######### Kraft Television Theatre  ###########

########### season 1 1953-54 ############

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ABC Thursdays 9:30-10:30pm Eastern

During this season a different  series also called  Kraft Television Theatre  aired on NBC Wednesdays 9:00-10:00pm ET

1.01[--] Kraft Television Theatre :  JOHNNY CAME HOME

15Oct1953 ABC

written by Frank Daniel Gilroy
starring

Frank McHugh

Sylvia Sidney

1.02 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  ALIAS JIMMY VALENTINE

22Oct1953 ABC

Adapted by Robert Howard Lindsay and Kathleen Lindsay
From the play by Paul Armstrong
Based on the original story by O. Henry
starring

James Gregory

Murray Hamilton

Patricia Smith

Synopsis:
Safecracker Jimmy Valentine and his pal Swede are in the process

of planning a "bank job" with Avery and other thieves, but Jimmy

falls in love with Rose and decides to go straight.

1.03 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET

29Oct1953 ABC

Story by Rudolph Besier

starring

Valerie Cossart

Alexander Scourby

Frederic Tozere

Synopsis:
An invalid poetess defies her father's wishes to marry a dashing young poet.

1.04 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  NEXT YEAR

05Nov1953 ABC

Written by Robert Howard Lindsey

starring

Colin Keith-Johnston

E.G. Marshall

Robert Pastene

Susan Shaw

Synopsis:
A successful lawyer finds out he has just six months to live.

1.05 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE BITTER WIND

12Nov1953 ABC

Written by Roger Garis
starring

Lawrence Weber

Mary Fickett

Synopsis:
A romance between a doctor and nurse turns sour when they

blame themselves for the death of a patient.

1.06 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE APPLE TREE

19Nov1953 ABC

Adapted from the story by John Galsworthy.
starring

Lois Smith

Johnny Stewart

Synopsis:
Returning to his hometown with his wife, he learns that his childhood

sweetheart died of a broken heart and is buried under the old Apple tree.

1.07 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE WHITE CARNATION

26Nov1953 ABC

Story by Robert Cedric Sherriff
starring

Francis Compton

Valerie Cossart

Ian Keith

Synopsis:
A deceased stockbroker refuses to believe he's been dead for seven years.

1.08 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE PATSY

03Dec1953 ABC

Adapted by Robert Howard Lindsay
From the play by Barry Conners
starring

Lois Bolton

Cloris Leachman

Chandler Cowles

Synopsis:
Pat Harrington, the neglected daughter of a society matron and her

brow-beaten father expect her to marry a wealthy bachelor.

1.09 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE AMAZING MR. GLADSTONE

10Dec1953 ABC

Written by Milton Gould
starring

Benjamin Fishbein

Eli Mintz

David Medoff

1.10 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  SMILIN' THROUGH

17Dec1953 ABC

Adapted from the play by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin.
starring

Bethel Leslie

Richard Ney

Jack Sweeney

Synopsis:
An uncle does not want his niece marrying the man's son

who is responsible for his own fiance's death.

1.11 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  A CHRISTMAS CAROL

24Dec1953 ABC

Based on the novel by Charles Dickens

starring

Melville Cooper

Valerie Cossart

Denis Greene

Noel Leslie

Geoffrey Lumb

Harry Townes

Synopsis:

Old Ebnezer Scrooge learns the meaning of sharing by his visits

from the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

1.12 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  CANDLE-LIGHT

31Dec1953 ABC

Written by Siegfried Geyer (Kleine Komedie)

Translated in English by P.G. Wodehouse

starring

Bramwell Fletcher

Siegfried Geyer

Leueen MacGrath

Mary Sinclair

Synopsis:
A maid pretends to be a lady, a Prince poses as his valet and

 his valet pretends to be him, the Prince. In this comedy of errors.

1.13 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  BABYLON REVISITED

07Jan1954 ABC

Adapted by Kathleen and Robert Howard Lindsay
Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald

starring

Kevin McCarthy

Theodore Newton

Synopsis:

Because of his alleged "wild living" a man's daughter has been

 taken away from him. He struggles to regain her custody.

1.14 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  BURLESQUE

14Jan1954 ABC

Story by George Manker Waters and Arthur Hopkins

Directed by Fred Carney (Art Carney's brother)

starring

Art Carney

Constance Ford

Ann Thomas

Synopsis:

A comedian allows success to separate him from his wife.

1.15 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  WEDNESDAY'S CHILD

21Jan1954 ABC

Story by Leopold Atlas

starring

Edward Binns

Carole Mathews

Gaby Rodgers

Synopsis:

An 11-year-old boy's parents plan divorce.

1.16 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE SHINING PALACE

28Jan1954 ABC

written by Peggy Phillips

starring

Mary Fickett

Arthur Franz

Gene Lyons

Fred Wayne

Synopsis:

An advertising man and his wife, an ex-actress, retire to a home

 in the Florida Keys, but a TV program tempts her out of retirement.

