Tom Gries

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Thomas S. "Tom" Gries (20 December 1922; Chicago, Illinois – 3 January 1977; Pacific Palisades, California) was an American TV and film director, writer and producer. Educated at the Loyola Academy and Georgetown University, Gries began working in TV in the 1950s as a writer and director, on such programmes as Bronco,"Rat Patrol", Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Westerner, The Rifleman, East Side/West Side, Mission: Impossible, Route 66, Batman and I Spy. He won Emmy Awards for his direction on East Side/West Side in 1964 and The Glass House in 1972. In the cinema, Gries directed some low-budget movies in the 1950s before concentrating his efforts more on TV. In the late 1960s, he wrote and directed what is generally acknowledged to be his greatest work in either medium, the western Will Penny, which starred Charlton Heston and was released in 1968. It was based on an episode of the TV series The Westerner that Gries wrote and directed in 1960, entitled "Line Camp". Gries subsequently made two other films with Heston, the much less successful Number One, and The Hawaiians, and directed several other films with other high profile actors such as Burt Reynolds and Charles Bronson into the 1970s, though they failed to reach the critical approval that Will Penny received. The most successful of his later works was Helter Skelter, made in 1976, which was a TV film based on the notorious Charles Manson Family. During post-production on his final film, The Greatest (1977), a biography on boxer Muhammed Ali (in which Ali also played himself), Tom Gries collapsed and died of a heart attack while playing tennis. He was 54 years old. He is the father of actor/director Jon Gries (who appeared under the name Jon Francis in Will Penny as a child actor). Description above from the Wikipedia article Tom Gries, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Works

The Greatest

Muhammad Ali's life story up to the late 1970s, which includes his Olympic boxing triumphs as Cassius Clay, his conversion to Islam, his refusal of the Army draft and the legal battle after being stripped of his World Title.

Release Date: 1977-05-17

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 19

Helter Skelter

The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".

Release Date: 1976-04-01

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 65

Helter Skelter

The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".

Release Date: 1976-04-01

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 2

Vote Count: 1

Breakheart Pass

At the height of the frontier era, a train races through the Rocky Mountains on a classified mission to a remote army post. But one by one the passengers are being murdered, and their only hope is the mysterious John Deakin, who's being transported to face trial for murder.

Release Date: 1975-12-09

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 203

Breakout

A bush pilot is hired for $50,000 to go to Mexico to free an innocent prisoner.

Release Date: 1975-05-21

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 102

The Healers

The director of an urban medical center faces various major problems during the course of running the hospital.

Release Date: 1974-05-22

Department: Directing

Job: Director

QB VII

A physician sues a novelist for publishing statements implicating the doctor in Nazi war crimes.

Release Date: 1974-04-29

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 2

Vote Count: 6

The Migrants

A look at the lives of migratory farm workers, focusing on one family.

Release Date: 1974-02-04

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 7

Lady Ice

An insurance investigator romances a wealthy young beauty when he suspects she may be involved in fencing stolen jewels.

Release Date: 1973-07-13

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 17

The Connection

An out-of-work newspaperman in need of money becomes the go-between for a jewel thief and an insurance company that wants to settle.

Release Date: 1973-02-27

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Call to Danger

A federal agent recruits a computer whiz to try to free a Mafia witness who has been kidnapped and held in a heavily fortified compound.

Release Date: 1973-02-27

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Michael O'Hara the Fourth

The name Michael O'Hara has become synonymous with law enforcement. There have been three generations of Michael O'Haras and all have been exemplary policemen. When Michael O'Hara III's child was born he was told that they would not be able to have any more children, and there has always been a Michael O'Hara, so he named his child Michael O'Hara IV despite the fact that she is a girl. Now Mike has a tendency to get involved with police matters and not always with good results, which annoys her father. And despite being told repeatedly to stay out of it, she continues her amateurish detective activities.

Release Date: 1972-03-26

Department: Production

Job: Producer

Vote Count: 1

Journey Through Rosebud

A young draft dodger helps militant Native Americans in their protest against the government at Wounded Knee.

Release Date: 1972-03-02

Department: Directing

Job: Director

The Glass House

Adapted from a story by Truman Capote ("In Cold Blood"), the world of the prison convict is open to the viewer. As the story develops, one thing becomes clear. As in the outside world, there is a "system"; and just as on the outside, there is accommodation, honesty, cynicism, violence and all the other factors that make up our society. The film follows the three newcomers, it records the grim, terrifying, sometimes fascinating events that occur.

