Forbidden Area

I never thought I would see the day when I saw a performance by Tab Hunter to be superior to a performance by Charlton Heston, but this inaugural episode of Playhouse 90 has that precise result. Charles Bickford adds his considerable talents to the end result as well. Heston reminded me of George C Scott in Dr. Strangelove and the plots are very similar except for the sleepers and coffee. Tab Hunter plays a Russian sleeper, and quite effectively. Bu several of the events and plot progressions in the episode were highly unlikely, and some were downright silly. Despite these drawbacks, the episode is worth viewing for Hunter's performance alone.

"Playhouse 90" is one of the best TV shows ever to air. Think about it. Each week, a 90 minute live teleplay was broadcast. And, in most cases, it featured the best writers and directors of the day as well as many very famous actors. In fact, the quality of these productions often was better than the stuff coming out of Hollywood in the day. In the case of "Forbidden Area", you have the very first episode of the series and it features John Frankenheimer (who turned out to be perhaps the greatest American director of the 1960s), the teleplay adapted by Rod Serling AND a strong cast of top actors---Charlton Heston, Tab Hunter, Diana Lynn, Vincent Price, Victor Jory and Charles Bickford!! Talk about a great beginning!!

It IS interesting that John Frankenheimer directs this show. After all, his amazing film "The Manchurian Candidate" (the original, not the unnecessary remake) is a brilliant film about folks being indoctrinated to look and act like 'normal' folks but which are in fact deep moles for the Communists who are infiltrating our system. In this case, bombers are disappearing and early on the audience sees that the Russians have created a perfect mole (Hunter)--a guy who seems 100% American but who is covertly working to destroy America. It's also a good look at the psyche of America at the time--and clearly reflects the Cold War thinking and worries. It might seem awfully paranoid today...at the time, it was a reasonable concern.

What you'll see is a very gritty and exciting drama--one that keeps everyone guessing not only WHO is destroying these planes BUT how! All in all, a very good show--but one which might bother a few due to its paranoid message which is not fashionable any more. Excellent acting, taut direction and a nice script.

The Great Director John Frankenheimer Began His Career on High-Quality TV Productions Like the Broadcast Live "Playhouse 90" Referring to the 1Hr30Min Time-Slot (minus commercials 78 min.).

The Task of Pulling it Off Live was Rife for Flubs, Bloopers, and Flaws.

But this Program Featuring an All-Star-Cast...Charlton Heston, Vincent Price, Tab Hunter, Diana Lynn, Victor Jory, Charles Bickford, and Jackie Coogan...

All are Pitch-Perfect and Deliver a Stunning, Suspenseful, and Time-Stamped "Cold-War" Paranoid Picture.

Written by Multiple Emmy-Award Winning and "Twilight Zone" Creator Rod Serling. Pounding Out Another Gem from His Never-Tiring Wheel-House.

Among its Obvious Virtues as an Entertaining, Crackling, Pop-Culture Presentation, it is Proof-Positive that the "Idiot-Box-Boob-Tube" was Capable with the Right-Stuff.

Foreshadowing by Years..."Dr. Strangelove" (1964)..."Seven Days in May"(1964)..."Fail-Safe" (1964) etc...in the Sub-Genre of the Political Thriller Like that of "James Bond" (1962), Frankenheimer, and Others would Nurture Throughout the 60's and 70's.

This is a Must-See Historically and Dramatically Showcasing its Era and Must Have Blown-Away Those Eating TV-Dinners in Front of the Flickering Furniture, Watching this 1st Gen. Show.

A Big-Surprise Here, along-side Things Stated Above, is the Performance from a Very Young and Beginner, Tab Hunter Mixing with All Those Heavy-Weights. Holding His Own and Then Some Playing Against-Type as a Russian-Spy.

Overall, the Early Days of TV just Doesn't Get Any Better, and All Done Live to Boot.

This is a superb drama that offers a typical "What If" scenario of the Cold War era; with this in mind, it can be somewhat heavy-going and decidedly paranoid – but the intelligent script (by Rod Serling), taut direction and all-round fine performances by a star-studded cast make this a gem, as well as a sure-fire example of the quality (often eclipsing the cinema work of many of those involved!) of TV productions during the medium's Golden Age.

