CTVA US Anthology - "The Great Adventure" (CBS)(1963-65)

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The Great Adventure (1963-64)
Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive

https://ctva.biz/index.htm

with contributions by: Tom Alger, Rina Fox
Miles Fowler [Updates March 2018]
references::
Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive

 

THE GREAT ADVENTURE

CBS

Executive Producer Bert Granet

 Produced by John Houseman

US Historical Dramatic Anthology Series   1963-64   26 episodes x 60 min
 

Narrated by Van Heflin (eps 1-13) Russell Johnson (eps 14-26)

Music by Richard Rodgers
 

############## The Great Adventure ###########
############### season 1 1963-64 #############
##############################################
CBS Fridays 7:30-8:30pm Eastern (27-Sep 1963 to 01-May 1964)

 

1.01 [--] The Great Adventure: THE HUNLEY

27-Sep-1963 CBS Fri

starring

Jackie Cooper  ....... Lt. Dickson
James MacArthur ..... Lt. Alexander
George Lindsey ...... Hampton
Wayne Rogers ........ Tombs
Gene Evans .......... Sgt. Winn

Stephen Lodge

David Macklin

Synopsis:

The salvaging of a Confederate submarine named The Hunley is the first of the historic tales.

The sub, which has sunk three times, is on the verge of being considered a loss.

But two young engineers from the 21st Alabama Infantry think they can save her. [RF]

* Note: The first submarine to sink an enemy warship.

 

1.02 [--] The Great Adventure: THE DEATH OF SITTING BULL

04-Oct-1963 CBS Fri

starring

Joseph Cotten  ....... Captain Meehan
Ricardo Montalban ... Philip Crow
Claude Akins ........ Father Kranz
Kent Smith .......... General Nelson Miles
Lloyd Nolan ......... Colonel Fraser
Noah Beery Jr. ...... Jervis
Anthony Caruso ...... Sitting Bull
Miriam Colon ........ Sarah Crow
Rodolfo Acosta ...... Lt. Bullhead
James Dunn .......... Indian Agent McLean
Eddie Little Sky .... Left Hand

 

1.03 [--] The Great Adventure: THE MASSACRE AT WOUNDED KNEE

11-Oct-1963 CBS Fri

starring

same as above

 

1.04 [--] The Great Adventure: SIX WAGONS TO SEA

18-Oct-1963 CBS Fri

starring

Lee Marvin as Misok Bedrozian

Walter Koenig

Arthur Batanides as Porliades

Gene Lyons as Merier

Ellen Madison as Elissa

Richard X. Slattery as Tucker

 

1.05 [--] The Great Adventure: THE STORY OF NATHAN HALE

(aka Moment of Crisis, The Secret)

25-Oct-1963 CBS Fri (rerun 08May64)

Script by Sheldon Osborn & Robert Hilliard

starring

Jeremy Slate  ........ Captain Nathan Hale
Torin Thatcher ...... General Howe
Nancy Malone ........ Jenny
John Anderson ....... Colonel Knowlton
Douglas Henderson ... Captain Hull
Dorothy Adams ....... Mrs. Woodhaven
John Kellogg ........ Winthrop
Sandy Kenyon ........ Captain James
Peter Mamakos ....... Decker
Nora Marlowe ........ Widow Chich
Sean McClory ........ Major Carlton
Maxwell Reed ........ Major Hardwick
Jon Drury ........... Guard
Arthur Gould-Porter.. British Guard

I. Sanford Jolley

Synopsis:
The story of Nathan Hale, the American patriot who was hanged

by the British for spying during the Revolution. [RF]
*

Famous last words spoken by Nathan Hale who was hung at 21.

 "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

 

1.06 [--] The Great Adventure: GO DOWN, MOSES

01-Nov-1963 CBS Fri

written by James Bridges

directed by Paul Stanley

director of photography Neal Beckner

produced by John Houseman

Narrator Van Heflin

starring

Ruby Dee  ............ Harriet Tubman
Ossie Davis ......... John Ross
Brock Peters ........ Joe Bailey
Ethel Waters ........ Rit
Mimi Dillard ........ Tillie
Gloria Calomée ...... Mary Ann
Betty Harford ....... Elizabeth Williams
Roy Barcroft ........ Dr. Thompson
Richard O'Brien ..... Tarry
Isabelle Cooley ..... Lydia
Rupert Crosse ....... William Still
Stephen Lander ...... Quaker

with

Robert Bice

Bill Walker

Charles Hradilac

Davis Roberts

Owen Bush

Bill Couch

Napoleon Whiting

Jacque Shelton

Synopsis:

Harriet Tubman, tonight's subject, was a major abolitionist in pre-Civil War times.

