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Season
1 (ABC) (Early 1955)
Episode Guide
compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by: Rina Fox,
Jim Brent ,
Richard Yokley (Ep 2.9)
references:
TV Guide /
Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive / Writers Guild of America (wga)
########## TV Reader's Digest ###########
########## season 1 Early1955 ############
######################################
ABC Mondays 8:00-8:30pm Eastern
1.01 [--] TV Reader's Digest: THE LAST OF THE OLD TIME SHOOTING SHERIFFS
17Jan1955 ABC Mon
Producer Chester Erskine
Written by Frank Gruber
From a Reader's digest article by Cleveland Amory
Directed by William Beaudine
Director of photography Lester Shorr
Editor Walter Hannemann
Guest cast:
Russell Simpson ......... Jim Roberts
John Hamilton ......... Mayor Carver
Chubby Johnson ......... Rancher
Francis MacDonald ......... Barber
William Fawcett ......... Charlie
Dick Reeves ......... Swanson
with
Jimmy Hawkins ....... Bokker
Bill Henry
Myron Healey
Bobby Taylor
Al Wyatt
Red Morgan
Synopsis:
The factual story of Jim Roberts, the shooting sheriff who was brought out of
retirement by the citizens of an Arizona town to check a series of bank robberies. [JB]
1.02 [--] TV Reader's Digest: TROUBLE ON THE DOUBLE
24Jan1955 ABC Mon
Adapted from an article by David Woodbury
starring
Peter Graves
Nancy Gates
George Chandler
Synopsis:
A storm and a train wreck make it impossible to get a doctor for an expectant mother.
The frantic father learns that “necessity is the mother of invention.” [JB]
1.03 [--] TV Reader's Digest: MRS. ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
30Jan1955 ABC Mon
Adapted from an article by Austin Strong.
Directed by John Brahm
starring
Martha Scott ........ Fanny Vandergrift Osbourne
Douglass Montgomery.. Robert Louis Stevenson
Wallis Clark ........ Thomas
Doris Lloyd ......... Stevenson's Mother
Synopsis 1:
The film presents the author and his wife in their search for a healthful climate.
The story of the writer's devoted wife, who stood by her husband
through his battle with tuberculosis. [JB]
Synopsis 2:
The Robert Louis Stevensons are searching for a healthful climate. [RF]
*Note: Syndication airing on "Way of Life" 05Mar61.
1.04 [--] TV Reader's Digest: HOW CHANCE MADE LINCOLN PRESIDENT
07Feb1955 ABC Mon
Based on a condensation of G. Lynn Sumner’s “Meet Abraham Lincoln.”
starring
Richard Gaines ........ Abraham Lincoln
Vivi Janiss ....... Mary Todd Lincoln
Ken Hardison ......... Robert Lincoln
Synopsis:
The film concerns five events which propelled Lincoln into the White House. [JB]
1.05 [--] TV Reader's Digest: I’LL PICK MORE DAISIES
14Feb1955 ABC Mon
Based on a story by Warren Forth and an article by Don Herold
starring
Richard Denning ....... Don Wilkerson
Jeanne Cagney ....... Martha Wilkerson
Kim Charney ........ Don as a boy
Barry Truex ........ Don Jr.
Joan Vohs ........... Marie
Phyllis Coates ...... Mother
Maudie Prickett ..... Birdie
Synopsis:
A middle-aged man feels he is in a rut. His dreams of what he could have
been bring him back to three decisive moments in his past. [JB]
Synopsis 2:
An aging man considers himself a failure relives three pivotal moments in his
past. [RF]
1.06 [--] TV Reader's Digest: TOP SECRET
21Feb1955 ABC Mon
Adapted by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan from an article by Norbert Muhlen.
starring
Fred Essler ....... Louie Meyer
Leonid Kinskey ....... Karl
Otto Waldis ....... Meinstudt
Fritz Feld ........ Semanov
Alfred Linder ........ Rupert
Edit Angold .......... Mrs. Kullman
Synopsis:
Against the background of East Berlin, the story of Louie Meyer and his
beloved bus unfolds. Louie is heartbroken when the East German police
decrees that the vehicle is the property of the state. [JB]
Synopsis 2:
German citizens attempt to escape from East Berlin's Russian zone in an ancient
bus. [RF]
1.07 [--] TV Reader's Digest: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
28Feb1955 ABC Mon
Adapted from an article by Southern newspaper editor Hodding Carter.
starring
Bobby Driscoll ........ Radford Sawyer the boy
Minor Watson ......... Radford Sawyer the man
Jimmy Ogg .......... Vernon Kimble the boy
Erville Alderson ....... Vernon Kimble the man
Frank Ferguson ....... Pa Sawyer
Ella Ethridge ....... Ma Sawyer
Paul Hoffman ....... Harlan
Mitch Kowal ......... Cullen
Synopsis:
A sensitive boy rebels against the vengeful, feuding tradition of the Old South.
