"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 Margaret O'Brien as Jenny Leon Ames as Cyrus Frances Farmer as Sarah James MacArthur as Ben Olan Soule as Dr. Longworth (uncredited)"Today's Best TV". The Cincinnati Enquirer. March 17, 1958. p. 51. "10 p. m., STÚDIO ONE: Margaret O'Brien, James MacArthur and Olan Soule star in a story of a girl who seeks friendship with a deaf mute."Eichler, Alan (December 7, 2017). "Tongues of Angels--Frances Farmer, Margaret O'Brien, James MacArthur, 1958 TV". YouTube. "Don't set your mind against it; now let me finish! I've been talkin' to Dr. Longworth about you, and he says, oftentimes, there's lots can be done for deaf mutes—special hearing aids, and operations ... who knows?"
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."TV Pilot Program Forecast". The Virginia-Pilot. March 17, 1958. p. 12. "The idea for tonight's story came from producer Norman Felton, who told Vlahos about a boy he'd heard of in Iowa who stuttered so badly he made believe he was mute, From this fragment, Vlahos fashioned his. play. His agent also happens to be Helen Hayes' agent, and Miss Hayes saw the script and felt it would be right for her son, James MacArthur. So he'll be the boy..."
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 (alongside Mary Astor and Judy Garland, respectively), in MGM's Meet Me in St. Louis.Green, Stanley; Schmidt, Elaine (1999). Hollywood Musicals, Year by Year. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard. p. 130. . "Meet Me in St. Louis was made into one of Metro's most acclaimed and successful musicals [...] On screen, the Smith family consists of father Alonzo (Leon Ames) and mother Anna (Mary Astor), two teenage daughters, [...] two younger daughters, Agnes (Joan Carroll) and Tootie (Margaret O'Brien)" For Frances Farmer, cast as the devoted but charitable mother (and surprisingly strong-willed wifeEichler, "Tongues of Angels--Frances Farmer, Margaret O'Brien, James MacArthur, 1958 TV". YouTube. c. 4:15 – 4:40."Jenny: We could put up a cot or something. Oh, please, Dad.Sarah: Why not?Cyrus: Well now, I'm not gonna take in a total stranger, someone I never saw before in my life, just because you two let him play on your sympathy.Sarah: (to Ben) N-now, you wait. (to Cyrus) It's not as if he'd be livin' in the same house as us...Cyrus: I don't care; we don't know one thing about him–"Sarah (interrupting): Cyrus Walker, where is your charity? Judge not lest ye be not judged.Cyrus: Oh, now, don't start quoting Scripture at me, Sarah. You know I can't fight you there.Sarah: All right, then. Let him stay.), 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.Graham, Sheila (March 3, 1958). Hollywood Today; "Graham (Continued from Page 14)". Hollywood Citizen-News. p. 15. "Farmer co-stars with Margaret O'Brien and James MacArthur on Studio One's 'Tongue of Angels' March 17. 'But it has nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day,' Frances assured me."Fireman, Judy (1977). TV Book : The Ultimate Television Book. New York : Workman Publishing Company. p. 151. . "Leon Ames, Frances Farmer, and James MacArthur (Helen Hayes's son) star in "Tongue of Angels." The story of a young boy afflicted with a serious speech impediment is one of the last episodes of Studio One. which goes off the air in 1958 after nine years on CBS."Eichler, op. cit., starting 32 min; 14 sec
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 (Margaret O'Brien). His acting persevered over a plot that did wonders for the hero’s stammer but never overcame its own."Review: Studio One in Hollywood". Time Magazine. March 31, 1958. pp. 41–42. "As a chronic stutterer who masqueraded as a deaf mute to avoid speaking, 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."
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.
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