Valiant Lady, an American soap opera, was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The 15 minute show ran daily from October 12, 1953 to August 16, 1957 at 12:00 PM (EST). Like many other early soap operas, the show was broadcast live from CBS studios in New York City; it lasted five seasons, and totaled 1024 episodes. The series was created by Adrian Spies, written by Charles Elwyn, and directed by John Desmond. The show originally starred Nancy Coleman as Helen Emerson, the forty-something widow who valiantly endures financial hardship while worrying for her 3 grown children, Mickey, Diane, and Kim. However Nancy, tired from the daily grind of the show, gave up her leading role after the first season, and was replaced by Flora Campbell.

The Nielsen ratings for soap operas listed Search for Tomorrow as the #1 soap of the time, at 15%. Valiant Lady was a minor hit, coming in at about 10.5% during its first two seasons, never doing better than 4th place. It dropped to 6th place during its 3rd season. The show stemmed from a radio show of the same title, but other than featuring a young lady struggling through financial hardship, the shows had no other similarity.

This 1955 episode starts off with Chris knocking on Margret’s door, surprising her with the exciting news that Helen has agreed to marry him. The story transitions to Helen and Mickey, speaking about Bonnie (Mickey’s former love), and the “big secret” she had to break to her son. Turns out, although Mickey and Bonnie are in love, Bonnie had to part ways and keep herself hidden away and from Mickey because she is pregnant with another man’s child. The story ends with an upset Mickey going for a late night walk to compose himself. The show was sponsored by General Mills (which even included a cameo from Betty Crocker herself), were advertising Gold Medal flour, and Bisquick.

Overall, it was an interesting, entertaining, and fast-paced episode.
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