8.01 [384] Kraft Television Theatre: A SIMPLE MATTER

29Sep1954

guest stars

Harry Townes

Joey Walsh

Audra Lindley
Joe Maross
Ruth Matteson
Don Hamner
Synopsis:
When a man is accused of drunk driving by a powerful politician,

 a lawyer is interested in defending him and bringing down the powerhouse.

8.02 [385] Kraft Television Theatre: THE OFFICE DANCE

06Oct1954

guest stars

Sammy Kaye

Nancy Marchand

Phyllis Love

Doris Rich

8.03 [386] Kraft Television Theatre: PAPA WAS A SPORT

13Oct1954

written by Helen Cotton

guest stars

Richard Jaeckel

Lilia Skala

Barnard Hughes

8.04 [387] Kraft Television Theatre: THE LUCK OF THE ROARING CAMP

20Oct1954

written by Dale Wasserman

guest stars

Joe Maross

Mary Sinclair

Cliff Hall

William Harrigan

J. Pat O'Malley

Jared Reed

8.05 [388] Kraft Television Theatre: SPLIT LEVEL

27Oct1954

written by Charles Mergendahl

guest stars

Biff McGuire

Nydia Westman

Pat Smith

8.06 [389] Kraft Television Theatre: FULL OF THE OLD HARRY

03Nov1954

guest stars

Leora Dana

Fritz Lieber

Douglass Montgomery

8.07 [390] Kraft Television Theatre: THE WORLD AND THE WERNERS

10Nov1954

guest stars

Mikhail Rasumny

8.08 [391] Kraft Television Theatre: THE INDEPENDENT

17Nov1954

guest stars

Jeffrey Lynn

Joe Fallon

Frances Robinson

8.09 [392] Kraft Television Theatre:  EMMA

24Nov1954

Adapted from Jane Austen's classic

guest stars

Felicia Montealegre ....... Emma Woodhouse

Roddy McDowall ....... Mr. Elton

Peter Cookson ....... Mr. Knightley

Martine Bartlett ....... Mrs. Elton

Stafford Dickens ....... Mr. Woodhouse

Sarah Marshall ....... Harriet Smith

Nydia Westman ....... Mrs. Weston

Robinson Stone ....... Mr. Weston

Nancie Hobbs ....... Mrs. Goddard

Peter Donat ....... William Larkins

McLean Savage ....... Searle

8.10 [393] Kraft Television Theatre: CAMILLE

01Dec1954

Adapted from Alexandre Dumas classic

guest stars

Signe Hasso ....... Camille

Jacques Bergerac ........ Armand
Charles Andre ........... Monsieur Duval

Lilia Skala ....... Prudence

Synopsis:
The tragic love affair of a prostitute and her soldier.

*Quote from the Times review: "Jacques Bergerac (currently Ginger Rogers' husband)

had scarcely as much animation as a wooden Indian and spoke

 his lines as if he had learned them phonetically."

