The Fifty Greatest Prime Time Drama Television Episodes of the 1960's.
My choice of the best of drama series television, presented in chronological order from 1960 through 1969.
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- DirectorNorman LloydStarsAlfred HitchcockSteve McQueenPeter LorreIn a Las Vegas casino, an unpleasant little man hopes to use a young man's wish to impress the young woman he has just met to pressure the young fellow into accepting a macabre bet.
- DirectorWalter GraumanStarsRobert StackElizabeth MontgomeryHarold J. StoneRusty Heller is a nightclub performer who has her eyes set on a better life for herself which, in her case, means lots more money. She sets her eyes on mobster Charles 'Pop' Felcher who has his own ambitions: with the recent arrest of Al Capone on tax evasion charges, he sees himself taking over as the top mobster in Chicago. When Felcher shows little interest in her, she settles for his lawyer, Archie Grayson. Felcher eventually comes around but Rusty starts to play a dangerous game when she decides to make money off Felcher and the Capone mob by selling both of them the same information.
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsBoris KarloffWilliam ShatnerJoanna HeyesA married couple moves into a house that is haunted by images reflected in glass and mirrors.
- 1957–196330mApproved8.2 (129)TV EpisodeDirectorBuzz KulikStarsRichard BooneJames BestRobert EmhardtPaladin reads a newspaper article describing a brutal killing. After capturing the fugitive he goes to a small Texas town to catch a train north with his prisoner. Paladin has his hands full as the townspeople are out to liven up what would have been just another quiet night.
- 1957–196330mApproved8.3 (118)TV EpisodeDirectorBuzz KulikStarsRichard BooneJames BestRobert EmhardtAfter one of the townspeople shoot and kill his prisoner, Paladin vows they will all pay. Is he seeking revenge for losing a prisoner or trying to take those that did it into custody for the justice they felt they had already handed out?
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsAgnes MooreheadDouglas HeyesRod SerlingWhen a woman investigates a clamor in the attic of her rural house, she discovers a small UFO with little aliens emerging from it. Or so it seems.
- 1955–196230mTV-148.2 (592)TV EpisodeDirectorNorman LloydStarsAlfred HitchcockJohn FiedlerRichard JaeckelA suspected serial killer is put in a jail house with a salesman, while a lynch mob waits outside.
- DirectorJames SheldonStarsJohn LarchCloris LeachmanDon KeeferOn an isolated family farm, a young boy with vast mental powers, but lacking emotional development, holds his terrified family in thrall to his every juvenile wish.
- DirectorJames SheldonStarsMartin MilnerGeorge MaharisBetty FieldOn intuition Buz steers the 66ers off route to a Maryland hamlet where everyone thinks they recognize Buz - as returning prodigal of a hated local clan. When Buz meets the Colby clan they look like clones - of Buz. Tod & Buz speed into Charm City where a family member ran to with-child, disappearing into the sin-filled streets of Baltimore. Orphan Buz has to know if she's his mother.
- DirectorDavid FriedkinStarsDick PowellPeter FalkInger StevensA truck driver on a very tight schedule stops to give a lift to a pregnant hitch-hiker; and then his life gets very complicated.
- DirectorDavid Lowell RichStarsMartin MilnerGeorge MaharisAlbert SalmiTod and Buz, in Mesquite, Texas "finishing up a 30 day job at a brick factory", meet performers at the town's rodeo. Two of the contestants hate the rodeo's clown and torment him with nasty pranks. Buz is drawn into the latest gag unknowingly and helps both the rodeo clown and a female stunt rider to find peace with themselves.
- 1958–19631hTV-148.5 (74)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert GistStarsPaul BurkeHorace McMahonHarry BellaverA mentally-stressed police officer suffers a debilitating breakdown over his family's poor financial condition, catalyzed by missing button on his uniform.
- DirectorJohn NewlandStarsRhodes ReasonRichard AndersonJoan FreemanThe series finale "I Kiss Your Shadow", with Joanne Linville and George Grizzard as guest stars, is a story of a man crushed by the memory of his wife's death in an automobile accident. In his book Danse Macabre, Stephen King nominated this episode as "...the single most frightening story ever done on TV." King wrote that Bus Stop was "...a straight drama show,... The final episode, however, deviated wildly into the supernatural, and for me, Robert Bloch's adaptation of his own short story "I Kiss Your Shadow" has never been beaten on TV - and rarely any where else - for eerie, mounting horror."