1.17 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  ELISHA AND THE LONG KNIVES

04Feb1954 ABC

Written by Dale Wasserman & Jack Balch

starring

Royal Beal

Dan Morgan

Van Dyke Parks

Synopsis:
A small boy survives a massacre and three hunters become his caretakers.

1.18 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :

 THE THINKING HEART--A LINCOLN BIOGRAPHY

11Feb1954 ABC

Written by George H. Faulkner
starring

Andrew Duggan

Nancy Marchand

Anthony Ross as Narrator

1.19 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  ICE WATER PLEASE

18Feb1954 ABC

Based on the story by Fannie Hurst
starring

Peter Capell

Carmen Mathews

1.20 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  NIGHT MUST FALL

25Feb1954 ABC

story by Emlyn Williams

starring

Terence Kilburn

Una O'Connor

Evelyn Varden

Synopsis:

Chiller about a bellhop who charms his way into the good graces of a rich, old lady. [RF]

1.21 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  DELICATE STORY

04Mar1954 ABC

Adapted from the play by Ferenc Molnar
starring

Gaby Rodgers

Eli Wallach

Synopsis:
The wife of a Swiss delicatessen shop owner falls for a

young man about to be called back to the Army duty.

Her husband eventually suspects the worst, but it really hasn't happened.

The young man has been in love with someone else all the time.

1.22 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  DARK VICTORY

11Mar1954 ABC

story by George Emerson Brewer and Bertram Bloch

starring

Leora Dana

Duane McKinney

Synopsis:

With only a short time to live a woman falls for her doctor.

1.23 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  HOME AT SEVEN

18Mar1954 ABC

Directed & produced by Fred Carney (Art Carney's brother)

Story by Robert Cedric Sherriff

starring

Tom Helmore

Valerie Cossart

Carl Harbord
Synopsis:
Mystery about a banker who loses his memory for a 24-hour period,

 while murder is done. [RF]

Synopsis 2:

A mild-mannered London bank clerk fears he had unwittingly

 committed murder during a period of amnesia. [RF]

*Note: Fred Carney held onto this script for sometime until Tom Helmore was available.

Helmore was working in a Broadway show by Elmer Rice called "The Winner" at the time. [RF]

1.24 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  ANGEL STREET

25Mar1954 ABC

story by Patrick Hamilton

starring

Sally Chamberlin

Jerome Kilty

Leueen MacGrath

Elizabeth Patterson

Howard St. John

Synopsis:
A woman moves into the house of her deceased aunt with

 her cruel husband who attempts to drive her to madness.

1.25 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  GLORIOUS MORNING

01Apr1954 ABC

Based on a play by Norman MacGowan
starring

Colin Keith-Johnston

Elizabeth Ross

1.26 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE OLD MAID

08Apr1954 ABC

Adapted by Zoe Akins
Based on the book by Edith Wharton
starring
Nancy Marchand ..... Charlotte
Eva Marie Saint .... Tina
Janet DeGore ....... Dee
Eric Sinclair ...... Charlie
Addison Richards ... Dr. Lanskell
Bill Lundmark
Jayne Meadows
Synopsis:
The story follows the life of Tina, a young woman caught between the mother

who adopted her—the beautiful, upstanding Delia—and her true mother, her plain,

unmarried “aunt” Charlotte, who gave Tina up to provide her with a socially acceptable life.

The three women live quietly together until Tina’s wedding day, when Delia’s and

Charlotte’s hidden jealousies rush to the surface. [RF]
 

1.27 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN

15Apr1954 ABC

Written by Milton Gould
starring

Jennie Goldstein

E.A. Krumschmidt

Michael Strong

1.28 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  SPRING 1600

22Apr1954 ABC

Adapted by George Faulkner
From the play by Emlyn Williams
starring

John Baragrey

Valerie Cossart

Janet De Gore

1.29 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  UNEQUAL CONTEST

29Apr1954 ABC

Based on a play by Abby Mann
starring

Joan Hopkins

Darren McGavin

Joanne Woodward

1.30 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  ARROWSMITH

06May1954 ABC

Adapted by Kathleen and Robert Howard Lindsay
starring

June Dayton

Richard Kiley

Biff McGuire

Joseph Wiseman

1.31 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE WORRIED SONGBIRDS

13May1954 ABC

Written by Greer Johnson
starring

Mildred Dunnock

Carmen Mathews

1.32 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  ALL OUR YESTERDAYS

20May1954 ABC

starring

Nancy Marchand

Arthur O'Connell

Joan Potter

1.33 [--] Kraft Television Theatre : DODSWORTH

27May1954 ABC

story by Sinclair Lewis

starring

Anthony Ross

Flora Campbell

Irene Manning

 Nils Asther

Synopsis:
A midwestern businessman and his wife travel to Europe. Both become

 involved in romances: she with a series of continental adventures; he with an

intelligent widow, who becomes his guide to European culture. [RF]

