T5#137 The Eye of the Storm

Episode number: 137

Network broadcast date: Tuesday, February 9, 1965
The Eye of the Storm
Genre: Social
Author: Richard McCracken
Production number: 137
Production date: Wednesday, January 20, 1965
Director: Ted Bell
Producer: Ted Bell

Plotline: With Hurricane Cleo closing in on a small North Carolina town, the local doctor races to save as many people as he can, until he rescues the wrong person: an escaped mental patient out for blood.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650209+137+The+Eye+of+the+Storm.flac

Cast: Court Benson, Alice Yourman, Cecil Roy, Staats Cotsworth, Audrey Marsh, Ben Yaffe

Notes:

No opening tease

T5#136 Cold Storage

Episode number: 136

Network broadcast date: Monday, February 8, 1965
Cold Storage
Genre: Science fiction
Author: William Mourne
Production number: 140
Production date: Monday, January 25, 1965
Director: Ted Bell
Producer: Ted Bell

Plotline: A group of strangers prepare to be put into suspended animation for a thousand years. No idea why they’ve been selected or how they can get out of it, they start attacking each other.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650208+136+Cold+Storage.flac

Cast: George Petrie, Jack Grimes, Arlene Walker, Evie Juster, Donald Buka, Cecil Roy, Lorraine MacMartin

Notes:

Broadcasting Magazine for this date has a full page ad for "Theatre 5" which appears to be part of a re-branding effort to attract more stations

T5#135 The Underdeveloped Nation

Episode number: 135

Network broadcast date: Friday, February 5, 1965
The Underdeveloped Nation
Genre: Human interest fantasy
Author: Romeo Muller
Production number: 135
Production date: Monday, January 18, 1965
Director: Ted Bell
Producer: Ted Bell

Plotline: A fighter pilot crash-lands on a mysterious island, encountering pygmy-like creatures, a talking scarecrow and a yellow-brick road that leads to an emerald city… Why does it all feel so familiar?

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650205+135+The+Underveloped+Nation+KGO-SanFran+LQ.flac

Cast: Ralph Camargo, Cliff Carpenter, Anne Seymour, John McGovern, William Griffis, Robert Dryden, Cecil Roy

Notes:

No opening tease; low quality sound

T5#134 Greater Love Hath No Man

Episode number: 134

Network broadcast date: Thursday, February 4, 1965
Greater Love Hath No Man
Genre: Human interest drama
Author: Ian Martin
Production number: 134
Production date: Friday, January 15, 1965
Director: Ted Bell
Producer: Ted Bell

Plotline: A surgeon faces an impossible choice when he must decide which patient should get a kidney replacement — his fatherly mentor or a scared young girl.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650204+134+Greater+Love+Hath+No+Man.flac

Cast: Robert Dryden, June Graham, Stan Watt, Evie Juster, Arlene Walker

Notes:

No opening tease

T5#133 The Hunters

Episode number: 133

Network broadcast date: Wednesday, February 3, 1965
The Hunters
Genre: Social
Author: Richard McCracken
Production number: 133
Production date: Thursday, January 14, 1965
Director: Ted Bell
Producer: Ted Bell

Plotline: A big game hunting trip with his son becomes a test of will for an alcoholic father struggling to stay sober.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650203+133+The+Hunters.flac

Cast: George Petrie, Peter Fernandez, Fran Carlon, Jack Hurdle, Mark O'Daniels

Notes:

No opening tease

T5#132 Time, the Place, and the Death

Episode number: 132

Network broadcast date: Tuesday, February 2, 1965
Time, the Place, and the Death
Genre: Comedy
Author: Peter Fernandez
Production number: 129
Production date: Friday, January 8, 1965
Director: Warren Somerville

Plotline: When a fortune teller warns Henry that he will die soon, he takes the news surprisingly well. But as he gets his affairs in order, his best friends prepare to murder him.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650202+132+The+Time%2C+the+Place%2C+and+the+Death.flac

Aircheck from KGO San Francisco https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650202+132+The+Time%2C+the+Place%2C+and+the+Death+KGO-SanFran.flac

Cast: Paul McGrath, Bryna Raeburn, Ian Martin, Elliott Reid

Notes:

Was originally used on Suspense 1960-01-17 as The Time, the Place, the Death; No opening tease

T5#131 The Boy

Episode number: 131

Network broadcast date: Monday, February 1, 1965
The Boy
Genre: Mystery
Author: Jules Archer
Production number: 132
Production date: Wednesday, January 13, 1965
Director: Warren Somerville
Producer: Warren Somerville

Plotline: It’s a foggy night at a roadside diner where a waitress and a New England seaman share an intense connection neither of them can explain. She’s been holding out for Prince Charming, but this is something much deeper than a romantic spark — something that transcends time and space.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650201+131+The+Boy.flac

