Theatre 5 from ABC

Regular price $5.00 Sale

FORMAT: (1) MP3 DVD / (5) MP3 CDS

Theater Five was ABC's attempt to revive radio drama during the early 1960s. The series name was derived from its time slot, 5:00 PM.

Running Monday through Friday, it was an anthology of short stories, each about 20 minutes long. News programs and commercials filled out the full 30 minutes.

There was a good bit of science fiction and some of the plots seem to have been taken from the daily newspaper.

Fred Foy, of The Lone Ranger fame, was an ABC staff announcer in the early 60s, who, among other duties, did Theater Five.

The variety of dramatic presentations was one of Theatre 5's most compelling features. With a broad mix of genres and some of Radio, Stage, Television and Film's finest guest stars, ABC's humble 21-minute scripts packed a lot of entertainment into a relatively small format. We loosely tallied the following genres from the entire run:

  • 6 Ghost, Horror or Supernatural Dramas
  • 8 Suspense Dramas
  • 10 Fantasy Dramas
  • 12 Action-Adventure Dramas
  • 13 Social Dramas
  • 7 Crime Dramas
  • 18 Science Fiction or Space Age Dramas
  • 18 Topical Dramas
  • 24 Comedies
  • 25 Mystery Dramas
  • 26 Melodramas
  • 26 Psychological Dramas
  • 35 Human Interest Dramas

 

Episode List:

