Main /End Titles and
Theme Songs
of Short-lived CBS Soaps
The First Hundred Years
The animated title sequence featured
a woman dusting, her husband coming home and giving her flowers, and the two of
them kissing, all shot through a window. A lilting waltz theme by organist
Clarke Morgan accompanied this visual.
Portia Faces Life
The
title of the show, set in upward angled script lettering, was superimposed over
the opening prologue visual as announcer Bill Shipley said, "Portia
Faces Life, the story of a not-so-perfect marriage."
The Inner Flame
As
superimposed over a series of children's drawings and finger paintings
depicting marriage and family life, the title of the show was given an
up-and-down rollercoaster arrangement across the screen in Bodoni Campanile (a
condensed Bodoni) type. The theme music was an excerpt from the
"Love" theme of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet.
Road of Life
On a
tape I've had a chance to view, the Road of Life opening sequence was set
in a family portrait gallery. As the camera slowly pans from one portrait to
another, we see very troubled expressions on the faces. The theme music for
that episode's opening was adapted from Mussorgsky's "Pictures from an
Exposition." I don't know if it was used for the opening of every episode.
Craig W. Pattillo's TV Theme Song Soundtrack Directory said that the
theme for the television version of Road of Life was "Andante
Cantible."
The show's closing credit visuals consisted of a painting of a road going through a small town as the familiar Tchaikovsky "Pathetique" theme from the radio version plays.
Full Circle
Theme music by Leon Klatzkin.
If anyone has any tape or kinescope of an old episode of Full Circle that contains the theme song and main/end title visuals, please let me know.
The Egg and I
Farmers
hoe-down style music accompanies a series of comical drawings of roosters and hens
crowing, clucking and gossiping. Throughout the main and end title sequences, a
hand keeps turning the pages containing these drawings.
Valiant Lady
Somewhat melodramatic and foreboding theme music accompanies the main and end title visual of a woman walking through a park on a windy day. Based on some research I've been able to do, the melodramatic theme from the episode I've been able to see may have been one of two used by the show during its four year run.
The Clear Horizon
The
main/end title visual is the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean to the
accompaniment of a virtuoso piano theme by Kip Walton. The show's announcer was
Bern Bennett.
Love is a Many Splendored Thing
The
camera slowly pans from a group of bushes to a view of the Golden Gate Bridge
stretching over the San Francisco Bay. The branches of a willow tree frame this
view. The title of the show is set in sweeping, yet modern-looking Caslon 540
italic type with swashes. The end credit lettering was Caslon 540 medium.
Where the Heart Is
This short-lived soap had two different theme songs. The original theme only lasted through the first year, but a newer theme by organist Eddie Layton debuted about a year after the show premiered.
I did, however, recently receive a description of the first opening by one fan, to whom I am grateful for this information:
The original opening to the CBS serial, "Where the Heart Is," featured, (if I recall correctly) slow motion footage of a butterfly in flight over long stemmed grasses and flowers. It was accompanied by a rather melancholic, low-key instrumental that employed very few pieces. It may have even been an electronic instrument.
I need a copy of this show's opening visuals, as well as off-the-air audio recordings of both of this show's theme songs.
NOTE:I am too young to remember many of the soaps listed on this page, therefore much of my information is based on some soap opening tapes provided to me by Mark Faulkner of The Edge of Night Homepage and David Schwartz of the Game Show Network. Other data comes from studying Mr. David Jackson Shields' Classic Television Themes web page. (To check it out, click here.)
Thank you.