Release Date: 1972-02-04

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 10

Earth II

In the near future, a space station dubbed Earth II is built for the purpose of scientific research and world peace. However, that peace is shattered when the Chinese send up a nuclear bomb that is orbiting just a few miles away from the station. Can the crew disarm the bomb before it detonates, not only destroying the station but setting off World War III?

Release Date: 1971-11-28

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 11

Fools

A horror actor falls in love with the unhappily married young wife of an attorney.

Release Date: 1970-12-23

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 1

The Hawaiians

A wanderer returns home only to find political turmoil, disease and romantic difficulties.

Release Date: 1970-06-17

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 16

Number One

A former football hero cannot accept his career is over. He loses himself in alcohol and women.

Release Date: 1969-08-21

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 8

100 Rifles

When half-breed Indian Yaqui Joe robs an Arizona bank, he is pursued by dogged lawman Lyedecker. Fleeing to Mexico, Joe is imprisoned by General Verdugo, who is waging a war against the Yaqui Indians. When Lyedecker attempts to intervene, he is thrown into prison as well. Working together, the two escape and take refuge in the hills, where Lyedecker meets beautiful Yaqui freedom fighter Sarita and begins to question his allegiances.

Release Date: 1969-03-26

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 99

Will Penny

Will Penny, an aging cowpoke, takes a job on a ranch which requires him to ride the line of the property looking for trespassers or, worse, squatters. He finds that his cabin in the high mountains has been appropriated by a woman whose guide to Oregon has deserted her and her son. Too ashamed to kick mother and child out just as the bitter winter of the mountains sets in, he agrees to share the cabin until the spring thaw. But it isn't just the snow that slowly thaws; the lonely man and woman soon forget their mutual hostility and start developing a deep love for one another.

Release Date: 1967-12-19

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 101

Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin. The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.

Release Date: 1966-09-17

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 277

Felony Squad

Twenty-year veteran Detective Sergeant Sam Stone is paired with rookie Briggs in a large Western metropolis.

Release Date: 1966-09-12

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 5

The Rat Patrol

The exploits of four Allied soldiers — three Americans and one Englishman — who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II. Their mission: "to attack, harass and wreak havoc on Field Marshal Rommel's vaunted Afrika Korps".

Release Date: 1966-09-12

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 18

The Monroes

The Monroes is a 26-segment Western television series which originally aired on ABC during the 1966-1967 season. The series centers around the story of five orphans trying to survive as a family on the frontier in the area around, what is now, Grand Teton National Park near Jackson, Wyoming.

Release Date: 1966-09-07

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 3

The Rounders

The Rounders was a 17-episode western-style situation comedy about two cowboys on the fictitious J.L. Ranch in Texas. It starred Ron Hayes as Ben Jones and Patrick Wayne, a son of John Wayne, as Howdy Lewis. The M-G-M television series aired on ABC from September 6, 1966, to January 3, 1967. The program was loosely based on a 1965 film of the same name, The Rounders, starring Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda, set near Sedona, Arizona, rather than Texas. Chill Wills, a native Texan and formerly of CBS's Frontier Circus, appeared as the shady ranch owner, Jim Ed Love. Janis Hansen co-starred as Ben's girlfriend, Sally, and Bobbi Jordan played Howdy's girlfriend, Ada. Jason Wingreen appeared as Shorty Dawes, and Walker Edmiston as Regan. Character actors Strother Martin and J. Pat O'Malley appeared as "Cousin Fletch" and "Vince", respectively. James Brown, formerly the lieutenant on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, played "Luke". Selected episodes with notable guest stars include: "A Horse on Jim Ed Love", series premiere with Harry Carey, Jr.; "It's a Noble Thing to Do", with John Smith, formerly Slim Sherman on NBC's Laramie; "Don't Buffalo Me", with Jay Silverheels, formerly Tonto of The Lone Ranger, as John Tallgrass; "The Moonshine Still Shines"; "It Takes Only One to Suffer"; "The Scavenger Hunt" with Zsa Zsa Gabor as Ilona Hobson; "Some Things Are Not for Sale"; "Four Alarm Wing Ding", with Dick Haynes as a sheriff; "Horse of a Different Cutter" with Andy Devine as Honest John Denton and Strother Martin as Cousin Fletch; "Polo, Anyone?", with Jay C. Flippen as Kenny Fahrbush; "Efficiency Is for Experts", and "What Elephants?", the series finale, in which Ben and Howdy try to hide an elephant in plain sight.

Release Date: 1966-09-06

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 4

Vote Count: 2

Batman

Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.

Release Date: 1966-01-12

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 4

Vote Count: 546

Honey West

After her father's death, Honey West takes over his high-tech private-detective firm, assisted by rugged Sam Bolt--and her pet ocelot Bruce.

