Synopsis
NET Playhouse is an American dramatic television anthology series produced by National Educational Television. NET subsequently merged with WNDT Newark, New Jersey to form WNET and was superseded by the Public Broadcasting Service. American television anthology series of wide range of genres, from history and drama, to fantasy, and science fiction. Fiction novels, stories, stage plays, fairytales, and historic events are dramatized in each episode.
Episodes
1E1Ten Blocks on the Camino RealA production of Tennessee Williams's "Ten Blocks on the Camino Real," a one-act play upon which his full-length play, "Camino Real" was based. This allegorical drama is set in the plaza of a Latin American town, a sinister purgatory where laughing street cleaners cart away the dead. Kilroy, a young American ex-boxer with a failing heart, arrives in this nightmarish place.90m2E2The Journey of the Fifth HorseDustin Hoffman stars in Ronald Ribman's critically acclaimed off-Broadway drama and 1965 Obie Award for best play of the season. The story of a kind and good-hearted young landowner in 19th century Russia who, desperate for love and acceptance, sets out to find both, only to discover that if he had never lived at all it would have made no difference to anyone.3E3The Star WagonA comedy-fantasy by Maxwell Anderson, follows the adventures of an inventor who creates a time-machine enabling him to live his life over again.4E4L'Avventura5E5Victoria Regina, Part 1: SpringThe first hour of this four-part adaptation of Laurence Housman's drama focuses on Queen Victoria's accession to the throne and her conflict with Lord Melbourne, her Prime Minister and close friend. Melbourne brings up the question of marriage-but the Queen rejects his list of suitable bridegroom6E6Victoria Regina, Part 2: Summer"Victoria Regina: Summer," second of four-part adaptation of Lawrence Hous mans' Broadway hit about the life of England's Queen Victoria. Tonight: Prince Albert faces the problem of being married to a reigning monarch.7E7Victoria Regina, Part 3: Autumn"Victoria Regina: Autumn," third of a four-part adaption of Lawrence Housman's Broadway hit about the life of England's Queen Victoria. In this episode: Prime Minister Disraeli clashes with the Queen.8E8Victoria Regina, Part 4: Winter9E9An Enemy of the PeopleA Norwegian doctor discovers that the source of the town's medicinal waters has become poisonous.10E10A Sleep of PrisonersChristopher Fry's verse drama of four prisoners in an imaginary war.11E11OfoetiA modern folklore tale about a highly imaginative, fantasy-bound youth and his search for a troll.12E12The Play of Daniel"The Play of Daniel." Filmed at the Cloisters, NYC's Museum of Medieval Art, this 12th-century play dramatizes episodes in the life of the Old Testament hero Daniel. An English narrative by poet W. H. Auden supplements the original Latin and Old French text performed by the New York Pro Musica and the boys choir of New York City's Church of the Transfiguration.13E13La MarmitePresented in French with English subtitles, The Theatre de la Mandragore Troupe wore masks and performed the Plautus play about a miser obsessed with his gold.14E14The Amorous Flea"The Amorous Flea," is a musical-comedy based on Molière's "School for Wives." The play follows the misadventures of an old man who has raised a young girl, in total ignorance of the ways of the world, so that she will make him a perfect wife. Adapted from the 1964 off-Broadway hit.15E15A Comedy of ErrorsWilliam Shakespeare's comic-story of mistaken identity follows the misadventures of two sets of long-lost twins is presented by Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company. Produced by the BBC.16E16La Mama PlaywrightsThe off-Broadway La Mama Experimental Theater Club, founded by Ellen Stewart presents three avant-garde works. The plays: 1. "Pavane," by Jean-Claude van Itallie, examines rituals of modern society. 2. "Fourteen Hundred Thousand," by Sam Shepard, involves a young couple and their in-laws. 3. "The Recluse," by Paul Foster, focuses on a demented old lady in an abandoned hospital.17E17The World of Carl SandburgActors Fritz Weaver and Uta Hagen join the folk-singing Tarriers and Carolyn Hester for this adaptation of "The World of Carl Sandburg," which opened on Broadway in 1960. Sandburg, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, is a poet, historian, novelist and folklorist. Carolyn Hester and the Tarriers perform numbers from Sandburg's "The American Songbag,18E18Knife in the WaterRoman Polanski directed this study of a clash between generations. On a weekend outing, two men find themselves pitted against each other in a tense psychological rivalry for the affections of the older man's wife.19E19Uncle VanyaA retired professor has returned to his estate to live with his beautiful young wife, Yelena. The estate