8.11 [394] Kraft Television Theatre:  CAREER

08Dec1954

written by William Chapman White

guest stars

Nancy Marchand

J. Pat O'Malley

Byron Sanders

E.A. Krumschmidt

8.12 [395] Kraft Television Theatre:  ACCOUNT RENDERED

15Dec1954

guest stars

Jessie Royce Landis

Craig Kelly

Richard Kendrick

8.13 [396] Kraft Television Theatre:  THE LITTLE STONE OF GOD

22Dec1954

guest stars

Tom Helmore

8.14 [397] Kraft Television Theatre:  STRANGERS IN HIDING

29Dec1954

written by Robert Thomson

guest stars

Doro Merande

Inger Stevens

Harold Lang

Bradford Dillman

8.15 [398] Kraft Television Theatre: ONE HILL, ONE RIVER

05Jan1955

guest stars

Conrad Janis

Lee Remick

Wright King

Crahan Denton

8.16 [399] Kraft Television Theatre: PATTERNS

12Jan1955

written by Rod Serling

directed by Fielder Cook

guest stars

Everett Sloane ....... Mr. Ramsie

Ed Begley ......... Andy Sloane

Richard Kiley ....... Fred Staples

June Dayton ....... Fran Staples

Joanne Roos ........ Miss Lanier

Elizabeth Montgomery ........ Ann Evans

Elizabeth Wilson ....... Marge Fleming

Jack Arthur ....... Starter

Victoria Ward ....... Miss Stevens

Sybil Baker ....... Telephone Operator

Shirley Standlee ....... Miss Hill

Theodore Newton ....... Mr. Gordon

Jack Livesey ....... Mr. Jamieson

Ronnie Welsh ......... Paul Sloane

Tom Charles, Victor Harrison

Helen Ludlom, Joseph MacCauley

Al Morgen, Douglas Rutherford

Chuck Wallace
Synopsis:

Young Fred Staples is the new executive at Ramsie and Company

and the unwitting replacement for good natured vice president,

Andy Sloane. Ruthless Mr. Ramsie, president of the company, is

determined to oust Sloane whose humanitarian outlook Ramsie feels

is the enemy of big business.

Note: This drama of the power struggles amongst the executives of

a large company was so highly regarded at the time of it's first broadcast

that it was repeated, live, four weeks later (on February 9.)

8.17 [400] Kraft Television Theatre: THE WRITTEN WORD

19Jan1955

guest stars

Edward Binns

David Cole

J. Pat O'Malley

8.18 [401] Kraft Television Theatre: BOYS WILL BE BOYS

26Jan1955

written by Dale Wasserman

directed by Maury Holland

guest stars

James Barton

Ed Begley

Mary Howard

Heywood Hale Broun

8.19 [402] Kraft Television Theatre: THE SKIN GAME

02Feb1955

written by Robert Howard

guest stars

Richard Newton

Jack Livesey

J. Pat O'Malley

Frederic Tozere

 [--] Kraft Television Theatre: PATTERNS

09Feb1955

(repeat performance of highly acclaimed

showing of the 12Jan1955.)

8.20 [403] Kraft Television Theatre: DEPARTURE

16Feb1955

written by Steven Gethers
guest stars
Neva Patterson ....... Lisa
Mikhail Rasumny ....... Pop
Anna Appel ....... Mom
Mike Kellin ....... Seymour
Synopsis:
In their apartment overlooking the Hudson River, two sisters daydream

 of boarding one of the ships to Europe. Their dreams form an escape

 from family quarrels. [RF]

8.21 [404] Kraft Television Theatre: THE EMPEROR JONES

23-Feb-1955 NBC Wed
Produced and Directed by Fielder Cook
Adapted from the play by Eugene O'Neill
guest stars
Ossie Davis .......... Brutus Jones
Everett Sloane ..... Craven Trader
Rex Ingram
Evelyn Ellis
Curtis James and his dance troupe.
Synopsis 1:
Story of a Negro porter who rises to power by exploiting the superstition
and ignorance of natives of a West Indies Island.
He has convinced them that only a silver bullet can kill him.
Synopsis 2:
The play reflects the sociological mood of 1921 as well as O'Neill's sense of tragedy,
his intensity and his impatience with the technical limitations of the theater.
It centers around Brutus Jones, a swashbuckling ex-Pullman porter and fugitive from
justice, who has established himself by shrewdness and brutality as emperor of a small
West Indies Island [RF]

8.22 [405] Kraft Television Theatre: HALF THE WORLD'S A BRIDE

02Mar1955

written by Betty Jeffries

guest stars

Loretta Leversee

Carmen Mathews

George Voskovec

8.23 [406] Kraft Television Theatre: THE NIGHT WATCHER

09Mar1955

guest stars

Edward Binns

Constance Ford

Mark Roberts

8.24 [407] Kraft Television Theatre: JEANNIE

16Mar1955

written by Aimee Stuart

guest stars

James Daly

Elizabeth Ross

Dan Morgan

8.25 [408] Kraft Television Theatre: THE STORY OF MARY SURRATT

23Mar1955

directed by Richard Dunlap

guest stars

Doreen Lang ........ Mary Surratt

Alexander Scourby

Anne Pearson

Bruce Gordon

Synopsis:
Mary Surratt, hanged in 1865 for complicity in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln,

 and, like most historians, found her innocent. The quality of a woman too pure-minded

 to know or guess at the plot that was hatched in her own house; the military court that

condemned her to death had that toplofty disregard for the evidence that seems to

 identify all judges who hear cases with their minds already made up.

