Cavalcade of America

4.6(5)|1952-10-01|5 seasons, 131 episodes

Drama

Overview

Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.

Episodes

Season 1(20)Season 2(33)Season 3(26)Season 4(25)Season 5(27)

S4E1 · 1955-09-13 · 60m

A Time for Courage

The story of ""Nancy Merki and the swimming coach who led her to victory over polio and to Olympic stardom.

S4E2 · 1955-09-27 · 60m

The Texas Rangers

A phase of the work of the Texas Rangers in the late nineteenth century is described in a dramatization about J. L. Armstrong, the ranger who captured John Wesley Hardin on a train in Florida and thwarted the prisoner's efforts to escape during the long train journey from Florida to Texas.

S4E3 · 1955-10-04 · 60m

Toward Tomorrow

A tribute to Dr. Ralph Bunche, undersecretary of the United Nations. The drama is based on the early life of the statesman, who was orphaned at the age of 8 and was guided from then on by his aged grandmother.

S4E4 · 1955-10-18 · 60m

Disaster Patrol

The work, organization, and purpose of the Civil Air Patrol is described in a dramatization about a CAP pilot in California who risks his life to fly doctors and emergency supplies into a canyon community seriously damaged by an earthquake.

S4E5 · 1955-10-25 · 60m

The Swamp Mutiny

A historical drama showing how General Francis Marion, a colonial officer during the American Revolution, won the admiration and eventually the support of a young British officer who witnessed the general's tactical suppression of a mutiny among colonial volunteer soldiers. Setting: Georgetown South Carolina, in 1780.

S4E6 · 1955-11-01 · 60m

Chain of Hearts

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

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