US Anthology series (chronological order) -
US Anthology series
(alphabetical
order) -
Sponsors
Spotlight Playhouse (Summers 1955-1959)
Episode Guide
compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by: Rina Fox, Tom Alger
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)
-------------------
SPOTLIGHT PLAYHOUSE
-------------------
CBS
US Anthology Series Summers 1955 to 1959 approx 50 episodes x 30 min
############# Spotlight Playhouse ############
############ season 1 Summer 1955 ###########
##############################################
CBS Tuesdays 9:30-10:00pm
Summer replacement series for "The Red Skelton Show"
Mainly reruns of "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars"
1.01 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: FOUR THINGS HE'D DO
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.23: 05-Feb-1954)
21Jun1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Michael O'Shea … Tim Leary
Maxine Cooper ... Ellen O'Roarke
Lee Van Cleff … Sheriff
Synopsis:
A comedy Western about a gold prospector. [TA/ NY Times]
1.02 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE NET DRAWS TIGHT
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 4.05: 08-Oct-1954)
28Jun1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Edmond O'Brien … Rick Saunders
Skip Homeier … Slim Haskell
Synopsis 1:
A wounded killer comes to a dead-end in a roadside diner. [TA/ NY Times]
Synopsis 2:
In this crime mystery, a respected proprietor of a roadside cafe employs a
dishwasher with the reputation of a thief. [TA/ NY Times]
1.03 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: SOMETHING WONDERFUL
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.33: 16-Apr-1954)
05July1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Claude Dauphin
Marcia Patrick
John Bryant
Synopsis:
French actor Claude Dauphin as an ambitious producer. [TA/ NY Times]
1.04 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: DELAY AT FORT BESS
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.53: 03-Sep-1954)
12July1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Sterling Hayden
Synopsis:
A Western adventure with Sterling Hayden as an Indian-fighter. [TA / NY Times]
1.05 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: DECISION AT SEA
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.35: 30-Apr-1954)
[--] 19July1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Don Taylor
Synopsis:
Don Taylor plays a Navy doctor in "Decision at Sea," based on a true incident in
the career of the late Admiral Marc A. Mitscher. [TA / NY Times]
1.06 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: AT THE NATCHEZ INN
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.21: 22-Jan-1954)
26July1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Peter Lawford
Marion Carr
Synopsis:
Peter Lawford plays an adventurer posing as the lost French Dauphin in a period
piece set in nineteenth-century New Orleans. [TA / NY Times]
1.07 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE LONG TRAIL
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 4.11: 19-Nov-1954)
02Aug1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Anthony Quinn … Clay Waldon
Synopsis:
The story of a Texas Ranger who treks to the new State of Oregon to extradite a
suspected felon. [TA / NY Times]
1.08 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE BLACK MATE
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.42: 18-June-1954)
09Aug1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Paul Kelly
Robert Cornthwaite
Synopsis:
Paul Kelly as a seaman pitted against his captain. [TA / NY Times]
1.09 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: LITTLE WAR IN SAN DEDE
(aka "Little War at San Dede")
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.39: 28-May-1954)
16Aug1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
John Agar … Otis Tack
Willard Parker … Captain Henry Clay
Ross Elliott … John Mason
Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. … Colonel Louis Coca
Synopsis:
Three Americans become involved in an uprising while visiting a
south-of-the-border country. The trio are arrested as suspects in a
revolutionary plot. [TA]
1.10 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: PEARL-HANDLED GUNS
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.20: 15-Jan-1954)
23Aug1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Zachary Scott
Lee Aaker
Harvey Stephens
Synopsis:
Story of a ruthless outlaw who is the object of a boy's hero worship. [TA / NY
Times]
1.11 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE ROMAN AND THE RENEGADE
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.49: 06-Aug-1954)
30Aug1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Scott Forbes … General Hannibal
Faith Domergue … Marcella
Synopsis:
Marcella, the daughter of a Roman general, is sent to slay Hannibal. But she
falls in love with him after sneaking into his camp. [TA / NY Times]
1.12 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: NO RESCUE
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 4.09: 5-Nov-1954)
06Sep1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Francis Lederer
Rodolfo Hoyos Jr.
Nancy Evans
Harry Antrim
Eugenia Paul
Synopsis:
An electronics expert is wanted for sedition in a Latin-American dictatorship.
