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Season 2 (1953-54)
Episode Guide
compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by:
references:
TV Guide /
Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive
############# Death Valley Days ##############
############# season 2 1953-54 ##############
##############################################
19 New episodes
(McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. nos. #319-#337)
Hosted by
Stanley Andrews - The Old Ranger
--------------------
PROD NOS 319-323 INCLUSIVE +325 MISSING FROM LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
--------------------
2.01 Death Valley Days:
LITTLE WASHINGTON
[BH]
(prod no not known - between 319 & 323 OR 325)
(copyright date 01Oct53)[BH]
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest cast: [LHA]
Sally Mansfield ........ Dodie Trumble
Jim Davis
John Eldredge
Louise Arthur
Synopsis 1:
The newly-appointed director of the Carson City mint arrives in a crude Western
town after years of living in
Washington. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
The story of Dodie Trumble a Washington D.C.socialite who, transplanted to
Carson City, Nevada, in the year 1878,
makes the Wild West town a "little Washington." [BH]
2.02 Death Valley Days:
WHICH SIDE OF THE FENCE?
[BH]
(prod no not known - between 319 & 323 OR 325)
(copyright date 29Oct53) [BH]
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest cast: [LHA/BH]
Lynn Thomas ....... Mary Ann King
Richard Emory ..... Martin Bisbee
Earle Hodgins
Hal K. Dawson
Synopsis 1:
A man and the woman he loves are caught up in the dispute over the
California-Nevada state boundary. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
The heated dispute over the California-Nevada State line provides the background
for this "Death Valley Days" tale.
Caught in the conflict are sweethearts Mary Ann King and Martin Bisbee, whose
romance is almost wrecked when they
find themselves on opposite sides of the political fence. [BH]
2.xx Death Valley Days:
DEAR TEACHER
[BH]
Flying A prod. (prod no not known - between 319 & 323 OR 325)
(copyright date 24Nov53) [BH]
# 2.xx -
Death Valley Days - Dear Teacher - 1 of 3 (24Nov1953)
# 2.xx -
Death Valley Days - Dear Teacher - 2 of 3 (24Nov1953)
# 2.xx -
Death Valley Days - Dear Teacher - 3 of 3 (24Nov1953)
Executive Producer Louis Gray/ Producer Dorrell McGowan
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast: [LHA/BH]
Nancy Hale ........... Evan Prentiss
Michael Moore ........ Alex Gainar
Donna Corcoran ....... Gladys
Vivi Janiss .......... Mrs. Murtagh
Geraldine Wall
Paul McGuire
Kermit Maynard
Synopsis:
The schoolage youngsters of Ubehebe, Nevada, have a well-earned reputation for
being rough on teachers in the year of 1894.
That is until the petite Miss Evan Prentiss arrives to take over the class -
armed with a sixgun! Then one of the students
starts a vicious rumor about the young teacher that nearly costs Miss Prentiss
her job. [BH]
2.xx Death Valley Days:
THE DIAMOND BABE [BH]
(prod no not known - between 319 & 323 OR 325)
(copyright date 29Sep53)[BH]
Producer, Dorrell McGowan
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast: [LHA/BH]
Ann Savage
Jill Jarmyn,
Charles Victor,
Myra McKinney,
Dorothy Adams,
Leonard Penn
Joan Danton,
Phil Rich,
Reed Howes,
Hal Smith
Synopsis:
Reputedly based on fact, this episode tells the tale of a beautiful and flashy
dance-hall queen, Diamond Babe, who wins
the hearts of the entire community during an epidemic in Gold Hill, Nevada, in
1869. Loved by the men but shunned by
their wives, she turns her saloon into a hospital and successfully fights the
epidemic.
Review:
"...Ann Savage gives a sizzling impersonation of the title role lending the
brittle hardness the part requires..."
[Variety:Oct.8'53][BH]
2.xx Death Valley Days:
SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY [BH]
(prod no not known - between 319 & 323 0R 325)
(copyright date 27Oct53)[BH]
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
James Griffith
Phyllis Coates
Gloria Winters,
Leonard Penn,
Coulter Irwin,
Rodney Bell,
Henry Rowland
Frank Jenks,
Jimmy Hawkins,
Jo Devlin
Synopsis:
An ex-newspaperman, now the town drunk, is in no condition to meet his beautiful
young sister. So the townspeople clean
him up, keep him away from the bars and pose him as the editor of the local
newspaper. Before long, however, he goes
back to the bottle but when his friend gets trapped in a mine cave-in, he sobers
up and saves his life.
