Robert Montgomery Presents Season 8, Episode 28: One Minute to Ditch

1

Soldiers from the Wars Returning

In the season premiere, James Cagney plays an Army sergeant who escorts the body of a fellow sergeant to his hometown. With the Korean War long over, he finds most people disinterested and wonders if their mission was in vain.

60 min

2

Onions in the Stew

A wife deals with maddening problems running a household on an island not far off the coast from Seattle. In this comic tale, the mother deals with two teen-aged daughters, plumbing that doesn't work, and a friend with eyes on their housekeeper.

60 min

3

After All These Years

A wife wakes up to find that her husband has left her and their home behind for no apparent reason. She later learns of the crisis that plagues some men in the later years of marriage.

60 min

4

Last Trip of the Hindenburg

The stories of various passengers are told in this semi-documentary about the trans-Atlantic crossing of the Hindenburg, including its tragic landing in New Jersey.

60 min

5

September Affair

After a plane crashes into the Atlantic, two of the passengers listed as dead survive, fall in love, and decide to stay together in Europe, leaving their former lives and responsibilities back home.

60 min

6

Pilgrimage

The wife of a doctor who's devoted his work to public health feels he's a fool for not going into private practice where he can make more money. When she eventually leaves him, the doctor decides he's had enough of the big city and its so-called sophistication. He heads for the Caribbean to set up a public health station.

60 min

7

Goodbye, Grey Flannel

A brilliant Madison Avenue ad man had tired of the pressure, so he and his wife retire to the supposedly serene life of a Vermont apple farmer. His first crop of motley-looking fruit tasted great, so he wrote an advertisement singing the praises of spotted apples. Soon, he had organized his fellow farmers into an association and was running an ad agency out of his house.

60 min

8

One Bright Day

The president of a drug company returns from Europe to an awaiting lawsuit alleging that one of their medicines killed a boy. After being convinced of the drug's toxicity, he must choose to either to directly alert the public or, as others at the firm suggest, quietly remove it from the market.

60 min

9

Mr. Tutt Goes West

The eccentric lawyer of "Saturday Evening Post"-fame fights the shady owner of a small town Montana store. The crooked proprietor is trying to cheat a mining engineer out of his dig.

60 min

10

The Misfortunes of Mr. Minihan

Mr. Minihan is a man who spreads unhappiness and trouble wherever he goes, through no fault of his own. Consequently, no matter how much his friends love him, they they are forced to devise schemes to send him far away.

60 min

11

Plainfield Teachers College

A fictitious college team has its scores printed in the newspaper every week. It's a scam to help out a guy who's in trouble with a bookie.

60 min

12

Sunset Boulevard

In this adaptation of the 1950 film, an opportunist writer grudgingly plays love interest to delusional silent film star Nora Desmond. In her fantasy world she's still the world's biggest star and throngs of adoring fans are awaiting her big comeback.

60 min

13

The Young and the Beautiful

A teen-aged girl plays the part of a sophisticated flirt, pursuing one young man after another. As soon as one becomes interested, she drops him and moves on to the next one.

60 min

14

Miracle at Lensham

An American film star, on location in Britain, makes a $50 donation to a run-down church. When the money disappears, a furor follows with the church receiving much publicity. Soon, tourists are flocking to the chapel and donations are pouring in.

60 min

15

Amahl and the Night Visitors

This annual live presentation of the opera is telecast in color on this series. Amahl, a disabled young peasant boy, tells his widowed mother that he's just seen a magnificent star in the sky. Soon, there's a knock at their door. Three kings on a long journey arrive at their door asking for a place to rest. They are carrying with them gifts to present to the Christ Child. Wanting to send a gift, but being very poor, Amahl has only his crutch to give.

60 min

16

Music for Your New Year's Eve

Robert Montgomery drops the usual dramatic format for an evening of live music.

60 min

17

The Liar

A young wife's apparent inability to tell the truth is putting her marriage in jeopardy.

60 min

18

Give and Take

A tragic woman feels she's adding nothing to her family and following the loss of an expected child, her mental condition slips further.

