New York City policewoman Casey Jones' assignment to fight crime often entails her going undercover in some of the seediest and most dangerous parts of the city. Decoy is a groundbreaking American crime drama television series created for syndication and initially broadcast from October 14, 1957, to July 7, 1958, with thirty-nine 30-minute black-and-white episodes. It was the first American police series with a female protagonist. Many Decoy episodes are in the public domain.
San Franciscans during the goldrush of the 1850s attempt to maintain law and order in their wild city. Newly arrived Matthew Wayne becomes sheriff, then marshal, and organizes the city police force while expressing interest in the young widow Fanzler and sparring with attorney Pitt. Adam Kennedy appears as Dion Patrick, an Irish newspaperman who helps the local vigilante committee.
Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans was set in New York's Hudson Valley during the French and Indian war in the 1750's and depicted the adventures of Hawkeye and his Indian blood brother Chingachgook, the last member of the Mohican tribe. The series based on stories by James Fenimore Cooper.
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a television western series loosely based on the life of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour black-and-white program aired for 229 episodes on ABC from 1955 to 1961 and featured Hugh O'Brian in the title role.
The first American television series of Sherlock Holmes adventures aired in syndication in the fall of 1954. The 39 half-hour mostly original stories were produced by Sheldon Reynolds and filmed in France by Guild Films, starring Ronald Howard as Holmes and Howard Marion Crawford as Watson. Archie Duncan appeared in many episodes as Inspector Lestrade. Richard Larke, billed as Kenneth Richards, played Sgt. Wilkins in about fifteen episodes. The series' associate producer, Nicole Milinaire, was one of the first women to attain a senior production role in a television series.
Mark Saber refers to a half-hour 1950s detective television series that took different forms and titles during its run. Tom Conway portrayed Mark Saber as a plainclothes English detective working with the Homicide Division of the N.Y.P.D. in Mystery Theater which aired on ABC from October 1951 to June 1954. Donald Gray portrayed Mark Saber as a one-armed private detective based in London. In The Vise which aired on ABC from September 1955 to June 1957. Donald Gray also portrayed Mark Saber in Saber of London which aired on NBC from October 1957 to May 1960.
The Public Defender is a half-hour 69-episode television dramatic series starring Reed Hadley as Bart Matthews, an attorney for the indigent. The series aired on CBS from March 11, 1954 to June 23, 1955, a season and a half.
Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to June 1961 for a total of 165 episodes. The filmed show was hosted by Loretta Young who also played the lead in various episodes.
Letter to Loretta was sponsored by Procter & Gamble from 1953 through 1960. The final season's sponsor was Warner-Lambert's Listerine.
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945 and continued from 1952 to 1970 as a syndicated television series, with reruns continuing through August 1, 1975.
The series was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company and hosted by Stanley Andrews, Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor, and Dale Robertson. With the passing of Dale Robertson in 2013, all the former Death Valley Days hosts are now deceased.
Announcer: "The Adventures of Superman. Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!"
Voices: "Look up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!"
Announcer: "Yes, it's Superman, strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands; and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way."
Gang Busters is a 30 minute television series, hosted by Chester Morris, that aired on NBC from March 20 to Oct. 23, 1952. The series dramatized FBI cases.
The experiences of Robert Cannon and Helen Davis, foreign correspondents for "Consolidated News". Stories relate to their attempts to infiltrate and expose espionage rings.
Man Against Crime, one of the first television programs about private eyes, ran on CBS, the DuMont Television Network and NBC from October 7, 1949 to August 26, 1956. The show was created by Lawrence Klee and Paul Alter and was broadcast live until 1952. It was also directed by Paul Alter. The series was one of the few television programs ever to have been simulcast on more than one network: the program aired on both NBC and DuMont during the 1953-1954 television season.