PLAYHOUSE 90: THE VELVET ALLEY (TV)
Summary
One in this dramatic anthology series.
Struggling writer Ernie Pandish works tirelessly to write television scripts, although he has yet to sell any, leaving him in dire financial straits. Frequent interruptions and his own self-doubt plague him, leaving him frustrated. He is visited by his agent and friend, Max Salter, who informs him that he sent in a script for a 90-minute television play Ernie wrote. Max remarks that the script is possessed of an unusual quality unlike Ernie’s previous work. Ernie’s father Steve returns from work just as Max is leaving; he is somewhat skeptical of the worth of their line of work but appreciates both of them anyway. Later, Max gets a telegram at his office informing him that Ernie’s script was purchased by a major television anthology show in Hollywood, leaving him overjoyed. He rushes back to Ernie’s apartment to give him the good news, also informing Steve and Ernie’s wife Pat. All of them are beside themselves with excitement over this news.
Ernie attends the airing of the show, watching from the control room. Everyone congratulates Ernie except for the producer, Eddie Kirkley, who has some reservations about the episode airing. Outwardly he accepts congratulations from the crew and the show’s executives, but he continues to stress. Eddie introduces Ernie to the executives, and Max eventually manages to make his way backstage and congratulate Ernie himself, although the throng surrounding Ernie makes it difficult. Ernie is shuffled out of the control room, leaving Max alone with Freddie Henderson, a major agent who muses out loud that he plans to convince Ernie to take him on as his new agent. Max takes offense to this and they share a tense parting.
Soon Max is flooded with offers for Ernie’s scripts, and the two of them celebrate together over the rave reviews for Ernie’s television play. Both of them are elated with their newfound success, and Max is touched when Ernie purchases a gold watch for him as a gift, complete with an inscription expressing his appreciation for him. Ernie reflects on the highly lucrative offers he has been sent, but Max tries to warn him not to get too caught up in his success, asking him to fly back to New York to lay low for a time. They are interrupted when Eddie invites Ernie out for a drink. Ernie meets Eddie at a fancy restaurant, finding that Eddie is already somewhat inebriated. Eddie tries to convince Ernie to stay in Hollywood and accept a three-show contract with his studio; he constantly insists that he has great respect for writers and that he would use his influence to fight on Ernie’s behalf. He inadvertently reveals that the studio head considers him a “lush” and becomes increasingly belligerent with Ernie, considering himself “over the hill” and “dried up” despite being younger than Ernie. As Eddie continues he reveals more about his own feelings of irrelevance and inability to continue in his work, until he finally gives a speech, partially to himself, about the corrupting influence of success and money, and how they can drastically change a person beyond recognition. Eddie takes his leave, stumbling out onto the street and passing Max on the way.
He enters as Ernie calls Pat back in New York; Ernie tells Max that he has decided to stay in Hollywood for the time being, and that he wants to move Pat out with him. He also wants Max with him, and says he feels sorry for Eddie and feels as though he “owes” him. Max is disappointed in Ernie’s apparent need to “grab” Eddie’s contract offer, pointing out that there is no particular impetus to make so much money quickly and advising him to take more time to think it over. However, Ernie enjoys the idea of making more money, hoping to use it to benefit himself and his family and friends. Max, unable to convince Ernie, sorrowfully leaves.
Ernie and Pat move into a home in Los Angeles, and after ten months his schedule becomes increasingly busy, constantly working on writing or revising his scripts. Pat puts up with this to a point, but becomes gradually more upset at his change in behavior, such as when he no longer responds to his favorite song, the overture of “Swan Lake,” as well as the increasing dominance of his work over his attention to her. Ernie and Pat attend a party at Eddie’s house, although Pat is visibly uncomfortable at the proceedings; Eddie keeps taking Ernie away to meet his colleagues, and when he brings Ernie over to have a drink Pat tries to stop him, accidentally ripping Ernie’s suit in the process. Pat excuses herself to use the powder room, and while there has a talk with Eddie’s wife Eileen. Pat reveals that she misses her life back in New York, despite it being comparatively less glamorous. Eileen cautions her that her feelings are shared by many of the wives of successful men in Hollywood, and that she has learned to live with her resentment without comment. She has adopted a grim outlook, believing that both of them are doomed to inevitably lose their husbands to their work.
Later Pat speaks with Ernie about the party; she is bored at hearing the same sort of conversation over and over again, and questions the purpose of attending such parties. Ernie believes that they owe it to their new friends, but Pat does not approve of them and the effect they are having on Ernie. She remarks that he no longer resembles the man she married, and that his success and fame have both altered his personality and left him unhappy. Ernie, for his part, is frustrated that Pat does not behave the way he thinks she should at the various parties they attend. Pat is hurt that Ernie is not taking her feelings into account and criticizes the vapid artificiality of the life he seems to have chosen. Ernie and Pat get a new house, and Max visits Ernie there during a meeting with his accountants about the prospect of forming a personal holding company for tax purposes. Ernie becomes frustrated at his backlog of unfinished work and yells at his accountants to leave him alone so he can write.
