"Playhouse 90" Days of Wine and Roses (1958)

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writer:

J.P. Miller (writer)

TV Series:

"Playhouse 90" (1956)

Original Air Date:

2 October 1958 (Season 3, Episode 2)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | War | Western

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Alcoholism | Drunkenness | Drinking | Anthology | Husband Wife Relationship

Cast

Cliff Robertson	...	Joe Clay
Piper Laurie	...	Kirsten Arnesen Clay
Charles Bickford	...	Ellis Arensen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Malcolm Atterbury	...	Jim Hungerford
Dick Elliott	...	Mr. Trayner
Mimi Gibson	...	Debbie Clay
Sterling Hayden	...	Himself - Host
Marc Lawrence	...	Scarface
Martha Wentworth	...	Mrs. Nolan

Directed by
John Frankenheimer

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
J.P. Miller		writer

Produced by
Fred Coe	....	producer

Music Department
Sammy Cahn	....	composer: theme
Alex North	....	composer: theme

Directed by
Tony Barr		(as Anthony Barr)
Karl Genus
John Frankenheimer		(episode "If You Know Elizabeth") (episode "Thundering Flame, The") (episode "Town That Turned to Dust, The")
Ralph Nelson		(episode "Requiem for a Heavyweight" 1956)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert Alan Aurthur		(episode "A Sound of Different Drumers") (episode "Thundering Flame, The")
Gwen Bagni
Mel Barr		written by (episode "Blackwell Story The")
George Bellak		(episode "Sound of Eden, The")
Fred Clasel		story (episode "Thundering Flame, The")
Lloyd C. Douglas		story (episode "Blackwell Story The")
Bo Goldman
Jack Jacobs		(episode "Ain't No Time Glory")
Robert E. McEnroe		(episode "Silver Whistle, The (December 24, 1959)")
Elick Moll		written by (episode "Thundering Flame, The")
Paul Monash		script (episode "Helen Morgan Story The")
Lulu Morgan		story (episode "Helen Morgan Story The")
Tad Mosel		(episode "If You Know Elizabeth")
Don Murray		story (episode "Thundering Flame, The")
Leonard Spigelgass		script (episode "Helen Morgan Story The")
Malvin Wald		(episode "Ain't No Time Glory")

Produced by
Mildred Freed Alberg	....	producer
Tony Barr	....	associate producer (as Anthony Barr)
Joe Scully	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Robert Allen
John Williams

Cinematography by
Albert Kurland

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	second assistant director

Special Effects by
Jim Fox	....	special effects technician

Music Department
Igo Kantor	....	music editor

Production Companies

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1960) (USA) (TV)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

John Frankenheimer taped the AA meeting scenes the day prior to the live telecast, and those inserts made costume changes possible.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Days of Wine and Roses (1962)

One of The Finest Dramas Ever Filmed! Superior To the Film Version!

I got the opportunity to see the "Playhouse 90" version of "The Days of Wine and Roses" when I was a teenager on my local PBS station in Los Angeles. I had no idea, then, that there'd been any other version than the 1962 film. Not taking anything away from the film but the "Playhouse 90" version stunned me with the honesty of the portrayals of alcoholism by Cliff Robertson and Piper Laurie. Unlike Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, Robertson and Laurie seemed all too honest in their portrayals of the damage that alcoholism wreaks on themselves and loved ones. The vulnerability with which Cliff Robertson played the scene in the greenhouse leaves chills in me every time I see it. I was shocked (pleasantly) at how frank the script gets in revealing Kristen's resorting to prostitution to get her drinks. This frankness for a television drama, in 1958! Unbelievable! The production values beautifully fit the increasing economic and emotional limitations of the husband and wife as their disease progresses. Although the music used in the episode came from stock music in the CBS music library, it somehow feels as if it had been written for this episode, so right it seems. The photography is noir-like, very effective, as in film noir, to document the progress of alcoholism. Robertson and Laurie now seem ideal for their roles. Of course, they were not box-office names at the time the film was made.

I hope this version of "The Days of Wine and Roses" gets wider exposure and assumes its rightful place as one of the very best examples of American television programming ever.