CTVA US Anthology - "TV Reader's Digest" (Bernard L. Schubert/ABC) Season 1 (Early 1955)

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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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