A Dream of Treason (Playhouse 90)

A Dream of Treason was an American television play broadcast on January 21, 1960, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the eighth episode of the fourth season of Playhouse 90 and the 125th episode overall.

"A Dream of Treason"
Playhouse 90 episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 8
Directed byRobert Stevens
Written byDavid Davidson
Featured musicJerry Goldsmith
Original air dateJanuary 21, 1960 (1960-01-21)
Guest appearance(s)

The story concerns a State Department officer, Martin Lambert, who is accused of betraying his county after he receives a secret order to leak confidential policy paper as part of a secret diplomatic maneuver. When the persons who gave the secret order are involved in a plane crash, Lambert finds himself on his own.

Robert Stevens was the director. David Davidson wrote the teleplay based on Maurice Edelman's novel of the same title.

The cast included Richard Basehart as Martin Lambert, Leora Dana as Eleanor Lambert, John Williams as Walter Ferguson, Susan Oliver as Valerie Ferguson, Alexander Scourby as Barragrave, and John Hoyt as Andrews.[1]

Fred Danzig of the UPI praised the performances of Scourby and Basehart, but criticized the "theatrical aura around what should have been reality" and several "melodramatic, shadow-filled, slow-talking scenes."[2]

A Dream of Treason was the last regularly-scheduled episode of Playhouse 90 in its regular Thursday evening time slot. Due to poor ratings, it aired thereafter only as a "special" in varying time period.[2][3] The show's audience percentage had dropped to half of what it had been the previous year.[3]

References
  1. "Basehart To Head Cast On Playhouse". Longview Daily News. January 16, 1960. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Fred Danzig (January 22, 1960). "Melodramatic Scenes Give Bad Star To Playhouse 90 'Dream of Treason'". The Shreveport Journal (UPI story) – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "New Series Will Take '90' Period". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. January 4, 1960 – via Newspapers.com.
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