CTVA US Anthology - "Front Row Center" (CBS)(1955-56) producer/host Fletcher Markle

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 Front Row Center (1955-56)

Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive
https://ctva.biz/index.htm

with contributions by: Rina Fox
references:
Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive

 

FRONT ROW CENTER

CBS (Wednesdays 10:00-11:00) (01Jun55-21Sep55) alternate weeks with U.S. Steel Hour

CBS (Sunday Afternoons)((08Jan56-15Apr56)

Broadcast "live" from New York

Produced by Fletcher Markle
 

US Dramatic Anthology Series 1955-56 24 episodes x 60 min "live"

(01Jun55-15Apr56)
 

Host: Fletcher Markle (1955-56)

Host: Robert Sterling (1956)
 

Directors: Fletcher Markle, Edgar Peterson, Russ Stoneham, Ralph Nelson.

############## Front Row Center ##############

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

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Eps. 1-9 CBS Wednesdays 10:00-11:00 (01Jun55-21Sep55) alternate weeks with U.S. Steel Hour

Eps 10-24 CBS Sunday afternoons (08Jan56-15Apr56) - weekly

 

1.01 [--] Front Row Center: DINNER AT EIGHT

01-Jun-1955 CBS Wed

adapted by Whitfield Cook

written by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber

directed by Fletcher Markle

produced by Fletcher Markle

starring

Mary Astor as Millicent Jordan

Everett Sloane as Oliver Jordan

Mary Beth Hughes as Kitty Packard

Pat O'Brien as Dan Packard

Kay Stewart as Lucy Talbot

Lillian Bronson as Hattie Loomis

John Emery as Larry Renault

Pierre Watkin as Hatfield

Howard Wendell as Ed Loomis

Eleanor Audley as Carlotta Vance

Miriam Wolfe as Miss Alden

Synopsis:

Oliver and Millicent Jordan plan an elaborate dinner party in honor of a socially prominent couple. Each of the invited guests faces a personal crisis,
and the play deals with what happens from the time they accept the invitation until dinner, "a week from Friday". [RF]

Act I

Scene 1. Sitting room of Oliver Jordan's New York Home.

Scene 2. Oliver Jordan's office.

Scene 3. The Jordan home.

Act II

Scene 1. The Jordan home.

Scene 2. Larry Renault's suite.

Scene 3. Dr. Talbot's office.

Scene 4. The Jordan home.

Act III

Scene 1. Kitty Packard's bedroom.

Scene 2. Larry Renault's suite.

Scene 3. The Jordan Sitting room.

 

1.02 [--] Front Row Center: THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET

08-Jun-1955 CBS Wed

starring

Cedric Hardwicke

Geraldine Fitzgerald

Robert Douglas

 

1.03 [--] Front Row Center: AH WILDERNESS!

15-Jun-1955 CBS Wed

adapted by William Elkram

story by Eugene o'Neill

directed by Fletcher Markle

starring

Lillian Bronson as Essie Miller

Bobby Driscoll as Richard Miller

Leon Ames as Nat Miller

Olive Sturgess as Mildred Miller

Lyle Talbot as Uncle Sid

Anne Whitfield as Muriel McComber

Synopsis:

The story centers on the Miller family and their teenage son and his best friend. [RF]

 

1.04 [--] Front Row Center: THREE FOR TONIGHT

22-Jun-1955 CBS Wed

Hiram Sherman (narrator)

starring

Harry Belafonte

Marge Champion

Gower Champion

Walter Schumann (voice)

 

1.05 [--] Front Row Center: JOHNNY BELINDA

29-Jun-1955 CBS Wed

Adapted by Theodore Apstein
Story by Elmer Harris

starring

Katharine Bard  ... Belinda
Eddie Albert ..... Dr. Davidson
James Gavin ...... Locky McCormick
Maudie Prickett .. Maggie MacDonald
Tudor Owen ....... John MacDonald
Synopsis:
A deaf-mute is befriended by the new doctor who comes to the remote

Cape Breton Island in Canada. The doctor realizes that Belinda is very intelligent

and teaches her sign language. Their friendship turns into love until one fateful

evening when Belinda is alone on the farm and is raped. Now pregnant and

frightened the people of the town believe the doctor responsible

and hold him accountable.
 

