Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90

Playhouse 90

1956 4 Seasons 134 Episodes ⭐ 7.6 Drama

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.

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.

Seasons & Episodes

EP 1

Forbidden Area

Why are so many B-99 bombers from Hibiscus Air Base crashing or simply disappearing? Colonel Price comes up with a terri

EP 2

Requiem for a Heavyweight

An over-the-hill heavyweight boxing champion who suffers from the ravages of years of head trauma is exploited by his ma

EP 3

Sizeman and Son

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

EP 4

Rendezvous in Black

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

EP 5

The Country Husband

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

EP 6

The Big Slide

A vaudeville comic becomes a silent film star.

EP 7

Heritage of Anger

A wealthy industrialist has trouble with his sons.

EP 8

Eloise

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

EP 9

Confession

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

EP 10

Made in Heaven

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

EP 11

Sincerely, Willis Wade

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

EP 12

The Family Nobody Wanted

A true story, it follows a pastor and his wife through forties beginning with one biological child, Donny. But the uphea

EP 13

Massacre at Sand Creek

An investigation into a massacre of Native Americans.

EP 14

Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses

Some racetrack Johnnies are talking between races when one wonders if you can hypnotize a horse into thinking it's a cha

EP 15

The Ninth Day

Events in the aftermath of World War Three.

EP 16

So Soon to Die

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

EP 17

The Star Wagon

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

EP 18

The Greer Case

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

EP 19

The Miracle Worker

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

EP 20

The Comedian

Sammy Hogarth, a vaudeville comedian who now has his own TV show, is a ruthless egomaniac who demands instant obedience

EP 21

One Coat of White

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

EP 22

The Blackwell Story

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

EP 23

Invitation to a Gunfighter

A gunfighter is terrorizing a small western town. The townspeople finally pool their money to a hire another gunfighter

EP 24

The Last Tycoon

A movie producer is slowly working himself to death.

EP 25

The Hostess with the Mostes'

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

EP 26

Where's Charley?

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

EP 27

Clipper Ship

A romance on the high seas revolving around the comely widow of a shipping magnate, and her growing love for a handsome

EP 28

If You Knew Elizabeth

EP 29

Three Men on a Horse

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

EP 30

Four Women in Black

Four nuns, led by Sister Teresa, begin a treacherous journey across the Arizona desert in 1870. Their faith enables them

EP 31

Child of Trouble

EP 32

Homeward Borne

Just after World War Two ends, an American woman takes in a Polish war orphan boy, a concentration camp survivor. But co

EP 33

The Helen Morgan Story

Broadway legend Helen Morgan 's life as told by her mother, from her early start in second rate speakeasies to star of t

EP 34

Winter Dreams

EP 35

Circle of the Day

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

EP 36

Without Incident

Captain Russell Bidlack, commander of a U.S. Cavalry unit in 1870, determines to complete a rescue mission through dange

EP 37

Clash by Night

Mae Doyle comes back to her hometown a cynical woman. Her brother Joe fears that his love, fish cannery worker Peggy, ma

EP 38

Ain't No Time for Glory

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

EP 39

The Fabulous Irishman

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

EP 1

The Death of Manolete

The last hours in the life of Spain's most celebrated matador.

EP 2

The Dark Side of the Earth

A drama set in 1956, during the unsuccessful Hungarian uprising against the Russians

EP 3

Topaze

A mild-mannered schoolteacher gradually abandons all his principles - and finds the success which has always hitherto el

EP 4

A Sound of Different Drummers

In a dystopian society, reading is forbidden.

EP 5

The Playroom

When a mother wins an award, she finds out a few things about her three grown-up children.

EP 6

Around the World in 90 Minutes

October 17, 1957, the CBS Television Network diverted from its typical format of live dramatic presentations for "Playho

EP 7

The Mystery of Thirteen

The story of William Palmer, one of the most notorious poisoners in Victorian England - or was he?