[Variety: Nov.11 & 18'53][BH]
2.xx Death Valley Days:
WHIRLWIND COURTSHIP
[BH]
(prod. no. not known - between 319 & 323 OR 325)
(copyright date 21Nov53)[BH]
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Michael Hathaway
Robert Lowery,
George Pembroke,
Joan Wright,
Nan Leslie,Russell Hicks
Susan Cooke,
Dallas Boyd,
Richard Person
Synopsis:
William Stewart, an Eastern lawyer, arrives in Nevada City and proceeds to build
a reputation by honest, albeit, shrewd
methods. He also woos the prettiest gal in that part of the country, but when
she throws him over he quickly rushes into
another liaison so as not to lose face with the townsfolk. The Old Ranger
comments that it turned out to be a successful
marriage. [Variety: Jan.7'54][BH]
------------------------------
2.06 Death Valley Days:
LITTLE PAPEETE [BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 324 (ODAT: 2Jan54; OREG: LP3217)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Emily Heath
Richard Avonde,
Regina Gleason,
Hal Smith,
Bruce Payne
Kay Stewart,
Leo McMahon
Synopsis:
The story of the first volunteer fire brigade in Columbia, California in 1861
and the fire engine, a hand pumper called
"Little Papeete." A woman, in love with the fire chief, looks upon the engine as
a "rival" and her attempts to get rid of
Little Papeete nearly costs the chief his life. [Variety: Feb.10'54][BH]
2.07 [--] prod. no. 325 (no copyright details)
2.xx Death Valley Days:
ONE IN A HUNDRED
(prod no not known - between 319 & 323 OR 325)
(1953.12.23)
Michael Forest ................ Larry Brooks
Linda Watkins ................. Hannah Gaines
Robert Griffin ................ Lucas
George Mitchell ............... Sam Dorrance
2.08 Death Valley Days:
LOTTA CRABTREE [BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 326 (ODAT: 5Jan54; OREG: LP3218)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Sharon Baird ......... Lotta Crabtree (Adult)
Gloria Jean .......... Lotta crabtree (Child)
Kay Stewart
Mark Bennett
Yvonne Cross ......... Lola Montez
Paul Weber,
Bruce Payne,
Bob Paquin,
Heenan Elliott,
Lyle Talbot
Synopsis:
Ruth Woodman's teleplay carefully follows the career of the star from her
childhood when she began to make stage
appearances in order to earn money for a family virtually beggared by her
father's fruitless pursuit of the golden will o' the wisp.
Review:
Necessarily, the story touches only lightly on Lotta's triumphs with the Old
Ranger supplying a narrative fill-in to the
details. It maintains constant interest, however, despite an almost episodic
quality. Carefully and tastefully done the
vidfilm ranks with the best of the series. [Variety: Jan.20'54][BH]
2.09 Death Valley Days:
SNOWSHOE THOMPSON
[BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 327 (ODAT: 27Feb54; OREG: LP3535)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Don Kennedy .......... John Thompson
Jane Hampton,
Heenan Elliott,
Kay Wiley
Lee Van Cleef,
Robert Paquin,
Frank Richards
Synopsis:
John "Snowshoe" Thompson, the first man to carry the mail via skis over the high
mountain passes during the California gold
rush, is engaged but tells his fiancee he's got to carry the mail one more
winter and then they'll wed. But for years
John just goes on 'a-skiin' and his bride-to-be goes on a-wait-in.' John and his
ever-patient love, who's weary of waiting,
are finally married when some of the townspeople take up a collection to end
this eternal courtship and make them one,
the coin providing poverty-stricken John (who worked for nothing) with the
wherewithal. [Variety: August 1955][BH]
2.10 Death Valley Days: THE TWELVE POUND NUGGET
[BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 328 (ODAT: 30Jan54; OREG: LP3534)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Helen Marshall
Maura Murphy,
Ray Boyle,
John Damler,
John Veitch
George Cleveland,
Russ Todd,
(Betty Wilson ?)