[TA/ NY Times]
1.13 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE CLOSED DOOR
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.13: 27-Nov-1953)
13Sep1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Gene Lockhart … Alfred Renell
Beverly Washburn … Jo
Willis B. Bouchey … Dr. Clanders
Ruth Swanson
Drake Smith
Ralph Moody
Synopsis:
Gene Lockhart in the role of an industrialist whose ruthlessness overtakes him.
[TA/ NY Times]
1.14 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: BY-LINE
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 3.48: 30-July-1954)
20Sep1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Arthur Franz … Chris Grine
Marilyn Erskine … Julie Cole
Willis Bouchey … Angus MacDonald
Synopsis:
Story of an over-eager ace reporter and a vicious managing editor. The reporter
invents a murder and is almost convicted for it. [TA/ NY Times]
[--] 27Sep1955 CBS Tue 9:30pm - return of "The Red Skelton Show."
############# Spotlight Playhouse ############
############ season 2 Summer 1956 ###########
##############################################
CBS Tuesdays 9:30-10:00pm (26Jun56-18Sep56)
Summer replacement series for "The Red Skelton Show"
Mainly reruns of
"Pepsi Cola
Playhouse" and
"Studio 57"
2.01
[--] Spotlight Playhouse: LOST LULLABY
[Season 2 Premiere]
(first aired -
Pepsi
Cola Playhouse #2.13: 26-Dec-1954 ABC Sun)
26Jun1956 CBS Tue
starring
William Gargan
Mary Field
Paul Fix
Arthur Space
Gavin Muir
Synopsis:
2.02 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE OLD FLAME
(first aired - The
Billy Rose Show #16 16-Jan-1951 ABC Tue)
03Jul1956 CBS Tue NYT [Long Beach Press Telegram]
starring
Brian Aherne
Joan Evans
Eve McVeagh
Synopsis:
A man winds up in a romantic triangle caught between an old flame and a new one.
[RF]
2.03
[--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE STALKING HORSE
(first aired -
Studio 57 #1.30:
12-Apr-1955 DuMont)
10Jul1956 CBS Tue
starring
Paul Langton
Jeanne Bates
Ann Lee
Pamela Duncan
Synopsis:
A policeman cannot explain where he acquired a large sum of money. [RF]
2.04 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE WALTZ
(listed by Writers Guild of America - Authors Playhouse 1954)
17Jul1956 CBS Tue
starring
Anne Bancroft
Warren Stevens
Peter Graves
Synopsis:
A love story of a small town school teacher who believes her life is over when
her fiance is reported lost in Korea. [RF]
2.05
[--] Spotlight Playhouse: HOLLYWOOD HOME SWEET HOME
(first aired -
Pepsi Cola Playhouse #1.29: 16-Apr-1954 ABC Fri)
24Jul1956 CBS Tue
starring
Lloyd Corrigan
Frances Bavier
Francis X. Bushman
Synopsis:
Comedy in the plush setting of a film star's mansion. [RF]
2.06
[--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE MAGIC GLASS
(first aired -
Studio 57 #2.28:
20Mar56 synd.)
31Jul1956 CBS Tue
starring
Ruth Hussey
William Hopper
Synopsis:
A fantasy about a compact mirror that reveals the future. [RF]
2.07
[--] Spotlight Playhouse: DON'T YOU REMEMBER
(first aired -
Pepsi Cola Playhouse #1.24: 12-Mar-1954 ABC Fri)
07Aug1956 CBS Tue
starring
Philip Ober
Frances Bavier
Nancy Gates
Synopsis:
A man returns to his boyhood sweetheart and finds she has retained her youth. [RF]
[--] Spotlight Playhouse
14Aug1956
pre-empted for the Democratic National Convention
[--] Spotlight Playhouse
21Aug1956
pre-empted for the Republican National Convention
2.08
[--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE MOTIVE GOES ROUND AND ROUND
(first aired -
Pepsi Cola Playhouse #1.11: 11-Dec-1953 ABC Fri)
28Aug1956 CBS Tue
starring
Ludwig Donath
Eve Miller
Synopsis:
A tale of love and suspicion. [RF]
2.09
[--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE LADY CHALLENGES
(first aired -
Pepsi
Cola Playhouse #2.30: 24-Apr-1955 ABC Sun)
04Sep1956 CBS Tue
starring
Eve Miller
Craig Stevens
Eleanore Tanin
Synopsis:
A woman who wants everyone to meet her own standards causes havoc. [RF]
2.10
[--] Spotlight Playhouse: I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, NATALIE
(first aired -
Studio 57 #2.15:
12Dec55 synd.)