An escaped slave herself, she became known as the Moses of her people through

 her work as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Between 1850 and 1860,

Miss Tubman (with a price of $40,000 on her head) conducted over 300

slaves to freedom in the North. [RF]

 

1.07 [--] The Great Adventure: THE GREAT DIAMOND MOUNTAIN

08-Nov-1963 CBS Fri

starring

Barry Sullivan  ...... William Ralston
J.D. Cannon ......... Clarence King
Philip Abbott ....... Janin
John Fiedler ........ Philip Arnold
Dick Foran .......... Colton
John McGiver ........ John Stack

 

1.08 [--] The Great Adventure: THE TREASURE TRAIN OF JEFFERSON DAVIS

15-Nov-1963 CBS Fri

starring

Michael Rennie  ...... President Jefferson Davis
Katharine Bard ...... Mrs. Davis
Jeff Cooper ......... Micajah Clark
Tim O'Connor ........ General Breckinridge
Carl Benton Reid .... Trenholm
Harry Townes ........ Judah P. Benjamin
Ken Lynch ........... General Johnston
Byron Morrow ........ General Beauregard
Ken Mayer ........... Harrison
James Noah .......... Captain Parlter
Richard Bull ........ Landlord
Claude Johnson ...... Union Trooper
Jay Lanin ........... Union Lieutenant

 

1.xx [--] The Great Adventure: WILD BILL HICKOK - THE LEGEND AND THE MAN
22-Nov-1963 CBS Fri preempted by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Postponed to 03-Jan-1964 [MF]

 

1.09 [--] The Great Adventure: THE OUTLAW AND THE NUN

06-Dec-1963 CBS Fri (rerun 02May64)

starring

Joan Hackett  ........ Sister Blandina
Leif Erickson ....... Abel Parrish
Marion Ross ......... Sister Marcella
Andrew Prine ........ Billy the Kid
Sally Brophy ........ Mrs. Pierce
Richard Carlyle ..... Mr. Pierce

Synopsis:
It is 1872, and when Sister Blandina arrives in a rowdy Western town

to teach school, she finds only two children in her classroom. [RF]

 

1.10 [--] The Great Adventure: THE MAN WHO STOLE NEW YORK CITY

13-Dec-1963 CBS Fri

starring

Carroll O'Connor  .... O'Rourke
Edward Andrews ...... Mayor William March "Boss" Tweed
James Daly .......... George Jones
Russell Collins ..... Watson
Byron Morrow ........ Mayor Hall
Walter Brooke ....... Taylor
Frank Maxwell ....... Connolly
Don Keefer .......... Copeland
Frank Faylen ........ O'Brien
Willard Sage ........ Jennings
Ian Wolfe ........... Townsend
Tom Simcox .......... Ford

 

1.11 [--] The Great Adventure: A BOY AT WAR

20-Dec-1963 CBS Fri

starring

Jean Engstrom  ....... Elizabeth
Flip Mark ........... Andy
Jack Chaplain ....... Tom Crawford
Richard Eyer ........ Robert
Karen Green ......... Anne
Bernard Fox ......... Redcoat Lieutenant
Synopsis:
In the episode "A Boy at War" (1.11) the character Andy, played by child actor Flip Mark, is actually supposed to be the young Andrew Jackson,
future U.S. president. The episode portrays his harrowing experiences during the American War of Independence. [MF]
 

1.12 [--] The Great Adventure: WILD BILL HICKOK - THE LEGEND AND THE MAN

03-Jan-1964 CBS Fri

starring

Lloyd Bridges  ....... Wild Bill Hickok
Sheree North ........ Agnes Lake
Leo Gordon .......... McCanles
Tom Reese ........... Mike Williams
Len Lesser .......... Varnes
James Griffith ...... Harry Young
Neil Nephew ......... Jack McCall
Ed Knight ........... Brady
Larry Blake ......... Doyle
William Fawcett ..... Brink
Bill Walker ......... Charlie
Vito Scotti ......... Ticket Seller
Synopsis:
The episode "Wild Bill Hickok" (1.12) did, indeed, first air in January 1964,
but it was originally scheduled to air 22 November 1963 but was
preempted by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Eerily, the episode re-enacts the assassination of Hickok in Deadwood, South Dakota in 1876. [MF]

 