(06Jul55 CBS Wed - U.S Steel Hour: The Meanest Man in the World

(first episode on CBS - previously on ABC)

 

1.06 [--] Front Row Center: KITTY FOYLE

13-Jul-1955  CBS Wed

story by Christopher Morley

starring

Janet Blair as Kitty Foyle

Jerry Paris as Mark Eisen

Elliott Reid as Wyn Strafford

Nan Boardman as Delphine

Dick Elliott as Pop Foyle

Louise Lewis as Molly Scharf

David Post as Barry Berwyn

Helen Heigh as Mrs. Strafford

Mario Siletti as Waiter

 

(20Jul55 CBS Wed - U.S. Steel Hour: The Gambler)

 

Ep 1.07 [--] Front Row Center: DARK VICTORY

27-Jul-1955 CBS Wed

written by Andrew Allan

story by George Emerson Brewer Jr.

directed by Fletcher Markle

starring

Margaret Field as Judith Traherne

Kay Stewart as Alden Blaine

Kent Smith as Dr. Steele

Alex Frazer as Dr. Parson

Mary Adams as Miss Jenny

 

(03Aug55 CBS Wed - U.S. Steel Hour: The Seventh Veil)

 

Ep 1.6 [--] Front Row Center: OUTWARD BOUND

10-Aug-1955 CBS Wed

written by Sutton Vane

starring

John Abbott

Alan Napier as Reverend Thompson

Patricia Hitchcock as Ann

Wilfrid Knapp as Tom Prior

Isobel Elsom as Mrs. Cliveden-Banks

Dorothy Bernard as Mrs. Midget

 

(17Aug55 CBS Wed - U.S. Steel Hour: The Bride Cried)

 

Ep 1.7 [--] Front Row Center: GUEST IN THE HOUSE

24-Aug-1955 CBS Wed

written by Brainard Duffield

directed by Fletcher Markle

starring

Paul Langton as Douglas Proctor

Louise Lewis as Ann Proctor

Mary Beth Hughes as Miriam Blake

Sally Forrest as Evelyn Heath

 

(31Aug55 CBS Wed - U.S. Steel Hour: Counterfeit)

 

Ep 1.8 [--] Front Row Center: TENDER IS THE NIGHT

07-Sep-1955 CBS Wed

story by F. Scott Fitzgerald

host Fletcher Markle

starring

Mercedes McCambridge as Nicole Warren (Fletcher Markle's wife)

James Daly as Dr. Dick Diver

Olive Sturgess as Rosemary Hoyt

John Abbott as Dr. Franz Gregorovious

Olan Soule

Synopsis:

Story about a psychiatrist who marries one of his patients. [RF]

 

(14Sep55 CBS Wed - U.S. Steel Hour: A Wind from the South)

 

1.09 [--] Front Row Center: MEETING AT MAYERLING

21-Sep-1955 CBS Wed

written by Brainard Duffield

guest cast:

Claude Dauphin as Crown Prince Rudolph

Marisa Pavan as Maria Vetsera

John Wengraf

Isobel Elsom

Fred Essler

Synopsis:

The year is 1889, Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, though married falls in love

 with the Baroness Maria Vetsera. [RF]

 

(28Sep55 CBS Wed - U.S. Steel Hour: Ashton Buys a Horse)

 

(05Oct55 CBS Wed - 20th Century-Fox Hour: Cavalcade) (premiere episode)

 

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CBS Sunday Afternoons (08-Jan-56 to 22-Apr-56)

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1.10 [--] Front Row Center: FINLEY'S FAN CLUB

08-Jan-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by Robert Dozier

starring

William Bakewell as Finley Fitzpatrick

Eddie Bracken as Sammy

Diana Lynn as Elsie

Beulah Bondi as Mrs. Fitzpatrick

Lilia Skala as Mrs. Weiss

Mikhail Rasumny as Mr. Weiss

 

