Crossroads (1955 TV series)

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Crossroads
Dennis Morgan Jean Willes Crossroads 1955.jpg
Jean Willes and Dennis Morgan in Crossroads (1955)
Genre Anthology
Directed by Justus Addiss
Nathan Juran
Richard Kinon
Paul Landres
Leslie H. Martinson
Ralph Murphy
Ralph Nelson
George Waggner
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes78
Production
Executive producer Harry Joe Brown
ProducersHarry Joe Brown
Bernard Schubert
Editors Roy V. Livingston
James E. Smith
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time25 mins.
Production companiesFederal Telefilms
Sterling Films (IV)
Original release
Network ABC
Syndication
ReleaseOctober 7, 1955 (1955-10-07) –
June 6, 1957 (1957-06-06)

Crossroads is an American television anthology series based on the activities of clergy from different denominations. It aired from October 7, 1955, to September 27, 1957, on ABC. [1] The show was retitled The Way of Life for syndication.

Contents

Story technical advisers were credited as Fr. George Barry Ford, USN Captain Maurice M. Witherspoon Presbyterian Minister, Vice-President of the Military Chaplains Association and Rabbi William Franklin Rosenblum. The entire series is preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive in Los Angeles, California.[ citation needed ]

Overview

All of the series' episodes dramatized clergymen's experiences, including personal and professional problems that they encountered. Many faiths were represented over the course of the series. [2] The episodes, which often had deep spiritual themes, were usually set in the 1950s, but some were framed for an earlier era.[ citation needed ]

Chevrolet sponsored Crossroads. [3] [4] Bernard L. Schubert was the producer-packager, and Harry Joe Brown was the series maker. Episodes were filmed at Samuel Goldwyn Studios. [5]

Guest stars

The series featured numerous guest stars, many of whom appeared in several episodes throughout the series' run. James Dean appeared in a 1955 episode, "Broadway Trust", along with Lloyd Bridges and Mary Treen. The episode aired five weeks after Dean died in an automobile crash in September 1955.

Victor Jory was cast in the 1957 episode "Lone Star Preacher", a dramatization of the Texas Baptist pastor George Washington Truett, with Barbara Eiler as his wife, Jo Truett.

Other guest stars include:

Broadcast history

Crossroads was broadcast on ABC on Fridays from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time from October 1955 through September 1957. [2] In its first season on ABC, Crossroads followed the long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet on the Friday evening schedule.[ citation needed ] It was scheduled opposite Our Miss Brooks on CBS and The Life of Riley on NBC. The trade publication Billboard reported in July 1956 that the Nielsen report for June 1956 showed Crossroads between those competitors in both rating and share of audience. [3]

Sample episodes:

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References

  1. ↑ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 188. ISBN   0-14-02-4916-8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 303. ISBN   978-0-307-48320-1 . Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Web Winners: Crossroads — ABC-TV". Billboard. July 21, 1956. p. 16. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Automotive & Accessory Sponsors". Billboard. November 18, 1957. p. 9. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Schubert's Coast Huddles". Variety. March 7, 1956. p. 39. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  6. ↑ Claesson, Samuel (2023). Top Models. Sequoia Press. p. 54. ISBN   9798889921806.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Sculthorpe, Derek (December 21, 2016). Brian Donlevy, the Good Bad Guy: A Bio-Filmography. McFarland. p. 176. ISBN   978-1-4766-6657-0 . Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  8. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (January 27, 2023). Holiday Specials on Television, 1939-2021. McFarland. p. 174. ISBN   978-1-4766-4813-2 . Retrieved January 3, 2024.
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