The Innocent Sleep (Playhouse 90)

"**The Innocent Sleep**"
"The Innocent Sleep"
Playhouse 90 episodes
	Hope Lange in "The Innocent Sleep"
Episode nos.	Season 2; Episodes 37
Directed by	Franklin Schaffner
Written by	Tad Mosel
Original air date	June 5, 1958
Running time	1:28:15
Guest appearances
	Hope Lange as Alex Winter; John Ericson as Leo West; Buster Keaton as Charles Blackburn;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Natchez"	Next →; "A Town Has Turned to Dust"

"The Innocent Sleep" is an American television play broadcast live on June 5, 1958, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. Tad Mosel wrote the teleplay, and Franklin Schaffner directed. Hope Lange, John Ericson, and Buster Keaton starred, and Raymond Burr was the host.

Plot[edit]

Alex Winter is the young bride of a wealthy elderly man, Clyde Winter. She marries the elderly man after the breakup of her relationship with Leo West who later returns to woo her. The man's longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Downey, is suspicious of Alex's motives. The play concerns "patterns of guilt among the characters."^[3]

Cast[edit]

The following performers received screen credit for their performances:^[2]

Hope Lange - Alex Winter
John Ericson - Leo West
Buster Keaton - Charles Blackburn
Hope Emerson - Mrs. Downey
Dennis King - Clyde Winter
Peg Hillias - Mrs. Mowle

Raymond Burr was the host and Dick Joyce the announcer.^[2]

Production[edit]

Martin Manulis was the producer, and Franklin Schaffner directed. Tad Mosel wrote the teleplay, a project he had been working on for three years.^[2] The production was broadcast on June 5, 1958.^[2]^[1] It was part of the second season of Playhouse 90, an anthology television series that was voted "the greatest television series of all time" in a 1970 poll of television editors.^[4]

The program's commercial sponsors were the American Gas Association, Ipana toothpaste, Allstate insurance, Camel cigarettes, and Kleenex.^[2]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Playhouse 90, Season 2". Classic TV Archive. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Playhouse 90: The Innocent Sleep". The Paley Center. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
^ Charles Witbeck (June 5, 1959). "Patience Is Needed To Write". Bergen Evening Record. p. 44 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Martin, Douglas (October 2, 2007). "Martin Manulis, TV Pioneer, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2009.

[CTVA-1] "Playhouse 90, Season 2". Classic TV Archive. Retrieved February 21, 2021.

[Paley-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Playhouse 90: The Innocent Sleep". The Paley Center. Retrieved February 21, 2021.

[Patience-3] Charles Witbeck (June 5, 1959). "Patience Is Needed To Write". Bergen Evening Record. p. 44 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] Martin, Douglas (October 2, 2007). "Martin Manulis, TV Pioneer, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2009.

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v t e Playhouse 90
People	John Frankenheimer Martin Manulis Franklin J. Schaffner Rod Serling
Season 1	"Forbidden Area" "Requiem for a Heavyweight" "Sizeman and Son" "Rendezvous in Black" "The Country Husband" "The Big Slide" "Heritage of Anger" "Eloise" "Confession" "Made in Heaven" "Sincerely, Willis Wade" "The Family Nobody Wanted" "Massacre at Sand Creek" "Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses" "The Ninth Day" "So Soon To Die" "The Star Wagon" "So Soon To Die" "The Greer Case" "The Miracle Worker" "The Comedian" "The Coat of White" "The Blackwell Story" "Invitation to a Gunfighter" "The Last Tycoon" "The Hostess with the Mostes'" "Charley's Aunt" "Clipper Ship" "If You Know Elizabeth" "Three Men on a Horse" "Four Women in Black" "Child of Trouble" "Homeward Borne" "Helen Morgan" "Winter Dreams" "Circle of the Day" "Without Incident" "Clash by Night" "Ain't No Time for Glory" "The Fabulous Irishman"
Season 2	"The Death of Manolete" "The Dark Side of the Earth" "Topaze" "A Sound of Different Drummers" "The Playroom" "Around the World in 90 Minutes" "The Mystery of Thirteen" "The Edge of Innocence" "The Clouded Image" "The Jet Propelled Couch" "The Troublemakers" "Panic Button" "Galvanized Yankee" "The Thundering Wave" "For I Have Loved Strangers" "The Lone Woman" "Reunion" "The Last Man" "The 80 Yard Run" "Before I Die" "The Gentleman From Seventh Avenue" "The Violent Heart" "No Time at All" "Point of No Return" "Portrait of a Murderer" "The Last Clear Chance" "The Male Animal" "The Right Hand Man" "Turn Left at Mount Everest" "The Dungeon" "Verdict of Three" "Rumors of Evening" "Not the Glory" "Nightmare at Ground Zero" "Bomber's Moon" "Natchez" "The Innocent Sleep" "A Town Has Turned to Dust" "The Great Gatsby" "A Bitter Heritage"
Season 3	"The Plot to Kill Stalin" "Days of Wine and Roses" "The Time of Your Life" "The Long March" "Shadows Tremble" "Word From a Sealed-Off Box" "Heart of Darkness" "Old Man" "The Return of Ansel Gibbs" "Free Weekend" "Seven Against the Wall" "The Nutcracker" "Face of a Hero" "The Wings of the Dove" "The Blue Men" "The Velvet Alley" "A Quiet Game of Cards" "Child of Our Time" "The Second Man" "The Raider" "The Dingaling Girl" "Made in Japan" "For Whom the Bell Tolls" "A Trip to Paradise" "In Lonely Expectation" "The Day Before Atlanta" "Judgment at Nuremberg" "A Corner of the Garden" "Dark December" "Diary of a Nurse" "A Marriage of Strangers" "Out of Dust" "The Rank and File" "The Killers of Mussolini" "Project Immortality" "Dark as the Night" "The Second Happiest Day"
Season 4	"Target for Three" "The Sounds of Eden" "Misalliance" "The Hidden Image" "The Grey Nurse Said Nothing" "The Tunnel" "The Silver Whistle" "A Dream of Treason" "To the Sound of Trumpets" "The Cruel Day" "Tomorrow" "The Hiding Place" "Alas, Babylon" "Journey to the Day" "The Shape of the River" "In the Presence of Mine Enemies"
Revivals	CBS Playhouse CBS Playhouse 90