"Alas, Babylon" 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 April 3, 1960, as part of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

television series, ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...

''. It was the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of ''Playhouse 90''.

Plot

A nuclear war is triggered when a young Navy pilot accidentally blows up a port in a foreign country during a time of heightened tensions, and the Soviet Union fires its missiles. The missiles destroy the American Midwest and most of the eastern United States. The story follows residents of a small Florida town and how they react after learning of a massive nuclear attack that has killed 92% of the world's population.

Production

Peter Kortner was the producer. Robert Stevens was the director. David Shaw wrote the teleplay, based on the novel, ''

Alas, Babylon ''Alas, Babylon'' is a 1959 novel by American writer Pat Frank. It is an early example of post-nuclear apocalyptic fiction and has an entry in David Pringle's book '' Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels''. The novel deals with the effects of ...

'' by

Pat Frank Harry Hart "Pat" Frank (May5, 1907October12, 1964) was an American newspaperman, writer, and government consultant. Perhaps the "first of the post-Hiroshima doomsday authors", ''Time'' (obituary), 23 October 1964, p 108. his best known work is ...

. The cast included Don Murray as Randy Bragg,

Barbara Rush Barbara Rush (January 4, 1927 – March 31, 2024) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. In 1954, she won the Golden Globe Award for most promising female newcomer for her role in the 1953 American science-fiction film ''It ...

as Liz,

Kim Hunter Kim Hunter (born Janet Cole; November 12, 1922 – September 11, 2002) was an American theatre, film, and television actress. She achieved prominence for portraying Stella Kowalski in the original production of Tennessee Williams' ''A Streetcar ...

as Helen Bragg,

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir and later in Western films. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigio ...

as Mark Bragg,

Everett Sloane Everett H. Sloane (October 1, 1909 – August 6, 1965) was an American character actor who worked in radio, theatre, films, and television. Early life Sloane was born in Manhattan on October 1, 1909, to Nathaniel I. Sloane and Rose (Gerst ...

as Dr. Gunn,

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from t ...

as Rita Herndon, and

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...

as Ace. A copy of ''Alas, Babylon'' is preserved at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

. It was transferred from the original 2-inch master tape at the CBS Media Exchange and was shown on March 28, 2015 as part of the 17th Annual Festival of Preservation.

Reception

In ''The New York Times'', John P. Shanley praised the "dramatic efficiency" and "technically excellent presentation," but questioned the judgment of presenting the "unwarranted horror" of a Soviet nuclear attack, all depicted "in chilling detail." John Crosby of the ''New York Herald Tribune'' called it "an excellent production" with " splendid cast." TV critic Charlie Wadsworth called it "a very shattering and forceful presentation".

References

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