The Best Episodes of Cavalcade of America

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
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   9.3/10(18 votes)

   #1 - In This Crisis

   S1:E712/24/1952

   John Honeyman, American patriot, pretends to be a Tory in order to gain information that will mean Washington?s victory over the Hessians.

   Director:Robert Stevenson

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Robert Stevenson

   Writer:Unknown
2. 

   8.3/10(14 votes)

   #2 - The Boy Nobody Wanted

   S4:E245/29/1956

   Billy Brandon's father is a good man, but also a professional gambler who doesn't have much time for his son. Left alone one day, he gets into a fight with a neighbor's boy who taunts him about his father being a gambler. The boy is accidently killed when he falls and hits his head. The boy's father, editor of the local newspaper, takes revenge by smearing Billy's dad in his paper. As a result, Nick Brandon is soon imprisoned and Billy is sent to an adoption agency. Luckily, he is adopted by an older couple and his life becomes filled with love. He grows to be an A student and a war hero. When his father is finally released from prison, Billy must make a hard decision.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown
3. 

   8.2/10(9 votes)

   #3 - The Secret Life of Joe Swedie

   S4:E152/7/1956

   The story about a child-therapist who helps bedridden children in hospitals to retain an interest in life.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown
4. 

   8.1/10(20 votes)

   #4 - Chain of Hearts

   S4:E611/1/1955

   The story of John Staniszewski, a Polish seaman who tried to gain American citizenship after World War 2.

   Director:László Benedek

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:László Benedek

   Writer:Unknown
5. 

   8.1/10(19 votes)

   #5 - The Prison Within

   S4:E131/17/1956

   A girl is overcome with remorse when the soldier she refused to marry is killed in Korea. Her unusual guilt complex leads her to commit a series of crimes, for which she is imprisoned. Convicted forgery when she is paroled, her parole officer is troubled by her inexplicable behavior.

   Director:John Meredyth Lucas

   Writer:John Meredyth Lucas

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   Director:John Meredyth Lucas

   Writer:John Meredyth Lucas
6. 

   7.3/10(25 votes)

   #6 - The Frightened Witness

   S5:E212/19/1957

   Joe Kohler happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He witnesses a mob hit when a car deliberately runs over a pedestrian. When mob lieutenant Craig tells Joe that he had best keep quiet and even stops home with him to see his family, Joe gets the point. But Joe doesn't like being intimidated and goes to the police to tell his story and do the right thing.

   Director:Anton Leader

   Writer:Malvin Wald

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   Director:Anton Leader

   Writer:Malvin Wald
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7. 

   7.2/10(9 votes)

   #7 - Date With a Stranger

   S5:E610/30/1956

   An Austrian girl is desperate because she is about to be deported from the U.S. She prays to George Washington for help. This results in a mysterious encounter with a man named Casimir Pulaski.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown
8. 

   7.2/10(11 votes)

   #8 - Innocent Bystander

   S5:E711/13/1956

   A newspaper reporter that has lived his whole life believing in the biblical maxim of ?As Ye Sow, so Shall Ye Reap.? When he is seriously injured while investigating a juvenile gang fight, he begins to lose his faith.

   Director:László Benedek

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:László Benedek

   Writer:Unknown
9. 

   7.2/10(15 votes)

   #9 - Woman's Work

   S5:E811/20/1956

   An elderly man lets his son and the boy's bride live in the family home. His intentions are to turn the girl into a household slave, but she has a different idea.

   Director:William A. Seiter

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:William A. Seiter

   Writer:Unknown
10. 

    7.2/10(10 votes)

    #10 - Are Trees People?

    S5:E192/5/1957

    An elderly Irishwoman is living alone in suburban home given to her by her married daughter. On a trip back to the Bronx to visit old friends, she discovers three orphan youngsters, and takes them home with her, without notifying the proper authorities.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
11. 

    6.9/10(13 votes)

    #11 - Danger on Clover Ridge

    S4:E225/8/1956

    Drifter winds up on the plains of the West.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
12. 

    6.9/10(10 votes)

    #12 - Leap to Heaven

    S5:E161/15/1957

    Story of two-time Olympic champion Bob Richards in Polevaulting (1952-1956), who started off as a young football halfback, then after winning Olympic medals moving on to the ministry.

