Featuring performances from an all-star cast and choreography by Jerome Robbins, the program received four honors at the 1954 Sylvania Television Awards.

On the morning after the show, The New York Times wrote that Hayward "stands on the TV peaks" for his "consummate accomplishment" in putting together the "mammoth production .

[5][1] The show also featured commentary by CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II covering a variety of topics, including the danger of nuclear war against the backdrop of a mushroom cloud.

Murrow also offered indirect criticism of McCarthyism, saying: "Nations have lost their freedom while preparing to defend it, and if we in this country confuse dissent with disloyalty, we deny the right to be wrong.

"[4] In the Minneapolis Morning Tribune, Will Jones wrote: "I felt like applauding a couple of times Monday night during the Ford 50th anniversary TV show.

It's really too bad, though, that a TV show can't collect the applause it deserves if it's good enough to make people at home respond that way.

"[6] In the New York Daily News, Broadway writer Danton Walker took a different view, calling the show "a mishmash of oddities" and concluding that it was "a case of 'too many cooks' and an effort to encompass too much."

"[9] In The Indianapolis News, Georgia Gianakos called it "a tremendous blend of talent both on and off the stage, and emerged as a masterpiece of television production.

The program received four special awards for Leland Hayward's production, Clark Jones' direction, Jerome Robbins' choreography, and Mary Martin's performance.