The narrative revolves around the decision-making or, rather, theoretical suppositions emanating from a special branch within the U.S. Joint Chiefs Of Staff offices, bringing together experts from various Departments involved in the nation's security. They are led by a typically supercilious Vincent Price and, apart from Secretary Diana Lynn, include among its members Victor Jory and, the youngest, one-eyed former pilot Charlton Heston; the latter is really in his element here (his customary larger-than-life figure, especially with the added facial make-up, complementing the 'big theme' being treated) and I would venture to say that it is one of the best – albeit unsung – roles he ever had!

Anyway, here we have a number of futuristic planes mysteriously crashing, so that the rest are grounded to be inspected; earlier models are intended to replace them for the duration but require maintenance to be fully operational and, therefore, the U.S. suddenly finds itself without an Air Force – which would make the current time ideal for enemy invasion! And that is just what Heston envisions, especially since Christmastime is approaching and no-one will be expecting it!; of course, while he manages to persuade most of his colleagues, he cannot get past Price (incidentally, the two would clash again that same year on the big screen in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS). Our hero then finds solace in Lynn's arms (after he had initially been apprehensive of her role), also because her own kid brother had been one of the 'sabotage' victims.

The film actually opens with Tab Hunter and another man sipping drinks and being grilled by a barman about American baseball stars of a previous generation. An apparently everyday occurrence, the scene then takes a sudden detour into fantasy as, while Hunter does well in the test and is asked to go 'higher up', his companion does not and takes it very badly! It transpires that Hunter is a Communist indoctrinated in American culture so as to convincingly take his place at a military base and carry out the enemy's nefarious and insidious plan! Incidentally, the notion of booby-trapped coffee-flasks (Hunter assumes the job of kitchen aide, with the blabbering cook being played by Jackie Coogan!) comes off as rather amusing but one would certainly never have thought of it…and, in fact, the revelation occurs through a veritable fluke!; when Hunter is ultimately exposed, Heston has to detain his men from tearing him apart. Another notable character is that of Charles Bickford, Heston's ex-Commandant, to whom he turns for support in presenting his 'wild' theory to the Washington big-wigs (their relationship actually anticipates that in William Wyler's epic Western THE BIG COUNTRY {1958}); eventually, since he is directly responsible for the planes, Bickford takes to the air himself to discern what he thinks is the mechanical flaw that is destroying his crafts – little does he know that it is upon craving coffee that his doom is spelled!

While it may not retain the immediacy it must have had at the time, the film makes for a gripping 77 minutes: being the inaugurating "Playhouse 90" episode (introduced by Jack Palance!) and the first of Frankenheimer's TV efforts that I have watched, I can see how he honed his artistry on them and would expand on some of their topics in his cinematic oeuvre (in fact, he would re-unite with Serling on the similarly fanta-political SEVEN DAYS IN MAY {1964}). Incidentally, this predates the three most famous Cold War movies – DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1963), FAIL-SAFE (1964) and THE BEDFORD INCIDENT (1965) – by almost a decade (though the ending eschews the nihilism of later efforts for an optimistic/pacifist outlook), while reminding me of another impressive and star-studded 'Depressing Yuletide' show i.e. Joseph L. Mankiewicz' CAROL FOR ANOTHER Christmas (1964; also scripted by Serling and which I watched during that festive season last year).

With the cast list this Playhouse 90 presentation gives us and the fact it was directed by John Frankenheimer and adapted by Rod Serling it is definitely worth a look. The story involves a secret plot by the Russians to sneak attack us on Christmas Eve in the near future from 1956 when this teleplay was broadcast.

Some B99 long range bombers, pride of the Strategic Air Command are being lost at sea. At the center of it is Tab Hunter who is a planted Russian agent at a Florida Air Force base who is doing sabotage. Won't tell you how he's doing it, but it's really frighteningly simple.

Charlton Heston is a grounded air ace who figures it all out in time to literally save the world. Some of the others in the cast are Diana Lynn, Victor Jory, Vincent Price, Charles Bickford and Jackie Coogan as a cook on the Air base who nearly catches on to Hunter and pays with his life.

These paranoid times are behind us and the Russians have gotten far better in their sabotage as two years ago plainly showed. This one is worth a look for a bit of stargazing, but really little else.