Climax!

1h

Drama

Mystery

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.

Episodes

Cast

The Long Goodbye

1. The Long Goodbye

1h

7th Oct 1954

Private Detective Philip Marlowe decides to help out a friend Lennox when his wife is found brutally murdered. Marlowe winds up in jail accused of her murder and tries to solve the case after his release.

The Thirteenth Chair

2. The Thirteenth Chair

1h

14th Oct 1954

When his friend is murdered, Edward Wales sets out to capture the killer. He stages a seance and invites 13 people, any one of who may have killed the dead man, but it ends in chaos when the killer strikes again during a blackout.

Casino Royale

3. Casino Royale

1h

21st Oct 1954

American spy James Bond must outsmart card wiz and crime boss LeChiffre while monitoring his actions. The first dramatization of a James Bond novel.

Sorry, Wrong Number

4. Sorry, Wrong Number

1h

4th Nov 1954

A neurotic invalid whose only contact with the outside world is her phone. One night, because of a crossed wire, she hears plans for a murder which turns out to be her own. Her frantic efforts to get help and her growing terror and realisation of the truth chill you to the bone.

The Gioconda Smile

5. The Gioconda Smile

1h

11th Nov 1954

The death of his crippled wife causes upheaval for the husband and his mistress. Only his family friend believes in his innocence.

The After House

6. The After House

1h

25th Nov 1954

A steward aboard a yacht thinks his job is easy sailing until the dream voyage turns into a nightmare. The ship's officer is thrown overboard and another is hacked to death who is next.

An Error in Chemistry

7. An Error in Chemistry

1h

2nd Dec 1954

A carnival huckster ingratiates himself with an elderly farmer and his naïve daughter; she soon falls for her new suitor and marries him, only to wind up dead shortly afterwards, the husband quick to confess.

Epitaph for a Spy

8. Epitaph for a Spy

1h

9th Dec 1954

An unsuspecting Iron Curtain refugee is used as a pawn by two French traitors while he is at a resort in France.

The White Carnation

9. The White Carnation

1h

16th Dec 1954

A woman receives some mysterious white carnations, which seem to be an innocent gift but lead to terror.

Nightmare in Copenhagen

10. Nightmare in Copenhagen

1h

30th Dec 1954

Thru romantic eyes she knew not what he was.

The Bigger They Come

11. The Bigger They Come

1h

6th Jan 1955

Private investigators Cool and Lam become involved in this suspenseful tale of thugs, thieves and legal chicanery.

Escape From Fear

12. Escape From Fear

1h

13th Jan 1955

An American engineer in Germany crosses over into the Soviet Zone on business and becomes entangled with the secret police.

The Mojave Kid

13. The Mojave Kid

1h

27th Jan 1955

The Mojave Kid is warned to stay away from a small town feud.

The Leaf Out of the Book

14. The Leaf Out of the Book

1h

3rd Feb 1955

The story revolves around two women, one a successful career woman, the other an ambitious girl. After giving the daughter of an old friend a job, the successful businesswoman realizes the drawbacks of her generosity.

The Valiant Men

15. The Valiant Men

1h

10th Feb 1955

Lt. Comm. Knowles is assigned to skipper the USS Hamilton from England back to New York. While he and his crew celebrate New Year's Eve 1943, an unknown danger lurks nearby.

The Box of Chocolates

16. The Box of Chocolates

1h

24th Feb 1955

A hated columnist becomes involved in murder after receiving an innocent-looking box of chocolates with a note from the manufacturer asking him to try them.

South of the Sun

17. South of the Sun

1h

3rd Mar 1955

They were strangers to each other, even the married ones, and they all dreamed in human ways. But the least of these eight persons did something about his little dream. In so doing, he bound the strangers in an intimate circle, whether they knew it or not. He touched them all in passing and changed their lives and dreams forever, according to their own choices. In one turn of the earth something happened.

The Great Impersonation

18. The Great Impersonation

1h

10th Mar 1955

The action of this tale of intrigue and espionage takes place in the jungles of East Africa in 1914. The destinies of Germany and Great Britain are dependent upon one man whose decision is influenced by one of the two women in his life.