11Sep1956 CBS Tue
starring
Lizabeth Scott
Patric Knowles
Synopsis:
Story of complications between a man and woman, both married to someone else. [RF]
2.11
[--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE BAXTER BOY [Final
episode of the Season 2]
(first aired -
Studio 57 #2.26
06Mar56 synd.)
18Sep1956CBS Tue
starring
Mona Freeman
Johnny McGovern
Synopsis:
A movie star makes a guest appearance at a high school prom. [RF]
############# Spotlight Playhouse ############
############ season 3 Summer 1957 ###########
##############################################
CBS Tuesdays 9:30-10:00pm
Summer replacement series for "The Red Skelton Show"
Mainly Reruns of "Ford Television Theatre"
3.01 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: MODEL WIFE
(first aired - Ford Television Theatre 8.13: 26-Dec-1956)
02-Jul-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Ralph Bellamy … David Ewing
Felicia Farr … Gloria Ewing
Pat Conway
Synopsis:
Story of a calendar girl. [TA / 26-Dec-1956 NY Times]
3.02 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: MRS. WAYNE COMES TO CALL
(first aired: Ford Television Theatre 8.18: 30-Jan-1957)
09-Jul-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Phyllis Kirk
Terry Kelman
Arthur Franz
Peggy Webber
Synopsis:
Drama about an abandoned child and a mother's love. [TA / NY Times]
3.03 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: WITH NO REGRETS
(first aired: Ford Television Theatre 8.21: 20-Feb-1957)
16-Jul-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Ann Sothern
Synopsis 1:
Ann Sothern stars as a school principal who endangers her career to defend one
of her young pupils. [TA / 20-Feb-1957 NY Times]
Synopsis 2:
An elderly school principal puts her ideals to a test. [TA / NY Times]
3.04 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE MARRIAGE PLAN
(first aired: Ford Television Theatre 8.11: 12-Dec-1956)
23-Jul-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Eddie Bracken
Mona Freeman
Synopsis:
Comedy about a married couple's financial difficulties. [TA / NY Times]
3.05 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE PENLANDS AND THE POODLE
(first aired: Ford Television Theatre 8.17: 23-Jan-1957)
30-Jul-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Larry Parks
Betty Garrett
Synopsis:
How a strange dog brings joy to an artist. [TA/ NY Times]
3.06 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: BROKEN BARRIER
(first aired: Ford Television Theatre 8.23: 6-Mar-1957)
06-Aug-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
MacDonald Carey
Marguerite Chapman
Dick Foran
Synopsis 1:
A story of an advertising agency executive. [TA / NY Times]
Synopsis 2:
About a suave sophisticate who returns to the farm for a holiday reunion with
the home folk. [TA/ NY Times 6-Mar-1957]
3.07 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: RINGSIDE SEAT
(first aired: Ford Television Theatre 8.20: 13-Feb-1957)
13-Aug-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Hugh O'Brian
Billy Chapin
Synopsis:
A story about a prizefighter and his son. [TA / NY Times]
3.08 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE MAN ACROSS THE HALL
(first aired: Ford Television Theatre 8.25: 20-Mar-1957)
20-Aug-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Robert Sterling
Vera-Ellen
Eddie Ryder
Synopsis:
About a young girl's efforts to become a television success.
3.09 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS
(first aired: Ford Television Theatre 8.06: 7-Nov-1956)
27-Aug-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Guy Madison
Dianne Foster
Synopsis 1:
Story of a romance which started in a subway. [TA / NY Times 7-Nov-1956]
Synopsis 2:
Story concerning the test of an old Welsh legend that a love which proves itself
three times will last forever. [TA / NY Times]
3.10 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: EXCLUSIVE
(first aired - Ford Television Theatre 8.27: 03-Apr-1957)
03-Sep-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Phyllis Kirk … Sarah Caine
Synopsis:
Story about a rivalry among foreign correspondents. [TA / NY Times]
3.11 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE MENACE OF HASTY HEIGHTS
(first aired - Ford Television Theatre 8.08: 21-Nov-1956)
10-Sep-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Jean Hagen
Steve Cochran
Kent Taylor
Synopsis:
A comedy about an escaped convict, a housewife and a diaper pin. [TA / NY Times
21-Nov-1956]
Synopsis 2:
An escaped convict fails to impress a busy housewife. [TA / NY Times]
3.12 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: FOOTNOTE ON A DOLL
(first aired - Ford Television Theatre 8.30: 24-Apr-1957)
17-Sep-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Bette Davis … Dolley Madison
Natalie Schafer … Beatrice Trent
Synopsis:
Drama of a scandal concerning the widow of President James Madison. [TA / NY
Times 24-Apr-1957]
3.13 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE QUIET STRANGER
(first aired - Ford Television Theatre 8.15: 09-Jan-1957)
24-Sep-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
George Montgomery
Forrest Tucker
Bobby Clary
Lyn Thomas
Ted de Corsia
Bill Hale
Mike Batran
Synopsis:
The story of a country school teacher who is asked to gamble his horse for the
rebuilding of a burned out school
- in a race with the mayor's speedy steed. [TA / Hagerstown, Maryland, Morning
Herald]
[--] 01-Oct-1957 CBS Tue 9:30pm - return of "The Red
Skelton Show."
