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"Pepsi Cola
Playhouse"
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Hosted by Arlene Dahl (02-Oct-1953 to
02-Apr-1954)
Season
1 (1st half) (ABC) (1953-54)
Episode Guide
compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by:
Rina Fox, James Beer, Sal Crisanti,
J. Fred MacDonald (www.macfilms.com)
references:
TV Guide /
Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (http://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive / Writers Guild of America (wga)
##################################
####### Pepsi Cola Playhouse #######
######## season 1 (1st half)1953-54 ##########
##################################
ABC Fridays 8:30-9:00 EST
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
1.01 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: WHEN LOVELY WOMEN
02-Oct-1953 ABC Fri
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Marguerite Chapman
James Millican
Karen Sharpe
Tony Randall
Irene Hervey
Ron Randell
Dick Simmons
1.02 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: WAIT FOR ME DOWNSTAIRS
09-Oct-1953 ABC Fri
Teleplay by Fenton Earnshaw
Based on Cornell Woolrich's novel "Finger of Doom"
Directed by John English
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
John Hudson
Allene Roberts
1.03 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: THE NIGHT LIGHT AT VORDEN'S
16-Oct-1953 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Teleplay by August Derleth
Directed by Leslie H. Martinson
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Craig Stevens ......... Ward Preston
Jean Byron .......... Vanessa Vorden
Mira McKinney ........ Bianca Vorden (as Myra McKinney)
Emmett Vogan ....... Harold Atkins
Bruce Payne ...... Dr. Paul Tabor
Synopsis 1:
A possessive mother uses every possible ruse to
keep her only daughter from marrying. [RF]
Synopsis: 2:
A domineering mother stops at nothing to keep
her daughter from marrying her schoolteacher suitor. [RF]
*Note: Also aired on Your Playtime 05Sep54.
1.04 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: DEATH HAS A SYSTEM
23-Oct-1953 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Ian MacDonald
Kim Spalding
1.05 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: THE RAGGED STRANGER
30-Oct-1953 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Joanne Davis
Michael Hall
Hayden Rorke
1.06 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: MELODY IN BLACK
06-Nov-1953 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Peter Graves ....... Fred Crain
Nancy Gates ........ Peggy Harper
Robert Paige ....... Roger Libbott
Synopsis:
The town is gossiping about a local murder. Her continued piano lessons
and a $1000 note implicate a young girl in the crime.
[RF]
*Note: Syndication airing on Your Playtime 07Sep54.
1.07 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: THE HOUSE NOBODY WANTED [verified by SC]
13-Nov-1953 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Teleplay by Lawrence Kimble
Story by Fredric Brown
Directed by Richard Irving
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring [SC]
Craig Stevens.......... as Richard Fleming
Marilyne Erskine....... as Jennie Fleming
Sheila Bromley......... as Nelli Harlow
Jack Raine............. as George Sinder
Dean Cromer............ as The Killer
Synopsis:
A woman is sure her new husband fits the description of a known murderer.
* Also listed as The House That Nobody Wanted.
1.08 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: CLAIRE
20-Nov-1953 ABC Fri
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Marguerite Chapman
Walter Coy
Marilyn Erskine
1.09 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: FROZEN ESCAPE
27-Nov-1953 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Jorja Curtright ....... Julie
Morris Ankrum ....... Tom
DeForest Kelley ....... Jeff
Synopsis:
Jeff and Julie have been prospecting in the Alaskan wilds for three years.
Jeff has told Julie that he went to visit his friend Arthur McLain -- who had recently
struck it rich -- and found him dead. Believing he'll be blamed, Jeff insists on running
away, but a blizzard blocks the pass and the couple seek refuge with blind Tom,
stating that they'd been hunting. Tom confronts Jeff, saying that the radio just reported
Arthur McLain and his dog killed in their cabin. As Jeff starts arguing threateningly with
Tom, Tom's dog starts growling. Tom points out that Jeff is stuck there until the storm,
because the only other way out is past the Ranger station. Julie tries to talk Jeff out of
running away, insisting that "they don't hang innocent people." Jeff is unconvinced.
However, Tom gets Julie alone and explains that Jeff must have been the murderer.
That night, Tom offers to let Jeff escape if Jeff will give him the gold he must have stolen
from Arthur -- since only Jeff was a good enough friend of Arthur's to have known where
the gold was. Jeff demurs, trying to hide the gold in his pocket. Tom attacks Jeff,
and the scuffle brings in Julie, who sees the gold and is now convinced of her husband's
guilt, despite Jeff's protestations that he took it in a panic when he found Arthur dead.
Jeff frantically insists to Julie that Tom must have done it, and they set up a trap to see if
Tom is really blind. He is. Whereupon Jeff hands his gun over to Julie in despair. Julie
finds Tom's hand bleeding and tends it. She steps out, finds a torn blanket on Tom's sled,
and on returning overhears Tom telling Jeff that actually, Julie must be the murderer, that she
and Arthur were probably having an affair. Jeff tells him to shut up. Julie goes to Tom's
dog and starts to untie it. Jeff begs her not to set the dog on him. But the dog, freed,
attacks Tom instead. Julie explains that she noticed that the dog was really growling at Tom,
not Jeff; the attack proves that it's not really Tom's dog, it's Arthur's.
