This episode of “Your Hit Parade” popular music show dates to February 18 1956. The presentation is a kinescope, or a television signal that was recorded from a TV set onto 16mm film. The “Hit Parade” musical review show was sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes and Richard Hudnut Quick Home Permanent, and features advertisements for both products. At 13:21, golfer Sam Snead promotes Luckys. At :33, the animated Lucky Strike cigarettes sequence was created by special effects guru Ray Harryhausen.

“Your Hit Parade” featured elaborate sets and choreography that was inspired both by Hollywood movies and “soundies” — popular short film versions of popular songs. The show utilized a cast to perform the songs, as opposed to playing the versions then on the air.

At (00:23:32;:04) is An Ad For Ricahrd Hudnut’s Home Permanent “Quick” Hair Product.

The “Your Hit Parade” program started out on radio before moving to television in 1950, and ran until 1959. The show presented seven top hit songs. This episode features Giselle Mackenzie, Roy Landman / Snooky Lanson, Polly Bergen, and Russel Arms, as well as Raymond Scott and the Hit Parade Orchestra. (Some other singers on “Your Hit Parade” in this era often included Dorothy Collins, Eileen Wilson and June Valli.) Songs include “Dungaree Doll” (00:02:21:06), “The Great Pretender” (04:40:40:10), “Lady Be Good” (00:07:05:03),”Memories” (00:09:38:21), “Lisbon Antigua” (00:13:19:00), “Sixteen Tons” (00:15:52:12), “Its Almost Tomorrow” (00:18:26:14), “Yankee Doodle Dandy And Your A Grand Old Flag” (00:21:00:22), “The Rock N Roll Waltz” (00:24:35:21)

The songs featured on the program were selected as a result of a secret survey, supposedly based on best selling sheet music and phonograph records, plus tabulations made of songs most heard on the radio and most played on jukeboxes.