Seven Against the Wall

11th episode of the 3rd series of Playhouse 90
"Seven Against the Wall"
Playhouse 90 episode
Episode no.Series 3
Episode 11
Directed byFranklin J. Schaffner
Written byDavid Davidson
Story byHoward Browne
Presented byEdward G. Robinson
Produced byJohn Houseman
Original air dateDecember 11, 1958 (1958-12-11)
Running time90 mins
Episode chronology
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"Seven Against the Wall" is an episode of the American anthology series Playhouse 90. It was about the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre.

Cast

Production

The show was based on a book by Howard Browne.[1]

Reception

The Los Angeles Times called it "a serviceable documentary" with "some extremely effecitve moments."[2]

The show was very popular and John Houseman claimed it helped revive the popularity of gangster films. "There hadn't been a real Al Capone gangster film for a long time and this brought them back again, both at the cinema and on television", he said.[3]

Howard Browne later wrote other film versions of the story, including The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) and Capone (1975).[4]

Lawsuit

Industrialist Titus Haffa sued the show's makers for $10 million for libel and defamation complaining the show showed a headline "Titus Haffa gets two years" associating him with crime.[5] Haffa later issued a second complaint.[6] A person called Abe Bernstein also sued claiming the show said "Abe Bernstein" was head of The Purple Gang.[7]

References

  1. ^ Wolters, L. (Aug 4, 1958). "WHERE TO DIAL TODAY". Chicago Daily Tribune. ProQuest 182093769.
  2. ^ Smith, C. (Dec 15, 1958). "THE TV SCENE". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 167373285.
  3. ^ "OBITUARY john houseman 'late starter' was 30 before artistic debut, then won an oscar". The Globe and Mail. Nov 1, 1988. ProQuest 385828917.
  4. ^ Norma, L. B. (Jun 25, 1967). "'Not just another tinseltown gangster film'". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 179212065.
  5. ^ "$10,000,000 SOUGHT IN A TV LIBEL SUIT". New York Times. Sep 25, 1959. ProQuest 114899036.
  6. ^ "HAFFA AGAIN SUES CBS FOR TEN MILLIONS". Chicago Daily Tribune. Dec 10, 1959. ProQuest 182431734.
  7. ^ "ASKS MILLION IN GANG SHOW USE OF NAME". Chicago Daily Tribune. Dec 5, 1959. ProQuest 182457400.

External links

  • "Seven Against the Wall" at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  • Seven Against the Wall at Paley Centre
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Films directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
Features
  • The Stripper (1963)
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