The Tunnel (Playhouse 90)

The Tunnel was a pre-recorded American television play first broadcast on December 10, 1959, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the sixth episode of the fourth season of Playhouse 90 and the 123rd episode overall.

"The Tunnel"
Playhouse 90 episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 6
Directed byDelbert Mann
Written byDavid Shaw
Featured musicJerry Goldsmith
Original air dateDecember 10, 1959 (1959-12-10)
Running time83 minutes

Plot

The play is set in the Civil War and depicts the plan by a Union officer (Henry Pleasants) to end a stalemate by digging a tunnel under Confederate forces and then exploding the enemy with dynamite. The story was based on the Battle of the Crater that occurred in July 1864 near Petersburg, Virginia.[1]

Production

Fred Coe was the producer. Delbert Mann was the director, and David Shaw wrote the teleplay. Eddie Albert hosted the production.[2]

The cast included Richard Boone as Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants, Rip Torn as Lt. Jacob Douty, Onslow Stevens as Gen. Ambrose Burnside, Jack Weston as Wocziki, Ken Lynch as Sgt. Reese, Robert Carson as Major Gen. George Meade, Sandy Kenyon as Martinson, and Bartlett Robinson as Captain Handley.[2]

Reception

The climactic scenes of the crater formed by exclusion, with wounded and maimed soldiers dead, dying, and screaming, was described by Associated Press writer Cynthia Lowry as "a grisly editorial against human slaughter."[3] The UPI described these scenes as "television triumphs."[4]

In The New York Times, Richard F. Shepard found the production to be realistic with impressive staging of busy and loud battle scenes.[5]

References
  1. "Boone Will Star in 'The Tunnel'". The St. Louis Globe-Democrat. December 10, 1959 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Playhouse 90: The Tunnel". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  3. "Television-Radio News". Wausau Daily Herald (AP story). December 11, 1959. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Television in Review: Technical TV Triumphs In 'The Tunnel'". Pottsville Republican (UPI story). December 11, 1959. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Richard F. Shepard (December 11, 1959). "'Playhouse 90' Offers Civil War Story". The New York Times. p. 67.
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