originally belonged to his first wife, now deceased; her mother and brother still live there and manage the farm20E20The Importance of Being EarnestIn 1890s London, two friends use the same pseudonym ("Ernest") for their on-the-sly activities. Hilarity ensues.21E21The World of Kurt WeillSinger-actress Lotte Lenya offers a tribute to her late composer husband.22E22Master of SantiagoIn 16th-century Spain, pressure is brought on Don Alvaro Dabo to take part in the conquest of the West Indies-but Don Alvaro, an anti-colonialist and religious mystic, resists all arguments. Adapted from the play by contemporary French novelist-playwright Henri de Montherlant.23E23The Battle of CullodenThis BBC documentary-drama re-creates the Battle of Culloden (1746)-- the last battle fought on British soil. The final attempt to restore the house of Stuart to the throne of Scotland, England and Ireland culminated in the meeting (at Culloden) of an English army and the Highlander force, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie.24E24SatirePlaywright-actor-director Peter Ustinov presents a satiric "improvisation on musical themes" with pianist Anthony Hopkins, and British satirists Dudley Moore and Bernard Keefe. Ustinov caricatures typical Russian, American, German and English composers with pen and piano, singing along with the wild musical themes he invents for each composer25E25The Old Glory: Benito CerenoA poetic drama that explores the paradoxes of the master-slave relationship.26E26Past IntrudingA Japanese film that follows the experiences of a psychiatrist who accidentally revives his buried memory of a horrible wartime experience.27E27MisallianceA presentation of George Bernard Shaw's "Misalliance," a farce about love and the misunderstandings between family members. The visitors at the country home of a manufacturer find their lives changed by the sudden appearance of an outspoken Polish aviatrix.28E28Sponono"Sponono," by South African author Alan Paton, incorporates native songs and dances into its narrative-drama form. The story is about a black delinquent's clash with his white reformatory principal.29E29Orpheus in the UnderworldBritain's Sadler's Wells Opera Company performs Offenbach's popular, light opera. According to Greek myth, the poet Orpheus played beautiful music and loved his wife Eurydice so much that. when she died, he went into the infernal regions to reclaim her life. In Offenbach's satiric treatment of the legend, Orpheus is such a bore and his music is so wretched that Eurydice is glad to go to hell. Orpheus, on the other hand, is equally happy to be rid of her.30E30A Mother for JanekAn orphaned refugee causes unforeseen problems when he comes to live with his bachelor uncle in America. Produced by WQED, Pittsburgh.31E31Acquit or Hang!A courtroom drama based on the court-martial of 10 HMS Bounty mutineers. The 10 seamen on trial all claim to have taken no part in the mutiny, but they may still be punished: The naval regulations of 1792 state that sailors who do not try to prevent a mutiny share equal guilt with active mutineers. Only one of two verdicts can be handed down: acquit or hang.32E32Crime and PunishmentThis dramatization of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's master novel explores the conflicting feelings of guilt and superiority in a student who murders two old women and then tries to justify his crime.33E33Ballet Gala"Ballet Gala" features principal dancers from Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet, London's Royal Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet performing excerpts from Swan Lake, Don Quixote and Romeo and Juliet.34E34A Concert of Sacred MusicA Concert on Sacred Music by Duke Ellington, from the Grace Cathedral, seat of the Episcopal Archdiocese of San Francisco.35E35The Victorians, Part 1: The Rent DayThe first of an eight-part series focusing on life in England during the 1800's. Part 1: A young farmer and his wife face eviction unless they find a way to pay their rent.36E36The Victorians, Part 2: London AssuranceAn 80-year-old nobleman competes with his son for the hand of a young heiress. This comedy by Dion Boucicault was first produced in 1841.37E37The Victorians, Part 3: SocietyA wealthy businessman persuades a penniless young aristocrat to introduce his son into society.38E38The Victorians, Part 4: The Ticket-of-Leave Man"The Victorians: The Ticket-of-Leave Man," a 19th-century detective story. Released from prison, a young man sets out to find the crook who framed him.39E39The Victorians, Part 5: Two Roses40E40The Victorians, Part 6: Still Waters Run Deep41E41The Victorians, Part 7: The Silver KingA gambler who fled to America to escape a murder charge returns to England in search of the real killer.42E42The Victorians, Part 8: Sweet Lavender
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