Paradise Lost (TV film)
Encyclopedia
Paradise Lost is a drama that takes place in 1932, during the Depression
. It was written in 1935 by Clifford Odets
and originally performed on stage by the Group Theatre in New York City in 1935, directed by Harold Clurman
. A video tape production was first broadcast on American Public Television in two parts, on February 25 and March 4, 1971. The editor was Frank Herold and the play was recorded at Teletape Studios, NYC. Herold received an emmy nomination for the video editing.
Odets said of "Paradise Lost" that he'd hoped that after people see it, "they're going to be glad they're alive." (The Washington Post, Tricia Olszewski, November 25, 2004, p. C01)
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. It was written in 1935 by Clifford Odets
Clifford Odets
Clifford Odets was an American playwright, screenwriter, socialist, and social protester.-Early life:Odets was born in Philadelphia to Romanian- and Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Louis Odets and Esther Geisinger, and raised in Philadelphia and the Bronx, New York. He dropped out of high...
and originally performed on stage by the Group Theatre in New York City in 1935, directed by Harold Clurman
Harold Clurman
Harold Edgar Clurman was a visionary American theatre director and drama critic, "one of the most influential in the United States". He was most notable as one of the three founders of the New York City's Group Theatre...
. A video tape production was first broadcast on American Public Television in two parts, on February 25 and March 4, 1971. The editor was Frank Herold and the play was recorded at Teletape Studios, NYC. Herold received an emmy nomination for the video editing.
Plot summary
The play takes place in an unnamed American city during the Depression, in 1932. The head of the family, Leo, and his wife Clara are middle-class and prosperous. However, over the course of the play Leo and his partner Sam lose their handbag business and the family must come to terms with this. The other characters in the play include a friend, Gus, and his daughter, Libby, a frivolous and self-centered young woman who is newly married to Leo's son Ben; a boarder, and an assortment of other characters.Odets said of "Paradise Lost" that he'd hoped that after people see it, "they're going to be glad they're alive." (The Washington Post, Tricia Olszewski, November 25, 2004, p. C01)
Cast (Broadway)
- Clara Gordon -- Stella AdlerStella AdlerStella Adler was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and the The Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles with long-time protege Joanne Linville, who continues to teach and furthers Adler's legacy...
- Leo Gordon -- Morris CarnovskyMorris CarnovskyMorris Carnovsky was an American stage and film actor born in St. Louis, Missouri. He worked briefly in the Yiddish theatre before attending Washington University in St. Louis...
- Ben Gordon -- Walter CoyWalter CoyWalter Darwin Coy was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, originally from Great Falls, Montana. He was best known for narrating the NBC western anthology series, Frontier, which aired early Sunday evenings in the 1955-1956 season.-Career:Coy performed on Broadway...
- Libby Michaels -- Blanche Gladstone
- Gus Michaels -- Roman BohnenRoman BohnenRoman Bohnen was a stage and film actor.Born Roman Aloys Bohnen in St. Paul, Minnesota, Bohnen attended the University of Minnesota, where he was a cheerleader. He cheered so vigorously that it changed his voice for the rest of his life. After graduating in 1923 with a B.A., Roman served his...
- Kewpie -- Elia KazanElia KazanElia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
- Mr. Pike -- Grover Burgess
- Sam Katz -- Luther AdlerLuther AdlerLuther Adler was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway.-Life and career:...
- Phil Foley -- Lewis Leverett
- Julie -- Sanford MeisnerSanford MeisnerSanford Meisner , also known as Sandy, was an American actor and acting teacher who developed a form of Method acting that is now known as the Meisner technique....
- Mr. May -- Robert Lewis
Cast (television film)
- Clara Gordon -- Jo Van FleetJo Van FleetJo Van Fleet was an American theatre and film actress.-Career:Van Fleet established herself as a notable dramatic actress on Broadway over several years, winning a Tony Award in 1954 for her skill in a difficult role, playing an unsympathetic, even abusive character, in Horton Foote's The Trip to...
- Leo Gordon -- Eli WallachEli WallachEli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
- Ben Gordon -- Sam GroomSam GroomSam Groom is an actor most noted for his numerous roles on television. He portrayed the title role in the Canadian television series Dr. Simon Locke . Prior to that, he had played Dr. Russ Matthews in the daytime soap Another World...
- Libby Michaels -- Bernadette PetersBernadette PetersBernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
- Gus Michaels -- George Voskovec
- Kewpie -- Cliff GormanCliff GormanCliff Gorman was an American stage and screen actor. He won an Obie award in 1968 for the stage presentation of The Boys in the Band, and went on to reprise his role in the 1970 film version....
- Mr. Pike -- Fred GwynneFred GwynneFrederick Hubbard "Fred" Gwynne was an American actor. Gwynne was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later roles: Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny...
- Sam Katz -- Mike KellinMike Kellin-Early life:Kellin was born Myron Kellin in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Sophia and Samuel Kellin, Russian Jewish immigrants. He was educated at Boston University and Trinity College...
- Phil Foley -- Biff McGuireBiff McGuireWilliam "Biff" McGuire is an American actor. In recent years he has used the name William Biff McGuire professionally....