Synopsis:
When she learns that the man she married already has a wife whom he never
divorced, a woman who is expecting a baby comes
to live with her sister and brother-in-law in a mining town. After the baby is
born, a local judge spreads the word that
there's a "twelve-pound nugget at the shack. The story ends with the mother
finding a new and better romance with one of
the men in the town. [BH]
Review:
"...a cut below usual standard but handled with competence." [Variety: March
10'54][BH]
2.11 Death Valley Days: THE BIG TEAM ROLLS
(filmed in color)
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 329 (ODAT: 27Jan55; OREG: LP4459)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest cast: [LHA/BH]
Judd Holdren .......... Dana Emerson
Tom London ............ Sandy McPherson
Lucille Barkley ....... Melinda
Damian O'Flynn,
Ted Hecht,
Rama Bai,
Charles Stevens,
James Wallace,
Zon Murray
Synopsis 1:
A young Eastern tenderfoot tries to prove himself to the girl he loves, but gets
more than he bargained for. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
A young Easterner hires out as a swamper - or brakeman - for one of the 20-mule
teams which takes 10 days to cross the
searing floor of the valley to deliver its heavy cargo of potash ore to the
loading depot at Mojave. A renegade half-breed,
whose place he took on the wagon, sticks up the team and shoots the driver. The
swamper captures the breed after a chase
and recovers the payroll he stole. [Variety: Feb.1'55]
Note:
The Variety review also indicates that the above episode was filmed in Color.
Note:
Copyright date puts this in season 3 - yet production no. puts it in season 2.
This episode list is in production no. order.
2.12 Death Valley Days:
JIMMY DAYTON'S TREASURE (broadcast title) [BH]
Jimmy Dalton's treasure. (copyright title)
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 330 (ODAT: 27Feb54; OREG: LP3533)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Harry Cody ........... Jimmy Dayton
Barbara Knudson
Synopsis: [BH]
When love first comes to elderly Jimmy Dayton, he buys a toupee and a set of
store-bought teeth, hoping to win the
hand of a gold-digging dance-hall queen.
Note:
"Jimmy Dayton's Treasure" is listed as "Jimmy Dalton's Treasure" in the Library
of Congress Copyright Catalog. [BH]
2.13 Death Valley Days:
YALLER
[BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 331 (ODAT: 30Jan54; OREG: LP3532)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Ray Boyle
Jan Shepard
Griff Barnett
Synopsis:
A young man goes to work in his father's mines, but his claustrophobic
fears bring taunts from the other miners who dub him "yellow." [BH]
Review:
"...a below standard entry." [Variety: Feb.24'54][BH]
2.14 Death Valley Days:
HUSBAND PRO TEM [BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 332 (ODAT: 27Feb54; OREG: LP3627)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Jack Mahoney
Gloria Marshall
Howard Negley,
John Veitch,
Lillian Culver,
Hank Patterson,
Lane Bradford
Synopsis:
A young mining engineer (Mahoney) is hired by the railroad to negotiate a
peaceful settlement with the Indians in the
year 1880. A young woman, who insists on accompanying him on his journey, almost
winds up a squaw when she makes eyes at
the chief. She falls for our hero, instead, when he beats the Injun chief in the
friendliest fight ever seen anywhere.[BH]
2.15 Death Valley Days:
THE KICKAPOO RUN [BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 333 (ODAT: 10Apr54; OREG: LP3628)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Fess Parker
Nancy Hale
Myron Healey
Russ Todd,
Phil Arnold
Synopsis:
When land is opened to homesteaders in New Mexico in 1895, a cowpoke helps a
pretty gal from Kentucky nab the best piece
of land around. But on account of he's afraid the little lady will think he
wants her for her earthly qualities, he won't
propose, just lopes off into the sunset. Years later (by now she's got a grownup
family and is a widow) they meet again,
and this time it's a merger. [BH]
Review:
"Fess Parker performs ably as the hero...Nancy Hale is good as the Southern
belle." [Variety: June 8'54][BH]
2.16 Death Valley Days:
THE RAINBOW CHASER [BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 334 (ODAT: 15May54; OREG: LP3786)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Arthur Space
Kay Stewart
Dee Pollock,
Melodie McGowan,
Stephen Wooton,
Gail Bonney,
Michael Vallon
Synopsis 1:
An irresponsible husband leaves his family for long periods, and goes off to
find a grub stake. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
A wastrel spends his money grubstaking prospectors completely irresponsible of
his family duties. Dreaming of that gold
mine in the sky, he finally goes off looking for one himself. Years pass and
it's assumed he's dead. Meanwhile, his family
goes to work and has a happy life, until one day the characterless character
ambles back into their lives, ready to
resume his head-of-the-house position but not to work. The old bum creates a lot
of friction as he can't understand why
he isn't loved just because he took a few years off chasing rainbows. Happy
ending comes when the wised-up wife grubstakes
her hubby to hunt for a mine she knows doesn't exist, and this time he never
does return. [BH]
Review:
"Arthur Space turns in a convincing portrayal of the ne'er-do-well; Kay Stewart
registers as the ever-suffering wife and
Dee Pollock, Melodie McGowan, Stephen Wooton, Gail Bonney and Michael Vallon
contribute good support. Stuart McGowan's
direction is tight and cohesive and the teleplay by Ruth Woodman is a good one."
