"Playhouse 90" (1956) TV series 1956-1961

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Directors:

Tony Barr
Karl Genus

Writers:

Robert Alan Aurthur (writer) (2 episodes)
Gwen Bagni (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

4 October 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | War

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Digit In Title | Family Relationships | Anthology | Husband Wife Relationship

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 13 wins & 29 nominations

Cast

Richard Joy

...

Himself, Announcer / ... (38 episodes, 1956-1957)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (broadcast of "The Nutcracker")

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

The color broadcast of "The Nutcracker" was Playhouse 90's only color telecast ever, and CBS's only live color broadcast of 1958.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Mike Wallace Interview: Rod Serling" (1959)

Soundtrack:

Song for a Summer Night

very versatile show

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.