CTVA US Anthology - "Alcoa Hour" (NBC) Season 1 (1955-56)

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 Season 1 (NBC) (1955-56)
Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by:  Rina Fox
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)


 ########### The Alcoa Hour ##########

########## season 1 1955-56 #########

###############################

NBC Sundays 9:00-10:00pm ET 

 Alternating with Goodyear TV Playhouse (season 5) (NBC) (1955-56)

 

1.01 [--] The Alcoa Hour: THE BLACK WINGS

16-Oct-1955 NBC Sun

produced by Herbert Brodkin

teleplay by Joseph Schull

directed by Norman Felton

guest stars

Wendell Corey  ....... David Adams
Robert Flemyng ...... Bennett
Ann Todd ............ Jane Cornish
John Williams ....... Frazer
Byron Russell ....... Tobin
Frances Tannehill ... Lucy
Beulah Garrick ...... Eve

Synopsis:

A German physician who had been a Luftwaffe pilot during WWII

secretly endows a clinic for the treatment of victims of a bombing

raid he led over England, then falls in love with an English girl who

was crippled by the bombing. [RF]

 

1.02 [--] The Alcoa Hour: THE SMALL SERVANT

30-Oct-1955 NBC Sun

written by S.I. Abelow

Based on Charles Dickens' "The Old Curiosity Shop".
guest stars

Laurence Harvey  ..... Dick Swiveller
Halliwell Hobbes .... Reverend Garland
John Laurie ......... Sampson Brass
Brenda Forbes ....... Sophie Wackles
Murray Matheson ..... Padgett
Mary Wickes ......... Sally Brass
Francis Compton ..... Wrasp
Diane Cilento ....... Servant

Synopsis:
A young girl becomes the servant of the proprietor of an old curiosity shop

and falls for the man who lives above the shop.
*NOTE: This was actress Diane Cilento's American television debut.

 

1.03 [--] The Alcoa Hour: A GIRL CAN TELL

13-Nov-1955 NBC Sun

adapted by William McCleery

from F. Hugh Herbert's Broadway play

starring

Diana Lynn  .......... Jennifer
Natalie Trundy ...... Nancy
Carleton Carpenter .. Artie
Dean Harens ......... George
Donald Symington .... Freddie
Jack Whiting ........ J.G.
William Redfield .... Bill
Paul McGrath ........ Father
Barbara Robbins ..... Mother
Elissa Zabor ........ Natasha

Synopsis:

Looking over the scrapbook containing pictures of all the men she ever kissed,

a mother tells her daughter of her hectic younger days and the beaus who made them so. [RF]

 

1.04 [--] The Alcoa Hour: THUNDER IN WASHINGTON

27-Nov-1955 NBC Sun

written by David Davidson

directed by Robert Mulligan

guest stars

Melvyn Douglas  ......... Charles Turner
Ed Begley .............. Rep. Kilter
Russell Collins ........ Joe Horton
James Gregory .......... Martin Hobbes
Philip Coolidge ........ Mr. Herbert
Howard St. John ........ Mr. Meadows
Audra Lindley .......... Laura
Luis Van Rooten ........ President of the United States
Susan Halloran ......... Janie

Synopsis 1:

Inspired by recent capital-city doings, this is the story of a successful businessman

who comes to work for the government. He tries to use his newfound influence

to benefit the private business in which he still has an interest. [RF]

Synopsis 2:

Charles Turner a highly competent business executive

answers a call from the President of the United States to

come to Washington to introduce efficiency into numerous

sprawling government agencies. Soon Turner's efforts at

reform offend almost everyone and he finds himself

defending his actions before a House Appropriations Committee. [RF]

*

Note: Luis Van Rooten spent hours studying the voice and

mannerisms of the President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

 

1.05 [--] The Alcoa Hour: UNDERTOW

11-Dec-1955 NBC Sun

written by Jack Kelsey

guest stars

Robert Preston  ........ Doug Hallock
Teresa Wright ......... Sylvia Hallock
John Kerr ............. Jamie Hallock
Thomas Mitchell ....... Cap'n Hallock
Cathleen Nesbitt ...... Mother Hallock

Synopsis:
Cap'n Hallock and his taciturn hardworking wife and their two sons

live in Nova Scotia. It takes a near-tragedy to get the family to drop

it's reserve and reveal their true feelings.

