Broadcast at 8:00 p.m. on a Sunday night of American Prime Time TV, February 9, 1958, as a "A Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation" - an ambitious 50 minute television color special based upon Mary Tapes Dodge's classic children story about a poor Dutch family struggling to overcome adversity; An original television musical-teleplay adaptation of "Hans Brinker and The Silver Kates," - was directed by Broadway Theater Director Sidney Lumet and Produced by George Shaffer; featured an original musical score by Hugh Martin (Meet Me in St. Louis). The NBC "Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation, Hans Brinker and The Silver Skates" followed in the tradition of the NBC Network's video-taped "live-performance" color special broadcasts: Mary Martin performing in her 1953-55 Broadway Musical, "Peter Pan." The division of RCA Color Television, aligned with their company's affiliated NBC Broadcasting Network, featured these "live" color broadcast specials in an effort to promote the television viewing audience to purchase a new color television receiving electronic set for the home entertainment center. Featuring a popular "Hollywood Movie Star Tab Hunter" in the titled original teleplay-musical skating and singing role as "Hans Brinker" - was a major Broadcast-Network television coup, for network programming viewer-audience ratings. This NBC "Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Hans Brinker and The Silver Skates" event special, commercially sponsored by the Hallmark Greeting Card Advertising Division Agency, was a one-night TV special television production broadcast. "Hallmark Hall of Fame Presents" production's became monthly NBC TV Broadcast Special Events with their own advertising agency's in-house commercials, a TV advertising alliance with NBC TV, to present these special event productions through out the 1950s - 1980s decades.