The Shape of the River

"The Shape of the River"
Playhouse 90 episode
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 15
Directed by	Boris Sagal
Written by	Horton Foote
Original air date	May 2, 1960 (1960-05-02)
Guest appearances
Franchot Tone as Samuel Clemens Leif Erickson as William Dean Howells Katharine Bard as Livy Clemens Shirley Knight as Susy Clemens Jane McArthur as Jane Clemens

"The Shape of the River" is an American television play broadcast on May 2, 1960, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of Playhouse 90.

Plot

The play examines the life of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) from 1895, shortly before he departed on a European speaking tour, to 1905. During these years, Twain fell deeply into debt, and wife suffered a nervous breakdown and died. Daughter Susy became insane and died of spinal meningitis, and daughter Jane had a heart attack and drowned in a bathtub.

Cast

Franchot Tone as Samuel Clemens
Leif Erickson as William Dean Howells
Katharine Bard as Livy Clemens
Shirley Knight as Susy Clemens
Jane McArthur as Jane Clemens^[1]

Production

Fred Coe was the producer. Boris Sagal was the director, and Horton Foote wrote the teleplay. Foote had studied Twain's works since childhood and conducted extensive research before writing the screenplay.^[1]

Reception

Fred Danzig of the UPI praised the performances of Bard and Tone.^[2]

Cynthia Lowry of the Associated Press called it "a poignant and in some ways slow-moving play."^[3]

Critic Paul King praised Tone's performance as "masterful" and the best of his career, though he found other performances mediocre and the production "disturbingly erratic".^[4]

References

1 2 "Twain Portrait On Playhouse 90". The Honolulu Advertiser. May 15, 1960 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Television in Review". The Coshocton (OH) Tribune. May 3, 1960.
↑ "Cynthia Finds Two Specials Rewarding TV". Corsicana Daily Sun. May 3, 1960. p. 14.
↑ Paul King (May 3, 1960). "The Glass Eye". The Vancouver Sun.

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" "The Greer Case" "The Miracle Worker" "The Comedian" "One 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: Part 1" "For Whom the Bell Tolls: Part 2" "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