The Big Slide (Playhouse 90)

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"The Big Slide"

Playhouse 90 episode

Episode no.

Season 1
Episode 6

Directed by

Ralph Nelson

Written by

Edmund Beloin and Dean Riesner

Original air date

November 8, 1956

Episode chronology

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"The Country Husband"

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"Heritage of Anger"

"The Big Slide" was an American television play broadcast on November 8, 1956, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the sixth episode of the first season of Playhouse 90. Red Skelton and Shirley Jones starred in the play about a silent movie star. Skelton was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for best performance by an actor. Martin Manulis was the producer, and Ralph Nelson was the director.

Plot

A down-and-out vaudeville comedian, Buddy McCoy, becomes a successful silent movie star, but experiences tragedy in his personal life. May Marley is an alcoholic friend who Buddy tries to help.

Cast

Red Skelton as Buddy McCoy
Shirley Jones as May Marley
Murray Hamilton as Chick Tolliver
Eddie Firestone as Steve Madden
Jack Albertson as Al St. George
Jack Mulhall as Joe Ashley
Fay Spain as Crystal Vail
Victor Sutherland as L. K. Zimmer
Ralph Bellamy - host

Production

Martin Manulis was the producer, and Ralph Nelson directed. Edmund Beloin and Dean Riesner wrote the teleplay.^[1]

Skelton was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for best performance by an actor.^[2] The Emmy was awarded to Jack Palance for another Playhouse 90 production, Requiem for a Heavyweight.^[3]

Reception

Television writer Eve Starr called Skelton's performance "one of the most moving, powerful and completely believable dramatic performances I have seen in seven-odd years of watching television. Or any other medium, for that matter."^[4]

Another television critic, Mary Cremmen, wrote that even those who do not care for Skelton's comedy "could not deny his greatness as a dramatic actor in 'The Big Slide.'"^[5]

In The New York Times, J.P. Shanley wrote that "there was something uncomfortably familiar" in the production and "little in the way of an original story."^[6]

Critic Charles H. Sanders wrote that "the plot dragged, and even Skelton failed to liven matters up, though he emoted much better than expected."^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Charles H. Sanders (November 10, 1956). "Channel Chatter". The Rock Island Argus. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "The Big Slide (Playhouse 90)". Television Academy. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
^ Wesley Hyatt (2015). A Critical History of Television's The Red Skelton Show, 1951-1971. McFarland. p. 48. ISBN 9781476608754.
^ "Inside TV: Skelton Stars in TV Dramatic Role". The Statesman. November 16, 1956. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Mary Cremmen (November 9, 1956). "TV Notebook". The Boston Globe. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "TV Review: 'Big Slide' Is Offered on 'Playhouse 90'". The New York Times. November 9, 1956. p. 59.

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" "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

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