1.11 [--] Front Row Center: STRANGE SUSPICION

15-Jan-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

starring

James Daly ....... Jerry
Everett Glass .... Dr. Harrison
Ann Harding ...... Grammie
Frank Cady ....... Peter Ball
Betsy Palmer ..... Emily
Howard Wendell ... Dr. Proctor
Byron Foulger .... Arny
Sidney Blackmer .. Alden
Synopsis:
There are secrets in an impoverished New England valley that become known to everyone. [RF]
 

1.12 [--] Front Row Center: THE CHALLENGE

22-Jan-1956  CBS Sunday Afternoon

Written by Bernard Girard

Hosted by Robert Sterling from Hollywood
starring
James Arness ..... Hemp Brown
Ray Collins ...... Crocker
Dick Elliott ..... Benton C. Ward
Tom Laughlin ..... Tom White
James Gavin ...... Garrett
Stafford Repp .... Leacock
Alicia Ibanez
Synopsis:
A man has been on the trail of a former partner to even an old score. When the partner

 he seeks becomes the victim of a lynch mob, the vengeance-bent friend may be the

only one who can save him to stand trial before a jury. [RF]
 

1.13 [--] Front Row Center: THE AINSLEY CASE

29-Jan-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by Whitfield Cook

story by Bellamy Partridge

starring

Lloyd Bridges as Curly

Philip Bourneuf as Sam Partridge

Virginia Christine as Eileen Grant

Nora Marlowe as Mrs. Partridge

Mona Freeman as Zelda

Philip Coolidge as Mr. Ainsley

James McCallion as Jerry Grant

Fredd Wayne as Dr. Humphries

 

1.14 [--] Front Row Center: DEADLOCK

05-Feb-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by John Kneubuhl

story by Richard Hall

starring

John Baragrey as Steve Benedict

John Carradine as Frank Deasy

Torin Thatcher as David Ames

Rita Gam as Anna Deasy

 

1.15 [--] Front Row Center: THE TEACHER AND HECTOR HODGE

12-Feb-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by Harry W. Junkin

starring

Don Taylor as Larry Whittaker

Sally Forrest as Sue Whittaker

Ralph Votrian as Hector Hodge

Fredd Wayne as Bill Tyler

Olive Sturgess as Mary

Wilton Graff as Dennis

 

1.16 [--] Front Row Center: WINTER DREAMS

19-Feb-1956  CBS Sunday Afternoon

adapted by James P. Cavanagh

story by F. Scott Fitzgerald

starring

Piper Laurie as Judy Jones

Anthony Perkins as Dexter Green

 

1.17 [--] Front Row Center: UNCLE BARNEY

26-Feb-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by Ben Starr

starring

Jim Backus as Harry Cooper

Tom Tully as Uncle Barney

Glenda Farrell as May Cooper

Ronnie Burns as Johnny Cooper

Eilene Janssen as Phyllis

Irene Ryan as Florence

Nan Boardman as Mrs. Jenkins

Jacqueline DeWit as Darlene Gordon

Synopsis:

Uncle Barney is in his 50's. As an old salt, he's looking for a snug

harbor--more particularly a comfortable arrangement known as marriage. He

announces his intention when he drops in for a visit with his relatives

Harry and May Cooper and their son Johnny in New York. The only thing

missing in his plan is the prospective bride. Who shall she be? It isn't

long before the three Coopers start three separate projects to find a

lady to fill the bill. [RF]

 

1.18 [--] Front Row Center: INNOCENT WITNESS

04-Mar-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by Marc Brandel

starring

John McIntire as Joe Adams

Dean Stockwell as David

Margaret O'Brien as Ann

Don Beddoe as George Graf

Virginia Christine as Mrs. Graf

Jeanette Nolan as Aunt Nora

Kem Dibbs as Harlan Miller

Synopsis:

A pair of High school students on a date become involved in a murder when

they skip a school dance to take a drive instead. [RF]

 

1.19 [--] Front Row Center: THE MORALS SQUAD

11-Mar-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by Norman Katkov

starring

Howard Duff as Phil Nyack

Beverly Garland as Ann Kubichek

Jan Merlin as Chester

Celia Lovsky as Mama

John Larch as Frank Cobra

Lewis Charles as Louis

Peter Votrian as Billy

Milburn Stone as Lt. Lennon

 