Later, as an eminent brain surgeon, he operates on the grandson of his childhood enemy. [JB]
1.08 [--] TV Reader's Digest: THE END OF BLACKBEARD THE PIRATE
07Mar1955 ABC Mon
Adapted from a story by Edwin Muller.
starring
Jeff Morrow ......... Blackbeard
Robert Knapp ........ Lt. Robert Maynard
Russ Conway ......... Hargrave
Kay Stewart ......... Rita
Skelton Knaggs ...... Gibson
Claude Akins ........ Casco
Randy Farr .......... Mary
Leo Britt ........... Eden
Keith Hitchcock ..... Gibbs
Synopsis:
The notorious Blackbeard meets his match in a battle against Lt. Robert Maynard off the Carolina coast in 1718. [JB]
Synopsis 2:
Blackbeard the Pirate meets his match in a battle against Lt. Robert Maynard off the Carolina coast in 1718. [RF]
1.09 [--] TV Reader's Digest: THE AMERICAN MASTER COUNTERFEITERS
14Mar1955 ABC Mon
starring
Roy Roberts ........ William Burns
George O’Hanlon ....... Cliff Hampton
Harlan Warde ....... Hotchkiss
Synopsis:
We go back to the turn of the century when Detective William Burns helped
the U.S. Secret Service solve one of the most puzzling counterfeit cases in history:
the case of the “too good” hundred-dollar bills. [JB]
1.10 [--] TV Reader's Digest: AMERICA’S FIRST GREAT LADY
21Mar1955 ABC Mon
starring
Gloria Talbott .......... Pocahontas
Richard Ney ......... Captain John Smith
John Stephenson .......... John Rolfe
Anthony Eustrel ..... Somers
Paul Cavanaugh ...... Sir Christopher
Synopsis:
The love story of Pocahontas and the two white men she loved,
Captain John Smith and tobacco planter John Rolfe. [JB]
Synopsis 2:
"America's First Lady" is the story of Pocahontas and the men she loved
Capt. John Smith and tobacco planter John Rolfe. [RF]
1.11 [--] TV Reader's Digest: THE MANUFACTURED CLUE
28Mar1955 ABC Mon
starring
Chuck Connors ....... Charlie Masters
Paul Stewart ........ Larry Sears
Douglas Spencer .......... Frank Heath
Synopsis 1:
The story revolves around a private detective hired to manufacture clues against a murder suspect. [JB]
Synopsis 2:
A sleuth is hired to manufacture clues against a murder suspect. [RF]
*Note: Syndication airing on "Way of Life" 23Jul61.
1.12 [--] TV Reader's Digest: INCIDENT ON THE CHINA COAST
04Apr1955 ABC Mon
starring
Robert Bray ......... Durant
Ann Doran ........... Mrs. Durant
Dan Barton .......... Robert Thorpe
Joan Elan ........... Rose
Linda Bennett ....... Durant's daughter
Noel Toy ............ Stewardess
Synopsis:
The true story of an attack on a passenger airplane on a routine flight from Bangkok
to Hong Kong by Chinese Reds. The survivors of the crash must face the dangers
of the China Sea as they float on the plane’s life raft. [JB]
Synopsis 2:
Survivors of a plane crash, afloat on a life raft, face the dangers of the China
Sea. [RF]
1.13 [--] TV Reader's Digest: HOW CHARLIE FAUST WON A PENNANT FOR THE GIANTS
11Apr1955 ABC Mon
starring
Lee Marvin ........ Charlie Faust
Alan Reed .......... John McGraw
Lee Van Cleef ......... Mike
Synopsis:
The 1911 epic of a youth from Kansas who won the pennant without ever throwing a ball.
