Medallion Theater (1953-54)
  a.k.a. Chrysler Medallion Theatre
Sponsored by Chrysler Motors
Episode Guide compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by: J. Fred MacDonald (https://www.macfilms.com), Rina Fox [Updated March 2019]
references:
TV Guide / Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive / Writers Guild of America (wga)
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MEDALLION THEATER
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CBS Production ('live' from New York)
Producer William Spier
Associate Producer Mort Abrahms
Directors:
Ralph Nelson, Seymour Robbie, Charles Powers, Don Medford

US Dramatic Anthology series 1953-54   39 episodes x 30min
(11-Jul-1953 to 03-Apr-1954)

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CBS Saturdays 10:00 - 10:30pm

1.01 [--] Medallion Theater: THE DECISION OF ARROWSMITH
11Jul1953
Producer William Spier
Adapted by Tad Mosel
From Sinclair Lewis' Pulitzer prize winning novel "Arrowsmith" (1926)
Directed by Ralph Nelson
starring
Henry Fonda ..... Dr. Martin Arrowsmith
Diana Douglas
Juano Hernandez
Synopsis:
Dramatization of Sinclair Lewis' Pulitzer Prize winning novel, "Arrowsmith".
Arrowsmith looks for a cure to the plague in the West Indies.
*Note: Tad Mosel said in an interview that this was the worst experience and Henry Fonda even said the same thing.
https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/medallion-theater

1.02 [--] Medallion Theater: A JOB FOR JIMMY VALENTINE
18Jul1953
Adapted by Robert Sloane
From a short story by O. Henry "A Retrieved Reformation".
Directed by Ralph Nelson
starring
Ronald Reagan ..... Jimmy Valentine
Dorothy Hart ...... Annabel Adams
Jack Arthur ...... Ben Price
Synopsis:
Safecracker Jimmy Valentine gets released early from prison. He picks up where he left off with
his criminal life until he meets the banker's daughter and falls in love with her and decides to
change his ways.

1.03 [--] Medallion Theater: THE GRAND CROSS OF THE CRESCENT
25Jul1953
Adapted by Marc Siegel
Based on the short story by Richard Harding Davis
starring
Jack Lemmon
Ernest Truex
Freddie Bartholomew
Synopsis:
Relates the special difficulties encountered by a college
where poker playing, happily enough, is a required subject.

1.04 [--] Medallion Theater: THE MAN WHO LIKED DICKENS
01Aug1953
Written by Evelyn Waugh
starring
Claude Rains
Richard Kiley
Russell Collins
Synopsis:
Deep in the Amazon jungle, one man becomes the prisoner of another,
and must read to him the entire works of Charles Dickens in daily installments.

1.05 [--] Medallion Theater: MRS. UNION STATION
08Aug1953
starring
June Havoc
Scott McKay
Richard Carlyle
Louis Nye
Synopsis:
A comedy about woman who marries a model train collector who is obsessed
with railroad trains and models.
*Note: June Havoc was married to "Medallion Theater" producer William Spier.

1.06 [--] Medallion Theater: THE CONSUL
15Aug1953
Written by Thomas Phipps
starring
Charles Ruggles
Synopsis:
The integrity of an aging American consul stuck in an out-of-the-way
tropical post is under fire from a high pressure politician.

1.07 [--] Medallion Theater: THE QUIET VILLAGE
22Aug1953
Written by Rod Serling
Directed by Robert Stevens
starring
Robert Preston
Rod Steiger
Synopsis:
Hollywood producer saga, concerning the ruthless director out for the scalp of a down-and-out actor.
*Note: Buffalo Evening News lists Robert Sterling as the ruthless director.

1.08 [--] Medallion Theater: COLUMBO DISCOVERS ITALY
29Aug1953
Written by David Shaw
starring
Dane Clark
Synopsis:
Story about a Brooklyn shoemaker who inherits a dilapidated old hotel in Italy.

1.09 [--] Medallion Theater: SCENT OF THE ROSES
05Sep1953
Adapted by David Shaw
Story by Mary Eleanor Freeman
starring
Martha Scott
Patricia Smith
Synopsis:
A gentle Southern girl finally lands her man after a ten year wait.

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CBS Saturdays 10:00 - 10:30pm

2.01 [10] Medallion Theater: THE PADRE OF SAN PABLO
l2Sep1953
Written by Jerome Rose
starring
Zachary Scott
Synopsis:
A Mexican bank robber is given sanctuary by a priest on his way to a new post in a deserted silver-mine village.
The priest dies, the thief assumes his identity and eventually som of his piety, thanks to the simple faith of simple peasants.

