sinclair Composer(s) Jack BrooksJerry LivingstonVic MizzyArthur MortonWalter ScharfVic Schoen Presented by Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet Cast Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet Similar Faerie Tale Theatre, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Letter to Loretta, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Bob Hope Presents the Chrys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shirley Temple's Storybook is an American children's anthology series hosted and narrated by actress Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales like Mother Goose and other family-oriented stories performed by well-known actors, although one episode, an adaptation of The House of the Seven Gables, was meant for older youngsters. The first season of sixteen black-and-white and colored episodes aired on NBC between January 12, 1958 and December 21, 1958 as Shirley Temple's Storybook. Thirteen episodes of the first season re-ran on ABC beginning on January 12, 1959. The second season of twenty-five color episodes aired on NBC as The Shirley Temple Show between September 18, 1960 and July 16, 1961 in much the same format that it had under its original title.
Contents
Temple's three children made their acting debuts in the last episode of the first season, "Mother Goose". When a stagehand said "shit" during a "Mother Goose" rehearsal, Temple had him fired, telling the stunned cast it was a children's show–although no children were present during the rehearsal. Three of the first season episodes were done live, and each of the three took ten days of preparation. Temple read each script and made suggestions for improvement if necessary.
Season 1
Book collections
Random House published three fairy tale collections under Temple's name based on the first season: Shirley Temple's Storybook (the complete season, except for "Hiawatha" and "Mother Goose," and including one additional story, "The Valiant Little Tailor"), Shirley Temple's Fairyland (selections from the first season), and Shirley Temple's Stories That Never Grow Old (selections from the first season). A fourth book, Shirley Temple's Favorite Tales Of Long Ago (illustrated and published by Random House in 1958) includes "The Magic Fishbone", "The Nightingale", "The Valiant Little Tailor", and "The Little Lame Prince".
DVD release
The full series anthology has not been released, however selected episodes of the second season were released on Region 1 DVD in 2006. At least four volumes from the first season were released on VHS from Season 1, including "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" as Volume 4.