60 min

19

Crisis at Sand Cave

Searching for another entrance to the Mammoth Cave system, Kentucky spelunker Floyd Collins became trapped just 150 feet from the entrance of Sand Cave. Rescuers were able to feed and talk with Collins before additional cave-ins allowed only voice contact. The two weeks of daily coverage by reporter William Burke Miller helped fuel a media circus that surrounded the rescue attempts.

60 min

20

The Clay Pigeon

Since he works for his older brother, a test pilot always feels he's in his elder's shadow. He doesn't show up for work one day, forcing the older brother to conduct a test flight. When something goes wrong in the plane and he's killed, the family holds the younger brother responsible for his death.

60 min

21

The Week the World Stood Still

Swedish industrialist Birger Dahlerus worked frantically in the week preceding the start of World War II to negotiate a deal between Britain and Germany. This is a dramatization of the actual events leading up to the outbreak of war.

60 min

22

The Grand Prize

Secretary Lucille Cotton's prize from a TV contest is to be the boss of her boss for 24 hours. At first, her employer likes the idea because he'll have more time for flirting with her. He changes his opinion when she starts doing some serious bossing.

60 min

23

Wait for Me

A teenage girl with an older sister tries to spread her wings and become more independent.

60 min

24

Reclining Figure

A wealthy American art collector is anxious to get his hands on a valuable Renoir painting.

60 min

25

The Enemy

When an American sailor is washed ashore during World War II, a young Japanese doctor and his wife face a crisis. They must choose between honoring their loyalty to their country or their fellow man.

60 min

26

Last Train to Kildevil

A couple deals with a business and marital crisis while on the commute between their house and Manhattan.

60 min

27

His Name was Death

After successfully murdering his wife, a man starts to think of himself as an expert at the craft. Soon, his friends and neighbors are dropping dead at a startling rate.

60 min

28

One Minute to Ditch

Based on a recent actual event, a pilot performs a heroic feat when he successfully ditches his plane in the Pacific Ocean with 31 passengers on board. The U. S. Coast Guard cutter Pontchartrain arrives and rescues the survivors.

60 min

29

A Slice of Life

In this comedy, a grandmother gets into the cupid business and it ends up turning her home into a commercial bakery.

60 min

30

Victoria Regina

Claire Bloom portrays the famed Queen Victoria over a 60 year span, from the age of 18 through her romance with Prince Albert through her diamond jubilee in 1897.

60 min

31

Fear Street

Two brothers -- one a police officer, the other a gangster -- face off in a mortal battle. The woman they both love decides the outcome.

60 min

32

The Trial of Pontius Pilate

This is a dramatization of the events surrounding the trial of Jesus. Pontius Pilate finds Jesus not guilt yet still turns him over the angry crowd which crucifies him. At his own trial at Nero's court in Rome, he tries to justify his actions.

60 min

33

The New World

This suspense drama is based on the actual events involving the scientists working secretly at Chicago's Stagg Field. Dramatized are the final weeks leading up to the first successful nuclear chain reaction, an achievement that made the atomic bomb possible.

60 min

34

Longing for to Go

This love story revolves around an attractive assistant director in television and her boss, an egomaniacal director.

60 min

35

Return Visit

Now that he's become successful in the New York business world, a man returns to his hometown to see the friends and family he once rejected.

60 min

36

Sturdevant's Daughter

A daughter fears that her mother is falling in love with their family's doctor, so she gets involved to save her parents' marriage.

60 min

37

One Smart Apple

In a sequel to the episode "Goodbye, Grey Flannel" (10/22/56), the characters return to teach a few things to the big city advertising types of New York. The Vermont farmer's daughter coaching the husband-hunters "city girls" a few things about catching men.

60 min

38

The Weather Lover

In this fantasy, a man who's able to control the weather of the world reaches too far when he tries to do the same with love. He employs his weather-manipulating skills to come between a husband and wife and their daughter and her boyfriend.

60 min

39

Faust '57

A modern adaptation of the opera Faust closes out the Robert Montgomery series. Faust, the scientist, sells his soul to Satan in exchange for the element he needs to complete a scientific formula. This item, however, proves to be useless to him.

60 min