Crossroads (1955 TV series)

For other uses, see Crossroads (disambiguation).
Crossroads
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 origin United States
Original language English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 78
Production
Executive producer Harry Joe Brown
Producers Harry Joe Brown
Bernard Schubert
Editors Roy V. Livingston
James E. Smith
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 25 mins.
Production companies Federal Telefilms
Sterling Films (IV)
Original release
Network ABC
Syndication
Release October 7, 1955 –
June 6, 1957

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.

It was retitled The Way of Life for syndication. 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.

Overview

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

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

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. In its first season on ABC, Crossroads followed the long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet on the Friday evening schedule. 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.

Sample episodes:

  • "A Bell for O'Donnell" – A reverend (Edmund Lowe) learns a lesson in forgiveness when he is swindled by a fast-talking con man.
  • "Call for Help" – A priest (Richard Carlson) works with troubled youths when a gang fight leads to a fatal shooting.
  • "Cleanup" – A pastor (Vincent Price) exhorts his parishioners to take back their city from the gangsters and corrupt politicians who have taken it over.
  • "Dig or Die, Brother Hyde" – A new preacher (Hugh Marlowe) on the harsh Dakota frontier is severely tested.
  • "God of Kandikur" - January 25, 1957
  • "God's Healing" – Vincent Price plays a Pennsylvania Priest named Alfred Price, who heals an old woman's embittered heart.
  • "The Good Thief" – A US Army chaplain (James Whitmore) is tortured by Red Chinese captors for ministering to his fellow prisoners of war.
  • "The Judge" – May 18, 1956 - Brian Donlevy does double duty in a lawless town as a preacher and a judge.
  • "Mother O'Brien" – A police detective is torn between family and duty when his younger brother is involved in a petty crime.
  • "Mr. Liberty Bell" - November 18, 1955
  • "Our First Christmas Tree" - December 21, 1956 - Puritanical parents oppose an immigrant minister's plan to put a Christmas tree in their church.

See also