1.34 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  HOUSE ON WILDWOOD LANE

03Jun1954 ABC

written by George Lowther

starring

Joseph Anthony

Katharine Bard

Dickie Allen

1.35 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  BLIND ALLEY

10Jun1954 ABC

Adapted from the play by James Warwick

starring

Darren McGavin ..... Hal Wilson

Frances Heflin

Herbert Berghof

Synopsis:
A fugitive fleeing the police takes over the suburban home of a psychology

professor and his wife. But the professor is convinced that his own trained

brain is more than a match for the fugitive's brawn. [RF]

1.36 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  DELIVER ME FROM EVIL

17Jun1954 ABC

Written by Agnes Ridgway
starring

Claudia Morgan

Anthony Ross

Grant Williams

1.37 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  SEE YOU ON SUNDAY

24Jun1954 ABC

Written by Charles Mergendahl
starring

Patricia Breslin

Joe Maross

Katherine Meskill

Allen Nourse

1.38 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  MR. SIMMONS

01Jul1954 ABC

Written by Arthur Cavanaugh
starring

Mildred Natwick

Richard Newton

Arthur O'Connell

1.39 [--] Kraft Television Theatre : 

A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT

08Jul1954 ABC

Story by Mark Twain

starring

Edgar Bergen ....... The Yankee

Eva Leonard Boyne ........ Queen Guinevere

Victor Jory ....... Merlin

Jack Livesey ........ King Arthur

Carl Reiner ....... Sir Kay

Joseph Walsh ......... Clarence the page (as Joey Walsh)

1.40 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  PETTICOAT FEVER

15Jul1954 ABC

Adapted from the play by Mark Reed
starring

Dodie Bauer

Anthony Kemble-Cooper

Frances Robinson

Douglas Watson

1.41 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  FORTY WORKS OF UNCLE TOM

22Jul1954 ABC

Written by George Baxt

starring

Joel Grey

Robin Morgan

Carl Reiner

Polly Rowles

Nydia Westman

1.42 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE DASHING WHITE SERGEANT

29Jul1954 ABC

Written by Charles Campbell Gairdner

starring

Conrad Janis

Jill Kraft

Christopher Plummer

1.43 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  NOTHING PERSONAL

05Aug1954 ABC

starring

Nancy Kelly

Walter Matthau

1.44 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE BISHOP MISBEHAVES

12Aug1954 ABC

Adapted from the play by Frederick Jackson
starring

Bramwell Fletcher

Nydia Westman

1.45 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  THE SHINING HOUR

19Aug1954 ABC

Adapted by Richard McCracken
From the play by Keith Winter.

starring

Valerie Bettis

Richard Waring

1.46 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  UNCLE HARRY

26Aug1954 ABC

Adapted from the play by Thomas Job

starring

Art Carney

Zamah Cunningham

Mildred Dunnock

Sally Gracie

1.47 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  PHILIP GOES FORTH

02Sep1954 ABC

Adapted from the play by George Kelly
starring

Roddy McDowall

Frank M. Thomas

Blanche Yurka

1.48 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  ALBERT

09Sep1954 ABC

Written by Kathleen Lindsay
starring

Tom Helmore ........ Jeff
Jack Livesey ....... Dopey
Robin Craven ....... Henry
Harry Townes ....... Joe
Stefan Schnabel .... Commandant
E.A. Krumschmidt ... Herrman
Synopsis:
A prisoner of war in a German camp during World War II builds a lifesized

dummy called, "Albert". The prisoners are allowed outside the wires of the camp

once a week to bath. This permits one prisoner a week to make his escape because

 Albert, the dummy becomes his stand-in when roll call is taken upon the return of the prisoners. [RF]
 

1.49 [--] Kraft Television Theatre :  GUEST IN THE HOUSE

16Sep1954 ABC

story by Hagar Wilde and Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert

starring

Lenka Peterson ..... Evelyn
Dorothy Sands ...... Aunt Martha
Karl Swenson ....... Douglas
Joan Tompkins ...... Ann
Bibi Osterwald ..... Miriam
Katherine Meskill .. Miss Rhodes
Leora Thatcher ..... Hilda
Jada Rowland ....... Lee
Al Markim .......... Tracy
Synopsis:
A successful artist and his family put up at their home an attractive young lady with a heart condition.

 It isn't long before their happy life is disrupted. [RF]
*Note: In the movie, Ralph Bellamy portrayed the artist, Anne Baxter the calculating girl.
 

1.50 [--] Kraft Television Theatre : 

PROFESSOR JONES AND THE MISSING LINK

23Sep1954 ABC

written by Don Rozi Anton

starring

Isobel Elsom

Murray Matheson

Roger Price

Estelle Winwood