Charlie Faust, new to the New York Giants team, was largely responsible for their winning streak.
In order to curtail this bit of luck, gamblers kidnap Faust to keep him from playing. [JB]
Synopsis 2:
Gamblers kidnap a pitcher who is responsible for the New York Giants' winning
streak. [RF]
1.14 [--] TV Reader's Digest: HONEYMOON IN MEXICO
18Apr1955 ABC Mon
starring
Richard Long ....... Jack
Merry Anders ...... Sally
Anthony Numkema ...... Toledo
Rafael Campos ....... Pedro
Synopsis:
The true story of a very unusual honeymoon. A young Texan
and his Boston bride set up housekeeping in a small town and soon
find they are the “parents” of 10 Mexican children. [JB]
1.15 [--] TV Reader's Digest: THE GREAT ARMORED CAR ROBBERY
25Apr1955 ABC Mon
starring
Alex Nicol ...... John Martin
Dorothy Green ..... Nora Martin
Mickey Knox
Ed McNally
Bob Foulk
Gene Roth
Ted de Corsia
Joe Bassett
Synopsis:
The master-mind behind a “perfect crime” discovers that going straight can be dangerous. [JB]
1.16 [--] TV Reader's Digest: A MILLION DOLLAR STORY
02May1955 ABC Mon
starring
Bill Bouchey ........ Ferris
James Bell .......... Decker
Joyce Arling ........ Jane
Milburn Stone ....... Brewster
Julie Bishop ........ Agnes
Louis Jean Heydt .... Reporter
Joe Bassett
Synopsis:
A dramatization of Captain Carlsen’s memorable 1952 battle with
the sea aboard his ship, “The Flying Enterprise.” [JB]
Synopsis 2:
A captain refuses to leave a sinking freighter even though
the crew and passengers are safely ashore. [RF]
1.17 [--] TV Reader's Digest: DEAR FRIENDS AND GENTLE HEARTS
09May1955
teleplay by Katherine & Dale Eunson
Article by Alexander Wollcott
directed by Arnold Laven
starring
Johnny Johnston ....... Stephen Foster
Joan Camden ....... Jane McDowell Foster
Harlan Warde ....... Dunning Foster
Napoleon Simpson ....... Uncle Ned
Casey Adams
Paul Maxey
Parley Baer
Alan Dexter
Jerry Hausner
Synopsis:
The story of composer Stephen Foster, from his early success to his tragic death.
Stephen Foster gave up his job as a bookkeeper to devote his time to composing. [JB]
1.18 [--] TV Reader's Digest: FRANCE’S GREATEST DETECTIVE
16May55 ABC Mon
Show no. 107.19-R
written by Wells Root
article by Irving Wallace
directed by Peter Godfrey
cinematography by Lester Shorr
starring
Arthur Franz ....... Alphonse Bertillon
Lawrence Dobkin ....... Renault
Claude Akins ....... Dupont
Ian MacDonald ....... Andrieux
Phillips Van Zandt ....... Boyaval
Gene Reynolds ....... Hugo
Edgar Barrier ......... Camecasse
Synopsis:
The true story of Alphonse Bertillon, a brilliant clerk for the French Police,
who revolutionizes criminal investigation by instituting scientific methods to identify
criminals. By studying and measuring bone structures and body features, his methods
lead to the capture and conviction of over 7,000 criminals. His later attempts to use
the ancient scientific method of fingerprinting for criminal investigations for the first
time in France, soon proved to be even more effective in solving crimes. [RF]
1.19 [--] TV Reader's Digest: AROUND THE HORN TO MATRIMONY
23May1955 ABC Mon
starring
Bob Hutton ....... Asa Mercer
Donna Martell ....... Emma Scofield
Dee J. Thompson ....... Hope
Jan Shepard ....... Louella
Juney Ellis ....... Rachel
Nancy Kulp ....... Ruth
Synopsis:
Back in the 1800’s a brave and courageous man organized a project to send
a boatload of women from New York to Seattle. The purpose of this
singular and daring voyage was matrimony! [JB]
1.20 [--] TV Reader's Digest: THE ANATOMY OF A GRAFT
30May1955 ABC Mon
starring
Gene Barry ....... Victor Martin
Jaclynne Greer ....... Jean Martin
Howard St. John ....... Cal Iverson
Emerson Treacy ....... Father
Synopsis:
A young attorney enters the political arena determined to fight for clean government.
