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Goodyear Theatre

"Capital Gains"
Episode 3.10 (Feb. 1, 1960)

Rod Taylor starred with Joanne Dru in this half-hour drama that's part of the "Goodyear Theatre" anthology series that aired on NBC 1957-60.

Taylor played Alan Ballister, a TV writer who's left penniless, courtesy of taxes and alimony. He's talked into forming a corporation and selling stock -- in himself -- to raise money.

Ballister makes himself and his stockholders wealthy while he churns out TV fare. Writer's block sends him back into dire financial straits. But his ex-wife has played the stock market shrewdly, to the good fortune of them both.

Stephen Vagg, in "Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood," praises Rod's performance:

Rod is likeable and enthusiastic as the writer: insecure, snappy and highly susceptible to flattery -- a familiar version of the species. The episode demonstrates Rod's flair for high comedy...

A brief review of the show in the Fort Lauderdale News on Feb. 1, 1960, said praised the episode for having "the virtue of being different." The piece goes on to elaborate:

"Capital Gains" is part-comedy, part-romance, part-satire about a writer (Rod Taylor) who is turned into a corporation by a promoter. His stock is quoted on the big board, and among those who buy in are Taylor's ex-wife and a gangster. There's a funny montage of scenes from the TV shows he writes (the same basic plot, with a different setting) and more humor in the fancy office designed to make a writer write. Joanne Dru is the ex-wife and Peggy Moffitt a sexy secretary who both want him. This isn't too exciting, but anybody who writes will enjoy the inside jokes about the writing profession.

"Capital Gains" was revived in 1987 as part of a "Golden Age of Television" series aired by Arts & Entertainment Cable Network.

A&E packaged two half-hour vintage dramas for each "Golden Age" presentation. "Capital Gains" was paired with another Goodyear Theatre installment, "Points Beyond," in which Sterling Hayden confronts the supernatural. The shows aired on A&E in January and April 1987.

Here is "Capital Gains," taped years ago from A&E, converted and uploaded for your viewing pleasure!

 

 

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