Goodyear Playhouse (1951–1957)

I have only been able to see a few of this series' episodes. But each has been wonderful. The Lawn Party has Geraldine Fitzgerald as a snobby woman, India, who wants a beatiful party for her daughter, without realizing how it is making those who most love her suffer. Typically, Fitzgerald plays the part as written, a snobby woman who ultimately sees the harm she is doing. There is also the wonderful October Story with Julie Harris and Leslie Nielson; it is a charming comedy with both stars in great form. Best of all are the Eileen Heckart character dramas written by Tad Mosel. One of these, Other People's Houses, is about a still common family problem of how to deal with the fact that a parent is aging and has to go live in a retirement home. This also features a young Rod Steiger, who over-acts horribly. There is also My Lost Saints, about a woman who must choose between her selfish mother and the family she works for and thought of as "family" until events change. She has to see that her beloved employers and her mother are humans and not saints, having to mourn this loss along the way. Heckart is very touching in that one. Best of all of course is a Trip to Bountiful with lovely young Eva MArie Saint as the war bride and this time Heckart as a nasty daughter in law. But the star of the show is Lillian Gish, giving the performance of a lifetime in this beautiful Horton Foote drama. That is why these "tv shows" were so beautiful and great, they were character dramas written by great writers. Hopefully more will show up and today's audiences can enjoy these early dramas that are still so relevant today. As they say, only times change, not people and these dramas about people certainly prove that.