His ideal, however, is not shared by “the people that count.” [JB]
1.21 [--] TV Reader's Digest: HUMAN NATURE THROUGH A REAR VIEW MIRROR
06Jun55 ABC Mon
Show no. 21
starring
Eddie Albert ....... Joey White
Jill Jarmyn ....... Marge Wilson
William Henry ....... Dick Wilson
Sid Melton ....... Max
Herb Vigran
Sarah Selby
Synopsis:
Cabby Joey White gets involved in a kidnapping and a maternity
case because of his interest in the passengers that ride in his cab. [JB]
1.22 [--] TV Reader's Digest: MR. PAK TAKES OVER
13Jun1955 ABC Mon
Show no. 22
prod no. 107-23
starring
Philip Ahn ........ Mr. Pak
Kenneth Tobey ..... Herbert
James Edwards
Dan Barton
Walter Kelly
Synopsis:
During the Korean War, a native interpreter assigned to an American officer,
proves where his loyalties lie. [JB]
1.23 [--] TV Reader's Digest: MY FIRST BULLFIGHT
20Jun1955 ABC Mon
Adapted from an article by Sidney Franklin, the Brooklyn bullfighter
starring
Jack Kelly ....... Sidney Franklin
George Huerta ....... Manuel
Chalo Alvarado ....... Gaona
Edward Colmans ....... Hernandez
Nacho Galindo ....... Fuente
Abel Franco ......... Tafur
Synopsis:
An American artist is in Mexico City drawing posters of the bullfights.
Under the influence of tequila he boasts that he too could best the bull. [JB]
1.24 [--] TV Reader's Digest: COMRADE LINDEMANN'S CONSCIENCE
27Jun1955 ABC Mon
Adapted from an article by Frederick Sondern, Jr. and Norbert Muhlen
starring
Alf Kjellin ....... Hasso Lindemann
Kurt Katch ....... Herr Lasseman
Maria Palmer ....... Ilse
Synopsis:
An assistant states attorney in Communist East Germany has been sending
innocent men to prison. He regrets his acts, and suffers pangs of conscience. [JB]
Synopsis 2:
An East German official who's been sending innocent
men to jail has pangs of conscience. [RF]
1.25 [--] TV Reader's Digest: SIX HOURS OF SURGERY
04Jul1955 ABC Mon
Show no. 107.27
starring
Walter Kingsford ......... Chief Surgeon
Jerry Paris ........ Associate Surgeon
Damian O’Flynn ........ Associate Surgeon
Jean Byron ........ Head Nurse
Robert Osterloh ....... Anesthetist
Synopsis:
The personal problems in the lives of the surgeon and his assistants are
revealed under the stress and strain of a delicate heart operation on a 16 year old boy. [JB]
1.26 [--] TV Reader's Digest: THE BARON AND HIS URANIUM KILLING (Last first run episode of season 1)
11Jul1955 ABC Mon
Adapted from an article by Toni Howard
starring
Marcel Dalio ........ Baron
Gladys Holland ...... Baroness
Steven Geray ........ Gaillard
Peter Brocco ........ Bethier
Synopsis:
A wealthy French baron and his baroness find themselves victims of a clever uranium swindle. [JB]
----------------------------------------------
Summer Repeats (ABC 18Jul55-10Oct55)
-----------------------------------------------
18Jul55 Top Secret (original air date 21Feb55)
25Jul55 The End of Blackbeard the Pirate (original air date 07Mar55)
01Aug55 A Matter of Life or Death (original air date 28Feb55)
08Aug55 Incident on the China Coast (original air date 04Apr55)
15Aug55 The Manufactured Clue (original air date 28Mar55)
22Aug55 The Great Armored Car Robbery (original air date 25Apr55)
29Aug55 The American Master Counterfeiters (original air date 14Mar55)
05Sep55 Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts (original air date 09May55)
12Sep55 How Charlie Faust Won a Pennant for the Giants (original air date 11Apr55)
19Sep55 Preempted for Producers' Showcase
26Sep55 France’s Greatest Detective (original air date 16May55)
03Oct55 Six Hours of Surgery (original air date 04Jul55)
10Oct55 Mr. Pak Takes Over (original air date
13Jun55)
############## TV Reader's Digest
############
############### end of season 1 ##############
##############################################
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