CTVA US Anthology - "Campbell Playhouse/Soundstage" (NBC)(1952-54)

 

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Campbell Playhouse (Summer 1952)

aka Campbell Soundstage   aka  TV Soundstage (1953-54)

Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive

https://ctva.biz/index.htm

with contributions by: Jack McKillop, Rina Fox
references:
Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)

CAMPBELL PLAYHOUSE / CAMPBELL SOUNDSTAGE
NBC

Producer Martin Horrell

June 6, 1952 to May 28, 1954

NBC Friday 9:30 - 10:00

filmed dramas


Director Garry Simpson

 

*On June 4, 1954 the title became Campbell Summer Soundstage and the presentations

reverted to film, many of these were reruns of episodes previously aired on Ford Theatre.
 

 ############ Campbell Playhouse ##############
############# season 1 Summer 1952 ###########
##############################################
NBC Fridays 9:30-10:00pm (June 6, 1952 - Aug 29, 1952)

[01] Campbell Playhouse: UNFINISHED BUSINESS
06Jun1952 NYT [Premiere] [Post-Standard NY]
27Jun1952 [Long Beach Independent]
starring
Dane Clark
Ann Rutherford
Alan Mowbray
Robert Rockwell
Synopsis:
A widow finds her husband returning as a ghost to help her find a new romance but the situation is really confused.
*Originally aired on "Gruen Theatre" September 28, 1951.

[02] Campbell Playhouse: SOME SMALL NOBILITY
13Jun1952 NYT
29Jun1952 [Post-Standard NY]
starring
Joan Banks
John Philips
Joe Sargent
Frances Conley

[03] Campbell Playhouse: THE CAVORTING STATUE
20Jun1952 NYT
04Jul1952 [Long Beach]
starring
Cesar Romero
Ann Rutherford
Synopsis:
The wife of a lawyer schemes to make her husband a success but ends up making a blunder.
*Originally aired on Gruen Guild Theatre Nov 30, 1951.

[04] Campbell Playhouse: RETURN TO VIENNA
27Jun1952 NYT
13Jul1952 NBC [Syracuse Herald]
starring
Ruth Warrick
Cameron Mitchell
Synopsis:
An aging operatic diva returns to her native Vienna in an effort to re-capture her ebbing youth. There she meets her
first love, a prominent surgeon, whom she believes can make her young again via science and surgery. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
A man returns to Vienna looking for woman he fell in love with during the war.
*Originally aired on "Gruen Theatre" October 26, 1951.

[05] Campbell Playhouse: BALLERINA
04Jul1952 NYT
18Jul1952 [Long Beach Independent]
20Jul1952 [Syracuse Herald]
Written by Monroe Manning & John Kohn
Directed by Richard Irving
Director of photography Clark Ramsey
starring
Ann Dvorak
Kathleen Case
Brett King
Shepard Menken
David Ahdar
Byron Foulger
Synopsis:
The daughter of a famous ballerina makes a smash debut, but is then forced to choose between the bright future of
a great career as a prima ballerina or the bright future as wife to the man she loves. She chooses--love! [RF]
Synopsis 2:
A famed ballerina won't allow the marriage of her daughter to a stagehand. [RF]
Synopsis 3:
The story of a Prima ballerina whose tremendous ego poses a threat to her dancer daughter's future. [RF]
*Originally aired on "Gruen Theatre" November 23, 1951.

[--] Campbell Playhouse:
11Jul1952 NYT
pre-empted for Republican Convention.


[06] Campbell Playhouse: HIT AND RUN
18Jul1952 NYT *possibly rescheduled to August 1, 1952, New York Times lists the episode on both days.
01Aug1952 NYT
Teleplay by Howard Irving Young / Story by George & Gertrude Fass
Directed by Richard Irving
Director of photography Jack MacKenzie
Editor Kenneth Crane
starring
Bonita Granville
Robert Hutton
William Bakewell
Parley Baer
Peter Brocco
Ross Elliott
Peggy Wynne
Franklin Parker
Synopsis:
An innocent man convicted of a hit-and-run killing. [RF]
*Originally aired on "Gruen Theatre" on October 12, 1951.

[--] Campbell Playhouse:
25Jul1952 NYT
pre-empted for Democratic Convention.   ("The Swami" rescheduled see - 15Aug52)

[07] Campbell Playhouse: THE LUCKIEST GUY IN THE WORLD
01Aug1952 NYT
Teleplay by Axel Gruenberg / Story by Arthur Strawn
Directed by Axel Gruenberg
starring
Gordon Oliver
Marjorie Reynolds
Nan Boardman
Bill Kennedy
John McGuire
John Milton Kennedy
Erin Selwyn
Synopsis:
The worm turns when a complacent husband, bored with his wife, finds that she's not so unexciting
to a very eligible ex-suitor. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
Oliver learns what it is to be happily
married even though he is not successful as a businessman.
*Syndicated rerun under "Spotlight Playhouse" title(It may have been a local) Wed. Nov11 53,
KSTP-5 Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN. JM58
*Original airing on "Gruen Theatre" December 6, 1951.

