''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

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, using the massive TK-40A color cameras pioneered and manufactured by RCA, and used primarily by CBS's rival network, NBC (the broadcasting division of RCA). Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live, but, although the series was transmitted in color, only black-and-white ''kinescope'' copies of some episodes survive to the present day. The series finished at #22 in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

for the 1955–1956 season and #26 for 1956–1957.

Production

In February 1955, Martin Manulis became the producer, replacing Bretaigne Windust. The trade publication '' Variety'' reported that the change in producers would be accompanied by a change in format. It said, "The sponsor, Chrysler, has been discontent with the restrictive suspense-horror formula," and that future episodes would be "designed to accent adventure and emotional climaxes rather than stark melodrama".

Notable episodes

In 1954, the ''Climax!'' episode "Casino Royale" featured secret agent

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

in a television adaptation of

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

's novel '' Casino Royale''. It starred Barry Nelson as American secret agent "Jimmy Bond" and Peter Lorre as the villain Le Chiffre. It was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, made before

Eon Productions Eon Productions Limited is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK. ''James Bond'' films Eon wa ...

acquired the Bond film rights. Eon would later obtain the rights to ''Casino Royale'' in the late 1990s. This adaptation is available on DVD as a bonus feature on the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

DVD release of the 1967 film adaptation of the novel. The only other episode of ''Climax!'' available on DVD is

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...

's adaptation of

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

's '' The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', retitled on ''Climax!'' as "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde". It stars Michael Rennie, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Lowell Gilmore. It is available in the DVD box set ''Classic Sci-Fi TV—150 Episodes'' from Mill Creek Entertainment. In an earlier episode of ''Climax!'', an adaptation of

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

's '' The Long Goodbye'', actor Tristram Coffin, playing a dead body, arose in-shot and walked offstage. The event was widely covered in the media of the day, later becoming an

urban legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...

that was attributed to Peter Lorre and the aforementioned adaptation of ''Casino Royale''. In addition, a small number of episodes from the series can be found on

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Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1954–55)

Season 2 (1955–56)

Season 3 (1956–57)

Season 4 (1957–58)

Guest stars

Sir Cedric Hardwicke Joan Tetzel Climax 1957

(In alphabetical order) * Julie Adams * Anna Maria Alberghetti * Eddie Albert *

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* Edward Arnold * Mary Astor * Anne Bancroft * Ethel Barrymore *

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* Joan Bennett * Jack Benny *

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* Richard Boone * Lloyd Bridges * Terry Burnham"Pig-Tailed Blonde Has Role as Lana Turner's Daughter"
''Long Beach Independent-Press-Telegram''. March 1, 1959. p. A11. Retrieved October 29, 2022. * Raymond Burr *

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* John Carradine * Jack Carson *

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* Lon Chaney Jr * Linda Christian * Steve Cochran *

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* Wendell Corey * Hume Cronyn * Mary Costa * Linda Darnell *

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* Laraine Day * Brandon deWilde * Paul Douglas * Tom Drake * Joanne Dru * James Dunn * Geraldine Fitzgerald * Nina Foch * John Forsythe * Anne Francis * Betty Furness *

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* Farley Granger * Bonita Granville * Coleen Gray *

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* Jean Hagen * Sir Cedric Hardwicke *

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* Paul Henreid *

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* Kim Hunter *

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* Ruth Hussey *

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* Louis Jourdan * Katy Jurado *

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* Agnes Moorehead * Rita Moreno * Barry Nelson * Edmond O'Brien * Margaret O'Brien * Pat O'Brien *

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* Susan Oliver * Maureen O'Sullivan * Betsy Palmer * Dick Powell * Robert Preston * Vincent Price * Dale Robertson * Edward G. Robinson * Cesar Romero * Ann Rutherford *

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* Dean Stockwell * Elaine Stritch *

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* Joan Tetzel * Franchot Tone * Claire Trevor *

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* Ethel Waters *

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* James Whitmore * Shelley Winters * Joanne Woodward * Teresa Wright

References

External links

*
''Climax!'' at CVTA with episode list
* {{Internet Archive film, id=Climax-DrJekyllAndMrHyde, name=Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1954 American television series debuts 1958 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series CBS original programming American English-language television shows