EP 8

The Edge of Innocence

A lawyer's new brother-in-law disapproves of his specialty of defending murderers. But when he finds himself accused of

EP 9

The Clouded Image

EP 10

The Jet-Propelled Couch

Based on a case history in psychologist Dr. Robert Linder's book "The 50-Minute Hour." Unbeknownst to his friends and co

EP 11

The Troublemakers

EP 12

Panic Button

A Civil Aeronautics Board investigation determines that the reason a plane crashed, killing all aboard except one of the

EP 13

Galvanized Yankee

In a Northern prisoner-of-war camp during the Civil War, a crippled Yankee commander has a rebellious Rebel executed. Th

EP 14

The Thundering Wave

Middle-aged actress Victoria Maxwell comes to terms with her destructive lifestyle as she struggles with the lead role i

EP 15

For I Have Loved Strangers

EP 16

The Lone Woman

EP 17

Reunion

A reunion party for old army buddies turns inexorably into something darker and more sinister.

EP 18

The Last Man

EP 19

The 80 Yard Run

Long ago, Christian made a run of 80 yards to make the winning touchdown in a football game. It was the greatest moment

EP 20

Before I Die

An innocent man, doomed to die for the murder of a cop that he didn't commit, is rushed from prison to the county hospit

EP 21

The Gentleman from Seventh Avenue

Mr. Golden wonders if he has wasted his life; but the news that he is to become a grandfather cheers him.

EP 22

The Violent Heart

Photographer Paul is invited to a French estate to take pictures but a romance develops with the lady of the house. A su

EP 23

No Time at All

An airliner flying nonstop at night from Miami to New York fails to check in, then disappears from radar. We see how its

EP 24

Point of No Return

Waiting to find out if he's obtained a valuable promotion, a banker returns to the small town he grew up in.

EP 25

Portrait of a Murderer

Based on a true story, Donald Bashor robs and bludgeons two women to their deaths. While committing the crimes he mainta

EP 26

The Last Clear Chance

A veteran lawyer must defend his own son when the latter is threatened with disbarment.

EP 27

The Male Animal

The trustees of Midwestern University have forced three teachers out of their jobs for being suspected communists. Trust

EP 28

The Right Hand Man

The story of a struggle for control of a Hollywood talent agency.

EP 29

Turn Left at Mount Everest

EP 30

The Dungeon

EP 31

Verdict of Three

A murder trial is followed through different jurors and their reactions.

EP 32

Rumors of Evening

EP 33

Not the Glory

EP 34

Nightmare at Ground Zero

After the first atom bomb test, scientists realize the bomb was more powerful than they expected - which may have terrib

EP 35

Bomber's Moon

A hard-hearted Colonel loses many men in his group's bombing missions over World War II Germany, but keeps on going and

EP 36

Natchez

A Civil War veteran returns home to find his father has become a social pariah.

EP 37

The Innocent Sleep

When a rich man marries a much younger wife and his ailing health gets rather worse, the housekeeper suspects a murder a

EP 38

A Town Has Turned to Dust

A weakling sheriff is unable to prevent a lynching. Can he redeem himself by preventing a second one?

EP 39

The Great Gatsby

A Midwesterner becomes fascinated with his wealthy neighbor, who obsesses over his lost love.

EP 40

Bitter Heritage

The James boys, being framed for a bank heist, are saved by the banker's daughter.

EP 1

The Plot to Kill Stalin

In late 1952, an aging and increasingly paranoid Stalin puts in motion a purge against his doctors, with anti-Semitic ov

EP 2

Days of Wine and Roses

An alcoholic falls in love with and gets married to a young woman, whom he systematically addicts to booze so they can s

EP 3

The Time of Your Life

William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning play revolves around the denizens of a San Francisco bar in 1939. Lonely, lovel

EP 4

The Long March

EP 5

Shadows Tremble

An elderly immigrant tries to buy an old house in New England and is opposed by snobbish locals.

EP 6

Word from a Sealed-Off Box

A courier for the Dutch Resistance is captured by the Nazis.

EP 7

Heart of Darkness

A trading company manager travels up an African river to find a missing outpost head and discovers the depth of evil in

EP 8

Old Man

To fight a Mississippi flood in 1927, a prison farm releases some convicts.

EP 9

The Return of Ansel Gibbs

After years in retirement, Ansel Gibbs is asked to return to government service.

EP 10

Free Weekend

EP 11

Seven Against the Wall

The story of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929.

