''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television 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, using the massive TK-40A color cameras pioneered and manufactured by RCA, and used primarily by CBS' arch-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.

Notable episodes

In 1954, the Climax! episode "Casino Royale" featured secret agent James Bond in a television adaptation of

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is 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., a ...

's novel '' Casino Royale''. It starred Barry Nelson as American secret agent "Jimmy Bond" and Peter Lorre as the villain Le Chiffre. This was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, made before Eon Productions 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 DVD release of the 1967 film adaptation of the novel. ''The Lou Gehrig Story'' was released on a DVD named Legends of Baseball, America's Pastime by PC Treasures, LLC. The disc also features ''The Jackie Robinson Story''. The only other episode of ''Climax!'' available on DVD is Gore Vidal's adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson'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 off stage. The event was widely covered in the media of the day, later becoming an urban legend that was attributed to Peter Lorre and the previously mentioned adaptation of ''Casino Royale''. In addition, a small number of select episodes from the series can be found on YouTube.

Episodes

Season 1: 1954–55

Season 2: 1955–56

Season 3: 1956–57

Season 4: 1957–58

Guest stars

(in alphabetical order) Sir Cedric Hardwicke Joan Tetzel Climax 1957

* Julie Adams * Anna Maria Alberghetti * Eddie Albert * Don Ameche * Edward Arnold * Mary Astor * Anne Bancroft *

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

* Ralph Bellamy * Joan Bennett * Jack Benny *

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Ber ...

* 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 * Rory Calhoun * Art Carney * John Carradine * Jack Carson * John Cassavetes * Lon Chaney Jr * Linda Christian * Steve Cochran * Claudette Colbert * Wendell Corey * Hume Cronyn * Linda Darnell * Jane Darwell * Laraine Day * Brandon deWilde * Paul Douglas * Tom Drake * Joanne Dru * James Dunn * Geraldine Fitzgerald * Nina Foch * John Forsythe *

Anne Francis Anne Francis (also known as Anne Lloyd Francis; September 16, 1930 – January 2, 2011) was an American actress known for her ground-breaking roles in the science-fiction film ''Forbidden Planet'' (1956) and the television action-drama seri ...

* Betty Furness * Eva Gabor * Zsa Zsa Gabor * Farley Granger *

Bonita Granville Bonita Gloria Granville Wrather (February 2, 1923 – October 11, 1988) was an American actress and producer. The daughter of vaudevillians, Granville began her career on the stage at age three. She initially began as a child actress, making h ...

* Coleen Gray * Peter Graves * Jean Hagen * Sir Cedric Hardwicke *

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...

* Paul Henreid * Celeste Holm *

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 ...

Kim Hunter Kim Hunter (born Janet Cole; November 11, 1922 – September 11, 2002) was an American theatre, film, and television actress. She achieved prominence for portraying Stella Kowalski in the original production of Tennessee Williams' ''A Streetcar N ...

* Tab Hunter * Ruth Hussey * Vivi Janiss * Louis Jourdan * Katy Jurado * Boris Karloff * Phyllis Kirk * Jack Klugman * Angela Lansbury * Peter Lawford * Cloris Leachman * June Lockhart * Marjorie Lord * Peter Lorre * Barton MacLane *

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), ''King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

Raymond Massey Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor, known for his commanding, stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Amo ...

* Lee Marvin * Mercedes McCambridge * Dorothy McGuire *

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

* Patricia Medina * Vera Miles * Sal Mineo * Thomas Mitchell * Robert Mitchum * Elizabeth Montgomery * Agnes Moorehead *

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Noted for her work across different areas of the entertainment industry, she has appeared in numerous film, television, and thea ...

* Barry Nelson * Edmond O'Brien * Margaret O'Brien * Pat O'Brien * Dennis O'Keefe *

Susan Oliver Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

* Maureen O'Sullivan *

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...

* Robert Preston * Vincent Price * Dale Robertson *

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

* Cesar Romero * Ann Rutherford *

Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow; August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen and film actress whose career spanned over 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Aca ...

* William Shatner * Red Skelton * Dean Stockwell * Elaine Stritch * Yma Sumac * Joan Tetzel * Franchot Tone * Claire Trevor * Lana Turner * Eli Wallach * Ethel Waters *

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

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

References

External links

*
''Climax!'' at CVTA with episode list
* {{Gore Vidal 1954 American television series debuts 1958 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series CBS original programming English-language television shows Casino Royale (novel)