The Darkest Hour

19. The Darkest Hour

1h

24th Mar 1955

An ex-cop is released from San Quentin after five years and sets out on revenge against the men who framed him for manslaughter.

The Champion

20. The Champion

1h

31st Mar 1955

The famous story deals with a boxer whose rise to fame has been at the expense of friends and associates. Through flashbacks, we see how Midge Kelly rose from the Chicago slums to a world championship.

Private Worlds

21. Private Worlds

1h

7th Apr 1955

A woman doctor probes the twisted minds of her patients in a mental institution.

Flight 951

22. Flight 951

1h

21st Apr 1955

A doctor forsakes the medical profession following a court trial where he was the defendant. Now a successful businessman travelling under an assumed name, he must decide between keeping his secret and saving the eyesight of a fellow passenger.

The First and the Last

23. The First and the Last

1h

28th Apr 1955

The threat of scandal, revolving around the death of a man in London, prompts an ambitious lawyer to disregard both legan and moral principles. His concern for his own career puts an innocent man's life in jeopardy.

The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia

24. The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia

1h

5th May 1955

A courageous nun suffers ordeals while trying to escape from behind the Iron Curtain.

No Stone Unturned

25. No Stone Unturned

1h

19th May 1955

A Scottish student has the historical Stone of Scone stolen from Westminster Abbey. His purpose is to get England to recognize Scotland's independence.

A Farewell to Arms

26. A Farewell to Arms

1h

26th May 1955

An American, in the Italian Army during World War I, who meets a nurse and falls in love with her. Together they try to find a haven from the turbulence around them.

The Unimportant Man

27. The Unimportant Man

1h

2nd Jun 1955

The life of an ordinary, mild-mannered man is changed when he identifies the murderer of his employer's brother.

The Dark Fleece

28. The Dark Fleece

1h

16th Jun 1955

A gold miner returns to his righteous California hometown, circa1857. He has great wealth, but also a burdened conscious; he has killed a man.

To Wake at Midnight

29. To Wake at Midnight

1h

23rd Jun 1955

All the pent-up prejudices and hatreds of postwar Europe are revived when a Nazi lieutenant recovers consciousness in a British hospital after being in a coma for years.

The Dance

30. The Dance

1h

30th Jun 1955

Wild Stallion

31. Wild Stallion

1h

7th Jul 1955

A handsome, devil-may-care fortune hunter [from South America] makes his home with a well-to-do Southern family. He is attracted at first to the daughter, until he discovers the mother is the one who holds the key to the family fortune.

The Escape of Mendes-France

32. The Escape of Mendes-France

1h

14th Jul 1955

The Healer

33. The Healer

1h

21st Jul 1955

A brilliant surgeon, burdened with a self-centered wife and a beautiful heiress who's in love with him, becomes tormented by doubts about his ability after losing a patient during a difficult operation.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

34. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1h

28th Jul 1955

Classic Stevenson tale of a scientist whose experiments into the duality of man transform him into the misshapen, murderous Mr. Hyde.

One Night Stand

35. One Night Stand

1h

4th Aug 1955

In 1937, the members of a jazz ensemble come to the aid of one of their colleagues who is stricken with tuberculosis.

Edge of Terror

36. Edge of Terror

1h

11th Aug 1955

A small town banker and his family are threatened with death if he identifies the leader of the gang that tried to rob his bank.

Fear Strikes Out

37. Fear Strikes Out

1h

18th Aug 1955

True story of ballplayer battling mental illness and domineering father.

Deal a Blow

38. Deal a Blow

1h

25th Aug 1955

A teenage boy gets into a dispute with an abusive movie theater manager Mr. Grubbs. The boy's father Tom Ditmar accepts the manager's somewhat twisted version of the incident and doesn't give his son a chance to explain his side of the matter.

First air date

7th Oct 1954

Last air date

26th Jun 1958

Status

Ended

Type

Scripted

Original language

en

Networks