Playhouse 90

Playhouse 90 featured some of the best that Television has ever presented. The dialogue, the acting, and of-course the writing are unparalleled.

Rod Sterling being one of the most accomplished and notable writers who worked on the series, won an Emmy for Requiem for a Heavyweight in the series first season in 1956. This episode was a testament to the quality and creativity that Playhouse 90 was committed to.

Unfortunately, we can only hope with extreme futility, for quality on par with Playhouse 90 from todays Hollywood. However, there is reminisce of this type of excellent writing from Independent filmmakers. Unfortunately, the independent filmmakers receive little fanfare and far less hype compared to their Hollywood counterparts.

This was the jewel in the crown of the golden age of television, the fifties and early sixties. This show had the best actors, the best directors, and the best writers. Many of these were on kinescope and are available somewhere, in a vault somewhere, or happily for the rest of us, at the Museum of television and radio. Some of the shows I have seen are The Comedian, with Mickey Rooney as a beloved comedian, who is a vulture in real life (kind of a similar story to A Face in the Crowd). It is one of Rooney's best performances. There is also the beautiful Requiem for a Heavyweight, with wonderful performances by Jack Palance, Ed and Keenan Wynn, and Kim Hunter. It is probably the best known of these shows. Also there is Days of Wine and Roses, with shattering, brilliant work by Piper Laurie, Cliff Robertson, and especially Charles Bickford. It equally comparable to the film. And recently I have been able to see A Sound of Different Drummers with Diana Lynn and Sterling Hayden. It is a story about a future society where books are banned; book owners are killed. It is sort of similar to Farenheit 451; it is very good, with touching performances by both stars. The best one of all that I have seen is The Miracle Worker. I was so excited that a copy exists. It is equally comparable to the film and features an outstanding, Emmy nominated performance by Teresa Wright as Annie Sullavan. She should have gotten the Emmy, and been able to continue her role in the stage and film versions, all respects to the wonderful Anne Bancroft though! It is the best of her many fine fifties televsion performances and right up there with A Shadow of a Doubt and The Little Foxes in terms of her best performances of all time. Several of these shows are available on VHS, too bad they all aren't!

The exception to Playhouse 90's being exclusively a Hollywood production was "The TIME Of YOUR LIFE", which came out of CBS TV's New York Studio. It starred JACKIE GLEASON in his finest, dramatic TV performance. The production's "humble" Casting Director/Assoc.Producer is proud to point out that it introduced, revealingly that the Eastern seaboard's socialite DINA MERRILL was and is a remarkably talented Actress.

On Oct. 11, 1956, the second episode of Playhouse 90 was aired. It was Requiem for a Heavyweight by Rod Serling, starring Jack Palance. It was another masterpiece from the golden age of television. Luckily, Requiem was recorded as kinescope. The recording quality is poor, but the play was and is drama at its best. If you can find Requiem at your local video store and you like great drama, please watch it. You will not be disappointed.

I have gotten to see a few more of these shows and they are very versatile. I have seen some less known ones than Requiem for a Heavyweight, Days of Wine and Roses, and Miracle Worker. One of these is the very first in this series, Forbidden Area, a cold war drama starring Charlton Heston, in a tv role when he was a huge movie star. It also features Tab Hunter, Vincent Price, Victor Jory, and acting wonderfully as always, CHarles Bickford and Diana Lynn. It is an interesting look at the Joint Chiefs of staff in the government, while also being an interesting cold war spy story. Highly recommended!! Also there is the tv version, 20 years before the movie, of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon, with Jack Palance in another great Playhouse 90 role. Also in small roles, Peter Lorre at the end of his career and the beautiful Lee Remick at the beginning of hers. Also I got to see (at the Museum of tv and radio in NY)a live video tape version of The Great Gatsby, with Robert Ryan, a little old for the role but very good,also Rod Taylor in a good performance, and Jeanne Crain cast completely against type as Daisy, an interesting performance of hers. To top it off, there is the delightful Claudette Colbert and Paul Henreid comedy, One Coat of White, which is a spoof of aging in America, in laws, America in the 1950's, and modern art. Colbert is sooo good, it makes one regret that, then as always, films cut actresses careers too short as they get over 50. Fortunately, Colbert was in a lot of great tv productions in the 1950's (The Guardian, The Royal Family, Blithe Spirit, and Bells of St. Marys) and several of these still exist. It is really amazing how many of the great stars continued their work in great tv roles, which are less known today, but if you get to see them are highly impressive.