Cast: Joyce Gordon, Connie Lembcke, William Redfield, Robert Dryden, Luis Van Rooten

Notes:

First complete surviving episode the identifies Lee Bowman as Executive Producer

T5#130 I've Got Your Number

Episode number: 130

Network broadcast date: Friday, January 29, 1965
I've Got Your Number
Genre: Topical drama
Author: Addy Richton
Production number: 130
Production date: Monday, January 11, 1965
Director: Ted Bell
Producer: Ted Bell

Plotline: A woman starts receiving terrifying phone calls from an unhinged woman threatening to kill her. They have to be some kind of prank… right?

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650129+130+I've+Got+Your+Number.flac

Cast: Donald Buka, Rosemary Rice, Nat Polen, Lesley Woods, Guy Sorel

Notes:

Richton was a 1940s radio writer who sometimes used the pseudonyms Lynn Stone and Adelaide Marston she wrote for soaps Hilltop House, Valiant Lady, and also prime series such as Cavalcade of America; no executive producer mentioned in credits

T5#129 The Hostage

Episode number: 129

Network broadcast date: Thursday, January 28, 1965
The Hostage
Genre: Melodrama
Author: Fielden Farrington
Production number: 127
Production date: Wednesday, January 6, 1965
Director: Warren Somerville
Producer: Warren Somerville

Plotline: A pair of deli owners are held hostage by a kid who just robbed a liquor store. As the police close in, the old couple try to calm things down, with unexpected results.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650128+129+The+Hostage.flac

Cast: Jack Grimes, Ethel Everett, Jackson Beck, Lon Clark

Notes:

Final surviving complete recording that identifies Ted Bell as Executive Producer

T5#128 Tomorrow 6-1212

Episode number: 128

Network broadcast date: Wednesday, January 27, 1965
Tomorrow 6-1212
Genre: Science drama
Author: Robert Newman
Production number: 114
Production date: Friday, December 18, 1964
Director: Ted Bell
Producer: Ted Bell

Plotline: Thanks to some crossed wires, a woman in 1965 finds herself on the phone with someone in the year 2035. She suddenly has access to knowledge that can change the world forever… if she can just keep the line open.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650127+128+Tomorrow+6-1212.flac

Cast: Rosemary Rice, George Petrie, Marie Masters, Donald Buka, Arlene Walker

Notes:

No opening tease

T5#127 Mr. Horn's Holiday

Episode number: 127

Network broadcast date: Tuesday, January 26, 1965
Mr. Horn's Holiday
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Albert G. Miller
Production number: 128
Production date: Thursday, January 7, 1965
Director: Ted Bell
Producer: Ted Bell

Plotline: Desperate for some success, a struggling painter swears he’ll sell his soul to Satan to win an art contest. He just didn’t expect the Devil to immediately arrive at his door, interested in moving into his guest room.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650126+127+Mr+Horn's+Holiday.flac

Cast: David Burns, June Graham, George Petrie

Notes:

David Burns was appearing in Hello, Dolly on Broadway; no opening tease in surviving recording

T5#126 Where Art Thou, Romeo?

Episode number: 126

Network broadcast date: Monday, January 25, 1965
Where Art Thou, Romeo?
Genre: Crime melodrama
Author: Leonard Stadd
Production number: 131
Production date: Tuesday, January 12, 1965
Director: Warren Somerville
Producer: Warren Somerville

Plotline: A gangster fakes his own death by taking an experimental drug that puts him in suspended animation for three days. What could go wrong?

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650125+126+Where+Art+Thou%2C+Romeo.flac

Cast: James Monks, Ivor Francis, Robert Dryden, Gilbert Mack

Notes:

No executive producer mentioned in credits; no opening tease in surviving recording.

Suspended animation was a topic in the news of the era, especially as the difficult issues of space travel were being confronted in the US space program.

T5#125 The First Weekend

Episode number: 125

Network broadcast date: Friday, January 22, 1965
The First Weekend
Genre: Melodrama
Author: Murray Burnett
Production number: 125
Production date: Monday, January 4, 1965
Director: Ted Bell

Plotline: When a teenage girl returns home after spending 2 months in a youth house, she and her dad struggle keep from falling back into old bad habits.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650122+125+The+First+Weekend.flac

Cast: John Gibson, Arlene Walker, Jack Grimes, Evie Juster

 

T5#124 The Imposters

Episode number: 124

Network broadcast date: Thursday, January 21, 1965
The Imposters
Genre: Mystery
Author: Peter Fernandez
Production number: 126
Production date: Tuesday, January 5, 1965
Director: Warren Somerville