[08] Campbell Playhouse: MY NEPHEW NORVELL
08Aug1952 NYT
starring
Harold Peary
Synopsis:
A small time inventor has trouble with his nephew Norvell who tries to help out his uncle but manages
to get things pretty well gummed up. [RF]

[09] Campbell Playhouse: THE SWAMI
15Aug1952
Teleplay by Howard J. Green / Story by Norman Archer
Directed by Richard Irving
Director of photography Clark Ramsay
Editor Kenneth Crane
starring
Morris Ankrum
Bernadene Hayes
Whitfield Connor
Joan Creers
Synopsis:
A bride-to-be whose future in-laws are listed in the Social Register, tries to discourage her father
from his first professional love, fortune telling. [RF]
Synopsis:
The story of a man who rids himself his debts and educates his daughter on his earnings as a Swami and then finds himself
faced with the choice of quitting his successful impersonation or ruining his daughter's chances for happiness. [RF]
*Originally aired on "Gruen Theatre" December 13, 1951.

[10] Campbell Playhouse: THIS LITTLE PIG CRIED
22Aug1952 NYT
starring
Frances Rafferty
Robert Rockwell
Synopsis:
A young couple attempts to raise money for a divorce and put it away in the piggy bank.
When the bank is robbed each believes the other guilty. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
A young couple who decided to call it quits on their first anniversary. [RF]
*Note: Aired on Startime Theater on August 21, 1952.

[11] Campbell Playhouse: ONE STRANGE DAY
29Aug1952 [Plain Dealer]
Teleplay by Howard J. Green
Story by Norman Archer
Directed by Richard Irving
Director of photography Jack MacKenzie
Editor Kenneth Craine
starring
Bonita Granville
Steve Brodie
Carl Milletaire
Peter Mamakos
Geraldine Carr
Richard Irving in a bit part.
Synopsis:
A young wife's interest in antique Buddhas plunges her into a dangerous international smuggling plot.
Her husband's desperate efforts to save her in this explosive situation. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
An adventure story of a forced landing in an unexplored land. [RF]
*Original airing on "Gruen Theatre" November 16, 1951.
 

Campbell Soundstage   aka  TV Soundstage (1953-54)
############# Campbell Soundstage ############
############## season 2 1953-54 ##############
##############################################
NBC Fridays (Jul 1953 - May 1954)

 

2.01 [--] Campbell Soundstage: INNOCENT 'TIL PROVEN GUILTY

10-Jul-1953 NBC

written by Frank P. DeFelitta

starring
Leora Dana
Paul McGrath

Kristine Miller
Synopsis:
A wife jumps to unfair conclusions despite the philosophy of reasonable

doubt expounded by her lawyer husband. [RF]

 

2.02 [--] Campbell Soundstage: SOMETHING FOR AN EMPTY BRIEFCASE

17-Jul-1953 NBC

Produced by Martin Horrell

Written by S. Lee Pogostin

Directed by Don Medford

starring

James Dean ....... Joe Adams

Don Hanmer ....... Mickey
Robert Middleton.. Sloan aka "Boss"
Susan Douglas
Frank Maxwell
Pete Gumery
Synopsis:
A dancer tries to save a small-time thief from a life of crime.

She falls for the young tough filled with rage and passion. [RF]
 

2.03 [--] Campbell Playhouse: NO SCAR

24Jul53

written by Floyd Miller

starring
Warren Stevens
Betsy von Furstenberg [JM]

 

2.04 [--] Campbell Playhouse: ONE SWELL GUY

31Jul53

starring

Jack Lemmon [JM]

 

2.05 [--] Campbell Soundstage: RUN AWAY

07-Aug-1953 NBC

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Cliff Hall
Ralph Robertson

Synopsis:
A bus driver drives off to Miami in a city bus and is apprehended by the police. [RF]
 

2.06 [--] Campbell Soundstage: DECEPTION

14-Aug-1953 NBC

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Howard Freeman
Martin Brooks

 

2.07 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE DARK ROOM

21-Aug-1953 NBC

written by Ellis St. Joseph

starring

James Gregory

Charles Nolte
Hildy Parks

 

2.08 [--] Campbell Soundstage: WONDER IN YOUR EYES

28-Aug-1953 NBC

written by S. Lee Pogostin

starring

Walter Matthau

Nancy Coleman
Clifford Sales [JM]

 

2.09 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE SQUARE HOLE

04-Sep-1953 NBC

written by Frank P. DeFelitta

starring
Art Carney

Synopsis:
A family man thinks his wife and child have

handcuffed him to job he hates. [RF]
 

2.10 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE PROMISE
11-Sep-1953 NBC
starring
Jack Warden
Janet Ward

Synopsis:
Brick Doyle is the kind oŁ man who can't force himself to any sustained

endeavor but instead hopes to strike it rich by gambling, especially playing

the horses. When his young son becomes ill, Brick promises the boy not to

let him die and keeps his word for the first time in his careless life. [RF]
 

2.11 [--] Campbell Soundstage: EXIT LAUGHING

18-Sep-1953 NBC

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Patricia Breslin
Arnold Moss

Synopsis:
A man disappears on his wife.

