The Silver Whistle (Playhouse 90)

"**The Silver Whistle**"
"The Silver Whistle"
Playhouse 90 episode
Episode no.	Season 4; Episode 7
Directed by	Franklin Schaffner
Written by	Robert McEnroe
Original air date	December 24, 1959
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Tunnel"	Next →; "A Dream of Treason"

"The Silver Whistle" was an American television play broadcast live on December 24, 1959, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the seventh episode of the fourth season of Playhouse 90 and the 124th episode overall.

Plot[edit]

The play concerns a charming vagabond who arrives at an old people's home and brings new life to the home's residents.

Production[edit]

Franklin Schaffner was the director, and Robert McEnroe wrote the teleplay based on his stage play, The Silver Whistle.

The cast included Eddie Albert as the charming vagabond, Arthur Hughes as an "old man with young ideas", Joseph Sweeney as a "more conservative companion", Doro Merande as a "prophet of doom", Margaret Hamilton as an "elderly tippler", Enid Markey as a "kittenish spinster", Henry Jones as a "philosophizing hobo", and additional performances by Bethel Leslie, Harry Townes, and Zamah Cunningham.^[1]

Reception[edit]

The production received a positive review from the New York Daily News which cited the story's "human qualities" and the "appealing performances of Albert, Jones, Leslie, and Merande.^[2] Percy Shain of The Boston Globe gave the production a poor review, citing "an incredible story line", "dubious dialogue", and a "distasteful" willingness to ridicule the "foibles" of the elderly.^[1]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ""Silver Whistle" Offensive, In Spots, on Playhouse 90". The Boston Globe. December 25, 1959 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "'The Silver Whistle'". Daily News. December 25, 1959. p. 46 – via Newspapers.com.

[BG-1] ""Silver Whistle" Offensive, In Spots, on Playhouse 90". The Boston Globe. December 25, 1959 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "'The Silver Whistle'". Daily News. December 25, 1959. p. 46 – via Newspapers.com.

[1]

[2]

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" "So Soon To Die" "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

The Silver Whistle (Playhouse 90)

Plot[edit]

Production[edit]

Reception[edit]

References[edit]

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