    Director:Alvin Ganzer

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Alvin Ganzer

    Writer:Unknown
13. 

    6.9/10(25 votes)

    #13 - Don Marshall's Brat

    S5:E233/19/1957

    Young Trudy Marshall is an 11-year old who dreams of ending the feud between her parents and maternal grandfather. When she saves the life of an elderly Mexican bandit, the Calaveras Kid, he decides to help her.

    Director:Reginald Le Borg

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Reginald Le Borg

    Writer:Unknown
14. 

    6.8/10(11 votes)

    #14 - New Salem Story

    S1:E102/4/1953

    The legendary tale of Abe Lincoln and his great love for Ann Rutledge.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
15. 

    6.8/10(9 votes)

    #15 - The Rescue of Dr. Beanes

    S3:E266/21/1955

    During the War of 1812 a Baltimore attorney goes on a rescue mission behind the British lines. His name is Francis Scott Key and the trip inspires him to write the national anthem, ""The Star Spangled Banner.""

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
16. 

    6.8/10(9 votes)

    #16 - The Major of St. Louis

    S4:E256/5/1956

    Major Thomas D. Howie of the 3rd Battallion, 116th Infantry, 29th Division. He lies at rest between a Private and a General in the American Cemetery in Normandy, overlooking Omaha Beach. He was loved by his men, though an enigma to some, and loved reading verses from Edgar Lee Masters ""Spoon River Anthology"", ""These are the ghosts from the desolate coasts...would you go to them...only pursue them...whatever enshrined is within you ..is you.""

    Director:Lewis R. Foster

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Lewis R. Foster

    Writer:Unknown
17. 

    6.6/10(64 votes)

    #17 - The Blessed Midnight

    S5:E1212/18/1956

    A youngster steals a cake from a bakery to give his aunt. With the help of a friend his own age, the boy tries to keep from being caught.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
18. 

    6.1/10(14 votes)

    #18 - The Man Who Took a Chance

    S1:E310/29/1952

    The story of an 19th century genius who adapted 20th century methods to solve an American problem, Eli Whitney first begins to manufacture muskets.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
19. 

    6.0/10(12 votes)

    #19 - Riders of the Pony Express

    S2:E1112/15/1953

    A historical drama. The pony express era is initiated by Alexander Majors, one of the owners of a transport firm, who, in searching for methods of transporting mail and packages across the West, delves into history and adapts the relay courier system as used by Genghis Khan.

    Director:Robert Stevenson

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Robert Stevenson

    Writer:Unknown
20. 

    5.8/10(8 votes)

    #20 - The Last Signer

    S5:E254/2/1957

    Citizen's of an American town are infuriated when a Czech immigrant signs his name to one of the historical copies of the Declaration of Independence.

    Director:George Archainbaud

    Writer:Frederick Brady

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    Director:George Archainbaud

    Writer:Frederick Brady
21. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Poor Richard

    S1:E110/1/1952

    Dramatized incidents are used to show how Benjamin Franklin delayed a conference between Lord Howe and John Adams until the spring rainy season commenced, thereby allowing General Washington to extricate his troops from Long Island under the cover of a storm. This drama sent the ""old and obstinate"" Franklin to delay American surrender talks with the British, thereby allowing General George Washington to escape capture to fight another day.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
22. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - All's Well with Lydia

    S1:E210/15/1952

    The Revolutionary War story of Lydia Darragh, American patriot and Philadelphia widow, who by her cleverness gained information instrumental in an American victory.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
23. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - A Romance to Remember

    S1:E411/12/1952

    The tale of the two beautiful Peabody Sisters who become rivals for the love of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
24. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - What Hath God Wrought

    S1:E511/26/1952

    The story of how Samuel Morse, after many hardships, gained recognition for the first telegraph.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
25. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - No Greater Love

    S1:E612/10/1952

    A story about Clara Louise Maas, a Spanish-American War nurse who allowed herself to be bitten by a Stegomyia mosquito in order to further the experiments which were being conducted in the Las Animas Hospital in Havana under the direction of Dr. William C. Gorgas during a yellow fever epidemic at the turn of the century.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown