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The Best Episodes of Playhouse 90 Season 1

Every episode of Playhouse 90 Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Playhouse 90 Season 1!

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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 from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 1 - Forbidden Area
    6.9/10(128 votes)

    #1 - Forbidden Area

    S1:E1

    Why are so many B-99 bombers from Hibiscus Air Base crashing or simply disappearing? Colonel Price comes up with a terrifying explanation, but will anyone believe him?

    Director:John Frankenheimer
    Writer:Pat Frank

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  2. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 2 - Requiem for a Heavyweight
    8.3/10(361 votes)

    #2 - Requiem for a Heavyweight

    S1:E2

    An over-the-hill heavyweight boxing champion who suffers from the ravages of years of head trauma is exploited by his manager, despite the efforts of a compassionate young woman who tries to help him recover his self-respect.

    Director:Ralph Nelson
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 3 - Sizeman and Son
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #3 - Sizeman and Son

    S1:E3

    The happy atmosphere in Mr. Sizeman's factory is disrupted by an argumentative newcomer - his son.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 4 - Rendezvous in Black
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #4 - Rendezvous in Black

    S1:E4

    A woman is inexplicably killed on a street-corner. What has this to do with other deaths around the city?

    Director:John Frankenheimer
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 5 - The Country Husband
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #5 - The Country Husband

    S1:E5

    After a near-death experience, a businessman starts to re-think his life, and wonders about leaving his wife.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 6 - The Big Slide
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #6 - The Big Slide

    S1:E6

    A vaudeville comic becomes a silent film star.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 7 - Heritage of Anger
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Heritage of Anger

    S1:E7

    A wealthy industrialist has trouble with his sons.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 8 - Eloise
    6.8/10(26 votes)

    #8 - Eloise

    S1:E8

    It's not so much that Eloise is a mischievous child, but the darnedest things do happen when she's around.

    Director:John Frankenheimer
    Writer:Leonard Spigelgass

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  9. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 9 - Confession
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Confession

    S1:E9

    When a much-admired community leader dies, a journalist starts to investigate his life - and finds he was not the man he seemed.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 10 - Made in Heaven
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Made in Heaven

    S1:E10

    When Zachary and Elsa separate, each seems tempted to start a new love affair.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 11 - Sincerely, Willis Wade
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Sincerely, Willis Wade

    S1:E11

    A wealthy mill owner finances the education of a clever, but poor, young man.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 12 - The Family Nobody Wanted
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - The Family Nobody Wanted

    S1:E12

    A true story, it follows a pastor and his wife through forties beginning with one biological child, Donny. But the upheaval of the war years results in a number of mixed raced children that the Doss family adopt until they have 12 children.

    Director:John Frankenheimer
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 13 - Massacre at Sand Creek
    6.4/10(41 votes)

    #13 - Massacre at Sand Creek

    S1:E13

    An investigation into a massacre of Native Americans.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 14 - Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses

    S1:E14

    Some racetrack Johnnies are talking between races when one wonders if you can hypnotize a horse into thinking it's a champion. The idea sets in motion a series of hilarious events.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 15 - The Ninth Day
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - The Ninth Day

    S1:E15

    Events in the aftermath of World War Three.

    Director:John Frankenheimer
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 16 - So Soon to Die
    6.8/10(17 votes)

    #16 - So Soon to Die

    S1:E16

    Down on his luck, war hero Lionel Amblin contemplates committing a murder.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 17 - The Star Wagon
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - The Star Wagon

    S1:E17

    An inventor, pondering on how he might differently have arranged his life, invents a time machine and decides to make a few changes.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 18 - The Greer Case
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - The Greer Case

    S1:E18

    When a rich woman dies without signing her new will, all kinds of problems ensue.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 19 - The Miracle Worker
    7.9/10(23 votes)

    #19 - The Miracle Worker

    S1:E19

    The story of Anne Sullivan's struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 20 - The Comedian
    7.8/10(302 votes)

    #20 - 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.

    Director:John Frankenheimer
    Writer:Rod Serling

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  21. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 21 - One Coat of White
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - One Coat of White

    S1:E21

    A newly-widowed woman goes on a trip to Europe and meets a French artist.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 22 - The Blackwell Story
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - The Blackwell Story

    S1:E22

    In the 19th century, Elizabeth Blackwell determines to become a doctor.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 23 - Invitation to a Gunfighter
    8.0/10(12 votes)

    #23 - Invitation to a Gunfighter

    S1:E23

    A gunfighter is terrorizing a small western town. The townspeople finally pool their money to a hire another gunfighter to drive him out of town. The townsfolk thought they had it bad until they handed the reigns over to the new terror. Pooling their money again, this time to hire Jeffers to get rid of Dancer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 24 - The Last Tycoon
    7.7/10(26 votes)

    #24 - The Last Tycoon

    S1:E24

    A movie producer is slowly working himself to death.

    Director:John Frankenheimer
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Playhouse 90 Season 1 Episode 25 - The Hostess with the Mostes'
    6.9/10(22 votes)

    #25 - The Hostess with the Mostes'

    S1:E25

    The story of Perle Mesta, who became, first, a renowned society hostess, and then an ambassadress.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Forbidden Area" is the best rated episode of "Playhouse 90" season 1. It scored 6.9/10 based on 128 votes. Directed by John Frankenheimer and written by Pat Frank, it aired on 10/4/1956. This episode is rated 1.4 points higher than the second-best, "Requiem for a Heavyweight".