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Decision (TV series)

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Decision
GenreAnthology series
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseJuly 6 (1958-07-06) –
September 28, 1958 (1958-09-28)

Decision is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC in 1958 as a summer replacement for The Loretta Young Show.[1][2][3]

Content and production

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Six episodes of Decision were repeats of episodes previously aired on other anthology series.[2][4] The other seven episodes were unsold television pilots.[2][3][4] Episodes starred William Bendix, Dennis Hopper, Richard Kiley, June Lockhart, Darren McGavin, Ray Milland, Barbara Stanwyck, Rod Steiger, and James Whitmore, among many others.[3] Directors included Lamont Johnson, Lewis Allen, David Lowell Rich, and Fred Zinneman. The fifth episode, "Sudden Silence," was produced by Screen Gems.[3]

Decision′s premiere episode was the pilot for a television adaptation of the Owen Wister novel The Virginian, starring James Drury. Although the pilot broadcast on Decision in 1958 went unsold, Drury later starred in a different, and very successful television adaptation of Wister's novel, also titled The Virginian, which aired from 1962 to 1971.[2][3][5]

Broadcast history

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Decision was broadcast from 10:00 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Sundays.[2][3][4] It premiered on July 6, 1958, and ran for 13 weeks.[1][2][3] Its last broadcast was on September 28, 1958.[1][2][3]

Episodes

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SOURCES: [2][3][5][6]

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"The Virginian"Lamont JohnsonLeslie StevensJuly 6, 1958 (1958-07-06)
Judge Henry asks a man known as "the Virginian" to investigate mysterious setbacks in his efforts to bring a railroad spur to his ranch. Only the ranch's cook, Dora, is helpful to the Virginian, whose investigation brings the judge's disgruntled son, the ranch foreman, and some of the ranch hands under suspicion. Starring James Drury, Andrew Duggan, Stephen Joyce, Robert Burton, Jeanette Nolan, Robert Gist, and Dan Blocker. An unsold pilot for a television adaptation of Owen Wister′s novel The Virginian; a different adaptation, also starring Drury, later led to the successful series The Virginian of 1962–1971.
2"Fifty Beautiful Girls"UnknownUnknownJuly 13, 1958 (1958-07-13)
After a serial killer begins murdering taxi dancers, an attractive dancer who worries that she may be the next victim continues to dance in an effort to catch the murderer. Starring Barbara Bel Geddes, Edward Andrews, and Royal Dano. This episode previously aired as an episode of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars on June 21, 1957.
3"The Danger Game"UnknownUnknownJuly 20, 1958 (1958-07-20)
A spy tries to uncover an assassination plot. An unsold pilot from the William Morris Agency starring Ray Danton.
4"The Tall Man"Thomas CarrAaron SpellingJuly 27, 1958 (1958-07-27)
When Colonel T. J. Allen investigates the mysterious death of a child, a man becomes a suspect in the death. An unsold pilot starring Michael Rennie, William Phipps, Henry Brandon, Harry Dean Stanton, Baynes Barron, Jean Willes, Ellen Corby, John Cliff, I. Stanford Jolley, Jack Reitzen, Earle Hodgins, Annette Warren, Hank Mann, Kansas Moehring, and Tex Palmer.
5"Sudden Silence"Lewis AllenLarry MarcusAugust 3, 1958 (1958-08-03)
On the 19th-century American frontier, the Eastern-born wife of a United States marshal cares for her ill son while her husband hunts a vengeful outlaw. Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Jimmy Baird, Jeff Morrow, Trevor Bardette, Jim Hayward, Ralph Dumke, Charlotte Knight, Robert Easton, and Malcolm Atterbury. This episode previously aired as an episode of The Ford Television Theatre on October 10, 1956.
6"Indemnity"UnknownMilton Gelman & Stedman ColesAugust 10, 1958 (1958-08-10)
While one of its three guards is eating lunch at a roadside diner, an armored truck containing a US$250,000 payroll disappears along with its other two guards, and insurance fraud expert Paul Scott sets out to recover the missing money. An unsold pilot starring Richard Kiley, Chuck Webster, George Chandler, Ruth Lee, Michael Healy, Jan Saint, John Kellins, and Skip Fletcher.
7"Stand and Deliver"UnknownUnknownAugust 17, 1958 (1958-08-17)
A highwayman who also is a gallant champion of righteousness saves a boy from being hanged. An unsold pilot starring Louis Hayward.
8"Night of the Stranger"Lewis AllenStory by William Heuman
Teleplay by Lawrence B. Marcus		August 24, 1958 (1958-08-24)
Threatened by a homicidal mental patient, a psychiatrist seeks safety in the home of a stranger. Starring George Sanders, Valentina Cortesa, and Mike Lane. This episode previously aired as an episode of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars on March 7, 1958.
9"Fear Has Many Faces"Oscar RudolphStory by Joseph Ruscoll and Janet Ruscoll
Teleplay by Russell S. Hughes		August 31, 1958 (1958-08-31)
After being forced to shoot another soldier who tried to flee to the rear during the Korean War, a sergeant finds it impossible to forget the experience even after he returns to civilian life. Starring James Whitmore, June Lockhart, and Don Haggerty. This episode previously aired as an episode of The Ford Television Theatre on January 2, 1957.
10"High Air"Allan DwanA. I. BezzeridesSeptember 7, 1958 (1958-09-07)
A veteran "sandhog" tries to keep his son from working with him in a tunnel under the Hudson River. Based on a story by Borden Chase and starring William Bendix, Dennis Hopper, and John Alderson. This episode previously aired as an episode of Screen Directors Playhouse on September 12, 1956.
11"Markheim"Fred ZinnemanJohn McGreevey & Paul OsbornSeptember 14, 1958 (1958-09-14)
While attempting to rob the corpse of a man he has killed on Christmas Day, a degraded and prideless man meets a mysterious stranger who offers a tempting proposition. Based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson and starring Ray Milland, Rod Steiger, Jay Novello, Rex Evans, and Marilee Phelps. This episode previously aired as an episode of Screen Directors Playhouse on April 11, 1956.
12"Man Against Crime"Richard BareUnknownSeptember 21, 1958 (1958-09-21)
After a gang war breaks out, lawyer Dan Garrett defends a youth accused of killing a young punk. This was an unsold pilot for a new series starring Darren McGavin that would have been a remake of an earlier series, Man Against Crime, that starred Ralph Bellamy and aired from 1949 to 1954. In addition to McGavin, the pilot starred David Opatoshu, Stanley Peck, Joe Sullivan, and Terry Greene.
13"Man on a Raft"UnknownSteve FisherSeptember 28, 1958 (1958-09-28)
Ann Conway hires private detective Michael Shayne to investigate the details of her playboy husband's death on a boat at sea because a large inheritance depends on the exact date of his demise. An unsold pilot based on a story by Brett Halliday starring Mark Stevens, Diane Brewster, Robert Brubaker, Merry Anders, Steven Mitchell, William Kendis, Mary Adams, Gage Clarke, Bob Stevenson, and Sherwood Price.

References

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  1. ^ a b c McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York City: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 209. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "UNSOLD PILOTS ON TELEVISION, 1956-1966". tvobscurities.com. Television Obscurities. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Decision". ctva.com. CTVA – The Classic TV Archive. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 247. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
  5. ^ a b Green, Paul (2006). A history of television's The Virginian, 1962–1971. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 15. ISBN 978-0786446803.
  6. ^ Robert Jay (30 May 2009). "Status of Decision". tvobscurities.com. Television Obscurities. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
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