Release Date: 1965-09-17

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 15

I Spy

A pair of intelligence agents posing as a tennis pro and his coach go on secret missions around the world.

Release Date: 1965-09-15

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 2

Vote Count: 28

For the People

For the People is an American Legal drama that aired from January 31 until May 9, 1965.

Release Date: 1965-01-31

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 1

Reporter

The Reporter is an American drama series that aired on CBS from September 25 to December 18, 1964. The series was created by Jerome Weidman and developed by executive producers Keefe Brasselle and John Simon.

Release Date: 1964-09-25

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 1

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin work for a secret intelligence service working under the auspices of the U.N. Their immediate superior is Mr. Waverly. Together they operate out of a secret base beneath the streets of New York City, and accesses through several cover business such as Del Floria's Tailor Shop and the Masque Club. This secret intelligence service is called U.N.C.L.E. United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.

Release Date: 1964-09-22

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 63

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

Join the crew of the Seaview aboard their super high-tech submarine, where no mission is too dangerous and no threat is too deadly, be it enemy agents, mad scientists, deadly sea creatures, or impending nuclear disaster.

Release Date: 1964-09-14

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 121

Kraft Suspense Theatre

Kraft Suspense Theatre is an American anthology series that was telecast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall specials once monthly. Como's production company, Roncom Films, also produced Kraft Suspense Theatre. Writer, editor, critic and radio playwright Anthony Boucher served as consultant on the series. Later syndicated under the title Crisis, it was one of the few suspense series telecast in color at the time. While most of NBC's shows were in color then, all-color network line-ups did not become the norm until the 1966-67 season.

Release Date: 1963-10-10

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 2

Vote Count: 3

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre is an American anthology series, sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967. The show was hosted by Bob Hope, but it had a variety of formats, including musical, dramatic, and comedy.

Release Date: 1963-10-04

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 6

East Side/West Side

East Side/West Side is an American drama series starring George C. Scott, Elizabeth Wilson, Cicely Tyson, and later on, Linden Chiles. The series aired for only one season and was shown Monday nights on CBS. TV Guide ranked it #6 on their 2013 list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".

Release Date: 1963-09-23

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 4

Combat!

Combat! is an American television program that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American soldiers fighting the Germans in France during World War II. The program starred Rick Jason as platoon leader Second Lieutenant Gil Hanley and Vic Morrow as Sergeant "Chip" Saunders.

Release Date: 1962-10-02

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 3

Vote Count: 103

Stoney Burke

Stoney Burke is an American western television series broadcast on ABC from October 1, 1962 until May 20, 1963. Six years before the premiere of his CBS crime drama, Hawaii Five-0, Jack Lord starred in the title role.

Release Date: 1962-10-01

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 7

Vote Count: 4

Cain's Hundred

A former underworld lawyer goes to work for the Federal Government, determined to bring 100 top criminals to justice.

Release Date: 1961-09-19

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 4

Vote Count: 3

The Defenders

The Defenders is an American courtroom drama series . It starred E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed as father-and-son defense attorneys who specialized in legally complex cases, with defendants such as neo-Nazis, conscientious objectors, civil rights demonstrators, a schoolteacher fired for being an atheist, an author accused of pornography, and a physician charged in a mercy killing.

Release Date: 1961-09-16

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 9

Route 66

Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America in a Chevrolet Corvette sports car. The show ran weekly on Fridays on CBS from October 7, 1960 to March 20, 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for the first two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod was shown traveling on his own. Tod met Lincoln Case, played by Glenn Corbett, late in the third season, and traveled with him until the end of the fourth and final season. Among the series more notable aspects were the featured Corvette convertible, and the program's instrumental theme song, which became a major pop hit.

Release Date: 1960-10-07

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 4

Vote Count: 16

The Westerner

The Westerner is an American Western series that aired on NBC from September to December 1960. Created by Sam Peckinpah, the series was produced by Four Star Television. The Westerner stars Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame and features John Dehner as semi-regular Burgundy Smith.

Release Date: 1960-09-30

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 10

The Barbara Stanwyck Show

The Barbara Stanwyck Show is an American anthology drama television series which ran on NBC from September 1960 to September 1961. Barbara Stanwyck served as hostess, and starred in all but four of the half-hour productions. The four she did not star in were actually pilot episodes of potential series programs which never materialized. Stanwyck won the Emmy Award in 1961 for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Series. Three of the shows in which Stanwyck starred were an attempt at spinning off a dramatic series of her own, in which she appeared as "Josephine Little", an American woman running an import-export shop in Hong Kong. The series, produced at Desilu Studios, was directed by Stuart Rosenberg. The Barbara Stanwyck Show lasted one season. It aired at 10 p.m. Eastern on Mondays opposite Jackie Cooper's military sitcom Hennesey on CBS and the second half of Gardner McKay's Adventures in Paradise on ABC.

