The ''Kraft Suspense Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced and broadcast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

's ''

Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety progra ...

'' specials once monthly. Como's production company, Roncom Films, also produced ''Kraft Suspense Theatre.'' (The company name, "Roncom Films" came from "RONnie COMo," Perry's son, who was in his early 20s when this series premiered). Writer, editor, critic, and radio playwright Anthony Boucher served as consultant on the series. Later syndicated under the title ''Crisis'', it was one of the few suspense series then broadcast in color. While most of NBC's shows were in color then, all-color network line-ups did not become the norm until the 1966-67 season. It was also packaged with episodes of '' Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre'' under the title ''Universal Star Time''. In Britain,

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

screened episodes of this series and ''Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre'' under the banner of ''Impact.''

Overview

Ben Cooper,

Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as ''The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', ''Body Heat'', the first three ' ...

, John Forsythe, Ron Foster, Vivi Janiss, Brad Johnson, Jack Kelly, Robert Loggia, Ida Lupino, Martin Milner,

Ellen McRae Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

(who later changed her name to " Ellen Burstyn" and appeared as twin sisters in "The Deep End" with Clu Gulager and

Aldo Ray Aldo Ray (born Aldo Da Re; September 25, 1926 – March 27, 1991) was an American actor of film and television. He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Studios before achieving stardom through his roles in '' The Marrying Kind ...

), Leslie Nielsen, Larry Pennell,

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Aca ...

Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Kin ...

, Tippi Hedren, Telly Savalas, and Robert Ryan were among the actors and actresses cast on ''Kraft Suspense Theatre.'' Directors included prominent names in television and later features, examples being

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

Richard L. Bare Richard Leland Bare (August 12, 1913 – March 28, 2015) was an American director, producer, and screenwriter of Hollywood movies, television shows and short films. Career Born in Turlock, California, he attended USC School of Cinematic Arts ...

, Roy Huggins, Buzz Kulik, David Lowell Rich, Ida Lupino,

Sydney Pollack Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack directed more than 20 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 movies or shows and produced over 44 films. For his film ''Out ...

, Elliot Silverstein, Jack Smight, Ralph Senensky, and Paul Wendkos. Some episodes doubled as pilots for potential series. The episode "Rapture At Two-Forty", in particular, was the pilot for the series '' Run for Your Life,'' which premiered on NBC in the fall of 1965 and ran till 1968. The 1968

theatrical film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

'' Sergeant Ryker'', starring Lee Marvin, was a two-part made-for-television film that was first broadcast on ''Kraft Suspense Theatre'' under the title "The Case Against Paul Ryker". It also served as a pilot for the 1966 series '' Court Martial'', which

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

would broadcast. Other episodes that were later expanded into theatrical films (initially for European release) included "Once Upon a Savage Night", released as ''

Nightmare in Chicago ''Nightmare in Chicago'' is a 1964 suspense thriller crime television film produced and directed by Robert Altman, based on the novel ''Death on the Turnpike'' by William P. McGivern. It was originally filmed as an episode of the NBC series ''Kra ...

'', and "In Darkness, Waiting", which was released as ''

Strategy of Terror ''Strategy of Terror'' is a 1969 American mystery film directed by Jack Smight, re-edited from a two-part 1965 ''Kraft Suspense Theatre'' episode, "In Darkness, Waiting". Premise A reporter (Barbara Rush) uncovers a plan to assassinate four United ...

''.

Episodes

Pilot: 1963

* ''Shadow of a Man'' (1963-06-19)

Season 1: 1963–64

# ''The Case Against Paul Ryker: Part 1'' (1963-10-10) (starring Lee Marvin; first half of pilot for '' Court Martial'') # ''The Case Against Paul Ryker: Part 2'' (1963-10-17) (starring Lee Marvin; second half of pilot for '' Court Martial'') # ''The End of the World, Baby'' (1963-10-24) (starring Nina Foch and Peter Lorre) # ''A Hero for Our Times'' (1963-10-31) # ''Are There Any More Out There Like You?'' (1963-11-07) (starring Katharine Ross) # ''One Step Down'' (1963-11-14) # ''The Machine That Played God'' (1963-12-05) # ''The Long, Lost Life of Edward Smalley'' (1963-12-12) # ''The Hunt'' (1963-12-19) # ''The Name of the Game'' (1963-12-26) # ''The Deep End'' (1964-01-02) (starring

Tina Louise Tina Louise ( Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy ''Gilligan's Island''. With the death of Dawn Wells in 2020, Louise became the las ...