############# Spotlight Playhouse ############
############ season 4 Summer 1958 ###########
##############################################
CBS Tuesday 9:30-10:00pm
Summer replacement series for "The Red Skelton Show"
Mainly reruns from "Loretta Young Show"/"Letter to Loretta")
4.01 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: POWER PLAY
01-July-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
James Daly
Synopsis:
Football story.
[--] 08-July-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 15-July-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 22-July-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 29-July-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 05-Aug-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 12-Aug-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 19-Aug-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 26-Aug-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
4.xx [--] Spotlight Playhouse: SECOND-RATE CITIZEN
(first aired - Loretta Young Show 5.26: 27-Apr-1958)
02-Sep-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Dewey Martin
Synopsis:
A small town high school science teacher, devoted to his profession, is made to
feel like a second-class citizen. [TA / NY Times]
[--] 09-Sep-1958 - Spotlight Playhouse listed in NY Times,
but no details.
[--] 16-Sep-1958 - Spotlight Playhouse listed in NY Times, but no details.
4.xx [--] Spotlight Playhouse: BLIZZARD
(first aired - Loretta Young Show 5.06: 01-Dec-1957)
23-Sep-1958 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Stephen McNally
Pat Crowley
Synopsis:
A young couple have to make a basic decision about their lives. [TA / NY Times]
[--] 30-Sep-1958 CBS Tue - return of "The Red Skelton
Show"
############# Spotlight Playhouse ############
############ season 5 Summer 1959 ###########
################ (final season)
##############
CBS Tuesday 9:30-10:00pm
Summer replacement series for "The Red Skelton Show"
Mainly reruns from "The Jane Wyman Show" & "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars"
5.01 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: QUESTION OF SURVIVAL
30-June-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Ronald Reagan as a cavalry officer. [TA / NY Times]
5.02 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: LETTERS FROM CAIRO
07-July-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Ann Todd
Synopsis:
A wife is tormented by letters written by her husband before his death. [TA / NY
Times]
5.03 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THE IRON ROSE
14-July-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Sterling Hayden
Vincent Price
Fay Wray
Synopsis:
Drama of violence on the American frontier. [TA / NY Times]
5.04 [--] Spotlight Playhouse: THAT'S THE MAN
21-July-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Ray Milland
Synopsis:
A respectable man is arrested when he inadvertently picks up the wrong purse at
a party. [TA / NY Times]
[--] 28-July-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 04-Aug-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 11-Aug-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 18-Aug-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
[--] 25-Aug-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
5.xx [--] Spotlight Playhouse: HIDE AND SEEK
(first aired - The Jane Wyman Show 5.06: 22-May-1958)
01-Sep-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
Everett Sloane
Synopsis 1:
Everett Sloane is a detective who becomes involved in small-town politics. [TA /
NY Times]
Synopsis 2:
A scientific detective is called to a small Oklahoma town to explain the mystery
of a dead girl's body and becomes
involved in local political intrigue. [TA / Dallas Morning News]
5.xx [--] Spotlight Playhouse: WAY OF THE WEST
(first aired - Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 7.35: 8-June-1958)
08-Sep-1959 CBS Tue 9:30pm
Cast:
John Forsythe
[--] 15-Sep-1959 - Spotlight Playhouse listed in NY Times, but no details.
[--] 22-Sep-1959 - Spotlight Playhouse listed in NY Times, but no details.
[possibly Final Episode]
[--] 29-Sep-1959 CBS Tue - return of "The Red Skelton
Show"
############# Spotlight Playhouse ############
################### the end ##################
##############################################
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