"Portrait of a Murderer" was an American television play broadcast on February 27, 1958, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. Leslie Stevens wrote the teleplay, as an adaptation of a story by Abby Mann. Arthur Penn directed, Martin Manulis produced, and Dominick Dunne was an assistant to the producer. Tab Hunter and Geraldine Page starred. Hunter received an Emmy nomination for his performance.[1]
Tab Hunter played the killer Donald Bashor.[2]
Plot
A respected man, Donald Bashor, commits a robbery and is suspected of two recent murders.
Cast
The following performers received screen credit for their performances:[1]
- Tab Hunter – Donald Bashor
- Geraldine Page – Florry
- Rudy Bond – Eddie
- Elizabeth Patterson – Mrs. Finch
- Frank London – Jackie
- Ned Glass – Charlie
- Barbara Turner – Sandra
- Sid Clute – Mr. Cooney
- Richard Bisutti – Bobby
- Donald Foster – Psychiatrist
- Joe Perry – Records Officer
- Almira Sessions – Murdered Woman
- Edwin Jerome – Judge
- Jules Maitland – Interviewer
- Joe A. Mayo – Policeman
- Glenn Turnbull – Policeman
- Bill Boyett – Policeman
- Gary Walberg – Policemen
Production
Leslie Stevens wrote the script with the assistance of a former cell mate of Bashor's; he also wrote while listening to interviews with Bashor and reading Bashor's letters.[3]
Director Arthur Penn called Bashor "a perfect case of split personality and he knew it. He talked of his 'bad self' and his 'good self'. He wanted to die, he wanted to kill his 'bad self'."[3]
The production used taped interviews with Bashor.
Penn reportedly said later when he read the script "I was wishing I hadn't signed as director. It was junk. The writer wasn't to blame. He couldn't really tell the story because of all the legal barriers."[4]
Reception
The Los Angeles Times thought "I'm not sure the play was quite up to its material" but felt noentheless it was "extremely interesting TV study and well worth your time."[5]
Variety said it "was made bearable by the superb acting of Tab Hunter."[6]
The AV Club says the director Arthur Penn "makes extensive use of Bashor's actual statements and a first-person camera to create a faux-documentary style that was decades ahead of its time. Penn marveled at the improvisatory aspect of Tab Hunter's performance as Bashor, citing an unplanned moment in which Hunter stops to pick up a basket of spilled laundry just after his character has committed murder. It was a textbook case of how the immediacy of live television was meant to work."[7]
Penn said "I think it’s one of Tab’s best performances. There was a kind of improvisatory aspect to it. You live ‘in the moment’... it liberated him from this rather rigid pretty boy thing."[8]
Ray Stark wanted to make a film version directed by Stevens with Hunter reprising his role, but it was never made.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Playhouse 90, Season 2". Classic TV Archive. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ Hayes Finishes New Play 'Midnight Sun'. Hopper, Hedda. Los Angeles Times 07 Feb 1958: A5.
- ^ a b 'THE TV SCENE---: Two Shows to Do Studies in Murder' Smith, Cecil Los Angeles Times 27 Feb 1958 p A10.
- ^ "Viewing TV with Hal Humphrey". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 10 March 1958. p. 16.
- ^ THE TV SCENE---: Tape Resurrects Playhouse Epic Smith, Cecil. Los Angeles Times 21 Aug 1958: A12
- ^ "Playhouse 90". Variety. 5 March 1958. p. 48.
- ^ Bowie, Stephen (March 17, 2014). "Playhouse 90 refined live TV—and then killed it". AVClub.
- ^ Segaloff, Nat (2011). Arthur Penn : American director. University Press of Kentucky. p. 54.
- ^ Glenn Ford Voted Exhibitor Favorite: Actor Heads List First Time; Liz Taylor, Bardot Among 10 Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 24 Dec 1958: A5.