Line #8 Series/Playhouse90


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/playhouse_90.jpeg]]
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3	A dramatic GenreAnthology series which aired for four seasons (1956–60) on Creator/{{CBS}}, ''Playhouse 90'' was considered a serious and prestigious production. The title has nothing to do with TheNineties; rather, it refers to the length of an episode: ninety minutes including commercials. (At the time, most live drama series were an hour long.)
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5	Eleven of the 134 episodes were written by Creator/RodSerling. Twenty-seven were directed by Creator/JohnFrankenheimer (who at one time was directing every third episode). Directors were permitted to choose their own scripts, which was a rarity for programs of this type. Among the actors who had roles in multiple episodes were Creator/PeterLorre, Creator/JamesMason, Creator/JackPalance, Creator/MaryAstor, and Creator/SterlingHayden.
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7	Scripts for the series include adaptations (of novels, stage plays, and films) as well as original works; some of the latter were in turn adapted into theatrical films.
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10	!!The following works originated as ''Playhouse 90'' scripts and have their own trope pages:
11	* ''Film/DaysOfWineAndRoses''
12	* ''Film/HeartOfDarkness1958''
13	* ''Film/JudgmentAtNuremberg''
14	* ''Theatre/TheMiracleWorker''
15	* ''Film/RequiemForAHeavyweight''
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17	!!Other episodes of ''Playhouse 90'', and the series as a whole, provide examples of:
18	* BasedOnATrueStory: Several episodes are inspired, with varying degrees of embroidery, by then fairly-recent historical events. These include "Seven Against the Wall" (based on the [[UsefulNotes/AlCapone Saint Valentine's Day Massacre]]), "The Plot to Kill Stalin," and "The Killers of Mussolini."
19	* BroadcastLive: The series started out doing live broadcasts, then experimented with pre-recording certain scenes that would be too difficult to present live, and finally switched to entirely pre-taped programs.[[note]]A claim that the switch to tape was completed in 1957 appears to refer to a different, less artistically significant change: this is when the program began using tape rather than kinescope to ''preserve'' its live broadcasts.[[/note]]
20	* CastingGag: In the episode "The Plot to Kill Stalin," Poskrebyshev suggests targeting Kaganovich for his Judaism. Poskrebyshev is played by Creator/EliWallach, who was Jewish.
21	* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Anselmo and Rafael]] are killed off in the adapted version of ''Literature/ForWhomTheBellTolls''.
22	* DuringTheWar: A frequent topic, in part because many of the creators were veterans. At least fifteen episodes are set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII or in the immediate aftermath.
23	* GenreAnthology: An early example, focused on drama.
24	* MusicalEpisode: On Christmas Day 1958, George Balanchine's production of ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' ballet was broadcast under the ''Playhouse 90'' banner. The series was otherwise almost exclusively a showcase for straight drama. ("The Nutcracker" was also the only episode in color.)

Context Series / Playhouse90