Tom's dog is dead in the cabin where he killed Arthur. [RF]
1.10 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: VACATION WIFE
Revue Productions, Inc. (copyright date 31Dec53)
04-Dec-1953 ABC Fri
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Frances Rafferty ...... Penny
Robert Paige .......... Sam
Robert Hutton ......... David
Dorothy Green ......... Selma
Geraldine Carr ........ Nella
Synopsis:
A young wife takes a vacation alone at a mountain resort and meets another man.
[RF]
*Note: Syndication airing on Star Theater 17Sep54.
1.11 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: THE MOTIVE GOES ROUND AND ROUND
11-Dec-1953 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Teleplay by Lawrence Kimble
Story by Fredric Brown
Directed by Robert G. Walker
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Ludwig Donath
Eve Miller
1.12 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: DEATH MAKES A PASS
18-Dec-1953 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Lloyd Corrigan
Jay Novello
1.13 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: WHO IS SYLVIA?
(aka MAN ON THE BLUFF)
25-Dec-1953 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Rick Jason
Frances Rafferty
1.14 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: MISS DARKNESS
01-Jan-1954 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Teleplay by Richard Collins & Fenton Earnshaw
Based on the story by Fredric Brown
Directed by Leslie H. Martinson
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Peter Graves
Dee Carroll
Synopsis:
A girl recognizes a bank robber, and afraid to tell the police,
seeks refuge in a boarding house. [RF]
1.15 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: THE GOLD THUMB
08-Jan-1954 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Jeanne Cooper ...... Martha
Walter Reed ........ William Martin
Dolores Mann ....... Annie
Synopsis 1:
A ruthless sister plots murder in order to get a large inheritance. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
A drama concerning two sisters and the effect of an expected inheritance on
them.
*Note: Syndication airing on Star Theater 10Sep54.
1.16 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: ACCOUNT CLOSED
15-Jan-1954 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Carolyn Jones
George Nader
Synopsis:
A bank embezzler defrauds an innocent victim. [RF]
1.17 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: FAREWELL PERFORMANCE
22-Jan-1954 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
John Hoyt
Joan Shawlee
Synopsis:
A ventriloquist's wife brings on her own destruction when she plays
up to an actor with whom she was once friendly. [RF]
1.18 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: TOO GLOOMY FOR PRIVATE PUSHKIN
29-Jan-1954 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Steve Brodie
Robert Strauss
Maurice Kelly
Synopsis:
A bombed-out castle on the Italian war front becomes
a refuge for a private trying to evade the approaching German patrol.
1.19 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: THE PSYCHOPHONIC NURSE
05-Feb-1954 ABC Fri
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Lee Marvin
Joanne Davis
Synopsis:
A couple believe that raising their daughter scientifically will benefit them so
they employ a mechanical nurse.
1.20 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: A FAR, FAR BETTER THING
12-Feb-1954 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Robert Lowery ....... George
Nancy Gates ....... Virginia
Sally Mansfield ....... Betty
Richard Gaines ....... Len
Synopsis:
A wife becomes infatuated with a fellow tourist during a cruise to Hawaii. [SC]
1.21 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: LIVE A LITTLE
19-Feb-1954 ABC Fri (copyright date 31Dec53)
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Walter Coy
Marie Windsor
Jean Byron
Bethel Leslie
Synopsis:
A devoted husband becomes involved with another woman in a life of crime. [RF]
1.22 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: HIS BROTHER'S GIRL
26-Feb-1954 ABC Fri
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
George Nader
Nancy Gates
Keith Larsen
1.23 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: TAPS FOR A HOOFER
05-Mar-1954 ABC Fri
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Peggy Knudsen
Roy Roberts
Andrea King
1.24 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: DON'T YOU REMEMBER?
12-Mar-1954 ABC Fri
Written by Lawrence Kimble
Directed by Herschel Daughtery
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Philip Ober ....... Paul
Nancy Gates ....... Anne Collins
Frances Bavier .... Helen Collins
Synopsis:
A lonely man returns to his boyhood village to find his
former sweetheart still young and beautiful. [RF]
1.25 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: OPEN SEASON
19-Mar-1954 ABC Fri
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Lee Marvin
Dennis Morgan
Douglass Montgomery
1.26 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: THE SILENCE
26-Mar-1954 ABC Fri
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Rod Cameron
Carolyn Jones
Synopsis:
A woman frightens the construction workers in the jungles
of India when they believe she is the "kiss of death".
1.27 [--] Pepsi Cola Playhouse: THE GREY AND GOLD DRESS
02-Apr-1954 ABC Fri
Hosted by Arlene Dahl
starring
Vera Miles ...... Nancy
Peggy Converse ..... Jane
Gertrude Michael [PM]
Synopsis:
A supposedly exclusive dress design alters lives of three women. [RF]
*Note: Commercials for RICHARD HUDNUT HOME PERMANENT (with Julia Meade)
and LUCKY STRIKE CIGARETTES—ends with
animated spot for Lucky Strike
(c. 12/31/54) airing on Your Play Time a summer replacement series. [JFM]
--------------------------------------------
Anita Colby replaces Arlene Dahl as hostess from 09-Apr-1954
mid-way through the first season
--------------------------------------------
############# Pepsi Cola Playhouse
###########
########## end of season 1 (1st half) #########
##############################################
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