Playhouse 90

1956 - 1960

Forbidden Area

4th October 1956

Episode 1

Why are so many B-99 bombers from Hibiscus Air Base crashing or simply disappearing? Colonel Price comes up with a terrifying explanation, but will anyone believe him?

Requiem for a Heavyweight

11th October 1956

Episode 2

An over-the-hill heavyweight boxing champion who suffers from the ravages of years of head trauma is exploited by his manager, despite the efforts of a compassionate young woman who tries to help him recover his self-respect.

Sizeman and Son

18th October 1956

Episode 3

The happy atmosphere in Mr. Sizeman's factory is disrupted by an argumentative newcomer - his son.

Rendezvous in Black

25th October 1956

Episode 4

A woman is inexplicably killed on a street-corner. What has this to do with other deaths around the city?

The Country Husband

1st November 1956

Episode 5

After a near-death experience, a businessman starts to re-think his life, and wonders about leaving his wife.

The Big Slide

8th November 1956

Episode 6

A vaudeville comic becomes a silent film star.

Heritage of Anger

15th November 1956

Episode 7

A wealthy industrialist has trouble with his sons.

Eloise

22nd November 1956

Episode 8

It's not so much that Eloise is a mischievous child, but the darnedest things do happen when she's around.

Confession

29th November 1956

Episode 9

When a much-admired community leader dies, a journalist starts to investigate his life - and finds he was not the man he seemed.

Made in Heaven

6th December 1956

Episode 10

When Zachary and Elsa separate, each seems tempted to start a new love affair.

Sincerely, Willis Wade

13th December 1956

Episode 11

A wealthy mill owner finances the education of a clever, but poor, young man.

The Family Nobody Wanted

20th December 1956

Episode 12

A true story, it follows a pastor and his wife through forties beginning with one biological child, Donny. But the upheaval of the war years results in a number of mixed raced children that the Doss family adopt until they have 12 children.

Massacre at Sand Creek

27th December 1956

Episode 13

An investigation into a massacre of Native Americans.

Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses

3rd January 1957

Episode 14

Some racetrack Johnnies are talking between races when one wonders if you can hypnotize a horse into thinking it's a champion. The idea sets in motion a series of hilarious events.

The Ninth Day

10th January 1957

Episode 15

Events in the aftermath of World War Three.

So Soon to Die

17th January 1957

Episode 16

Down on his luck, war hero Lionel Amblin contemplates committing a murder.

The Star Wagon

24th January 1957

Episode 17

An inventor, pondering on how he might differently have arranged his life, invents a time machine and decides to make a few changes.

The Greer Case

31st January 1957

Episode 18

When a rich woman dies without signing her new will, all kinds of problems ensue.

The Miracle Worker

7th February 1957

Episode 19

The story of Anne Sullivan's struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate.

The Comedian

14th February 1957

Episode 20

Sammy Hogarth, a vaudeville comedian who now has his own TV show, is a ruthless egomaniac who demands instant obedience from his staff and heaps abuse on those in lesser positions than his. His most vituperative behavior, however, is reserved for his weak-willed brother, Lester, whom Sammy has hired as his assistant but whom he really uses as his whipping boy.

One Coat of White

21st February 1957

Episode 21

A newly-widowed woman goes on a trip to Europe and meets a French artist.

The Blackwell Story

28th February 1957

Episode 22

In the 19th century, Elizabeth Blackwell determines to become a doctor.

Invitation to a Gunfighter

Episode 23

A gunfighter is terrorizing a small western town. The townspeople finally pool their money to a hire another gunfighter to drive him out of town. The townsfolk thought they had it bad until they handed the reigns over to the new terror. Pooling their money again, this time to hire Jeffers to get rid of Dancer.

The Last Tycoon

14th March 1957

Episode 24

A movie producer is slowly working himself to death.

The Hostess with the Mostes'

21st March 1957

Episode 25

The story of Perle Mesta, who became, first, a renowned society hostess, and then an ambassadress.

Where's Charley?

28th March 1957

Episode 26

Lord Fancourt Babberley is forced to disguise himself as a woman - his aunt from Brazil, "where the nuts come from".

Clipper Ship

Episode 27

A romance on the high seas revolving around the comely widow of a shipping magnate, and her growing love for a handsome young political prisoner who was scheduled to be put to death when the vessel reached its destination. Though unyielding at first, the ship's stern captain eventually helped the woman to make a clean getaway, with the condemned man in tow.

If You Knew Elizabeth

11th April 1957

Episode 28

No overview available.

Three Men on a Horse

18th April 1957

Episode 29

A meek salesman with an uncanny ability to pick horses is virtually kidnapped by a trio of gamblers.

Four Women in Black

25th April 1957

Episode 30

Four nuns, led by Sister Teresa, begin a treacherous journey across the Arizona desert in 1870. Their faith enables them to deal with the challenges of nature and the hostility of their fellow mankind.

Child of Trouble

Episode 31

No overview available.

Homeward Borne

Episode 32

Just after World War Two ends, an American woman takes in a Polish war orphan boy, a concentration camp survivor. But conflict arises when her husband, a returning Air Force bomber pilot, hates the boy and his psychological baggage.

The Helen Morgan Story

Episode 33

Broadway legend Helen Morgan 's life as told by her mother, from her early start in second rate speakeasies to star of top rated shows and owning her own club. Also seen is her poor choices, such as her affair with a married man, her short marriage to a much younger man, a court fight over an adopted baby and her fatal descent into booze addiction.

Winter Dreams

Episode 34

No overview available.

Circle of the Day

Episode 35

On her tenth wedding anniversary (which is also her daughter's birthday), a wife begins to suspect her husband of unfaithfulness.

Without Incident

Episode 36

Captain Russell Bidlack, commander of a U.S. Cavalry unit in 1870, determines to complete a rescue mission through dangerous Indian territory. In the course of the mission, he rescues the wives of two slain traders and captures the Indian chief accused of the murders. When he returns to the fort, he's faced with a revolt among his own men.

Clash by Night

Episode 37

Mae Doyle comes back to her hometown a cynical woman. Her brother Joe fears that his love, fish cannery worker Peggy, may wind up like Mae. Mae marries Jerry and has a baby; she is happy but restless, drawn to Jerry's friend Earl.

Ain't No Time for Glory

Episode 38

American soldiers must use stealth to take over a German command post in Normandy.

The Fabulous Irishman

Episode 39

Romanticized life story of Robert Briscoe, the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin.

Top Cast

Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of the mid-1950s were usually hour-long shows, the title highlighted the network's intention to present something unusual, a weekly series of hour-and-a-half dramas rather than 60-minute plays. Playhouse 90 began as a pitch by Frank Stanton—the formidable, forward-thinking right-hand man to CBS chairman William S. Paley—during a brainstorming session for program ideas. The project was ultimately developed by Hubbell Robinson, a CBS vice president who received no screen credit on Playhouse 90 but is often described as its creator.

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