2.02 [11] Medallion Theater: THE BARTLETT DESK
19Sep1953
Written by Louis Pelletier
starring
Mildred Natwick
Edward Everett Horton
Synopsis:
An elderly, charmingly eccentric antique dealer has been trying unsuccessfully to buy a valuable heirloom
desk from a stubbornbut charming widow for five years. What he doesn't know is that it's a fake.

2.03 [12] Medallion Theater: THE BIG BOW MYSTERY
26Sep1953
starring
Cedric Hardwicke ...... Inspector Grodman
Bethel Leslie
Lloyd Bochner
Synopsis:
Retired Scotland Yard Inspector Grodman gets painfully involved in a murder and
the conviction of an innocent man and shows Scotland Yard a trick or two.

2.04 [13] Medallion Theater: THE ARCHER CASE
03Oct1953
Written by Robert Tallman
starring
Claude Rains
Synopsis:
The story of a 13-year-old expelled from naval school for the theft
of a few shillings, is pitted against the authority of the British Empire.

2.05 [14] Medallion Theater: THE TROUBLE TRAIN
10Oct1953
Written by Richard and Ellen McCracken
starring
Jeffrey Lynn
Madge Evans
Iris Mann
Synopsis:
Story about the childish scheme of an unhappy little boy trying to reconcile his parents.

2.06 [15] Medallion Theater: A TIME FOR HEROES
17Oct1953
Written by Frank DeFelitta
starring
Victor Moore
Synopsis:
Story about a proud and poverty-stricken old man, unsung hero and Civil War Veteran.

2.07 [16] Medallion Theater: RETURN MATCH
24Oct1953
starring
Maria Riva
Joseph Anthony
William Prince
Synopsis:
A woman is torn between her first husband, a glamour boy tennis champ and her second, a good, steady doctor.

2.08 [17] Medallion Theater: GRAN'MA REBEL
31Oct1953
Written by Milton Geiger
starring
Beulah Bondi
Jackie Cooper
Betsy Von Furstenberg

2.09 [18] Medallion Theater: BATTLE HYMN
07Nov1953
Written by Norman Lessing
starring
Helen Hayes ...... Harriet Beecher Stowe
Stephen Courtleigh
Eric Dressler
Synopsis:
Story about Harriet Beecher Stowe, the lady reputed to have kindled
the flames of the Civil War by writing "Uncle Tom's Cabin".

2.10 [19] Medallion Theater: THE BISHOP'S CANDLESTICKS
14Nov1953
Adapted by Lois Jacoby
Story by Victor Hugo
Directed by Don Medford
starring
Victor Jory ..... Jean Valjean
Barry Jones .... Bishop Bienvenu
Synopsis:
Hugo's persecuted character in Les miserables
Synopsis 2:
Classic story of Jean Valjean, victim of poverty, who spent 19 years in the galleys for stealing one
loaf of bread. Released from prison, he is given refuge by a saintly bishop.

2.11 [20] Medallion Theater: THE CANTERVILLE GHOST
21Nov1953
Adapted by Robert Anderson
Story by Oscar Wilde
starring
Edward Everett Horton
Synopsis:
Story about a poor, shabby, beat-up ghost, who can't even frighten a 10-year-old and is
constantly plagued by his capricious ghostly wife.

2.12 [21] Medallion Theater: DEAR CYNTHIA...
28Nov1953
Written by Manya Starr
Directed by Don Medford
starring
Janet Gaynor
Vicki Cummings
Margaret Phillips
*Note: Janet Gaynor makes her first TV appearance in a dramatic role.

2.13 [22] Medallion Theater: CRIMSON VELVET
05Dec1953
Written by Robert Wallsten
starring
Blanche Yurka
Richard Conte
Synopsis:
Story about an aging actress who wants a juicy role in the perfect play. However, she has
difficulty convincing the bright young producer she's still vigorous enough to do it justice.

2.14 [23] Medallion Theater: A DAY IN TOWN
12Dec1953
Written by Ben Zavin
starring
Charlton Heston
Synopsis:
Story of a Western farmer who has serious business to do on rodeo day.

2.15 [24] Medallion Theater: TWENTY-FOUR MEN IN A PLANE
19Dec1953
Written by Rod Serling
Directed by Don Medford
starring
Leslie Nielsen
Jackie Cooper
Synopsis:
The posthumous publication of a general's diary cements a crisis in the lives of two former officers.

2.16 [25] Medallion Theater: THEY CALL THEM THE MEEK
26Dec1953
Written by Rod Serling
Directed by Ralph Nelson
starring
Thomas Gomez
Gene Raymond
Synopsis:
Story about a business tycoon who discovers he's overlooked the pursuit of happiness.

