TV series

Climax!

Name: Climax!
Released: 1954
Cast: William Lundigan, Mary Costa

1954–1958· 4 seasons· 60 min episodes★ 3.8Ended

On CBS — From CBS

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Synopsis

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.

Themes

anthology

Episodes

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E1 The Long GoodbyeNext upOct 7, 1954 · 60 min
Synopsis
Private Detective Philip Marlowe decides to help out a friend Lennox when his wife is found brutally murdered. Marlowe winds up in jail accused of her murder and tries to solve the case after his release.
Guest stars: Teresa Wright (Eilene Wade), Dick Powell (Philip Marlowe), Tom Drake (Terry Lennox), Tristram Coffin (The Body), Cesar Romero (Mendy Mendez), Horace McMahon (Detective)
E2 The Thirteenth ChairOct 14, 1954 · 60 min
Synopsis
When his friend is murdered, Edward Wales sets out to capture the killer. He stages a seance and invites 13 people, any one of who may have killed the dead man, but it ends in chaos when the killer strikes again during a blackout.
Guest stars: John Alvin (Sir Roscoe Crosby), Dennis O'Keefe (Inspector Marney), Ethel Barrymore (Mme. Rosalie La Grange), Arthur Franz (Dick Crosby), Lamont Johnson (Lionel Trent)
E3 Casino RoyaleOct 21, 1954 · 60 min
Synopsis
American spy James Bond must outsmart card wiz and crime boss LeChiffre while monitoring his actions. The first dramatization of a James Bond novel.
Guest stars: Barry Nelson (Jimmy Bond), Peter Lorre (Le Chiffre), Michael Pate (Clarence Leiter), Linda Christian (Valerie Mathis), Eugene Borden (Chef de Parte), Jean Del Val (Croupier), Kurt Katch (Zoltan), Gene Roth (Basil)
E4 Sorry, Wrong NumberNov 4, 1954 · 60 min
Synopsis
A neurotic invalid whose only contact with the outside world is her phone. One night, because of a crossed wire, she hears plans for a murder which turns out to be her own. Her frantic efforts to get help and her growing terror and realisation of the truth chill you to the bone.
Guest stars: Don Brodie, Paul Guilfoyle, Nestor Paiva, Paula Winslowe, Shelley Winters (Leona Stevenson), Robert B. Williams, Paul Picerni, Lillian Bronson
E5 The Gioconda SmileNov 11, 1954 · 60 min
Synopsis
The death of his crippled wife causes upheaval for the husband and his mistress. Only his family friend believes in his innocence.
Guest stars: Dorothy McGuire (Janet Spence), Eduard Franz (Dr. James Lifford), Franchot Tone (Henry Hutton)
E6 The After HouseNov 25, 1954 · 60 min
Synopsis
A steward aboard a yacht thinks his job is easy sailing until the dream voyage turns into a nightmare. The ship's officer is thrown overboard and another is hacked to death who is next.
Guest stars: Patricia Medina (Laura), Steve Cochran (Ralph Leslie)
E7 An Error in ChemistryDec 2, 1954 · 60 min
Synopsis
A carnival huckster ingratiates himself with an elderly farmer and his naïve daughter; she soon falls for her new suitor and marries him, only to wind up dead shortly afterwards, the husband quick to confess.
Guest stars: Edmond O'Brien (Joel Flint), Margaret Field (M'liss)
E8 Epitaph for a SpyDec 9, 1954 · 60 min
Synopsis
An unsuspecting Iron Curtain refugee is used as a pawn by two French traitors while he is at a resort in France.
Guest stars: David O'Brien, Marjorie Lord, Edward G. Robinson (Josef Vadassy), Melville Cooper, Sheila Bromley, Hilda Plowright, Ivan Triesault
E9 The White CarnationDec 16, 1954 · 60 min
Synopsis
A woman receives some mysterious white carnations, which seem to be an innocent gift but lead to terror.
Guest stars: Boris Karloff (Dr. Philip Nestri), Claudette Colbert, Teresa Wright (Lorna Baylor)
E10 Nightmare in CopenhagenDec 30, 1954 · 60 min
Synopsis
Thru romantic eyes she knew not what he was.
Guest stars: Lilia Skala
E11 The Bigger They ComeJan 6, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
Private investigators Cool and Lam become involved in this suspenseful tale of thugs, thieves and legal chicanery.
Guest stars: Jane Darwell (B. Cool), Art Carney (Donald Lam)
E12 Escape From FearJan 13, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
An American engineer in Germany crosses over into the Soviet Zone on business and becomes entangled with the secret police.
Guest stars: Mari Blanchard, Jay Novello, Howard Duff, Tristram Coffin
E13 The Mojave KidJan 27, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
The Mojave Kid is warned to stay away from a small town feud.
Guest stars: Ward Bond (Sheriff Ab Kale), Barbara Ruick (Judith Kale), John Lupton (The Mojave Kid), Ricardo Montalban (Pete McLean), Harry Carey Jr.
E14 The Leaf Out of the BookFeb 3, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
