The Man in the Funny Suit
- Episode aired Apr 15, 1960
- 1h
IMDb RATING
9.0/10
37
YOUR RATING
A behind-the-scenes drama concerning Ed Wynn's performance as Army in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956).A behind-the-scenes drama concerning Ed Wynn's performance as Army in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956).A behind-the-scenes drama concerning Ed Wynn's performance as Army in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956).
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis drama depicts the making of Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956), which was likewise directed by Ralph Nelson. Nelson played himself in this production, as did Ed Wynn, Keenan Wynn, Rod Serling and Red Skelton, among others.
- ConnectionsReferences Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
Featured review
A great film to watch AFTER you see the "Playhouse 90" teleplay "Requiem for a Heavyweight".
In 1956, "Playhouse 90" featured a teleplay that got a lot of attention. It was expertly written by Rod Serling and the acting by Jack Palance, Ed Wynn and Keenan Wynn was terrific. It was such a great production that Ed Wynn was nominated for an Emmy for his performance, the BBC made their own version a year later AND Hollywood remade the story into a terrific film starring Anthony Quinn.
I mention all this because you need to understand the context for "The Man in the Funny Suit". The story is about the making of the "Playhouse 90" teleplay back in 1956...in particular how difficult it was for Ed Wynn to play the kind-hearted boxing trainer. Why was it so difficult? After all, Wynn was a veteran of stage and television....and was one of the biggest TV stars of the early 50s. The problem was that in all these previous cases, Ed was playing a comic--something he'd done on Vaudeville for decades. But he'd never played a serious role...and "Playhouse 90" was a huge departure for the veteran comic. He was, not surprisingly, very nervous about this...as were the crew. After all, this 90 minute performance was performed LIVE!!
Seeing a TV show about the making of another TV show is certainly unusual...perhaps a first of its kind. Regardless, it was VERY entertaining and very touching to watch. And, it also was revealing and quite amazing to watch. After all, they brought back Serling and many of the other actors and staff to make this making of film. Overall, most enjoyable and very well made....and it would make a great accompaniment to seeing the 1956 teleplay.
By the way, I may be unusual in feeling this way, but I think the 1956 teleplay was much better than the movie version. The movie is more depressing to watch and felt rather hopeless.
I mention all this because you need to understand the context for "The Man in the Funny Suit". The story is about the making of the "Playhouse 90" teleplay back in 1956...in particular how difficult it was for Ed Wynn to play the kind-hearted boxing trainer. Why was it so difficult? After all, Wynn was a veteran of stage and television....and was one of the biggest TV stars of the early 50s. The problem was that in all these previous cases, Ed was playing a comic--something he'd done on Vaudeville for decades. But he'd never played a serious role...and "Playhouse 90" was a huge departure for the veteran comic. He was, not surprisingly, very nervous about this...as were the crew. After all, this 90 minute performance was performed LIVE!!
Seeing a TV show about the making of another TV show is certainly unusual...perhaps a first of its kind. Regardless, it was VERY entertaining and very touching to watch. And, it also was revealing and quite amazing to watch. After all, they brought back Serling and many of the other actors and staff to make this making of film. Overall, most enjoyable and very well made....and it would make a great accompaniment to seeing the 1956 teleplay.
By the way, I may be unusual in feeling this way, but I think the 1956 teleplay was much better than the movie version. The movie is more depressing to watch and felt rather hopeless.
helpful•50
- planktonrules
- Jun 4, 2020
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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