 

1.06 [--] The Alcoa Hour: AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS

25-Dec-1955

Gian Carlo Menotti's Opera

guest stars

Rosemary Kuhlman  ...... Amahl's Mother
David Aiken ........... King Melchior
Leon Lishner .......... King Balthasar
Andrew McKinley ....... King Caspar
Glen Tetley ........... Dancing Shepherd

Synopsis:
Amahl, a poor cripple boy, is visited by the Three Kings on their way

to pay homage to the Christ child. [RF]
 

1.07 [--] The Alcoa Hour: MAN ON A TIGER

08-Jan-1956 NBC Sun

written by Roger O. Hirson

adapted from a short story by Adman David Levy
guest stars
Melvyn Douglas ........ Jim Conway
Tony Randall .......... Bill Holmes
Polly Rowles .......... Susan
Keenan Wynn ........... Curley Ames
Virginia Kaye ......... Ruth Wilson
Frank Schofield ....... Kaplow
Jan Farrand ........... Lily
Jerome Kilty .......... Steve Morgan
Lisa Howard ........... Kitty
Mort Stephens ......... George
Synopsis:
The story of success and failure, where admen's accounts, TV comedians

 fight for prestige and the small fry of television fight for their very existence.
 

1.08 [--] The Alcoa Hour: A PATCH OF FAITH

22-Jan-1956  NBC Sun

Written by John Secondari,

author of the novel on which the movie "Three Coins in the Fountain" was based.
Directed by Sidney Lumet
guest stars
Lee J. Cobb ........ Zocco
Theodore Bikel ..... Il Vecchio
Robert Emhardt ..... Van Vlick
Lilia Skala ........ Mrs. Van Vlick
Will Kuluva ........ Oste
Miko Oscard ........ Peppino
Henry Lascoe ....... Bridagiere
Synopsis:
A schoolmaster in a small Italian town suffers when his pupils are taunted because

they are too poor to afford football uniforms. He tries to raise money by staging

a benefit concert starring a young Dutch pianist. [RF]
 

1.09 [--] The Alcoa Hour: LONG AFTER SUMMER

05-Feb-1956 NBC Sun

produced by Herbert Brodkin

written by Dale Wasserman

story by Robert Nathan

directed by Sidney Lumet

guest stars

Robert Preston ........ Tom Waycroff
Susan Kohner .......... Joanna
Cameron Prud'Homme .... Alben
Ben Astar ............. Manuel
Donald Harron ......... Jack
Simon Oakland ......... Bert
Augusta Merighi ....... Josie
Raymond Bramley ....... Minister

Ralph Camargo

Synopsis:

The scene is Cape Cod, New England. A cynical sculptor hires a young orphan

girl as a housekeeper. She falls in love with the son of his best friend, but an

ensuing tragedy arouses her employer's concern. [RF]

 

1.10 [--] The Alcoa Hour: TRAGEDY IN A TEMPORARY TOWN

19-Feb-1956 NBC Sun

written by Reginald Rose

directed by Sidney Lumet

guest stars

Ed Binns  .............. Anderson
Lloyd Bridges ......... Alec Beggs
Robert Emhardt ........ Matt Fisher
Donald Harron ......... Mickey Doran
Betty Lou Keim ........ Dotty Fisher
Will Kuluva ........... Julio Infante
Vivian Nathan ......... Grace Beggs
Milton Selzer ......... Pike
Clifford Tatum Jr. .... Buddy Beggs
Jack Warden ........... Frank Doran

Jane White

Robert Dryden

Synopsis:

A vigilante group is formed after a girl is assaulted at

a construction camp. The mob descends on an innocent

Puerto Rican victim and the hero opposes the mob. [RF]

* Note According to Jack Gould, "Mr. Rose's final scene--the mob descending

on an innocent Puerto Rican victim--did make the viewer's flesh creep. And

the raw vigor of the hero's denunciation of the mob--the man's language had

 uncommon pungency--was extraordinarily vivid video drama."
"Tragedy in a Temporary Town" won a Robert E. Sherwood Television Award

and a citation from the Anti Defamation League of B'nai B'rith as the best

dramatic program of the year dealing with intergroup relations.