8.26 [409] Kraft Television Theatre: THE SOUTHWEST CORNER

30Mar1955

adapted by John Cecil Holm

directed by Maury Holland

guest stars

Eva Le Gallienne

Enid Markey

Parker Fennelly

8.27 [410] Kraft Television Theatre: WHIM OF IRON

06Apr1955

guest stars

Anthony Franciosa

Claudia Morgan

8.28 [411] Kraft Television Theatre:  NOW, WHERE WAS I?

13Apr1955

written by Robert Emmett
story by Morton Braun

guest stars

June Dayton

Robert Webber

Gisele MacKenzie

Vincent Sardi Jr.
Synopsis:
A divorced lawyer turned composer has changed wives as well as

professions, and now his second marriage seems headed for the

rocks. He conveniently becomes a victim of amnesia and loses track

of both women and careers. [RF]

8.29 [412] Kraft Television Theatre: GRAMERCY GHOST

20Apr1955

adapted by Robert Howard Lindsay

guest stars

Pat Carroll

Conrad Janis

James Broderick
Synopsis:
A young lady who inherits a ghost when the owner of an apartment

house dies. It's the spirit of Nathaniel Coombes, a soldier of the

American Revolution, fated to walk the earth till he completes a mission. [RF]

8.30 [413] Kraft Television Theatre:  A SEACOAST IN BOHEMIA

27Apr1955

written by Ben Radin

guest stars

Theodore Bikel

George Macready

Lilia Skala
Ray Rhodes
Synopsis:
A seacoast in Bohemia looks into the mind and the university career of

a young writing genius and the difficulties he has with his teachers and

fellow students. [RF]

8.31 [414] Kraft Television Theatre:  FLOWERS FOR 2-B

04May1955

written by Edward de Blasio

guest stars

Benny Baker

Virginia Vincent

8.32 [415] Kraft Television Theatre:  JUDGE CONTAIN'S HOTEL

11May1955

written by William Mowne

directed by Maury Holland

guest stars

John Cassavetes ....... Danny
Charles Dingle ....... Judge Contain
Elizabeth Fraser ....... Phyllis
Synopsis:
The hotel is the reform school to which a rigid judge is accustomed to send

the wayward youngsters who appear before him. But life has an ironic twist in store. [RF]

8.33 [416] Kraft Television Theatre:  

THE BRAVENESS OF CHRISTY FALLON

18May1955

written by Arthur Cavanaugh

guest stars

P.J. Kelly ....... Christy Fallon
Frances Starr ....... Nora
Cliff Hall ....... Dan Considine
Arthur Shields
Synopsis:
Since his retirement, about a month ago, Christy Fallon has taken to

visiting with a night watchman friend of his. But tonight a new element

is added, a robber appears and is captured by Christy Fallon himself. [RF]

8.34 [417] Kraft Television Theatre:  MILLION DOLLAR ROOKIE

25May1955

written by Mel Goldberg

guest stars

Dick York

Buster Crabbe
Synopsis:
A rookie pitcher's father was once a pitcher, and his career was ruined

when he beaned a player. Now he is afraid his son will do the same thing,

and his fear leads to a serious conflict among father, mother  and son. [RF]

8.35 [418] Kraft Television Theatre: TONY HER SON

01Jun1955

(aka A Woman for Tony)

written by Richard Wendley

guest stars

James Daly

Marian Seldes

Catherine McLeod

Zolya Talma
Synopsis:
A widow dreads the thought of losing her son to his prospective bride. [RF]