Release Date: 1960-09-19

Department: Writing

Job: Story

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 4

Checkmate

Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue Studios. Guest stars included Charles Laughton, Peter Lorre, and Lee Marvin, among many other commensurately prominent performers.

Release Date: 1960-09-17

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 3

Vote Count: 7

Assignment: Underwater

Assignment: Underwater is an American adventure television series which aired in NTA Film Network syndication from 1960 to 1962.

Release Date: 1960-09-09

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 1

The Detectives

The Detectives is an American crime drama series which ran on ABC during its first two seasons, and on NBC during its third and final season. The series, starring motion picture star Robert Taylor, was produced by Four Star Television.

Release Date: 1959-10-16

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 7

Adventures in Paradise

Adventures in Paradise is an American television series created by James Michener which ran on ABC from 1959 until 1962, starring Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III, which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure. USA Network aired reruns of this series between 1984 and 1988. The plots deal with the romantic and detective stories of Korean War veteran Troy. The supporting cast, varying from season to season, features George Tobias, Guy Stockwell, and Linda Lawson.

Release Date: 1959-10-05

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 2

Vote Count: 6

Johnny Ringo

Johnny Ringo is an American Western television series starring Don Durant that aired on CBS from October 1, 1959, until June 30, 1960. It is loosely based on the life of the notorious gunfighter and outlaw Johnny Ringo, also known as John Peters Ringo or John B. Ringgold, who tangled with Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Buckskin Franklin Leslie.

Release Date: 1959-10-02

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 2

Vote Count: 7

Lock-Up

Lock-Up is an American legal drama series that premiered in syndication in September 1959 and concluded in June 1961. The half-hour episodes had little time for character development or subplots and presented a compact story without embellishment.

Release Date: 1959-09-28

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 6

The Man and the Challenge

The Man and the Challenge is a 36-segment half-hour television adventure/science fiction series which ran new episodes on NBC from September 12, 1959, to June 11, 1960. It starred George Nader as Dr. Glenn Barton, a research scientist for the Institute of Human Factors, an agency that conducted experiments designed to measure human endurance for the United States government. The series was produced by Ivan Tors. Nader's costars included Jack Ging as Dan Wright, Michael Masters as Bill Locke, the Canadian-born Joyce Meadows as Lynn Allen, and Michael Keith as Matt Adams. The episodes focused on various individuals setting world records of strength, endurance, and mastery of various difficult skills. The program also featured appearances by Bethel Leslie as Eleanor Beck in "The Early Warning", Ted Knight, as Dr. Herter in the episode "Daredevils", and Raymond Bailey, in the role of Dr. Kramer on the series opener "The Sphere of No Return". Joining Knight in that segment was Paul Burke.

Release Date: 1959-09-12

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Mustang!

With a simple plot and not much else, this undistinguished western is about Gabe (Jack Beutel), a rodeo name whose penchant for gambling causes him to lose all the money he made and quickly look for a steady job. Gabe ends up on a ranch plugging away as a cowhand but cannot escape his affinity for horses. Lou (Steve Keyes) and his sister Nancy (Madalyn Trahey) own the ranch and Lou comes into conflict with Gabe when he decides to kill a wild Palomino. Gabe will not allow it because he knows the stallion can be tamed. Environmentalists and others should enjoy the bloopers which put moose in Oklahoma, a raccoon in the 'possum family, and several animals in the wrong proximity.

Release Date: 1959-03-14

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

The Rifleman

The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. "The Rifleman" aired on ABC from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963 as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series to have a widowed parent raise a child.

Release Date: 1958-09-30

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 46

Bronco

Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Theodore Roosevelt, Belle Starr, Cole Younger, and John Wesley Hardin.

Release Date: 1958-09-23

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 6

Wanted: Dead or Alive

Wanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the bounty hunter Josh Randall. It aired on CBS for three seasons from 1958–61. The black-and-white program was a spin-off of a March 1958 episode of Trackdown, a 1957–59 western series starring Robert Culp. Both series were produced by Four Star Television in association with CBS Television. The series launched McQueen into becoming the first television star to cross over into comparable status on the big screen.

Release Date: 1958-09-06

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 2

Vote Count: 32

Girl in the Woods

Lumbering tale of lumbermen challenging the ownership of valuable woodlands.

Release Date: 1958-06-01

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Tombstone Territory

Tombstone Territory is an American Western series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The series' first two seasons aired on ABC from 1957 to 1959. The third and final season aired in syndication from 1959 until 1960.

Release Date: 1957-10-16

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 2

Vote Count: 7

The Court of Last Resort

The Court of Last Resort is an American television dramatized court show which aired on the NBC from 1957 through 1958. It was co-produced by Erle Stanley Gardner's Paisano Productions, which also brought forth the long-running hit television program, Perry Mason on CBS. Its approach to dealing with potential miscarriages of justice in an entirely extra-judicial format was adopted by the BBC series Rough Justice in the 1980s.

Release Date: 1957-10-04

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 4

Alcoa Theatre

Alcoa Theatre is a half-hour American anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on alternate Monday nights from October 7, 1957 to September 16, 1960. The program also aired under the title Turn of Fate, with the stories depicting the difficulties faced by individuals who are suddenly thrust into unexpected and perilous dangers. Alcoa Theatre was syndicated together with Goodyear Theatre as Award Theatre. In 1955, The Alcoa Hour premiered in a one-hour format aired on Sunday nights, but it was reduced to 30 minutes, retitled Alcoa Theatre, and moved to Monday evening in 1957. The show employed an alternating rotating company of actors: David Niven, Robert Ryan, Jane Powell, Jack Lemmon and Charles Boyer. Each appeared in dramatic and light comedic roles through the first season.

Release Date: 1957-09-30

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 5

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

Richard Diamond, Private Detective is an American detective drama which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960.

Release Date: 1957-07-01

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 4

Vote Count: 4

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.

Release Date: 1956-10-05

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 1

Vote Count: 8

State Trooper

State Trooper is an American crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, an officer of the Nevada Department of Public Safety. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from September 25, 1956, to June 25, 1959.

Release Date: 1956-09-25

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 2

Vote Count: 6

Hell's Horizon

The pilot, co-pilot, and crew of a bomber try to hit a Korean bridge in bad weather.

Release Date: 1955-12-31

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 2

King Dinosaur

In 1960, four American scientists travel to a planet that has just entered Earth's solar system to see if it's able to support an Earth colony. They find an oxygen atmosphere, a lush earth-like forest, and earth-like animals living around a potable fresh-water lake.

Release Date: 1955-07-17

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Vote Count: 25

Science Fiction Theatre

Science Fiction Theatre is an American science fiction anthology series that aired in syndication from April 1955 to April 1957. It was produced by Ivan Tors and Maurice Ziv.

Release Date: 1955-04-09

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 2

Vote Count: 8

TV Reader's Digest

TV Reader's Digest is the title of a 30 minute American television anthology drama series which aired on the ABC from 1955 to 1956. Based on articles that appeared in Reader's Digest magazine, the episodes based on true stories which were varied in their themes, plots and content. Themes included crime, heroism, mystery, romance, and human interest. Episode writers included Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, Cleveland Amory and Frank Gruber. Some of the actors who were cast in the episodes included: Claude Akins, Leon Askin, Jean Byron, Chuck Connors, Peter Graves, Tod Griffin, Francis McDonald, Max Showalter, John Howard, Lee Marvin, Gene Raymond, Jerry Paris, and Michael Winkelman.

Release Date: 1955-01-17

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Episode Count: 2

Serpent Island

On the trail of a million-dollar gold treasure, an Eastern gal hires a California dockside bum to accompany her to the Caribbean where one of her ancestors reportedly buried the booty. Soon the jungles are echoing with the sound of voodoo drums, the locals are licking their native chops!

Release Date: 1954-01-01

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Vote Count: 4

Donovan's Brain

A scientist takes the brain of dead man and revives it via electrodes as it lays suspended in a tank of liquid. Soon, the brain grows to possess enormous psychic powers and inflicts its personality upon the doctor who saved it, creating a "Jekyll and Hyde" paradigm.

Release Date: 1953-09-30

Department: Production

Job: Producer

Vote Count: 37

The Lusty Men

Retired rodeo champion Jeff McCloud agrees to mentor novice rodeo contestant Wes Merritt against the wishes of Merritt's wife who fears the dangers of this rough sport.

Release Date: 1952-10-24

Department: Production

Job: Associate Producer

Vote Count: 87

The Unexpected

Release Date: 1952-03-05

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 1

The Bushwhackers

Confederate veteran Jeff Waring arrives in Independence, Missouri shortly after the Civil War, intending never again to use a gun. He finds that rancher Artemus Taylor and his henchmen are forcing out the settlers in order to claim their land for the incoming railroad.

Release Date: 1951-12-07

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Vote Count: 8