Rod Serling (obscure teleplays available on YouTube)
Pre-Twilight Zone teleplays written by Rod Serling that I watched on YouTube. I've listed them from greater to lesser according to how much I liked them. On this list only 'The Time Element' mirrors his Twilight Zone work. For easy access here is the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjIBlU8yGU2rkt5EI5oqNnZvshBSLop7s
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16 titles
- DirectorFielder CookStarsVan HeflinEverett SloaneEd BegleyWhen Fred Staples is recruited onto the board of a high-powered New York corporation, he finds his ethics and ambition at odds.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsJames DalyRoy RobertsBert FreedMajor Gaylord recounts an experience during World War II when he was obliged to fire on an American soldier in the dead of night on a Pacific island.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsRod SteigerWilliam ShatnerFay SpainA weakling sheriff is unable to prevent a lynching. Can he redeem himself by preventing a second one?
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsJack PalanceKeenan WynnKim HunterAn over-the-hill heavyweight boxing champion who suffers from the ravages of years of head trauma is exploited by his manager, despite the efforts of a compassionate young woman who tries to help him recover his self-respect.
- DirectorAllen ReisnerStarsWilliam BendixMartin BalsamDarryl HickmanA man is sent back in time to December 6, 1941 and tries to warn people about the upcoming Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsMichael AllenArthur CassellAndrew DugganA school bus driver (Jack Warden) is fired by the local school board when he refuses to sign a loyalty oath. This was a pilot for a proposed anthology series that didn't sell.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsPaul NewmanJames GregoryWilliam HarriganPrison inmate, Jeff had his best friend murdered by the sadistic Willie. To save himself, Jeff tells the warden he didn't do it.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsWendell CoreyChester MorrisJohn CromwellArriving in Washington, a freshman senator gets an experienced advisor who warns him not to continue a heated feud with his state's senior salon, held over from his father. But later in a drunken jag, he blurts out secret evidence that can end the career of the older man.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsRory CalhounMay WynnVince EdwardsA boxing promoter gets word that his conniving brother is returning home. Years before he turned into a cheating, crooked fighter, and now is slipping. He broke the heart of a girl that still loves him, He also must win one last fight-if his brother can help him.
- DirectorRichard DunlapStarsRobert CassJames DeanPud FlanaganJust out of prison Joe Harris looks to restart his life. His wife Barbie has moved and the one man who can tell him where refuses to do so. Enraged, Joe beats the old man senseless and runs away to his father's home, where he also finds his wife. A police detective comes around about the beating (which will soon to become a murder) and Joe insists he's innocent. Joe tells his wife and father he's a changed man and he's only a suspect because of his prior conviction. Barbie and Fred struggle with their desire to believe Joe's plea versus their fear he'll never change.
- DirectorAlex SegalStarsWendell CoreyKeenan WynnMarshall ThompsonA decorated Korean War hero inexplicably collaborates with the enemy while interred in a POW camp and is court-martialed.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsO.Z. WhiteheadLouise LarabeeCalvin ThomasThe Nevada Proving Ground is set for another nuclear bomb blast at 4 AM. A harried artist is rushing to finish the mannequins he's been hired to construct that will populate a house at ground zero. His nagging wife, who does nothing but complain about his work, finally pushes him over the edge. As contracted, he delivers five "people" to the house that's about to be destroyed.
- DirectorAxel GruenbergStarsBruce CabotTol AveryRoy RegnierIt's Christmas Eve on a run-down street and reporter Sweeney is drowning his sorrows in a cup of strong coffee. As various friends pop into the diner and share their woes, Sweeney needs - and gets - a little Christmas spirit.
- DirectorAlbert McCleeryStarsFrank M. ThomasMona BrunsHoward FreemanIn the 1850's, the small mid western college of Antioch faces going out of business unless it changes school policy and takes on wealthy clientèle to pay their mounting debts. Their stalwart dean, Horace Mann, refuses and would rather go down to defeat than betray his principles. At the moment that all seems lost, a benefactor steps in to rescue them.
- DirectorArnee NocksStarsHelmut DantineWerner KlempererMelba RaeA knife-thrower in a carnival act is blackmailed by a Communist spy into murdering a man the agent wants killed.
- DirectorAlex GruenbergJack HivelyStarsGilbert FallmanByron FoulgerBert FreedGrady Everett is a crooked big city politician whose house of cards comes unraveled on the eve of a big gubernatorial election.