On Feb. 1, 1959, host Ronald Reagan introduced the first original musical presented in seven seasons of the CBS anthology series General Electric Theater: the half-hour Western-themed No Man Can Tame Me. In the vein of Annie Get Your Gun, the story revolves around Matilda Haley, “who could out-fight, and outwit most men, but had no use for them romantically.” Writers Laurence Marks and Milton Pascal adapted their screenplay from John Ed Pearce’s story “The Taming of the Squaw,” which appeared in the July 12, 1958, issue of the Saturday Evening Post. The score, which included three songs, was by Jay Livingston (music) and Ray Evans (lyrics). Tony winner Gower Champion directed, and former Paramount studio exec Harry Tugend produced.
The cast included Broadway veterans Eddie Foy Jr. as Matilda’s dad Silas, Max Showalter as suitor Will Henderson, and John Raitt as rival suitor Charlie, with pop singer Gisele MacKenzie as Matilda. Below is her opening song, “One Hand Tied Behind My Back.”
Matilda is aloof toward city slicker Will, but she confesses “How Can I Be Alone Again” to fur trapper Charlie, who reciprocates the sentiment. Silas, unaware of this development, “approaches every eligible young man in town in his efforts to marry off his daughter” in the song “I Heard,” which you can listen to below.
Of course, Matilda ends up with Charlie in the end. It’s a decidedly archaic story, but at the time, the songwriters believed the show had “the look and feel of a new art form, one that is particularly suited to television.” Empire made an LP recording in 1959, and Blue Pear included the show in its compilation Four Television Musicals.
General Electric Theater presented a few more original musicals, including Tippy Top with Ron Howard and Red Buttons in 1961, but television didn’t fully embrace short-form musicals until the animated holiday specials of the mid-1960s.