1.13 [--] The Great Adventure: THE COLONEL FROM CONNECTICUT

10-Jan-1964 CBS Fri (rerun 03Jul64)
Script by Raphael Hayes
starring
Whit Bissell ........ Benjamin Silliman
Wallace Ford ........ Uncle Billy Smith
Richard Kiley ....... Edwin L. Drake
Maggie McNamara ..... Laura Drake
John Alderson ....... Billy Robinson
Woodrow Parfrey ..... George Bissel
H.M. Wynant ......... District Attorney
Ian Wolfe ........... Brewer
Rayford Barnes ...... Eben
Walter Brooke ....... James Townsend
James Callahan ...... Josh
Howard Caine ........ Pitchman
Barry Kelley ........ Hughes
Guy Raymond ......... WIlson
Synopsis:
In 1859, Edwin L. Drake is hired to find a way to obtain

a larger supply of oil from the area near Titusville, PA. [TA]
 

1.14 [--] The Great Adventure: TEETH OF THE LION

17-Jan-1964 CBS Fri

starring

Earl Holliman ........ Will Cross

Julie Sommars ........ Meg Jethro

Donald Losby ......... Billy

Collin Wilcox ......... Elizabeth Cross

Jesse Pearson ........ Tom Jethro

Kathie Sweet ........ Melissa

Steven Marlo ........ Red Deer

 

1.15 [--] The Great Adventure: RODGER YOUNG

24-Jan-1964 CBS Fri

starring

James MacArthur ....... Rodger Young

Patrick McVey ........ Dr. Crosley

George Kennedy ......... Sergeant Mulduney

Diane Ladd ........ Annie Thompson

H.M. Wynant ......... Lt. Waters

Hal Needham ........... Recruiting Officer

Geoffrey Horne

Ted Bessell

Paul Geary

Henry Beckman

Hampton Fancher

Synopsis:

A basketball injury has left him with a partial hearing loss, accompanied by

painful headaches as well as tinnitus (ringing in the ears). With war upon the

country he joins the National Guard and sets out to prove himself. [RF]

*Note: Based on a true story.

"Rodger Young" (1.15) is the story of an American man who, in spite of severe hearing loss,
served in the Pacific Theater of World War II and won a posthumous Medal of Honor. [MF]
 

1.16 [--] The Great Adventure: THE TESTING OF SAM HOUSTON

07-Feb-1964 CBS Fri

starring

Robert Culp ........ Sam Houston

Victor Jory ........ Andrew Jackson

Kent Smith ........... William Carroll

Katherine Crawford .......... Eliza Allen

Ralph Moody ........... Oo-Lo-Techka

David White ......... John C. Calhoun

Robert Emhardt .......... Stanbery

Mario Alcade .......... Too-Chee-La

Tom Palmer ......... Mr. Allen

June Vincent

Ken Drake

Francis De Sales

Edwin Mills

Robert Riordan

Dick Wilson

 

1.17 [--] The Great Adventure: THE SPECIAL COURAGE OF CAPTAIN PRATT

14-Feb-1964 CBS Fri

starring

Paul Burke ......... Captain Richard Pratt

John Marley ......... Grey Beard

Antoinette Bower .......... Anna Pratt

Ivan Dixon .......... Sergeant Willis

Denver Pyle .......... General Mills

Valentin de Vargas ......... Okahatan

 

1.18 [--] The Great Adventure: THE NIGHT RAIDERS

21-Feb-1964 CBS Fri

Produced by Ethel Winant

Directed by Philip Leacock

Written by Alvin Sapinsley

Director of photography Neal Beckner

Narrator Russell Johnson

starring

Jack Klugman ......... John Brown

Torin Thatcher .......... Col. Lewis Washington

James Westerfield ............ Thomas Green

Les Brown Jr. ........... Oliver Brown

James Beck ........... Watson Brown

Walter Burke .......... Higgins

Parley Baer ......... Mayor

Ward Wood ............ Edwin Coppock

John Wesley ........... John Copeland Jr.

Joel Fluellen ............ Newby

Alan Baxter ............. Judge

Russell Horton ........... Hoyt

Jordan Whitfield ........ Servant

Ashley Cowan

Nelson Olmsted

Synopsis:

The night raiders recounts abolitionist John Brown's 1859 raid on the

Harpers Ferry arsenal, and his subsequent trial for treason. [RF]

 

1.19 [--] The Great Adventure: THE PLAGUE

28-Feb-1964 CBS Fri

starring

Robert Cummings .......... Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse

Ron Howard ....... Daniel Waterhouse

Jacqueline Scott ......... Eliza Waterhouse

John Dehner ........... President Thomas Jefferson

John McLiam ............. John Howard

Gina Gillespie ........... Ellen Howard

Gene Lyons ......... Dr. Aspenwall

George Mitchell .......... Dr. Drury

David Lewis ........... Dr. Bartlett

Summary:
The discovery of anti-smallpox vaccine.
Synopsis:
"The Plague" (1.19) contains a memorable moment. President Thomas Jefferson asks Dr. Waterhouse whether his confidence in the safety
of the small pox vaccine would be great enough for him to risk inoculating the president himself. After Waterhouse asserts his confidence,
it turns out that the president has had the disease and is immune already. [MF].

