Topaze (Playhouse 90)

"**Topaze**"
"Topaze"
Playhouse 90 episode
	Sheree North and Ernie Kovacs in "Topaze"
Episode no.	Season 2; Episode 3
Directed by	Vincent J. Donehue
Written by	Ellis St. Joseph (adaptation), Marcel Pagnol (play)
Featured music	Robert Drasnin
Original air date	September 26, 1957
Guest appearances
	Ernie Kovacs as Topaze; Carl Reiner as Regis;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Dark Side of the Earth"	Next →; "A Sound of Different Drummers"

"Topaze" was an American television play broadcast on September 26, 1957, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. Ellis St. Joseph wrote the teleplay based on Marcel Pagnol's 1928 play, Topaze. Vincent J. Donehue directed, Martin Manulis was the producer, and Robert Drasnin composed the music. Sterling Hayden was the host, and Ernie Kovacs and Carl Reiner starred.^[1]^[2]

The program's commercial sponsors were the American Gas Association, Theradan anti-dandruff shampoo, Marlboro cigarettes, and Ipana toothpaste.^[1]

Plot

Topaze, an idealistic teacher in a small French school, is fired for refusing to adjust the grades of the son of an influential and corrupt politician. The politician then hires Topaze as the head of a dummy corporation, serving as bagman and money launderer. After realizing that he has been taken advantage of, Topaze embraces the corruption to achieve his own fortune.

Cast

The following performers received screen credit for their performances:^[1]

Ernie Kovacs - Topaze
Carl Reiner - Regis
Richard Haydn - Muche
Sheree North - Suzy
Stephen Wooton - Young Castel-Benac
Roxanne Arlen - Germaine
Moira Turner - Ernestine
William Roerick - the Count

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Playhouse 90: Topaze". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
^ "Playhouse 90, Season 2". Classic TV Archive. Retrieved February 24, 2021.

[Paley-1] "Playhouse 90: Topaze". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved February 25, 2021.

[CTVA-2] "Playhouse 90, Season 2". Classic TV Archive. Retrieved February 24, 2021.

[1]

[2]

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