 

2.12 [--] Campbell Soundstage: BELIEVE
25-Sep-1953 NBC
starring
Joan Copeland

 

2.13 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE LAST SPRING

02-Oct-1953 NBC

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Claudia Morgan

 

2.14 [--] Campbell Soundstage: DARLING, COME HOME

09-Oct-1953 NBC

written by Frank P. DeFelitta

starring
Allen Nourse
Alice Frost

 

2.15 [--] Campbell Soundstage: LIFE SENTENCE

16-Oct-1953 NBC

Producer Martin Horrell

Adapted by S. Lee Pogostin

Story by Margaret Kleckner

Directed by  Garry Simpson
starring

James Dean ...... Hank Bradon

Georgann Johnson

Charles Mendick

Nicholas Saunders
Matt Crowley

Synopsis:
An imprisoned felon escapes and he finds being on the

run is just a new form of imprisonment. [RF]

 

2.16 [--] Campbell Soundstage: JOHNNY NO-NAME

23-Oct-1953 NBC

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Patricia Jenkins
Wolfe Barzell
Mickey Knox

Synopsis:
A man's struggle to prove himself a real "somebody" to his father-in-law

provides a conflict between his wife and her father. [RF]

 

2.17 [--] Campbell Soundstage: NEMESIS

30-Oct-1953 NBC

written by S. Lee Pogostin

starring

E.G. Marshall

Harry Townes

Synopsis:
A man just out of prison works out a strange form of revenge on his

former business partner. Raymond Steele's wife tries to turn his interest

toward starting life over, but Steele has dwelt too long with plans for revenge

on the man he considers responsible for his imprisonment to let Kirby Rice off easily. [RF]
 

2.18 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE MEANING OF TRUTH

06-Nov-1953 NBC

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Margaret Hayes
John Beal

 

2.19 [--] Campbell Soundstage: TEN LITTLE WORDS

13-Nov-1953 NBC

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Melville Ruick
Carol Goodner

 

2.20 [--] Campbell Soundstage: SOLITAIRE

20-Nov-1953 NBC

written by Frank P. DeFelitta

starring

James Gregory

Margaret Field

William Podmore

Synopsis:
A young actress finds a strange woman playing solitaire in her apartment. [RF]

 

2.21 [--] Campbell Soundstage: HOME IS WHERE LOVE IS
27-Nov-1953
starring
Elliott Reid
Joan Potter

 

2.22 [--] Campbell Soundstage: WE WANNA GET MARRIED
04-Dec-1953
starring
James Holden

 

2.23 [--] Campbell Soundstage: TOO LITTLE A KISS

11-Dec-1953 NBC

written by Frank P. DeFelitta

starring

Betsy Palmer

Katherine Emmet [JM]

 

2.24 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE MAN WHO KNEW O. HENRY

18-Dec-1953 NBC

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Wallace Ford
Dorothy Peterson

Synopsis:
Bank clerk Sam Jennings has worked for years on a book

based on his one meeting with O. Henry in New York. [RF]

 

2.25 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE HAPPY HEADLINE

25-Dec-1953 NBC

written by Rod Serling (adapted by Jesse Sandler?)

directed by Gary Simpson & Don Appell

starring
James Costigan
Richard Bishop

 

2.26 [--] Campbell Soundstage: REVEILLE FOR TWO ANGELS

01-Jan-1954 NBC (copyright date 03Jul53)

written by S. Lee Pogostin

starring

Robert Brown

Jo Van Fleet

 

2.27 [--] Campbell Soundstage: MARKED MONEY

08-Jan-1954 NBC

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Joseph Sweeney
Kate McComb
Dean Harris

Synopsis:
A sanctimonious old man who's convinced that his late son was a thief

learns some humility. The grandson sets out to clear his father's name. [RF]

 

2.28 [--] Campbell Soundstage: I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER
15-Jan-1954 NBC
starring
Patty McCormack
Richard Waring

Margaret Hayes
Synopsis:
A young motherless girl learns that a new life is much

better than trying to live on memories. [RF]

 

2.29 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE SHY ONE

22-Jan-1954 NBC

starring

Roddy McDowall

Patricia Collinge

Synopsis:
An elderly widow befriends a shy young man who faints

from hunger on her doorstep. [RF]

 

2.30 [--] Campbell Playhouse: A TIME FOR HOPE

29Jan54

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Carmen Mathews
Malcolm Lee Beggs

Synopsis:
A doctor advises his hypochondriac patient to relax and enjoy his life.

