A Life in the Balance

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.

In 1840s New York, the uneventful and boring days of the daughter of a wealthy doctor come to an end when she meets a dashing poorer man — who may or may not be after her inheritance.

Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.

In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress, a middle-aged sailor, a delusional blonde and a pregnant girl.

Uncouth, loud-mouth junkyard tycoon Harry Brock descends upon Washington D.C. to buy himself a congressman or two, bringing with him his mistress, ex-showgirl Billie Dawn.

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.

The Driver specializes in driving getaway cars for robberies. His exceptional talent has prevented him from being caught yet. After another successful flight from the police a self-assured detective makes it his primary goal to catch the Driver. He promises pardons to a gang if they help to convict him in a set-up robbery. The Driver seeks help from The Player to mislead the detective.

A crook on the run hides out in an innocent girl's apartment.

The lives of a disparate group of unfulfilled people converge at a small, seaside English hotel.

Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.

An ex-football brute (Anthony Quinn) and his beatnik gang take a rich girl (Carol Ohmart) and her boyfriend hostage (Arthur Franz) at a jazz joint.

Mexican gunfighter Dave Robles outdraws the town's outlaw-turned-sheriff and is invited to fill the dead man's shoes. But a tin star doesn't bring automatic respectability and Robles is shunned by the town's leading citizens. His popularity with its less-savory element, particularly saloonkeeper Bannister, wanes dramatically, too, as he starts to take his job seriously. It is his love for a decent, caring woman that keeps Dave in town, but can she convince him to lay down his gun and start a new life?

A young woman who has just become engaged has her life completely shattered when she is raped while on her way home from work.

Shirley Temple's Storybook is an American children's anthology series hosted and narrated by actress Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales like Mother Goose and other family-oriented stories performed by well-known actors, although one episode, an adaptation of The House of the Seven Gables, was meant for older youngsters. Temple's three children made their acting debuts in the last episode of the first season, "Mother Goose".

The Rough Riders is an American Western television series set in the West after the American Civil War. It aired on ABC for the 1958-1959 television season. It was produced by Ziv Television, the production company responsible for such hit shows as Bat Masterson, Tombstone Territory, Sea Hunt, and Highway Patrol.