08/03/64 # 1 Hit And Run
08/04/64 # 2 A House Of Cards
08/05/64 # 3 Terror From Beyond
08/06/64 # 4 Homecoming
08/07/64 # 5 The $245,000 Smile
08/10/64 # 6 Rebellion Next Week
08/11/64 # 7 The Big Dog
08/12/64 # 8 Jump, Jump
08/13/64 # 9 Melodrama
08/14/64 # 10 The Stranger
08/17/64 # 11 The Fun Party
08/18/64 # 12 The New Order
08/19/64 # 13 Ring Of Evil
08/20/64 # 14 Your Time Is Up
08/21/64 # 15 Molecule Masquerade
08/24/64 # 16 A Caller At Midnight
08/25/64 # 17 Dream Of Death
08/26/64 # 18 The Late Mathew Dillard
08/27/64 # 19 My Other Self
08/28/64 # 20 Incident At Apogee
08/31/64 # 21 The Scream
09/01/64 # 22 Outside Time
09/02/64 # 23 The Fix
09/03/64 # 24 The Trouble With Alfie
09/04/64 # 25 Cry In The Night
09/07/64 # 26 Sorry To Let You Go
09/08/64 # 27 Incident At Shadow Valley
09/09/64 # 28 The Decoration
09/10/64 # 29 First Encounter
09/11/64 # 30 To Whom It May Concern
09/14/64 # 31 The Noon Stars
09/15/64 # 32 My Brother's Keeper
09/16/64 # 33 The Big Freeze
09/17/64 # 34 The Understudy
09/18/64 # 35 The Group
09/21/64 # 36 The Kiss Off
09/22/64 # 37 The Odyssey Of Number Fourteen
09/23/64 # 38 We Are All Alone
09/24/64 # 39 The Evil That Men Do
09/25/64 # 40 A Genuine Crenotte
09/28/64 # 41 Look Who's Talking
09/29/64 # 42 The Wrong Arm Of Justice
09/30/64 # 43 A Very Private Phone Call
10/01/64 # 44 John Hansen, Hermit
10/02/64 # 45 Subject Number 428A
10/05/64 # 46 The Arithmetic Of Honor
10/06/64 # 47 The Last Land Rush
10/07/64 # 48 Echo Of Madness
10/08/64 # 49 Justice Is An Uncertain Thing
10/09/64 # 50 I'm Sorry, Mom
10/12/64 # 51 All The Bright Young Ones
10/13/64 # 52 The Autocrat
10/14/64 # 53 The Dog Killer
10/15/64 # 54 The Good Samaritans
10/16/64 # 55 The Captive Spirit
10/19/64 # 56 An Honorable Way To Die
10/20/64 # 57 The Man Who Loved Jellyroll
10/21/64 # 58 Captain Camble's Uniform
10/22/64 # 59 Including Murder
10/23/64 # 60 The Sacrifice
10/26/64 # 61 Sirens In The Night
10/27/64 # 62 The Prodigal Son
10/28/64 # 63 Odds On The Tower
10/29/64 # 64 Nightmare
10/30/64 # 65 The Second Chance
11/02/64 # 66 June 17th, Where Are You?
11/03/64 # 67 Why Can't Life Be More Like The Movies
11/04/64 # 68 Body Without The Crime
11/05/64 # 69 Twenty Minutes In The Life Of Melinda Madison
11/06/64 # 70 Living Credit
11/09/64 # 71 The Nameless Day
11/10/64 # 72 World Enough And Time
11/11/64 # 73 The Gift
11/12/64 # 74 A Brand New Life
11/13/64 # 75 Deedle Deedle Dumply My Son X-1
11/16/64 # 76 The City Manager
11/17/64 # 77 The Contract Maker
11/18/64 # 78 A Little Piece Of Candle
11/19/64 # 79 To Be Or Not To Be Maybe!
11/20/64 # 80 A Nothing Place
11/23/64 # 81 Dark Appointment
11/24/64 # 82 The Talkers
11/25/64 # 83 A Little Knowledge
11/26/64 # 84 The Neighbor
11/27/64 # 85 The Lesson
11/30/64 # 86 To Helen With Love
12/01/64 # 87 Finders Can Be Losers
12/02/64 # 88 Found Money
12/03/64 # 89 Fog
12/04/64 # 90 Sound Track Of A Happy Family
12/07/64 # 91 Bug Off
12/08/64 # 92 Congratulations, Mr. Mayor
12/09/64 # 93 The Weapons At Hand
12/10/64 # 94 I Love You
12/11/64 # 95 Bang Bang You're Dead
12/14/64 # 96 Now Listen To The Tiger
12/15/64 # 97 The Victim
12/16/64 # 98 An Average American Murder
12/17/64 # 99 Just Call Me Lucky
12/18/64 #100 Nuptial Flight
12/21/64 #101 Six Foot Flower Box
12/22/64 #102 Finders Keepers
12/23/64 #103 The Flea Circus
12/24/64 #104 The Wish Fulfillment Machine
12/25/64 #105 Look At My Record
12/28/64 #106 Five Strangers
12/29/64 #107 Charlie, The Beautiful Machine
12/30/64 #108 The Blue Eyed People
12/31/64 #109 Presence Of Mind
01/01/65 #110 Discotheque
01/04/65 #111 The Blank Check
01/05/65 #112 Devil Dust
01/06/65 #113 The Corporation
01/07/65 #114 Don't Call Me, I'll Call You
01/08/65 #115 The Delinquents
01/11/65 #116 The Button Stealers
01/12/65 #117 Bravo, Bravo
01/13/65 #118 Man On The Canyon Wall
01/14/65 #119 The Wandering Spaceman
01/15/65 #120 The Trophy
01/18/65 #121 The Wheel
01/19/65 #122 Across The River From Grandma's House
01/20/65 #123 A Dream Of A Scheme
01/21/65 #124 The Imposters
01/22/65 #125 The First Weekend
01/25/65 #126 Where Art Thou, Romeo?
01/26/65 #127 Mr. Horn's Holiday
01/27/65 #128 Tomorrow 6-1212
01/28/65 #129 The Hostage