Plotline: A new housekeeper arrives at a secluded manor to discover the scheming butler has big plans for her: they’re going to kill the reclusive couple who own the estate and replace them.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650121+124+The+Imposters.flac

Cast: Arnold Moss, Claudia Morgan, Lesley Woods, Jeff David, Ian Martin

Notes:

Was originally used on Suspense 1961-11-12 as The Imposters; Fernandez started as a radio actor in the 1940s and wrote scripts for Suspense in the 1960s; no opening tease in surviving recording

T5#123 A Dream of a Scheme

 Episode number: 123

Network broadcast date: Wednesday, January 20, 1965
A Dream of a Scheme
Genre: Comedy crime
Author: Robert A. Arthur
Production number: 108
Production date: Friday, December 11, 1964
Director: Ted Bell

Plotline: An obsessed cop is convinced Mr. Warren killed his wife and buried her in the backyard. They have eye witnesses and a mountain of circumstantial evidence, so why can’t they find a body? Maybe because this is the perfect crime.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650120+123+A+Dream+of+a+Scheme.flac

Cast: Elliott Reid, Ralph Bell, Arlene Walker, John McGovern, Jack Hurdle

T5#122 Across the River from Grandma's House

Episode number: 122

Network broadcast date: Tuesday, January 19, 1965
Across the River from Grandma's House
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Leonard Stadd
Production number: 124
Production date: Thursday, December 31, 1964
Director: Warren Somerville
Producer: Warren Somerville

Plotline: An escaped convict takes refuge with a teenage girl and her sweet grandmother, only to discover they are the real danger.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650119+122+Across+the+River+from+Grandma's+House.flac

Cast: Ralph Bell, Ethel Remey, Norman Rose, Evie Juster

T5#121 The Wheel

Episode number: 121

Network broadcast date: Monday, January 18, 1965
The Wheel
Genre: Human interest
Author: ?
Production number: 123
Production date: Wednesday, December 30, 1964

Plotline: A mother’s grief over her dead teenage son begins to harden into resentment toward her delinquent neighbor.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650118+121+The+Wheel+(no+close)+VLQ.flac

Cast: Ralph Camargo

Notes:

Ralph Camargo is likely playing Detective Forbes

The surviving recording is in very bad sound, and the credits have been clipped from the recording

There are no newspaper clippings available at this time that can identify the author or other details. 

T5#120 The Trophy

Episode number: 120

Network broadcast date: Friday, January 15, 1965
The Trophy
Genre: Human interest
Author: Virginia Marie Cooke
Production number: 118
Production date: Wednesday, December 23, 1964
Director: Warren Somerville
Producer: Warren Somerville

Plotline: A newspaper reporter pieces together a strange but touching story of an old man found dying in a boarding house.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650115+120+The+Trophy+VLQ.flac

Cast: Evie Juster, George Petrie, Ian Martin, Ethel Everett, Bill Griffis, Jeff David, Marty Meyers

Notes:

Cooke wrote episodes of Family Theater as well as many 1950s TV series, and books in the 1960s; her radio writing went back as far as the late 1930s series Speed Gibson.

This recording is in poor sound. 

T5#119 The Wandering Spaceman

Episode number: 119

Network broadcast date: Thursday, January 14, 1965
The Wandering Spaceman
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Morton Golding
Production number: 115
Production date: Monday, December 21, 1964
Director: Ted Bell

Plotline: In the future, the moon has become a central hub for intergalactic travel but some things never change — like a father worrying he’ll lose his daughter to a mysterious stranger. In this case, she’s fallen for the space age Flying Dutchmen.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650114+119+The+Wandering+Spaceman+LQ.flac

Cast: Donald Buka, Frances Spanier, Jeff David, David Kerman

Notes:

Fred Foy reads opening tease.

This recording is in low quality sound.

T5#118 Man on the Canyon Wall

 

Episode number: 118
Network broadcast date: Wednesday, January 13, 1965
Man on the Canyon Wall
Genre: Adventure
Author: Jules Archer
Production number: 122
Production date: Wednesday, December 30, 1964
Director: Ted Bell

Plotline: A mob enforcer drives high into the mountains to bring in a rat, but when that man saves his life, the enforcer has some hard choices to make.

Listen: https://archive.org/details/T5project/Theater+Five+650113+118+Man+on+the+Canyon+Wall+(sl+clipped+close).flac

Cast: Jackson Beck, George Petrie, Evie Juster, Jack Grimes

Notes:

Variety 1965-01-13 reports that Lee Bowman is now executive producer replacing the late Ed Byron; Bowman's deal allows him to still pursue acting roles in movies and TV; the series was also renewed for its next 26 weeks