Max, Ernie, and Pat share a drink with each other, and Max finds that Ernie and Pat’s relationship is continuing to deteriorate. In private, Pat confides in Max that their new house has done nothing to fulfill her, and that she “cannot help” Ernie anymore. Ernie tells her that they should go to a dinner party hosted by Eddie, and she again expresses frustration at having to constantly hob-nob with influential producers. Max suggests to Ernie that he try to accommodate Pat’s desires more often, but Ernie does not listen. Instead he yells at Max for supposedly profiting off of his hard work, and asserts that he deserves the luxuries he has accrued for his efforts. Max pleads with Ernie to consider moving back to New York, believing that Pat will leave him if they remain in California any longer. Ernie refuses, and after some prodding from Max he retorts that he wants to maintain the “identity” he has created for himself, unwilling to be “forgotten.” Max chides him for abandoning his values so easily and leaves.
At the party, Ernie meets with Freddie and the other members of his agency, including Harvey Diedrich. They try to convince him that by signing with them he can eventually become “the best-paid screenwriter in Hollywood.” Ernie counters that he is already represented and has been successful so far, but they offer to put him in a position to multiply his income several times over. Ernie considers this and agrees to take their offer. In private, Freddie tells Harvey that they will be easily be able to sign Ernie, as he has no formal written contract with Max. Pat overhears this conversation and confronts Ernie about it, and she is horrified at Ernie’s actions. He admonishes her to “grow up” and not to have an outburst about it. The next day, Max visits Ernie at a rehearsal of one of his television plays. Ernie tells him he will speak to him after rehearsal, but Freddie enters asking about a business matter. Max demands to know what’s going on, interrupting the rehearsal. Ernie tells Max that he has signed with Freddie’s agency, and that their working agreement is “no longer mutually beneficial.” Max feels betrayed by Ernie’s callous attitude, upset that he seems to be treating his closest friends and loved ones as expendable. Max leaves, and Ernie leaves soon thereafter, visibly upset by the encounter.
Later, Ernie talks to Pat about what happened between him and Max, and he feels terrible about how it turned out. Ernie wonders aloud why events in his life are “converging” on him and remarks that he never could have imagined hurting Max the way he did. Pat cannot forgive Ernie and announces that she intends to leave him, disgusted at him for betraying his core values so thoroughly. He retorts that living in poverty as they once did is too “easy,” and says that their more opulent lifestyle takes true effort to maintain, and that he is “scared, sick, and desperate.” He says he needs her by his side in order to go on; Pat is touched by his outburst of sincerity but says that she cannot continue living alongside him in the manner that he wants. Before she leaves, Pat gives Ernie a letter informing him that he has been nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Television Play. Ernie goes on to win the Emmy and hosts a party at his house for Freddie and his various Hollywood colleagues. The festivities are interrupted when Ernie receives a telegram informing him that Max died from coronary thrombosis earlier that day. He throws all his guests out of his house and grieves in silence.
Ernie goes back to New York to visit his father, still living at the old apartment. Steve notes that Ernie has not written to him in a long time, and shows him a letter from Pat, who is staying with her sister in Chicago. He talks about his upcoming divorce with Pat and his busy schedule. Ernie invites Steve to come out and live with him in California, but Steve chastises Ernie for failing to attend to Pat’s needs and instead focusing on enriching himself monetarily. They talk about Max’s death and Steve remarks that Ernie no longer has any friends, and that he himself doesn’t care about Ernie anymore. To prove his point he strikes Ernie, expressing his deep anger and disappointment with him. Ernie retorts that his home in New York is “not good enough” for him and leaves. On his way out he breaks down crying and tries to tell Melvin, the boy living downstairs, about the benefits of being rich and famous, although his statements prove to be hollow. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: January 22, 1959 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:27:39
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:27391
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: TV - Drama
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1956-1960
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV – Commercials – American Gas Association appliances
- TV – Commercials – Delsey toilet paper
- TV – Commercials – Kleenex paper products
- TV – Promos – “Playhouse 90”
CREDITS
- Herbert Brodkin … Producer
- Herbert Hirschman … Associate Producer
- Russell Stoneham … Associate Producer
- Franklin Schaffner … Director
- Rod Serling … Writer
- Barry Sullivan … Host
- Dick Joyce … Announcer
- Art Carney … Cast, Ernie Pandish
- Leslie Nielsen … Cast, Eddie Kirkley
- Katharine Bard … Cast, Pat Pandish
- Jack Klugman … Cast, Max Salter
- Bonita Granville … Cast, Mrs. Kirkley
- George Voskovec … Cast, Steve Pandish
- Alexander Scourby … Cast, Harvey Diedrich
- David White … Cast, Freddie Henderson
- Mickey Braddock (See also: Micky Dolenz) … Cast, Melvin
- Eddie Ryder … Cast, Julius
- Martha Wentworth … Cast, Mrs. Cowznoski
- John Conwell … Cast, Kirkley's associate
- Diane Cannon … Cast, Gloria
- Burt Reynolds … Cast, the Actor