Breaking Point
Format	Medical drama
Directed by	Robert Ellis Miller
Starring	Paul Richards Eduard Franz
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	30
Production
Producer(s)	George Lefferts
Running time	60 min.
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 16, 1963 – April 27, 1964; rebroadcasts through September 7

Breaking Point is a medical drama which aired thirty new episodes on ABC from September 16, 1963, to April 27, 1964, continuing in rebroadcasts until September 7. It starred Paul Richards (1924-1974) as Dr. McKinley Thompson, a resident in psychiatry at fictitious York Hospital. Eduard Franz (1902-1983) co-starred as Dr. Edward Raymer, the hospital clinical director. Like Ben Casey, which along with Marcus Welby, M.D. was one of the two most successful medical series aired on ABC, Breaking Point was a Bing Crosby Production filmed through Desilu Studios. In the fourth episode entitled "Bird and Snake", film star Robert Redford appeared as Roger Morton, along with Jack Weston as Sam Keller. This turned out to have been one of Redford's last television roles.^[1]

Breaking Point writer Allan Sloane was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama." The series also received an "Eddie" nomination as the "Best Edited Television Program" and a DGA Award nomination for director Robert Ellis Miller. All three nominations were for the episode "And James Was a Very Small Snail" broadcast on November 11, 1963, starring Harold J. Stone and Marsha Hunt as Joseph and Fran Babcock, respectively.^[2]

Along with Breaking Point, a second series about psychiatry was broadcast in the 1963-1964 season. The Eleventh Hour offered forty-seven episodes in two seasons (1962-1964) on NBC. Both programs had impressive lists of guest stars.^[3]

Breaking Point was a spinoff of Ben Casey, the first episode having been the second half of a story that began on Casey. The series producer, George Lefferts, had served in a United States Army psychiatric ward during World War II. Like Ben Casey, The Eleventh Hour, and Dr. Kildare on NBC, Breaking Point featured an older, experienced doctor and his younger understudy.^[4]

[edit] Guest stars

The series premiere entitled "Solo for B-Flat Clarinet" featured Dabney Coleman, Russell Johnson, Scott Marlowe, and Sheree North (1932-2005, who appeared twice on the program in the role of Lisa Adams). The second episode entitled "Last Summer We Didn't Go Away" featured Anthony Franciosa and Brenda Scott. Kevin McCarthy appeared in the third segment "Fire and Ice" on September 30, 1963.^[5]

Other guest stars included in alphabetical order: Bettye Ackerman, Martin Balsam, Shelley Berman, James T. Callahan, Michael Callan, John Cassavetes, Rosemary DeCamp, James Daly, Bradford Dillman, Dianne Foster, Clint Howard, Lillian Gish, Virginia Gregg, James Gregory, Mariette Hartley (twice as the character Lee Brandt), Joey Heatherton, Kim Hunter, Piper Laurie, Carol Lawrence, John Larkin, Barry Livingston, Robert Loggia, Ralph Meeker, Burgess Meredith, Kathleen Nolan, Edmond O'Brien, Arthur O'Connell, Eleanor Parker, Walter Pidgeon, Gena Rowlands, Hari Rhodes, Peter Mark Richman, Cliff Robertson, Ruth Roman, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Vito Scotti, Jan Sterling, Susan Strasberg, Rip Torn, and Jack Warden.^[5]

Breaking Point followed Wagon Train, which expanded to ninety minutes on ABC only for the 1963-1964 season. The program aired at 10 p.m. Monday opposite East Side, West Side, the CBS series in which George C. Scott portrayed a social worker, and Mitch Miller's Sing Along with Mitch on NBC.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Breaking Point at the Internet Movie Database
• Breaking Point at TV.com