The story revolves around two women, one a successful career woman, the other an ambitious girl. After giving the daughter of an old friend a job, the successful businesswoman realizes the drawbacks of her generosity.
Guest stars: Sylvia Sidney, George Brent, Hugh Beaumont, Diana Lynn, Louis Jean Heydt
E15 The Valiant MenFeb 10, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
Lt. Comm. Knowles is assigned to skipper the USS Hamilton from England back to New York. While he and his crew celebrate New Year's Eve 1943, an unknown danger lurks nearby.
Guest stars: Robert Young (Lieutenant Commander Knowles)
E16 The Box of ChocolatesFeb 24, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
A hated columnist becomes involved in murder after receiving an innocent-looking box of chocolates with a note from the manufacturer asking him to try them.
Guest stars: Vanessa Brown (Vera), Pat O'Brien (Police Lieutenant Moore), Victor Jory (Robert), Robert Preston (William Struthers)
E17 South of the SunMar 3, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
They were strangers to each other, even the married ones, and they all dreamed in human ways. But the least of these eight persons did something about his little dream. In so doing, he bound the strangers in an intimate circle, whether they knew it or not. He touched them all in passing and changed their lives and dreams forever, according to their own choices. In one turn of the earth something happened.
Guest stars: Natalie Schafer (Lucrece Durhurst), Jeffrey Hunter (Wesley Jerome Penn), Edward Arnold (Jock Fathian), Thomas Gomez (Senor Torres, Commandante of Police), Margaret O'Brien (Kathy Fathian)
E18 The Great ImpersonationMar 10, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
The action of this tale of intrigue and espionage takes place in the jungles of East Africa in 1914. The destinies of Germany and Great Britain are dependent upon one man whose decision is influenced by one of the two women in his life.
Guest stars: Steven Geray, Maureen O'Sullivan (Lady Dominey), Michael Rennie (Lord Edward Dominey / Major General Von Raggenstein), Paul Cavanagh, Anthony Eustrel, Zsa Zsa Gabor (Princess Stephanie), Leonard Carey, Milton Parsons
E19 The Darkest HourMar 24, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
An ex-cop is released from San Quentin after five years and sets out on revenge against the men who framed him for manslaughter.
Guest stars: Joanne Dru (Marcia)
E20 The ChampionMar 31, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
The famous story deals with a boxer whose rise to fame has been at the expense of friends and associates. Through flashbacks, we see how Midge Kelly rose from the Chicago slums to a world championship.
Guest stars: Wally Brown (Tommy Haley), John Craven (The Reporter), Wallace Ford (Bunco Kelly), Rory Calhoun (Midge Kelly), Geraldine Brooks (Emma Herich), Peggy Maley (Grace Knight), Ray Collins (Jerome Harris)
E21 Private WorldsApr 7, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
A woman doctor probes the twisted minds of her patients in a mental institution.
Guest stars: Marguerite Chapman (Myra Saunders), Warren Stevens (Dr. Alec McGregor), Lorne Greene (Dr. Charles Saunders), Katherine Warren (Matron), Claudette Colbert (Dr. Jane Everest)
E22 Flight 951Apr 21, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
A doctor forsakes the medical profession following a court trial where he was the defendant. Now a successful businessman travelling under an assumed name, he must decide between keeping his secret and saving the eyesight of a fellow passenger.
Guest stars: Paul Douglas (Dr. Merle Gardner), Barbara Britton (Duana Clarke), Kenneth Tobey (Captain Coppedge), Cathy O'Donnell (Mona Herbert), Robert H. Harris (Grady), Booth Colman (Bruno McKee), Irene Hervey (Nancy Blount), John Emery (Abel Dennis)
E23 The First and the LastApr 28, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
The threat of scandal, revolving around the death of a man in London, prompts an ambitious lawyer to disregard both legan and moral principles. His concern for his own career puts an innocent man's life in jeopardy.
Guest stars: Robert Newton (Keith Dorrant), Peggy Ann Garner (Nora Wallen), John Agar (Larry Dorrant), John Carradine (John Evan)
E24 The Deliverance of Sister CeciliaMay 5, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
A courageous nun suffers ordeals while trying to escape from behind the Iron Curtain.
Guest stars: Claudette Colbert (Sister Cecilia)
E25 No Stone UnturnedMay 19, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
A Scottish student has the historical Stone of Scone stolen from Westminster Abbey. His purpose is to get England to recognize Scotland's independence.