- DirectorPaul NickellStarsMichael LandonLorne GreenePernell RobertsAfter being robbed in the desert, Adam stumbles onto a seemingly chivalrous prospector named Peter Kane, who offers him a mule and supplies for three days work. However, Kane is a demented madman who is interested in psychological torture, hoping to drive a seemingly rational man like Adam to murder. As Ben, Hoss and Little Joe try to retrace the missing Adam's footsteps, Adam must rely on his own wits to defeat Kane.
- DirectorDavid Lowell RichStarsMartin MilnerGeorge MaharisLuther AdlerTod and Buz, are working as taxi drivers in Chicago, Illinois. They become acquainted with a Prohibition Era beer baron just released from a 32 year prison term. Tod and Buz strongly differ in their regard for this man, who finds time has changed the people and places of his youth. However, one thing may not have changed - an old enemy.
- DirectorPeter TewksburyStarsGlenn CorbettTed BessellMichael BurnsVern decides to get a tattoo in nearby Exeter which is a rough little town where the kids from Cardella go to booze and pickup women. He takes Howie along so Wes, Irene, Tom-Tom and Nora have to give up their date night to rescue them, or so they think. The frank discussions about sexuality and why young men go to a town like Exeter is explored with amazing realism. Humor and drama go hand in hand throughout the show. A flawless piece of writing. The last five minutes are a showcase for Randy Boone as he shows off his skills as both an actor and musician.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsE.G. MarshallRobert ReedSylvia SidneyThe Prestons defend a disturbed young man accused of the murder of a girl he picked up and for which the state is demanding the death penalty. Although a court-appointed psychiatrist has evaluated him as sane, it's obvious that the man is, at the least, psychotic with some serious mother issues, but the Prestons discover that the state is in no mood to cut a deal and is determined to convict the man and put him to death.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsE.G. MarshallRobert ReedSylvia SidneyIn the conclusion of a two-part story, murder suspect Joey Tassili leaves intensive psychiatric evaluation and is placed on trial for the murder of a waitress. The Prestons seek to save Tassili from the electric chair by testing the McNaughton Rule of legal insanity and delivering an impassioned argument against capital punishment.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsVince EdwardsSam JaffeGary CrosbyA successful but arrogant lawyer, one of the few women to make it to the very top in a male profession, enters the hospital, and it turns out that she's hiding an addiction to heroin.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsVince EdwardsSam JaffeGary CrosbyHaving discovered Faith Parsons's excuse of a back injury to feed her addiction to morphine, Zorba demands that Casey make changes in her treatment. Faith then cleverly exploits the attention of a young hospital visitor to help her procure the drug she craves.
- DirectorWalter GraumanStarsPaul BurkeHorace McMahonHarry BellaverFlint is ordered to prison to witness the execution of a murderer he helped capture.
- DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsRichard ChamberlainRaymond MasseyForrest TuckerA man suffers a heart attack after coming to see his blind daughter, whom he abandoned when she was a child in order to live a vagabond life. The daughter refuses to forgive him and will not accept his offer of help, nor will she take a chance on surgery to restore her sight, because she has been disappointed by past operations that failed.
- DirectorWilliam A. GrahamStarsDavid JanssenSusan OliverRobert DuvallKimble flees Los Angeles with a woman who loves him after checking out a lead on some one-armed man, but Lt. Gerard is right on their trail.
- DirectorWilliam A. GrahamStarsDavid JanssenSusan OliverRobert DuvallDr. Kimble still fleeing with the woman he loves, decides to fake their deaths at sea, hoping it will fool Lt. Gerard forever.
- DirectorJesse HibbsStarsRaymond BurrBarbara HaleWilliam HopperIn a very rare occurrence, Perry Mason loses a case when Janice Barton is convicted of murdering her aunt and is subsequently sentenced to death. After the verdict, Perry still investigates to try to find the real killer among the heirs.
- DirectorTom GriesStarsGeorge C. ScottElizabeth WilsonCicely TysonA young African-American couple battle economic and social woes. Joe can only find menial jobs and to make ends meet Ruth works in a cheap bar. Then tragedy strikes their child.
- DirectorRobert Ellis MillerStarsPaul RichardsEduard FranzHarold J. StoneDr. Thompson teams with dedicated therapist Miss Newly to handle the case of Petey Babcock, a seven year old schizophrenic. As Miss Newly works diligently to make contact with the non-communicative boy, who has retreated into a world of his own, the case is jeopardized by Petey's older brother Joey, himself suffering guilt over Petey's hospitalization.
- DirectorJack SmightStarsBen GazzaraChuck ConnorsJohn LarchA dockworker who fancies himself as an author kills the man who repossessed his typewriter, then befriends investigating detective Anderson in an odd bid to divert suspicion away from him.
