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The Best Episodes of Playhouse 90

Every episode of Playhouse 90 ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Playhouse 90!

The Best Episodes of Playhouse 90

Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated...

Seasons4

  1. Background image for The Time of Your Life
    9.6/10(28 votes)

    #1 - The Time of Your Life

    S3:E3

    William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning play revolves around the denizens of a San Francisco bar in 1939. Lonely, lovelorn, weary or cynical, the characters drift in and out of the bar and each other's lives, giving voice to Saroyan's philosophies as they randomly comment about the impending world war, the beauty of art, and traditional notions of good and evil.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Old Man
    9.3/10(16 votes)

    #2 - Old Man

    S3:E8

    To fight a Mississippi flood in 1927, a prison farm releases some convicts.

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  3. Background image for The Rank and File
    9.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - The Rank and File

    S3:E34

    A powerful union leader is interrogated by a Senate committee. Testifying before a Senate, William Kilcoyne tells the story of his career. He began as a factory worker and his shrewdness and ambition carried him up through the ranks to his present position as head of a large union.

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  4. Background image for Portrait of a Murderer
    8.3/10(29 votes)

    #4 - Portrait of a Murderer

    S2:E25

    Based on a true story, Donald Bashor robs and bludgeons two women to their deaths. While committing the crimes he maintains a normal existence with his girlfriend Florry.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for A Town Has Turned to Dust
    8.3/10(69 votes)

    #5 - A Town Has Turned to Dust

    S2:E38

    A weakling sheriff is unable to prevent a lynching. Can he redeem himself by preventing a second one?

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  6. Background image for The Velvet Alley
    8.2/10(42 votes)

    #6 - The Velvet Alley

    S3:E16

    Ernie Pandish has tried to be a writer for years and has never made much money out of it. But now he seems likely to hit the big-time.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Playhouse 90

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  8. Background image for The Plot to Kill Stalin
    8.0/10(36 votes)

    #7 - The Plot to Kill Stalin

    S3:E1

    In late 1952, an aging and increasingly paranoid Stalin puts in motion a purge against his doctors, with anti-Semitic overtones. His lackeys, including Khrushchev, Molotov and Beria, fear it will spread to the Politburo, and plan to strike first.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Judgment at Nuremberg
    8.0/10(80 votes)

    #8 - Judgment at Nuremberg

    S3:E28

    In the later stages of the Nuremberg Trials, four German judges are accused of perverting the course of justice.

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    Writer:Abby Mann
  10. Background image for Days of Wine and Roses
    7.8/10(190 votes)

    #9 - Days of Wine and Roses

    S3:E2

    An alcoholic falls in love with and gets married to a young woman, whom he systematically addicts to booze so they can share his "passion" together.

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  11. Background image for Bomber's Moon
    7.7/10(33 votes)

    #10 - Bomber's Moon

    S2:E35

    A hard-hearted Colonel loses many men in his group's bombing missions over World War II Germany, but keeps on going and won't tolerate a young lieutenant losing his nerve under the strain, who refuses to continue.

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  12. Background image for The Great Gatsby
    7.7/10(10 votes)

    #11 - The Great Gatsby

    S2:E39

    A Midwesterner becomes fascinated with his wealthy neighbor, who obsesses over his lost love.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for No Time at All
    7.6/10(31 votes)

    #12 - No Time at All

    S2:E23

    An airliner flying nonstop at night from Miami to New York fails to check in, then disappears from radar. We see how its disappearance affects people on the ground. The Episode was directed by David Swift, who also collaborated with Charles Einstein with the screenplay. Charles Einstein is also credited with writing the story. Guests include William Lundigan, Betsy Palmer, Jane Greer, Buster Keaton, Chico Marx, Frank Wilcox & Charles Bronson. The Production Company was CBS Television Network and was distributed in the USA by CBS.

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  14. Background image for A Marriage of Strangers
    7.6/10(15 votes)

    #13 - A Marriage of Strangers

    S3:E32

    Marry in haste, repent at leisure? Well, maybe.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for The Dungeon
    7.4/10(12 votes)

    #14 - The Dungeon

    S2:E30

    No description available

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for The Nutcracker
    7.4/10(13 votes)

    #15 - The Nutcracker

    S3:E12

    This telecast of George Balanchine's famous production was broadcast only four years after it was premiered by the New York City Ballet. This was the only episode of the series televised in color.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Project Immortality
    7.4/10(17 votes)

    #16 - Project Immortality

    S3:E36

    Key defense scientist Doner has cancer. Schramm is assigned to code Doner's thinking into a computer. He gets to know him as a friend, a husband and father. The project is successful, but he now knows identity is not programmable.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for For Whom the Bell Tolls: Part 1
    7.3/10(21 votes)

    #17 - For Whom the Bell Tolls: Part 1

    S3:E23

    During the Spanish Civil War, an American allied with the Republicans finds romance during a desperate mission to blow up a strategically important bridge.

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  19. Background image for The Killers of Mussolini
    7.3/10(21 votes)

    #18 - The Killers of Mussolini

    S3:E35

    As the Salo Republic crumbles around him, Mussolini, along with his mistress and several of his ministers flee with retreating Nazi soldiers, but are caught at the town of Dongo by red partisans. All are brutally executed without trial.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for The Death of Manolete
    7.2/10(17 votes)

    #19 - The Death of Manolete

    S2:E1

    The last hours in the life of Spain's most celebrated matador.

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  21. Background image for For Whom the Bell Tolls: Part 2
    7.0/10(16 votes)

    #20 - For Whom the Bell Tolls: Part 2

    S3:E24

    The completion of the mission has tragic consequences.

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  22. Background image for The Cruel Day
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #21 - The Cruel Day

    S4:E11

    Synopsis 1: Violence and brutality greet a French Army captain when he arrives in Algeria to assume command of a remote outpost. He is appalled by the savage massacre of an Algerian family by the Rebels. When the French take a prisoner who knows the names of Rebel leaders, the captain is told that torture is the only way to make him talk. Then the captain meets the prisoner - a handsome, intelligent teenage boy. Synopsis 2: A French officer in the Algerian civil war faces a dilemma of conscience when it seems he must order the torture of a handsome, intelligent teenage boy in order to obtain information about the rebels who slaughtered an Algerian family.

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  23. Background image for Bitter Heritage
    6.8/10(10 votes)

    #22 - Bitter Heritage

    S2:E40

    The James boys, being framed for a bank heist, are saved by the banker's daughter.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for Free Weekend
    6.5/10(13 votes)

    #23 - Free Weekend

    S3:E10

    No description available

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for Heart of Darkness
    6.1/10(54 votes)

    #24 - Heart of Darkness

    S3:E7

    A trading company manager travels up an African river to find a missing outpost head and discovers the depth of evil in humanity's soul.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for The Comedian
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #25 - The Comedian

    S1:E20

    Sammy Hogarth, a vaudeville comedian who now has his own TV show, is a ruthless egomaniac who demands instant obedience from his staff and heaps abuse on those in lesser positions than his. His most vituperative behavior, however, is reserved for his weak-willed brother, Lester, whom Sammy has hired as his assistant but whom he really uses as his whipping boy.

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Time of Your Life" is the best rated episode of "Playhouse 90". It scored 9.6/10 based on 28 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/9/1958. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "Old Man".