1.20 [--] Front Row Center: DINNER DATE

18-Mar-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by John Kneubuhl

starring

Lee Marvin as David Hawken

Peggy Webber as Kathy Mullin

Richard Jaeckel as Mitch Mullin

Jeanne Cooper as Leslie

Janet Stewart as Sandra

Peter Votrian as David Hawken as a boy

Whitfield Connor as Mr. Meredith

 

1.21 [--] Front Row Center: SEARCH FOR A STRANGER

25-Mar-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by Adrian Spies & Virginia Spies

starring

Dewey Martin .......... Ronald Kamin
Richard Eyer .......... Paul Heineman
Don Keefer ............ Herbert Kamin
Ainslie Pryor ......... Father Martin
Lurene Tuttle ......... Mrs. Heineman
Malcolm Atterbury ..... Mr. McBride
Lillian Powell ........ Mrs. McBride
Joseph Sweeney ........ Mr. Snyder
Elizabeth Patterson ... Mrs. Potter
Synopsis:
The story of a young man's desperate need to find some trace of the family he never knew. [RF]
 

1.22 [--] Front Row Center: HAWK'S HEAD

01-Apr-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by Victor Wolfson

starring

Judith Evelyn as Zilla Portranska

Alan Hewitt as Lathrop Goodale

Jan Sterling as Ruth Merrill

Bobby Clark as Bobby

Patricia Collinge as Mrs. Goodale

Nora O'Mahoney as Aggie

Ian Wolfe as Collins

 

1.23 [--] Front Row Center:  INSTANT OF TRUTH (aka Moment of Truth)
08-Apr-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon
Written by Cy Chermak
Hosted by Robert Sterling
starring
Kevin McCarthy ............ George Whitaker
Angela Lansbury ........... Joyce
Paul Kelly ................ Harry Bond
Synopsis:
When a young man inherits his father's share of a large manufacturing firm,

his scheming wife goads him into a plot to take over the

 entire company from the senior partner. [RF]
 

1.24 [--] Front Row Center: THE HUMAN TOUCH

15-Apr-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by Marc Brandel

directed by Ralph Nelson

produced by Edgar Peterson

host Robert Sterling

starring

Lisa Kirk as Ruth Elliott

John Howard as John Ross

Steve Brodie as Ray Anderson

Isobel Elsom as Mrs. Elliott

Leon Askin as Mike Joseph

Joyce Holden as Ann Clark

Joseph Drowning as Bob Oldfield

Ruby Dandridge as Winnie

Buddy Pepper as Peter Frank

Mario Siletti as Waiter

Ralph Manza as Second Waiter

Synopsis:

The human touch is a drama with music. A successful singer in a

fashionable New York supper club threatens suit against a scandal magazine

that has printed a vicious and libelous article about her. A young lawyer

offers to take her case. When she is offered the opportunity to star in

a Broadway musical, provided she agrees to drop the suit, she must

choose between her career and her principles. [RF]
 

Note: Miss Kirk sings two original songs. They are A heart to call my

own, by Alec Wilder and William Engvick, and A smile and a ribbon, by

Miss Kirk's husband Bob Wells and Mark McIntire. The play is by Marc

Brandel. Ruth Elliott is the name of the singer played by Lisa Kirk. James

Daly is seen as John Ross, her attorney [John Howard apparently

replaced James Daly, who was scheduled to play lawyer John Ross]. [RF]

 

1.25 [--] Front Row Center: PRETEND YOU BELONG TO ME  (last episode)

22-Apr-1956 CBS Sunday Afternoon

written by Gertrude Walker & Dane Lussier

starring

Mercedes McCambridge as Vivian Donfield

Peter Votrian as Ronnie Donfield

Katherine Bard as Isabelle Corlett

Walter Coy as Van Corlett

*******************************************

Unproduced episodes or aka's?

[--] Front Row Center: THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

adapted by Leonard Lee

story by William Saroyan

[--] Front Row Center: HARPER'S LANDING

written by John Kneubuhl

[--] Front Row Center: THE BROTHERS

written by Adrian Spies & Virginia Spies

############Front Row Center###########

###############the end##############

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