Guest stars: Dan O'Herlihy (Ian Hamilton), Jeff Donnell (Kay Matheson), Cedric Hardwicke (Professor Robertson), Tom Drake (Alan)
E26 A Farewell to ArmsMay 26, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
An American, in the Italian Army during World War I, who meets a nurse and falls in love with her. Together they try to find a haven from the turbulence around them.
Guest stars: Guy Madison, Martin E. Brooks, Diana Lynn (Catherine Barkley), Katherine Warren
E27 The Unimportant ManJun 2, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
The life of an ordinary, mild-mannered man is changed when he identifies the murderer of his employer's brother.
Guest stars: Macdonald Carey (John Benson), Elliott Reid (Scotty Henderson), Ruth Hussey (Katherine Benson)
E28 The Dark FleeceJun 16, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
A gold miner returns to his righteous California hometown, circa1857. He has great wealth, but also a burdened conscious; he has killed a man.
Guest stars: Lloyd Bridges (Jason Burrage), Phyllis Thaxter (Olive), Joan Bennett (Honora)
E29 To Wake at MidnightJun 23, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
All the pent-up prejudices and hatreds of postwar Europe are revived when a Nazi lieutenant recovers consciousness in a British hospital after being in a coma for years.
Guest stars: Akim Tamiroff (Albert Ganz), Wendell Corey (Lieutenant Erich Ganz)
E30 The DanceJun 30, 1955 · 60 min
Guest stars
Guest stars: Frieda Inescort (Martha Hale), Robert Middleton (Sheriff), Richard Kiley (Charley Kincaid), Barbara Baxley (Catherine Jones), Ethel Waters (Aunt Kate), Janet Blair (Joan Hale), Addison Richards (Papa), Vanessa Brown (Marie Bannerman)
E31 Wild StallionJul 7, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
A handsome, devil-may-care fortune hunter [from South America] makes his home with a well-to-do Southern family. He is attracted at first to the daughter, until he discovers the mother is the one who holds the key to the family fortune.
Guest stars: Evelyn Keyes (Drusilla Cayley), Paul Henreid (Capt. Sebastian Von Reis), Kathleen Crowley (Laura Harriss), Richard Long (Max Harriss), Mary Astor (Mrs. Harriss)
E32 The Escape of Mendes-FranceJul 14, 1955 · 60 min
Guest stars
Guest stars: Louis Jourdan (Pierre Mendes-France), Jean Del Val, Werner Klemperer, Walter Cronkite (Self - Narrator (voice)), Rick Vallin
E33 The HealerJul 21, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
A brilliant surgeon, burdened with a self-centered wife and a beautiful heiress who's in love with him, becomes tormented by doubts about his ability after losing a patient during a difficult operation.
Guest stars: Bonita Granville (Laura Jordan), Barry Sullivan (Dr. Donald Carter), Geraldine Fitzgerald (Miriam Lambert), Marguerite Chapman (Mrs. Carter), Arthur Franz (Dr. Joyce)
E34 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeJul 28, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
Classic Stevenson tale of a scientist whose experiments into the duality of man transform him into the misshapen, murderous Mr. Hyde.
Guest stars: John Hoyt (Poole), Barbara Morrison (The Dowager), Cedric Hardwicke (Mr. Utterson), Michael Rennie (Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde)
E35 One Night StandAug 4, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
In 1937, the members of a jazz ensemble come to the aid of one of their colleagues who is stricken with tuberculosis.
Guest stars: Bob Sweeney (Gil Rodin), Cloris Leachman (Mrs. Sullivan), John Forsythe (Joe Sullivan)
E36 Edge of TerrorAug 11, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
A small town banker and his family are threatened with death if he identifies the leader of the gang that tried to rob his bank.
Guest stars: Jean Porter (Joan), Phyllis Kirk (Mrs. Evans), Tom Laughlin (Paisan), Karen Steele (Gloria), Edward Binns (Lieutenant Lewis), Lloyd Bridges (Joe Donner), Dennis O'Keefe (Evans)
E37 Fear Strikes OutAug 18, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
True story of ballplayer battling mental illness and domineering father.
Guest stars: Tab Hunter (Jimmy Piersall), Lori Nelson, Mona Freeman (Mary Piersall), John Conte (Dr. Duillermo Brown)
E38 Deal a BlowAug 25, 1955 · 60 min
Synopsis
A teenage boy gets into a dispute with an abusive movie theater manager Mr. Grubbs. The boy's father Tom Ditmar accepts the manager's somewhat twisted version of the incident and doesn't give his son a chance to explain his side of the matter.
Guest stars: James MacArthur (Hal Ditmar), Byron Foulger (Man in Theatre), Whit Bissell (Mr. Grubbs), Macdonald Carey (Tom Ditmar), Phyllis Thaxter (Helen Ditmar), Edward Arnold (Lieutenant Shipley)