"Tomorrow" was an American

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

broadcast on March 7, 1960, as part of the CBS television series, ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology series, anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology dr ...

''. It was the 11th episode of the fourth season of ''Playhouse 90''.

Plot

An awkward millhand, Jackson Fentry falls in love with a pregnant woman, Sarah Eubanks, and marries her. She dies in childbirth, and Jackson cares for her son after she dies.

Production

Herbert Brodkin Herbert Brodkin (November 9, 1912 – October 29, 1990) was an American producer and director of film and television. Brodkin was best known as the producer of the television shows '' Playhouse 90'', '' The Defenders'', the miniseries ''Holo ...

was the producer. Robert Mulligan was the director. Horton Foote adapted a

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

short story into the teleplay. Foote's teleplay was remade into the 1972 film, '' Tomorrow'', starring Robert Duvall as Fentry. The cast included Richard Boone as Jackson Fentry,

Kim Stanley Kim Stanley (born Patricia Kimberley Reid; February 11, 1925 – August 20, 2001) was an American actress, primarily in television and theatre, but with occasional film performances. She began her acting career in theatre, and subsequently at ...

as Sarah Eubanks,

Chill Wills Theodore Childress "Chill" Wills (July 18, 1902 – December 15, 1978) was an American actor and a singer in the Avalon Boys quartet. Early life Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas, on July 18, 1902. Career He was a performer from early chi ...

as Mr. Pruitt,

Beulah Bondi Beulah Bondi (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1889 – January 11, 1981)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At ...

as Mrs. Hulie (a midwife), Charles Bickford as Pa Fentry,

Arthur Hunnicutt Arthur Lee Hunnicutt (February 17, 1910 – September 26, 1979) was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, and old rural characters. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ...

as a circuit-riding preacher, and Elizabeth Patterson as Mrs. Pruitt.

Reception

In ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', John P. Shanley wrote that the production was written in "the plain talk of untutored, uncomplicated persons" and was executed with "warm, genuine and poignant" performances by Stanley and Boone. Dwight Newton of ''The

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' wrote that the production "brilliantly and effectively essayed" Faulkner's story. Newton also reacted angrily to a statement by a CBS executive that he saw only "a slim possibility" that the series would continue much longer. Critic Charlie Wadsworth called it "a powerful, expanded adaption" of Faulkner's story. He praised the "superb" supporting cast, including Bondi, Patterson, and Wills, as one of the strongest in ''Playhouse 90'' history.

References

{{Playhouse 90 1960 American television episodes Playhouse 90 season 4 episodes 1960 television plays