American Playhouse
Season 7
Anthology series which ran on PBS throughout the 1980s.
Where to Watch Season 7
16 Episodes
- Strange Interlude: Part 1E1
Strange Interlude: Part 1In this experimental play, first produced in 1928, Eugene O'Neill bares the inner souls of his characters by having them speak their thoughts as well as their dialog. Nins Leeds, the daughter of an Ivy League professor, is devastated by the loss of her fiance in World War I. Ignoring the unconditional love of the novelist Charlie Marsden, she rebounds by marrying an amiable fool, Sam Evans, in the hope that a child will give meaning to the marriage. Nina is thus devastated when she learns a secret know only to Sam's mother- insanity runs in the family and could be inherited by any child of Sam's. At the mother's behest, Nina decides on a "scientific" solution; she will conceive a child with the physician Ned Darrell and let Sam believe he is the father. The plan backfires when the intimacy between Nina and Darrell results in their falling passionately in love. Twenty years later, only Nina and Darrell know the true parentage of young Gordon Evans, just reaching manhood. - The Revolt of Mother
E6The Revolt of MotherFather is going to build a new barn. Mother (Academy Award nominee Amy Madigan) wants the new house she's been promised. A simple story, yet one that reveals so much about love and respect and the often difficult times between those who strive and work to build a life together. Set against the beautiful rustic backdrop of farming life in 1890 New England, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman's poignant story brings us two hard-working people of the land. Sometimes the most difficult thing to see may be the needs of those who are closest to you. - The Big KnifeE16
The Big KnifeCharles Castle is a successful Hollywood actor who has opted for screen success over art. He must make critical decisions regarding his career, his marriage, his art & morality. In this screen adaptation of a Clifford Odets play, Castle is pressured by his studio boss and manipulated into a potentially murderous cover-up to protect his career. An indictment of the amoral world of 50's Hollywood and its corrosive effect upon the artist.
