Sure as Fate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sure as Fate is a 60-minute American anthology mystery drama series that aired on CBS from July 4, 1950, until April 3, 1951.[1]
Episodes of Sure as Fate focuses on people who were caught up in "situations not of their own making". Critical reactions to a two-week trial in July 1950 were good enough that the program was brought back as a regular series in September 1950.[1]
Sure as Fate was narrated by Paul Lukas.[2] Its guest stars included Kim Stanley, John Carradine, Leslie Nielsen, and Marsha Hunt.[1]
Montgomery Ford[3] and Jerry Danzig were the producers.[4] Among its directors were John Pyser,[3] Yul Brynner and Hal Gerson. The series originated at WCBS-TV in New York City. The program was sustaining[4] and was produced live.[1]
When the show returned in September 1950 it was broadcast weekly for one month, after which it began alternating with Prudential Family Playhouse. It was shown on Tuesdays from 8 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time,[1] when its competition included Texaco Star Theater.[5]
Episodes
| Date | Title | Actor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| July 4, 1950 | "Tremolo" | Bobby Nick[6] |
| October 31, 1950 | "Three Blind Mice" | NA[7] |
| November 14, 1950 | "Ten Days to Spring" | Elspeth Eric, Ted Newton.[8] |
| January 9, 1951 | "Macbeth" | Judith Evelyn, John Carradine[9] |
| April 3, 1951 | "Guinea Pigs" | Marsha Hunt, Dane Clark[10] |
Raising funds for charity
The April 3, 1951, episode dealt with a doctor's cancer-related experiments on convicts who volunteered to serve as subjects. "Guinea Pigs" (which was written by a practicing physician) depicted ways of fighting cancer, leading Merrill Panitt, critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer, to write, "the audience learned quite a bit about the disease" without sensationalism.[10]
The broadcast included an intermission during which Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Mrs. Alben W. Barkley asked the audience to contribute to the American Cancer Society. Panitt commended that approach to raising funds and suggested that other dramatic programs might use a similar technique to help campaigns for charitable causes. He contrasted that approach with fundraising marathons, during which "the point of the charity, the need for it, takes second place to the stars".[10]