2.17 [26] Medallion Theater: A SUITABLE MARRIAGE
02Jan1954
Written by Margaret Lewerth
starring
Roddy McDowall
Otto Kruger
Synopsis:
A Boston financier is determined that his son shall follow in his footsteps, but the son has other ideas.

2.18 [27] Medallion Theater: THE MAGIC TOUCH
09Jan1954
Written by George Bellak
Directed by Don Medford
starring
Paul Douglas
James Broderick
Virginia Gilmore
Albert Salmi
Synopsis:
A writer is confronted by a perplexing accusation when his son discovers that the political speeches
he has been writing are in complete contradiction of his father's teachings.

2.19 [28] Medallion Theater: THE GENTLE DECEPTION
16Jan1954
Written by A. J. Russell
starring
Thomas Mitchell
Synopsis:
A distinguished-looking plumber who always carries a little black bag is mistaken for a physician,
with interesting results as a consequence of this error.

2.20 [29] Medallion Theater: THE BLUE SERGE SUIT
23Jan1954
starring
Diana Lynn
Jerome Courtland
Frank McHugh
Synopsis:
A young attorney faces the choice of being ethical and talking himself out of a much needed case,
or being practical and ensuring a legal fee.

2.21 [30] Medallion Theater: BOOK OVERDUE
30Jan1954
Written by Carole Gluck
starring
Barry Sullivan
Jan Sterling
Synopsis:
A man returns to his hometown to write a book after a 25 year absence.

2.22 [31] Medallion Theater: THE TEACHER
06Feb1954
Written by Nancy Moore
starring
Nancy Olson
Hope Emerson
Don Taylor
Synopsis:
A nice young teacher, learns that a tough old mountain lady wants to learn how to read.

2.23 [32] Medallion Theater: THE 39TH BOMB
13Feb1954
Written by A. J. Russell
starring
Steve Cochran
Geraldine Brooks
Rhys Williams
Richard Kiley
David Young
Jackie Cooper
Synopsis:
An unexploded bomb is found in a small English village. No one can detonate it except an ex-American soldier who
is honeymooning with his wife and he lost his nerve after un-capping 38 bombs during the War.
Also listed as "The Bomb".
*NOTE: Remember "Biff Baker, U.S.A." this episode is virtually identical with Biff Baker's "Demolition Bomb" episode.
The only difference being that Biff, being a filmed show, was able to show a scene inside a hospital, while Medallion,
being live, only talked about it. In both, the big bad bomb was ticking away madly just outside on the verge of blowing the
emergency patients to smithereens.

2.24 [33] Medallion Theater: THE VOYAGE BACK
20Feb1954
Written by Tad Mosel
starring
Richard Kiley
Nancy Kelly
Claudia Morgan
Synopsis:
Three travelers on a pleasure cruise become entangled in each other's lives.

2.25 [34] Medallion Theater: HOMESTEAD
27Feb1954
Written by Ben Zavin
starring
Eddie Albert
Synopsis:
A man and his son head out West and encounter a shady land agent and a beautiful widow.

2.26 [35] Medallion Theater: SINNERS
06Mar1954
Written by David Davidson
starring
Mildred Dunnock
Rhys Williams
Synopsis:
A woman who testified, falsely, to the guilt of a local ne'er-do-well on a murder charge begs him, after 30
years in prison, to allow her to pay her debt to him and ease her conscience by allowing her to care for him.

2.27 [36] Medallion Theater: FLIGHT TO FAME
13Mar1954
Written by Simon Wincelberg
starring
Edith Fellows
Synopsis:
On the eve of a Broadway opening the star falls ill and the understudy is in Seattle.
Synopsis 2:
A young singer, on the verge of getting her big break, risks it to sing for
a wounded soldier. He then has to persuade three men
to give her their seat on a plane.

2.28 [37] Medallion Theater: CONTACT WITH THE WEST
20Mar1954
starring
Jerome Thor
Joseph Wiseman
Colin Keith-Johnston
Synopsis:
During the War, an English and a Russian officer meet in a desolate English island outpost.
Their brief relationship proves something of profound signigicance to them both about the
differences and the similarities, in human beings who are complete strangers to each other.

2.29 [38] Medallion Theater: THE ALIBI KID
27Mar1954
Written by Robert Haines
starring
Ben Gazzara
Stephen McNally
Sam Levene
Synopsis:
A boxer tries to prevent his younger brother from committing bigamy.

2.30 [39] Medallion Theater: SAFARI [Final episode of series]
03Apr1954
Written by Ben Zavin
starring
Brian Donlevy
Marilyn Erskine ..... Sue
Synopsis:
Story of a hunter's desire to capture a rare animal.

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