01/29/65 #130 I've Got Your Number
02/01/65 #131 The Boy
02/02/65 #132 The Time, The Place, And The Death
02/03/65 #133 The Hunters
02/04/65 #134 Greater Love Hath No Man
02/05/65 #135 The Underdeveloped Nation
02/08/65 #136 Cold Storage
02/09/65 #137 The Eye Of The Storm
02/10/65 #138 Lovely Boy
02/11/65 #139 The Sybil Of Sycamore Lane
02/12/65 #140 The Chain
02/15/65 #141 The Forgotten
02/16/65 #142 A Little Game On Saturday Mornings
02/17/65 #143 Post Time
02/18/65 #144 It's A Work Of Art
02/19/65 #145 Listen, Mother
02/22/65 #146 A Tale For The Nursery
02/23/65 #147 The Elevator
02/24/65 #148 The Man Who Heard Everything
02/25/65 #149 Toby's Wonderful Egg
02/26/65 #150 Little Girl, Little Girl
03/01/65 #151 You Bet Your Life
03/02/65 #152 French Quarter
03/03/65 #153 Annie Is Watching
03/04/65 #154 The Land Of Milk And Honey
03/05/65 #155 April Snowfall
03/08/65 #156 Last Ride On The Merry Go Round
03/09/65 #157 Just For Kicks
03/10/65 #158 Broken Image
03/11/65 #159 Publish Or Perish
03/12/65 #160 The Janitor
03/15/65 #161 Divorce American Style
03/16/65 #162 Any Port In A Storm
03/17/65 #163 Across The River From Grandfather's House
03/18/65 #164 If The Spirit Moves You
03/19/65 #165 They Call Me Howie
03/22/65 #166 Bad News For Mrs. Bristol
03/23/65 #167 The Hazelton Story
03/24/65 #168 Point Of Impact
03/25/65 #169 There's One Born Every Minute
03/26/65 #170 The Widow
03/29/65 #171 The Avenger
03/30/65 #172 Bright House, New House
03/31/65 #173 Eye Of Kali
04/01/65 #174 Three On A Death
04/02/65 #175 Get Away With Murder
04/05/65 #176 The Welcome Lady
04/06/65 #177 Until Death Do Us
04/07/65 #178 Mirror, Mirror On The Wall
04/08/65 #179 A Million Miles To Nowhere
04/09/65 #180 It's My Funeral
04/12/65 #181 A Matter Of Pride
04/13/65 #182 The Lion Who Wasn't There
04/14/65 #183 Come Home Daughter All Is Forbidden
04/15/65 #184 Panic
04/16/65 #185 He Was A Good Boy
04/19/65 #186 Incident In Ceylon
04/20/65 #187 You Gotta Cry Sometime
04/21/65 #188 The Wonderful Stamps From El Dorado
04/22/65 #189 Said The Spider
04/23/65 #190 Poor Little Greek Girl
04/26/65 #191 Greener Pastures
04/27/65 #192 Lorna Is A Strange Child
04/28/65 #193 The Beneficiary
04/29/65 #194 Junior
04/30/65 #195 Make My Name Clean
05/03/65 #196 Driver's Seat
05/04/65 #197 Incident On U.S. 1
05/05/65 #198 The Name Game
05/06/65 #199 Reunion
05/07/65 #200 The Ten Year Old Car
05/10/65 #201 Lift To Beyond
05/11/65 #202 Nigtmare At 26,000
05/12/65 #203 Around The Corner From Nowhere
05/13/65 #204 Wrong Turning
05/14/65 #205 The Birthday Present
05/17/65 #206 The Gandy Walker
05/18/65 #207 Will Integrity Ruin Clint Marble
05/19/65 #208 Blind Man's Bluff
05/20/65 #209 Death Of An Old Flame
05/21/65 #210 Two Birds, One Stone
05/24/65 #211 Rocky Loves Julie
05/25/65 #212 The Dance Hall
05/26/65 #213 Incident At Phong Trang
05/27/65 #214 Barefoot In Athens
05/28/65 #215 The Protective Circle
05/31/65 #216 Lake Toplitz
06/01/65 #217 Mama's Girl
06/02/65 #218 Noose Of Pearls
06/03/65 #219 And Dream No More
06/04/65 #220 Untrue Confession
06/07/65 #221 Two Came Back
06/08/65 #222 Skeletons
06/09/65 #223 The Big Lonely
06/10/65 #224 The Wishing Stone
06/11/65 #225 The Bottom Of The Bottle
06/14/65 #226 The Manor House
06/15/65 #227 A Bad Day's Work
06/16/65 #228 Incident At Simbarundi
06/17/65 #229 Country Boy
06/18/65 #230 The Banana Ball
06/21/65 #231 The Roper
06/22/65 #232 The Pigeon
06/23/65 #233 Goodbye Matt
06/24/65 #234 A Cup Of Snow For Lt. Vogel
06/25/65 #235 Ride With Death
06/28/65 #236 Custody Of The Mother
06/29/65 #237 You Can't Fight City Hall
06/30/65 #238 Method In The Madness
07/01/65 #239 Teacher, Teacher
07/02/65 #240 Children Of Death
07/05/65 #241 Devotion
07/06/65 #242 Jailbreak
07/07/65 #243 Don't Hesitate To Call
07/08/65 #244 A Matter Of Appearances
07/09/65 #245 Ed's War
07/12/65 #246 Casualty Of A Small War
07/13/65 #247 The Marked Man
07/14/65 #248 The Walls Of Poison Ivy
07/15/65 #249 The Big Waves
07/16/65 #250 Flies With Honey
07/19/65 #251 Summer's End
07/20/65 #252 Flights Of Angels
07/21/65 #253 In Time Of Trouble
07/22/65 #254 Jazz Festival
07/23/65 #255 Whatever Happened To The 5:25?
07/26/65 #256 In Absence Of All Intelligent Life