8.36 [419] Kraft Television Theatre: SOMEONE TO HANG

08Jun1955

written by Roger Garis

guest stars

Philip Abbott

Russell Hardie

Kathleen Maguire

George Mitchell

8.37 [420] Kraft Television Theatre:  MY AUNT DAISY

15Jun1955

written by Albert Halper

guest stars

June Lockhart

Richard Davalos

Dortha Duckworth

Jamie Smith

8.38 [421] Kraft Television Theatre: DROP ON THE DEVIL

22Jun1955

written by Dale Wasserman & Terrence Kilpatrick

directed by Maury Holland

guest stars

Robert Preston

Everett Chambers

Dick York

Ford Rainey

8.39 [422] Kraft Television Theatre: THE MOB

29Jun1955

story by John Galsworthy

directed by William Graham

guest stars

Michael Clark Laurence

Claudia Morgan

Jack Livesey

J. Pat O'Malley

Frederic Worlock

8.40 [423] Kraft Television Theatre: IMPASSE

06Jul1955

written by Julian Maxwell

guest stars

William Gideon

Joseph Foley

Royal Beal

Josephine Brown

Georgann Johnson

Larry Weber

8.41 [424] Kraft Television Theatre: THE STRAW

13Jul1955

based on a play by Eugene O'Neill

guest stars

Kathleen Maguire

Lin McCarthy

Cliff Hall

Murray Hamilton

8.42 [425] Kraft Television Theatre: IN THE LA BANZA

20Jul1955

written by Samuel Elkin

guest stars

Larry Gates

Joe Maross

Hildy Parks

Dennis Patrick

Synopsis:
An ambitious small-towner exploits his brother's boxing talents,

 and by overmatching him, causes him to be so gravely

 injured that he can never fight again.  [RF]

8.43 [426] Kraft Television Theatre: MEET A BODY

27Jul1955

written by Carl Allensworth

guest stars

James Broderick

Guy Raymond

Joyce Smight

Lee Goodman

Raymond Bramley

8.44 [427] Kraft Television Theatre: SPUR OF THE MOMENT

03Aug1955

guest stars

Jane Seymour

Robert F. Simon

Michael Tolan

Arthur Franz

8.45 [428] Kraft Television Theatre: TWO TIMES TWO

10Aug1955

written by Paul Crabtree
story by David Stern

guest stars

Larry Gates

June Dayton

Marcel Hillaire

Jack Klugman

Joe Maross

8.46 [429] Kraft Television Theatre: THE FAILURE

17Aug1955

written by George Lowther

guest stars

Henry Jones

David White

Judith Evelyn

Mary Lee Dearring

Warren Berlinger

8.47 [430] Kraft Television Theatre: HAUNTED

24Aug1955

Written by Richard Carlson

guest stars

James Gregory

John Baragrey

Synopsis:

Two men having nothing in common except for the love of

a dead woman find themselves haunted by her. [RF]

8.48 [431] Kraft Television Theatre: THE CHESS GAME

31Aug1955

Written by Robert Howard Lindsay

Directed by Maury Holland

guest stars

Melvyn Douglas

Richard Morse

Lin McCarthy

Constance Wilson

Synopsis:
A cynical old reprobate adopts a delinquent boy headed for crime imparts

to him the insight that there is "no loneliness greater than not belonging to anyone".

 To save the boy from an old murder charge, the unbeliever tries to take the rap himself,

and the divinity student, having, in effect, lied for the boy, tells the reprobate: "I'll have

an easier time explaining to my God than you'll have explaining to yourself why

you'd give your life for another". [RF]

8.49 [432] Kraft Television Theatre:  WOMAN OF PRINCIPLE

07Sep1955

written by Will Lorin

guest stars

Mary Fickett

Richard Kendrick

Helen Shields

Larry Weber

8.50 [433] Kraft Television Theatre:  IT'S ONLY MONEY

14Sep1955

guest stars

Henry Jones

Lois Bolton

John McGiver

Peter Turgeon

8.51 [434] Kraft Television Theatre:  THE KING'S BOUNTY

21Sep1955

written by Michael Dyne

guest stars

Christopher Plummer ....... Robert Carr

Lilia Skala ....... Queen Ann of Denmark

Everett Sloane ....... King James I

Hurd Hatfield ....... Lord Overbury

Betsy Von Furstenberg ....... Lady Essex