- DirectorNorman LloydStarsAlfred HitchcockPat ButtramCollin Wilcox PaxtonCharlie Hill is mesmerized by a strange jar at a carnival sideshow. He buys it from the owner, but his wife Thedy Sue is frightened and wants it thrown out. The townspeople come from miles to see it and Charlie becomes a local celebrity.
- DirectorDavid AlexanderStarsHenry JonesJason EversRobert Lansing
- 1963–19671hTV EpisodeDirectorStuart RosenbergStarsDarren McGavinGeorge PeppardMadlyn RhueStruggling actor Frank Carson has a messy personal life that matches his unpromising career.
- DirectorAllen ReisnerStarsJames FranciscusDean JaggerSimon OaklandHard nosed shop teacher Carl Green runs his classroom like a business rather than a classroom. The students decide to rebel led by Lee Daragh but the encounter turns violent.
- DirectorDon McDougallStarsLee J. CobbDoug McClureClu GulagerThe Virginian falls in love with a woman who has the heart of every man around. As the two plan their marriage, her sister and father debate whether they should tell The Virginian the truth about her terminal illness and short time left.
- DirectorDon MedfordStarsRobert LansingJohn LarkinFrank OvertonA goofy bombardier Lt. who always hits his mark joins Gen. Savage's crew and finds out the hard way, that real people are killed when bombs drop.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsRobert CulpArlene MartelAbraham SofaerContinuance of the human race against alien invaders depends on a man with an incomplete glass computer hand and no memory of his past.
- DirectorDon MedfordStarsDavid JanssenRuth WhiteLouise SorelKimble comes back into contact with his wife's family when he learns of their financial difficulties. Kimble may have a way to help, but his mother-in-law's hatred for him may lead to his capture.
- StarsRichard CrennaTrevor BardetteKathie BrowneSlattery's friends Hank and Barbara Harrison hope that the baby Barbara is expecting will help to save their unstable marriage. However, after contacting German measles, Barbara fears her child will develop birth defects and wants to terminate the pregnancy. A sympathetic Slattery places his career in jeopardy when he subsequently decides to support a controversial bill that would allow abortions in the state.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsLloyd BridgesBrock PetersRuss ConwayWhile traveling, William Colton meets an ex-Union soldier who fought in the war for three years. Before that, he had been a slave. His father had traveled out west to find a better life for them and Lamuel Stove was joining him. But when they arrived in the town, Lamuel made a horrifying discovery: his father had been lynched the night before. Lamuel was filled with grief and mourned deeply for his father. He was told that about ten men came to his father's house, dragged him to town, abused him, then lynched him. They planned on leaving his body hanging in the tree until the following day. Lamuel, filled with grief, now had to decide what he would do about it.
- DirectorAbner BibermanStarsPeter FalkJoanna BarnesDavid BurnsIs Judge Vincent becoming senile? He hires O'Brien to prove he isn't.
- DirectorVic MorrowStarsRick JasonVic MorrowJack HoganThis two part Combat! episode is the quintessential story of the futility of war as viewed through the eyes of surviving infantrymen. An American division of troops is making an assault all along their lines. At the platoon level, Lt. Hanley is ordered to take a strategic hill that overlooks a needed road, and the hill is protected by two concrete bunkers with German machine guns and infantry in each bunker. Saunders gets hit in his thigh in the first assault on the bunkers while several other GIs are killed. Hanley asks for artillery support, but his company commander tells Hanley he will have to take the hill without artillery support. Hanley tries several different strategies to take the hill, but each time the men go up the hill, the overwhelming fire from the bunkers stop them, and each time they leave a few more dead GIs on the hill. (see "Hills Are For Heroes - Part 2 for continuation of storyline)
- DirectorVic MorrowStarsRick JasonVic MorrowJack HoganLt. Hanley has the support of a tank to help his platoon to take the hill. However, the tank is destroyed by a German bazooka. Now Hanley plans to use the shield of the tank to attack the German bunker also with a bazooka.
- DirectorWilliam HaleStarsJames DarrenRobert ColbertLinden ChilesDecember 6, 1941: Dr. Tony Newman confronts his own past at Pearl Harbor and he wants to know what happened to his father.