EP 12

The Nutcracker

This telecast of George Balanchine's famous production was broadcast only four years after it was premiered by the New Y

EP 13

Face of a Hero

EP 14

The Wings of the Dove

An impoverished woman who has been forced to choose between a privileged life with her wealthy aunt and her journalist l

EP 15

The Blue Men

EP 16

The Velvet Alley

Ernie Pandish has tried to be a writer for years and has never made much money out of it. But now he seems likely to hit

EP 17

A Quiet Game of Cards

A few friends meet each weekend for a quiet game of cards. But they're bored with poker and, in trying to find another d

EP 18

Child of Our Time

War deprives Tanguy of his childhood. When his mother returns to Spain to oppose the Franco regime, he is left in Nazi-o

EP 19

The Second Man

EP 20

The Raider

A corporate raider plans a hostile takeover. To stall him, pressure is put on a scientist to rush through a new type of

EP 21

The Ding-A-Ling Girl

A housewife is offered a Hollywood contract. She'd rather stay home, but her husband has ambitions for her.

EP 22

Made in Japan

A young soldier in occupied Japan after World War II falls in love with a lovely Japanese girl, but is horrified about w

EP 23

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Part 1

During the Spanish Civil War, an American allied with the Republicans finds romance during a desperate mission to blow u

EP 24

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Part 2

The completion of the mission has tragic consequences.

EP 25

A Trip to Paradise

EP 26

In Lonely Expectation

EP 27

The Day Before Atlanta

EP 28

Judgment at Nuremberg

In the later stages of the Nuremberg Trials, four German judges are accused of perverting the course of justice.

EP 29

A Corner of the Garden

EP 30

Dark December

During World War II, an army doctor struggles to convert a Franciscan monastery into a field hospital.

EP 31

Diary of a Nurse

The daily emergencies and stresses of a major city's hospital ward as seen through the eyes of nurse Gail Lucas.

EP 32

A Marriage of Strangers

Marry in haste, repent at leisure? Well, maybe.

EP 33

Out of Dust

On a cattle drive across the prairie, the sons of a wealthy cattle baron plot his death.

EP 34

The Rank and File

A powerful union leader is interrogated by a Senate committee. Testifying before a Senate, William Kilcoyne tells the st

EP 35

The Killers of Mussolini

As the Salo Republic crumbles around him, Mussolini, along with his mistress and several of his ministers flee with retr

EP 36

Project Immortality

Key defense scientist Doner has cancer. Schramm is assigned to code Doner's thinking into a computer. He gets to know hi

EP 37

Dark as the Night

A British politician finds himself open to blackmail because of the indiscretion of his American wife.

EP 38

The Second Happiest Day

A man about to be married recalls the day his life changed permanently.

EP 1

Target for Three

Three conspirators plan the death of a South American head of state.

EP 2

The Sounds of Eden

Three different viewpoints of the same story - a kidnapping and its aftermath.

EP 3

Misalliance

A group of people gathered at a wealthy man's country home on a summer weekend engage in an exploration of their varied

EP 4

The Hidden Image

A journalist out to expose political corruption finds his family is in danger.

EP 5

The Grey Nurse Said Nothing

In Australia, a landowner is arrested for murder - but where's the body?

EP 6

The Tunnel

In the Civil War, a tunnel is dug under Confederate lines, and filled with explosives.

EP 7

The Silver Whistle

The old people's home is a pretty miserable place - until the arrival of the mysterious Mr. Erwenter.

EP 8

John Brown's Raid

The story of abolitionist John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry.

EP 9

A Dream of Treason

A State Department official is required to leak a confidential document - which may have terrible repercussions.

EP 10

To the Sound of Trumpets

In Paris, a former soldier is alarmed when the girl he has fallen in love with demonstrates a rather naïve and romantic

EP 11

The Cruel Day

Violence and brutality greet a French Army captain when he arrives in Algeria to assume command of a remote outpost. He

EP 12

Tomorrow

Slow witted, and tired, Fentry leads a lonely life of grinding poverty in his sharecropper's shack until a sick, pregnan

EP 13

The Hiding Place

In the last days of World War II, two English airmen are captured by an ordinary German citizen, who, instead of handing

EP 14

Alas, Babylon

Americans try to cope with the aftermath of a nuclear catastrophe.

EP 15

Journey to the Day

Patients at a mental hospital meet for a group therapy session.

EP 16

The Shape of the River

Determined to pay off his debts, Mark Twain sets off on a lecture tour.

EP 17

In the Presence of Mine Enemies

In the Warsaw ghetto, a Jewish man seeks revenge for the rape of his sister by a German soldier.

Popular Cast