Misalliance (Playhouse 90)

"Misalliance"

Playhouse 90 episode

Episode no.

Season 4
Episode 3

Directed by

Robert Stevens

Written by

Meade Roberts

Original air date

October 29, 1959

Episode chronology

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"The Sounds of Eden"

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"The Hidden Image"

"Misalliance" was an American television play broadcast live on October 29, 1959, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the third episode of the fourth season of Playhouse 90 and the 120th episode overall.

Plot

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The plot concerns the rivalry between the aristocracy and middle class as played out between an English country gentleman, his family, an airline pilot, a passenger, and a socialist.

Production

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John Houseman was the producer, and Robert Stevens was the director. Meade Roberts wrote the teleplay based on George Bernard Shaw's play Misalliance.

The cast consisted of Claire Bloom as Hypatia, Siobhan McKenna as Lina, Rod Taylor as Joey Percival, Kenneth Haigh as Gunner, John Williams as Lord Summerhayes, Robert Morley as John Tarleton, Isobel Elsom as Mrs. Tarleton, and Robert Casper as Bentley.^[1]^[2]

Reception

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Critics were divided in their reviews of the production.

Cynthia Lowry of the Associated Press described it as "so full of plot that I still don't know what went on."^[2]

Fred Danzig of the UPI called it "delicious" and praised the "clever cast."^[2]

In The New York Times, Jack Gould panned the production as "dated" and "strained". He concluded that "the deluge of words" left one "too limp to worry about the plot." He also noted that the cast "raced through its lines at breakneck speed but without scant fair or flavor."^[3]

References

[edit]

^ "'Misalliance' Set On 'Playhouse 90'". The Desert Sun. October 29, 1959. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Critics Split on 'Misalliance'; Playhouse 90 Presentation". The Scranton Times. October 30, 1959. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Jack Gould (October 30, 1959). "TV Review: Shaw's 'Misalliance' on 'Playhouse 90'". The New York Times. p. 55.

v t e Playhouse 90
People	John Frankenheimer Martin Manulis Franklin J. Schaffner Rod Serling
Season 1	"Forbidden Area" "Requiem for a Heavyweight" "Sizeman and Son" "Rendezvous in Black" "The Country Husband" "The Big Slide" "Heritage of Anger" "Eloise" "Confession" "Made in Heaven" "Sincerely, Willis Wade" "The Family Nobody Wanted" "Massacre at Sand Creek" "Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses" "The Ninth Day" "So Soon to Die" "The Star Wagon" "The Greer Case" "The Miracle Worker" "The Comedian" "The Coat of White" "The Blackwell Story" "Invitation to a Gunfighter" "The Last Tycoon" "The Hostess with the Mostes'" "Charley's Aunt" "Clipper Ship" "If You Know Elizabeth" "Three Men on a Horse" "Four Women in Black" "Child of Trouble" "Homeward Borne" "Helen Morgan" "Winter Dreams" "Circle of the Day" "Without Incident" "Clash by Night" "Ain't No Time for Glory" "The Fabulous Irishman"
Season 2	"The Death of Manolete" "The Dark Side of the Earth" "Topaze" "A Sound of Different Drummers" "The Playroom" "Around the World in 90 Minutes" "The Mystery of Thirteen" "The Edge of Innocence" "The Clouded Image" "The Jet Propelled Couch" "The Troublemakers" "Panic Button" "Galvanized Yankee" "The Thundering Wave" "For I Have Loved Strangers" "The Lone Woman" "Reunion" "The Last Man" "The 80 Yard Run" "Before I Die" "The Gentleman From Seventh Avenue" "The Violent Heart" "No Time at All" "Point of No Return" "Portrait of a Murderer" "The Last Clear Chance" "The Male Animal" "The Right Hand Man" "Turn Left at Mount Everest" "The Dungeon" "Verdict of Three" "Rumors of Evening" "Not the Glory" "Nightmare at Ground Zero" "Bomber's Moon" "Natchez" "The Innocent Sleep" "A Town Has Turned to Dust" "The Great Gatsby" "A Bitter Heritage"
Season 3	"The Plot to Kill Stalin" "Days of Wine and Roses" "The Time of Your Life" "The Long March" "Shadows Tremble" "Word From a Sealed-Off Box" "Heart of Darkness" "Old Man" "The Return of Ansel Gibbs" "Free Weekend" "Seven Against the Wall" "The Nutcracker" "Face of a Hero" "The Wings of the Dove" "The Blue Men" "The Velvet Alley" "A Quiet Game of Cards" "Child of Our Time" "The Second Man" "The Raider" "The Dingaling Girl" "Made in Japan" "For Whom the Bell Tolls" "A Trip to Paradise" "In Lonely Expectation" "The Day Before Atlanta" "Judgment at Nuremberg" "A Corner of the Garden" "Dark December" "Diary of a Nurse" "A Marriage of Strangers" "Out of Dust" "The Rank and File" "The Killers of Mussolini" "Project Immortality" "Dark as the Night" "The Second Happiest Day"
Season 4	"Target for Three" "The Sounds of Eden" "Misalliance" "The Hidden Image" "The Grey Nurse Said Nothing" "The Tunnel" "The Silver Whistle" "A Dream of Treason" "To the Sound of Trumpets" "The Cruel Day" "Tomorrow" "The Hiding Place" "Alas, Babylon" "Journey to the Day" "The Shape of the River" "In the Presence of Mine Enemies"
Revivals	CBS Playhouse CBS Playhouse 90