) # ''A Truce to Terror'' (1964-01-09) # ''Who Is Jennifer?'' (1964-01-16) (starring Gloria Swanson and

Brenda Scott Brenda Scott (born March 15, 1943) is an American film and television actress. Her stage name comes from an F. Scott Fitzgerald character. Early life On March 15, 1943, Scott was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Career Scott appeared in films suc ...

) # ''Leviathan Five'' (1964-01-30) # ''My Enemy, This Town'' (1964-02-06) # ''The Action of the Tiger'' (1964-02-20) # ''Doesn't Anyone Know Who I Am?'' (1964-02-27) # ''The Threatening Eye'' (1964-03-12) (starring

Jack Klugman Jack Klugman (April 27, 1922 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. He began his career in 1950 and started television and film work with roles in ''12 Angry Men'' (1957) and '' Cry Terror!'' (1958). D ...

) # ''A Cause of Anger'' (1964-03-19) # ''Knight's Gambit'' (1964-03-26) # ''Once Upon a Savage Night'' (1964-04-02) # ''Portrait of an Unknown Man'' (1964-04-16) # ''Their Own Executioners'' (1964-04-23) # ''The Sweet Taste of Vengeance'' (1964-04-30) # ''Charlie, He Couldn't Kill a Fly'' (1964-05-07) # ''The Watchman'' (1964-05-14) # ''The Robrioz Ring'' (1964-05-28) (starring Robert Loggia and Julie Harris) # ''A Cruel and Unusual Night'' (1964-06-04) (starring

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

)

Season 2: 1964–65

John T. Williams's theme music was revised for this season. # ''The World I Want'' (1964-10-01) # ''Operation Greif'' (1964-10-08) (starring

Robert Goulet Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American and Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Cana ...

and

Claude Akins Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor with a long career on stage, screen, and television. He was best known as Sheriff Lobo on the 1979–1981 television series ''B.J. and the Bear'', and l ...

) # ''A Lion Amongst Men'' (1964-10-22) # ''That He Should Weep for Her'' (1964-11-05) # ''The Kamchatka Incident'' (1964-11-12) # ''The Jack Is High'' (1964-11-19) # ''Graffiti'' (1964-11-26) # ''One Tiger to a Hill'' (1964-12-03) # ''Threepersons'' (1964-12-10) # ''The Gun'' (1964-12-24) # ''The Wine-Dark Sea'' (1964-12-31) # ''In Darkness, Waiting: Part 1'' (1965-01-14) # ''In Darkness, Waiting: Part 2'' (1965-01-21) # ''That Time in Havana'' (1965-02-11) # ''Four into Zero'' (1965-02-18) # ''Streetcar, Do You Read Me?'' (1965-02-25) # ''The Last Clear Chance'' (1965-03-11) # ''Won't It Ever Be Morning?'' (1965-03-18) (starring

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations ...

and John Cassavetes) # ''Nobody Will Ever Know'' (1965-03-25) # ''The Green Felt Jungle'' (1965-04-01) # ''Rapture at Two-Forty'' (1965-04-15) (starring Ben Gazzara and Michael Rennie; pilot for '' Run for Your Life'') # ''Jungle of Fear'' (1965-04-22) # ''Kill No More'' (1965-04-29) # ''The Long Ravine'' (1965-05-06) # ''The Easter Breach'' (1965-05-13) # ''The Safe House'' (1965-05-20) # ''Twixt the Cup and the Lip'' (1965-06-03) (starring Ethel Merman and Larry Blyden) # ''The Trains of Silence'' (1965-06-10) # ''Kill Me on July 20'' (1965-06-17) # ''The Rise and Fall of Eddie Carew'' (1965-06-24) # ''Connery's Hands'' (1965-07-01) *pilot for unsold series

Syndication

Reruns of the series have been shown under the name ''Suspense Theatre'', although many prints of episodes have had the syndicated rerun title ''Crisis''. In the 1990s, Sci-Fi Channel aired the series under the ''Suspense Theatre'' and ''Crisis'' titles as part of its late-night primetime programming lineup.

Retro TV Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through th ...

and Antenna TV, the small broadcast networks, ran the series in the early 2010s.

External links

* * {{epguides, SuspenseTheater
''Kraft Suspense Theatre at CVTA with episode list''

Kraft Suspense Theatre
1963 American television series debuts 1965 American television series endings 1960s American anthology television series 1960s American crime television series NBC original programming Television series by Universal Television Thriller television series English-language television shows Kraft Foods