 

1.11 [--] The Alcoa Hour: MAN ON FIRE

04-Mar-1956 NBC Sun

written by Malvin Wald & Jack Jacobs

guest stars

Tom Ewell  ............. Earl Carleton
Patricia Barry ........ Nina
Neva Patterson ........ Gwen
Jerome Thor ........... Shaw
Ed Begley ............. Sam
Lois Bolton ........... Mrs. Delaney
Russell Collins ....... Judge
Van Dyke Parks ........ Ted

Synopsis:

A successful business man agrees to a divorce but insists on retaining custody

of the couple's young boy. Later, after remarrying, his wife tries for and wins

custody of the child. This so disillusions and embitters the man that he turns

against his friends, associates and finally the law. [RF]

 

1.12 [--] The Alcoa Hour: DOLL FACE

18-Mar-1956 NBC Sun

written by Jerome Ross

guest stars

Gene Lyons  ............ Harry Banning
Nancy Malone .......... Grace Schroeder
Addison Powell ........ Arthur Jelliffe
Glenda Farrell ........ Eloise Schroeder
Frank McHugh .......... George Schroeder
Patricia Englund ...... The Manicurist
Jeff Harris ........... The Bellboy

 

1.13 [--] The Alcoa Hour: FINKLE'S COMET

01-Apr-1956 NBC Sun

written by Herman Raucher

Directed by Sidney Lumet

guest stars

David Opatoshu ........ Morris Finkle
Hans Conried .......... Schnobble
Norman Fell ........... Marvie
Donald Mayo ........... Professor Caswell
Lenka Peterson ........ Marilyn
Ned Wertimer .......... Terry
Henry Lascoe .......... Mirsky
Synopsis:
A candy store owner looks out his window

and finds he is the only one who saw the comet.

 

1.14 [--] The Alcoa Hour: EVEN THE WEARIEST RIVER

15-Apr-1956 NBC Sun

written by Alvin Sapinsley

guest stars

Lee Grant  ............. Lennie Converse
Boris Karloff ......... Doc Dixon
Christopher Plummer.... Bruce Quealy
Jason Robards ......... Bridger
Franchot Tone ......... Sheriff Converse
Frank Marth ........... Crawford
Robert Dryden ......... Olan
Archie Smith .......... Matt
John Shellie .......... McAdam
Milton Selzer ......... Upton
Frank Overton ......... Barton Steinbach

Synopsis:
A triple tragedy has marked a small town in the West. The frontier village as mirrored

in the final day of it's sheriff, a 70-year-old lawman whose failing eyesight

and hearing tries to put off the inevitable realization that he's obsolete.

*NOTE: The title "Even the Weariest River" is based on a Western legend in blank verse.

 

1.15 [--] The Alcoa Hour: PARIS AND MRS. PERLMAN

29-Apr-1956 NBC Sun

written by John Vlahos

guest stars

Gertrude Berg  ......... Sophie Perlman
Claude Dauphin ........ Monsieur Aristide Duchamp
Sanford Meisner ....... Lew Stern
Joey Walsh ............ Leon
Janet Fox ............. Rose

Synopsis:
A lovable middle-aged widow unexpectedly finds romance with a Galic

charmer during a European trip, but the Frenchman admits he is a fortune-hunter.

 

1.16 [--] The Alcoa Hour: THE PRESIDENT

13-May-1956 NBC Sun

written by David Davidson

guest stars

Claude Rains  .......... Paul Westman
Mildred Dunnock ....... Grace Westman
Everett Sloane ........ Bill Groody
Alfred Ryder .......... Harvey Wilson
Larry Gates ........... Fulton Wills
Luis Van Rooten ....... Foster
David White ........... Sully
Fred Clark ............ Governor Dan Cowlin

Allen Collins

Robert Dryden

Howard Wierum

John Boruff

 

1.17 [--] The Alcoa Hour: THE CONFIDENCE MAN

27-May-1956 NBC Sun

written by Ernest Kinoy

guest stars

Hume Cronyn  .......... Sam Pickens
Jessica Tandy ........ Olivia Crummit

Dorothy Sands ........ Mrs. Crummit
John McGovern ........ Harry Crummit
Synopsis:
A con artist poses as a clergyman and insinuates himself into a men's club

where he takes up collection for a bogus missionary project. Sam ends up in the

streets once he is found out and meets a wealthy spinster named Olivia

whom he sets up as his next pigeon.
 