[Variety: Sept.28'54][BH]
2.17 Death Valley Days:
SIXTH SENSE [BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 335 (ODAT: 8May54; OREG: LP3787)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest cast:
Jeanne Cooper
William Hudson
Joan Sedlow,
Terry Frost,
Betty Shewman,
Gilbert Frye
Edward Ingram,
Bud Osborne,
Ben Maser
Synopsis:
A woman is bitter and discouraged because she is blind. A mining camp
superintendent gives her new hope with a pep talk.
She acquires a new interest in life when he teaches her how to operate a
telegraphic instrument. She's smitten with him by
now, but he falls in love with the boss's daughter. The blind girl gets a job as
a telegraph operator and in a fast-moving
sequence of events brings about the capture of a stagecoach robber. [Variety:
May 24'54][BH]
2.18 Death Valley Days:
MISTER GODIVA [BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 336 (ODAT: 17Jun54; OREG: LP4142)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest Cast:
Rusty Morris
Yvonne Cross
Emile Meyer,
Paul Raymond,
Helen Spring,
Douglas Henderson
Bill Kennedy
Synopsis:
An eccentric young newspaper-man falls in love with a rich banker's daughter but
the tycoon wants the girl to marry a
wealthy man. He gets the girl on a bet that he can bank $1,000 in three days.
It's his "paper suit" which intrigues the
townspeople enough to seek his autograph for a price, which helps the newsman
make good on his bet.[BH]
Review:
"About as bare of the meaty sinew as Lady Godiva riding through the streets of
Coventry. The scripts of Ruth Woodman generally
have a factual basis ...but here
she was tricked into a premise that creaked with contrivances to justify the
title." [Variety: June 23 '54][BH]
2.19 Death Valley Days:
DEATH VALLEY SCOTTY [BH]
McCann Erickson, Inc. prod. no. 337 (ODAT: 29Apr55; OREG: LP4603)
Directed by Stuart McGowan/ Teleplay by Ruth Woodman
Hosted by Stanley Andrews
Guest cast:
Jack Lomas ............ Scotty
William Schallert ..... Albert M. Johnson
Rusty Morris .......... Sam Swift
Yvonne Cross .......... Marjorie Delafield
Emile Meyer ........... Marcus Delafield
Steve Mitchell..........Blackie
Michael Vallon ........ Old Man West
Gordon Barnes,
Fred Libby,
John Hubbard,
Howard Negley,
Tex Terry
Allan Ray,
John Cretain,
Art Loggins,
Bob Shannon
Synopsis 1:
One of Death Valley's most prominent and mysterious citizens, Death Valley
Scotty, kept the country on it's edge of its
seat for decades. The fabulous stories of secret gold mines and his million
dollar oasis kept newspapermen eager for the
next story. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
The story of the legendary Death Valley Scotty covers a lot of territory, going
back to 1885 when Scott meets an Easterner
who's been told he has only a few weeks to live. Scotty helps him recover and
thus begins a unique, life-long partnership.
The Easterner later becomes a very wealthy man and when Scotty builds a castle
in the desert, claiming his source of income
is from a secret gold mine, it is really supplied by his rich friend. [BH]
Review:
"Jack Lomas delivers a realistic portrayal of Death Valley Scotty, in what
stacks up as one of the best stanzas ever
filmed in the Death Valley series." [Variety: May 10'55][BH]
Note:
Scotty's Castle, an elaborate mansion built in Death Valley with funds supplied
by Scott's friend, Albert Johnson, still
stands and is a famous tourist attraction. Scotty died in 1954 at the age 81. [BH]
Note:
Copyright date puts this in season 3 - yet production no. puts it in season 2.
This episode list is in production no. order.
############# Death Valley Days
##############
############## end of season 2 ###############
##############################################
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