| Genre: | Anthology |
| Director: | Justus Addiss Nathan Juran Richard Kinon Paul Landres Leslie H. Martinson Ralph Murphy Ralph Nelson George Waggner |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 2 |
| Num Episodes: | 78 |
| Executive Producer: | Harry Joe Brown |
| Producer: | Harry Joe Brown Bernard Schubert |
| Editor: | Roy V. Livingston James E. Smith |
| Camera: | Single-camera |
| Runtime: | 25 mins. |
| Company: | Federal Telefilms Sterling Films (IV) |
| Network: | ABC Syndication |
Crossroads is an American television anthology series based on the activities of clergy from different denominations. It aired from October 7, 1955, to September 27, 1957, on ABC.[1] The show was retitled The Way of Life for syndication.
Story technical advisers were credited as Fr. George Barry Ford, USN Captain Maurice M. Witherspoon Presbyterian Minister, Vice-President of the Military Chaplains Association and Rabbi William Franklin Rosenblum. The entire series is preserved at the UCLA Film and Television Archive in Los Angeles, California.
All of the series' episodes dramatized clergymen's experiences, including personal and professional problems that they encountered. Many faiths were represented over the course of the series.[2] The episodes, which often had deep spiritual themes, were usually set in the 1950s, but some were framed for an earlier era.
Chevrolet sponsored Crossroads.[3] Bernard L. Schubert was the producer-packager, and Harry Joe Brown was the series maker. Episodes were filmed at Samuel Goldwyn Studios.[4]
The series featured numerous guest stars, many of whom appeared in several episodes throughout the series' run. James Dean appeared in a 1955 episode, "Broadway Trust", along with Lloyd Bridges and Mary Treen. The episode aired five weeks after Dean died in an automobile crash in September 1955.
Victor Jory was cast in the 1957 episode "Lone Star Preacher", a dramatization of the Texas Baptist pastor George Washington Truett, with Barbara Eiler as his wife, Jo Truett.
Other guest stars include:
Crossroads was broadcast on ABC on Fridays from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time from October 1955 through September 1957.[2] In its first season on ABC, Crossroads followed the long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet on the Friday evening schedule. It was scheduled opposite Our Miss Brooks on CBS and The Life of Riley on NBC. The trade publication Billboard reported in July 1956 that the Nielsen report for June 1956 showed Crossroads between those competitors in both rating and share of audience.[7]
Sample episodes: