Keyhole (Playwrights '56)

"Keyhole"
Playwrights '56 episode
Episode no.Season 1
Directed byFred Coe
Written bySumner Locke Elliott
Original air dateMay 22, 1956 (1956-05-22)

"Keyhole" is a 1956 American television play written by Sumner Locke Elliott. It was an episode of Playwrights '56 and was directed by Fred Coe better known as a producer.[1] The play was more experimental than usual, using a narrator device who would address the audience.[2][3]

The story was based on a real 1889 British trial.[1]

Premise

Helen Cartwright is accused of murdering her husband.

Cast

  • Norman Barrs as Mr. White
  • Lee Grant as Helen Cartwright
  • Maureen Hurley as Ivy Rumble
  • John Mackwood as Ernest Parker
  • E.G. Marshall
  • John Suttong

Reception

Variety called it "nothing if not a vigorous vehicle for displaying a director’s approach to staging a live show in a manner that compared favorably with the “liquid assets” of the motion, picture."[1]

The Philadelphia Inquirer said "the whole thing seemed like a one set stage play."[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Playwrights 56". Variety. 30 May 1956. p. 23.
  2. ^ "Coe wants more experimenting". Newsday (Nassau Edition). 22 May 1956. p. 55.
  3. ^ "Tuesday, May 22" (PDF). Ross Reports on Television. May 20, 1956. p. B. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Screening TV". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 23 May 1956. p. 35.