 

1.20 [--] The Great Adventure: THE PATHFINDER

06-Mar-1964 CBS Fri

starring

Rip Torn ........... Lt. John C. Fremont
Carroll O'Connor .......... Johann Dutter
Channing Pollock ........... Kit Carson
Arthur Batanides ........... Gomez
Joe De Santis ........... General Vallejo
Don Dubbins .......... Jason Chiles
David White
Robert F. Simon
Harry Carter
Elizabeth Perry
John Garwood
Francisco Ortega
Noel Drayton
Craig Duncan
David Nunez
Synopsis:
In the winter of 1844, Lt. John C. Fremont and scout Kit Carson lead their survey

team over the High Sierras and down into Mexican-held California - where they

have to take refuge on Johann Sutter's personal 150,000 acre empire. [RF]

 

1.21 [--] The Great Adventure: THE PRESIDENT VANISHES

13-Mar-1964 CBS Fri (rerun 28Aug64)
Narrated by Russell Johnson
starring
Barry Sullivan ......... E.J. Edwards
Leif Erickson .......... President Grover Cleveland
Jeanne Vaughn ........ Frances Cleveland
Skip Homeier ...... Thurber
Harry Townes ...... Dr. O'Reilly
George Macready ........ Dr. Keen
John Marley ....... Callum
Jenie Jackson ..... Carlotta
Hope Holiday ...... Mavis
Bart Burns ........ Faith
Peter Hale ........ Presidential Aide
Stuart Nisbet ....... Businessman
Chuck Hicks ........ Sailor
Synopsis:
In 1893, reporter E.J. Edwards grows suspicious when he notes that

President Grover Cleveland has suddenly ceased to appear at public functions

 - and that no one is allowed to see him. [RF]
 

1.22 [--] The Great Adventure: THE HENRY BERGH STORY

20-Mar-1964 CBS Fri

starring

Brian Keith ......... Henry Bergh

Marion Ross ......... Etta Wheeler

Frank Aletter ........ James Welton

June Dayton ......... Matilda Bergh

Bernie Hamilton ......... Wilbur Jones

Synopsis:
"The Henry Bergh Story" (1.22) is about the founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1866.
The story rather suggests that Bergh's involvement in the founding of a society for the prevention of cruelty to children was
something of an afterthought when he realized that some children are treated worse than animals. [MF]
 

1.23 [--] The Great Adventure: KENTUCKY'S BLOODY GROUND [Part 1]

03-Apr-1964 CBS Fri (rerun 11Sep64)

Script by Calvin Clements
Russell Johnson Narrates

starring

Peter Graves  ...... Daniel Boone
Andrew Duggan ..... Colonel Callaway
Peggy McCay ....... Mrs. Callaway
David McCallum .... Captain Hanning
Arthur Hunnicutt .. Simon Kenton
Judee Morton ...... Jemina Boone
Richard Lupino .... Lt. Brown
Stuart Cooper ..... Flanders Callaway
Ted Eccles ........ James Boone
Laurie Mock ....... Frances Callaway
Synopsis:
First of two parts. In the mid-1770's, Daniel Boone and a party of settlers

 establish a settlement in the wilderness west of the Alleghenies. [RF]
 

1.24 [--] The Great Adventure: THE SIEGE OF BOONESBOROUGH [Part 2]

10-Apr-1964 CBS Fri (rerun 18Sep64)

Script by Calvin Clements
Russell Johnson Narrates

cast same as above:

Synopsis:
Although the Indians have killed his son and kidnapped his daughter

and two other girls, Daniel Boone negotiates with the red men to

win the girls' release and prevent an attack. [RF]

 

1.25 [--] The Great Adventure: ESCAPE

17-Apr-1964 CBS Fri

starring

Jack Warden ....... Latham

Michael Constantine ........ Colonel Streight

Sorrell Booke

Fritz Weaver

 

1.26 [--] The Great Adventure: THE PIRATE AND THE PATRIOT

01-May-1964 CBS Fri

starring

Ricardo Montalban ...... Jean Lafitte

Kent Smith .......... Grymes

John McGiver .......... General Claiborne

Frank Silvera ......... Gambi

 

 CBS Fridays  8:30-9:30pm  ( Mar 1965-Apr 1965) (reruns?)

 

############## The Great Adventure ###########
################### the end ##################
##############################################

 

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