- DirectorLeonard J. HornStarsSteven HillBarbara BainGreg MorrisRogosh is an operative for a country hostile to the United States. When he strikes, he typically leaves dozens, if not hundreds, of bodies in his wake. Rogosh has been spotted in Los Angeles. But he will not crack under normal interrogation methods. Briggs comes up with an unusual plan. The IMF stages an accident where pedestrian Rogosh is struck by a car. When he awakes, he appears to be in a prison in his home country -- three years later.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyJoan CollinsWhen a temporarily insane Dr. McCoy accidentally changes history and destroys his time, Kirk and Spock follow him to prevent the disaster, but the price to do so is high.
- DirectorHarvey HartStarsCarl BetzChristopher JonesPat HingleIn the opening episode, Judd defends a wild, rebellious young man who has exerted a Pied Piper-like influence over a small town's teenagers. The young man is accused of killing two teenage girls although no bodies have been found and they may have run away.
- DirectorJohn Meredyth LucasStarsMike ConnorsJoseph CampanellaLinda MarshA group of businessmen approach Intertect. They say they want to approach a former colleague and offer him $1 million for a new formula. Mannix is suspicious the clients aren't telling the truth. He befriends the daughter of the man the businessmen want to approach and she falls for him. Mannix keeps digging and discovers the clients are really Nazi hunters. Or are they really Nazis? Mannix must find the answer and save the life of the daughter.
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyThe Enterprise hosts a number of quarrelling diplomats, including Spock's father, but someone on board has murder in mind.
- DirectorE. Darrell HallenbeckStarsMilburn StoneAmanda BlakeKen CurtisHarvey Cagle, a resident of Dodge, owes money to someone in another town. He tries to convince the man he owes to give him time to pay him back, but the man gives him only a few weeks. While there he sees a gunfighter, named Dave Reeves, kills someone and decides to hire him to kill his partner Carl Anderson so that he could get control of the business they share. When Reeves arrives he finds out that the woman Anderson is seeing is his wife, who left him a few years ago, and this makes him want to kill Anderson more.
- DirectorLewis AllenStarsRoy ThinnesAlfred RyderKaren BlackDavid and Bob intercept an alien en route to a regeneration station, and discover that he is a leader, a powerful figure in the alien hierarchy, but without regeneration he will not last the length of a trip to Washington. His people manage to surround David and trap him in a small cabin, the home of poet Cyrus Stone and his niece Claudia. Claudia resents that David has dragged her family into this, even after she sees an alien die the fiery death of his kind when on Earth. David tries to figure out how to get word to a nearby military base, while the aliens strive to recover their leader.
- DirectorCharles R. RondeauStarsStuart WhitmanPercy HerbertRandy BooneMarshal Crown, during the course of a hauntingly foggy night, hunts for a killer who is butchering his victims. Francis tells Crown about how police in London were unable to solve a similar set of killings earlier that year -- by someone who called himself Jack the Ripper.
- DirectorBen GazzaraStarsBen GazzaraRobert DuvallTom SkerrittBryan attempts to find a man and persuade the man to report his knowledge of a murder to save a death row inmate that Bryan helped convict but now believes is innocent.
- DirectorDon ChaffeyStarsPatrick McGoohanVirginia MaskellGuy DolemanAfter resigning, a secret agent finds himself trapped in a bizarre prison known only as The Village.
- DirectorJohn ErmanStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyTrapped in an alien laboratory, Kirk, Spock and McCoy meet an empath and are involved in a series of experiments.
- DirectorMarvin J. ChomskyStarsMichael ParksBruce DernZohra Lampertwww.jimbronson.com - Jim befriends a pregnant girl in a rain storm while looking for a friend in the mountain community, and then he strangely finds him. While dodging and chasing the goats on the road of a hill top farm, Jim stumbles upon a girl named Mary. She is with child and Jim helps her round up the bearded creatures. Later that day the rains come in a torrent of drops. As if in a manger Bucky finds Jim caring for Mary during the rain storm. We learn that Bucky is and old friend of Jims and was a priest in San Francisco but with a clouded view of life; he fled to the seclusion of the mountain stronghold. With a scorn of love for Mary and their unborn child, he is tormented by his lack of faith in himself to realize the reality of life and the misfortunes which come with it. However as the new baby draws near, the reality of the blessing which have been bestowed are then clear and Jim sees a way in which he can continue on his quest for comfort on the long lonesome highway. This episode touched on the morals of the child un-wanted and the religious implications we have in our lives, we either see the light or the sun never shines in our life.
- 1969–19701h7.8 (11)TV EpisodeDirectorDaryl DukeStarsLeslie NielsenHari RhodesRobert DrivasDue to his writing, cocky convicted rapist/killer Martin Sitomer receives a new trial in which he acts as his own attorney, forcing Washburn and Danforth to re-examine the evidence.