A Dream of Treason

"**A Dream of Treason**"
"A Dream of Treason"
Playhouse 90 episode
Episode no.	Season 4; Episode 8
Directed by	Robert Stevens
Written by	David Davidson
Featured music	Jerry Goldsmith
Original air date	January 21, 1960
Guest appearances
	Richard Basehart as Martin Lambert; Leora Dana as Eleanor Lambert; John Williams as Walter Ferguson; Susan Oliver as Valerie Ferguson; Alexander Scourby as Barragrave; John Hoyt as Andrews;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Silver Whistle"	Next →; "To the Sound of Trumpets"

A Dream of Treason was an American television play broadcast on January 21, 1960, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the eighth episode of the fourth season of Playhouse 90 and the 125th episode overall.

The story concerns a State Department officer, Martin Lambert, who is accused of betraying his county after he receives a secret order to leak confidential policy paper as part of a secret diplomatic maneuver. When the persons who gave the secret order are involved in a plane crash, Lambert finds himself on his own.

Robert Stevens was the director. David Davidson wrote the teleplay based on Maurice Edelman's novel of the same title.

The cast included Richard Basehart as Martin Lambert, Leora Dana as Eleanor Lambert, John Williams as Walter Ferguson, Susan Oliver as Valerie Ferguson, Alexander Scourby as Barragrave, and John Hoyt as Andrews.^[1]

Fred Danzig of the UPI praised the performances of Scourby and Basehart, but criticized the "theatrical aura around what should have been reality" and several "melodramatic, shadow-filled, slow-talking scenes."^[2]

A Dream of Treason was the last regularly-scheduled episode of Playhouse 90 in its regular Thursday evening time slot. Due to poor ratings, it aired thereafter only as a "special" in varying time period.^[2]^[3] The show's audience percentage had dropped to half of what it had been the previous year.^[3]

References

^ "Basehart To Head Cast On Playhouse". Longview Daily News. January 16, 1960. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Fred Danzig (January 22, 1960). "Melodramatic Scenes Give Bad Star To Playhouse 90 'Dream of Treason'". The Shreveport Journal (UPI story) – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "New Series Will Take '90' Period". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. January 4, 1960 – via Newspapers.com.

[1] "Basehart To Head Cast On Playhouse". Longview Daily News. January 16, 1960. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.

[Dan-2] Fred Danzig (January 22, 1960). "Melodramatic Scenes Give Bad Star To Playhouse 90 'Dream of Treason'". The Shreveport Journal (UPI story) – via Newspapers.com.

[SL-3] "New Series Will Take '90' Period". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. January 4, 1960 – via Newspapers.com.

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v t e 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" "The 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" "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