The patient doesn't realize that his time is much shorter than he thinks. [RF]
 

2.31 [--] Campbell Soundstage: LOST ONE FRIDAY
05-Feb-1954 NBC
starring
Dennis Harrison
Mary Alice Moore

 

2.32 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE GOLDEN BOX

12-Feb-1954 NBC

written by Jesse Sandler

starring
Patty McCormack
John Stephen
Dorothy Donahue
Parker Fennelly
Pauline Hahn
Synopsis:
A child, unhappy over her broken home, finds her own resources. [RF]

 

2.33 [--] Campbell Soundstage: JOURNEY TO JAVA

19-Feb-1954 NBC

written by Frank P. DeFelitta

starring

Brian Keith

Patricia Kirkland

Synopsis:
An encounter in a restaurant brings a man adventure and a close brush with death. [RF]

 

2.34 [--] Campbell Soundstage: BREAK THE MIRROR
26-Feb-1954
starring
Zachary Scott
Ruth Ford

 

2.35 [--] Campbell Soundstage: AN EYE FOR AN EYE
05-Mar-1954
starring
Dean Harens
Margaret Hamilton
Parker Fennelly

2.36 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE MAGNIFICENT LIE
12-Mar-1954
starring
Kevin McCarthy

Kathleen McLean
Synopsis:
A young author seeks advice from his former English professor. [RF]

2.37 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE GREEN CONVERTIBLE
19-Mar-1954
starring
John Baragrey
Georgann Johnson

Synopsis:
The unfaithful wife of an alcoholic is haunted by the belief that she is being followed. [RF]

2.38 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE TEST CASE
26-Mar-1954
starring
Robert Cummings
Gene Lockhart
Henry Hull

 

2.39 [--] Campbell Soundstage: GOD'S CHILDREN

02-Apr-1954 NBC

written by James Truex

starring
Jean Gillespie
Eddie Brian

Synopsis:
A small child decides to settle his parents' problems by direct consultation with God. [RF]
 

2.40 [--] Campbell Soundstage: XXXX ISN'T EVERYTHING

09-Apr-1954 NBC

written by Max Wilk

starring

Darren McGavin

Barbara Bel Geddes

Elliott Reid

Maurice Sehrong

 

2.41 [--] Campbell Soundstage: A KISS TO CONQUER

16-Apr-1954 NBC

starring
Carl Reiner
Janice Rule

 

2.42 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR

23-Apr-1954 NBC

written by Greer Johnson

starring
Mildred Natwick
Henry Hull
Parker Fennelly

 

2.43 [--] Campbell Soundstage: AL TOOLUM AND HIS BUDDY LEO

30-Apr-1954 NBC

written by Robert Alan Aurthur

starring

Robert Preston

Van Dyke Parks

Leo Durocher

 

2.44 [--] Campbell Soundstage: EMMA'S ANTENNA

07-May-1954 NBC

written by Hamilton Benz

starring
Hugh Reilly
Lydia Reed
Chris White

 

2.45 [--] Campbell Soundstage: THE MAN OF THE HOUSE

14-May-1954 NBC

written by David Davidson

starring
Barbara Baxley
Don Hanmer

 

2.46 [--] Campbell Soundstage: A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM
21-May-1954 NBC

Adapted from Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" novel.
starring
Eileen Heckart  ....... Aunt Polly
Mort Stevens ......... Judge
Joe Sweeney .......... School Superintendent
Synopsis:
The scene is Hannibal, Missouri. Time: 1860. Tom knows only one quote from the Bible.

Yet, with a bit of his usual know-how, he tries to win the prize in the Bible-memorizing contest. [RF]

 

2.47 [--] Campbell Soundstage: CORNER DRUGGIST

28-May-1954  NBC (final show of the series)

written by Turner Bullock

Based on the novel by Robert Nixon

producer-director, Marc Daniels  

starring

Richard Kiley

Lillian Gish

Fred Herrick

Mary Long

Peggy Cass

Philippa Bevins

Ginger McManus

Van Dyke Parks

Joseph Foley

Maxine Stewart
Synopsis:

Set in a small Pennsylvania town of the turn of the century.

An independent and sympathetic druggist operates a haven for all the town characters.

He comes to the aid of old Miss Harrington, who is trying to convince the community that

she recently had a successful European concert career. [RF]

 

## Campbell Playhouse/ Campbell Soundstage ###
################### the end ##################
##############################################

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