1.18 [--] The Alcoa Hour: THE MAGIC HORN

10-Jun-1956 NBC Sun

written by Herman Raucher

guest stars

Ralph Meeker  ......... Billy Hepburn
Sal Mineo ............ Tommy Angelo
Buzzy Drootin ........ Bide-o-wee Smith (famed Jazz Drummer)
Vic Dickenson ........ Stromberg Harris
Ruby Braff ........... Spencer Lee
Jimmy McPartland ..... Jambo Reader
Bert Freed ........... Manager
Milt Hinton .......... Woosh Johnson
Peanuts Hucko ........ the Greek

Synopsis:
A story of Jazz musicians in Chicago during the Twenties.
 

1.19 [--] The Alcoa Hour: THE ARCHANGEL HARRIGAN

24-Jun-1956 NBC Sun

written by Lorenzo Semple Jr.

guest stars

Darren McGavin ....... Harrigan
Frank Aletter ........ Tommy Sanford
Walter Burke ......... Sam Adams
Ann Dere ............. Mae Jenks
Pat Hingle ........... Red
Janice Rule .......... Rosie McLeod
Frank Tweddell ....... Charlie Jenks
John Shellie ......... Jud
Synopsis:
Harrigan claims that he can fly but everyone believes him

crazy and go about having him locked up.
 

1.20 [--] The Alcoa Hour: THE PIPER OF ST. JAMES

08-Jul-1956 NBC Sun

written by Hugh Kemp

guest stars

Brenda Forbes ...... Jenkins

Barry Jones ...... Hamish

Patrick O'Neal  ...... Jamie

Peggy Maurer ...... Julia

Patrick Macnee ...... Charlie

William Hansen ...... R.B. Angus

Pat Harrington ...... Bartender

 

1.21 [--] The Alcoa Hour: SISTER

22-Jul-1956 NBC Sun

written by Sidney Carroll

guest stars

Gladys Cooper ..... Aunt Pauline

Cathleen Nesbitt ...... Angelica

Vincent Price ..... Alvanley

Synopsis:

A spinster still hasn't recovered from the loss of her identical twin when her nephew

weaves a web of deceit in order to take advantage of her fragile state.

 

1.22 [--] The Alcoa Hour: KISS AND TELL

05-Aug-1956 NBC Sun

written by F. Hugh Herbert

guest stars

Robin Morgan ......... Corliss Archer
Warren Berlinger ..... Dexter Franklin
John Connell ......... Lenny Archer
Jerome Cowan ......... Harry Archer
Florida Friebus ...... Mrs. Franklin
Polly Rowles ......... Janet Archer
Steven Chase ......... Uncle George
Howard St. John ...... Mr. Pringle
Marion Randall ....... Mildred Pringle
Synopsis:
The antics of 15-year-old Corliss Archer in keeping her brother's marriage

a secret cause a series of hilarious events.
 

1.23 [--] The Alcoa Hour: THE BIG VOTE

19-Aug-1956 NBC Sun

written by David Karp

guest stars

Ed Begley  ............ Michael Francis Dixon
Kathleen Maguire ..... Eileen Dixon
Walter Matthau ....... Bill Egan
Luis Van Rooten ...... Bernstein
Walter Burke ......... Devlin
Robert Emhardt ....... Teddy Harrison
William Harrigan ..... Emil Drucker
Jay Barney ........... Hofmeyer
Synopsis:
Defeat comes as a surprise to an old-line politician in this drama of local politics.
 

1.24 [--] The Alcoa Hour: THE GIRL IN CHAPTER ONE

02-Sep-1956 NBC Sun

written by Elihu Winer

guest stars

James Daly .... Vernon Elder

Joanne Woodward .... Margaret Spencer

Madge Evans .... Agnes Spencer

Anne Seymour .... Mary Elder

Warren Parker

Wallace Rooney

Synopsis:
A Pulitzer Prize novelist's talent has faded. He returns to his small hometown and

meets a young girl who greatly admires him. Romance blossoms and it appears that

she will become his fourth wife. Suddenly he discovers that she is the daughter

of the woman he jilted 20 years ago.
 

 ################## Alcoa Hour ################
############### end of season 1 ##############
##############################################

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