PLAYHOUSE 90: TARGET FOR THREE {SEASON FOUR PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
One in this dramatic anthology series. In an unspecified South American country there is much civil unrest amongst the population due to the oppressive policies of the country's president, Carlos Montez. A protest movement in the square outside the capitol city's palace is met with gunfire from the police, killing over a dozen protestors, whose bodies are then hung from the lampposts for display. Martial law is officially declared. Amongst all this, one cell of a massive resistance movement meets in secret, led by a law clerk named Vincente Hidalgo. They plan to assassinate Montez before seizing control of the city. In order to accomplish this, Vincente prepares a long, complex scheme which will allow them to pick the correct moment to strike. He enlists the aid of two particular members of his cell: Tomas, a former gambler who plays guitar at a local café, and Juan de la Torre, an ex-priest and professor of philosophy at the local university who demonstrates a particular loathing for Montez. Vincente plans to open his own law office in the palace square, which he will secretly use as an observation post to see into Montez's palace. He asks another cell member, his friend Luis, to pray in the square for the dead protestors at a prearranged time as another part of his plan. Vincente opens his law office, whereupon it is immediately investigated by security officers who take away his keys. He goes out to the square and gives Luis the signal to start praying. Luis is seized upon for apparently making a political demonstration and taken away by the police. When the security officer questions Vincente about his connection with Luis, he acts dismissive of the matter and calls him an "idiot." This convinces the officer that Vincente is not a dissident, and he returns the keys to his law office. Five days later, Juan visits Vincente posing as a client, and Tomas comes over under similar pretenses. Vincente has learned much from his observations of the palace; he relates the daily routine of Montez and his soldiers, the particulars of which make it nearly impossible to attack him outside of the palace. Vincente also notes a suspicious street peddler whom he believes plans to attack Montez's limousine with a bomb in his cart. Concerned that innocent bystanders could be killed as a result, Vincente asks Juan and Tomas to help him stop the peddler, as the attempt would most likely fail and turn public opinion against the resistance movement. Later, Vincente meets Tomas at the café where he works and receives more information about the peddler. Tomas arranges to go out with Estrella, a flamenco dancer, but she mysteriously cancels her plans with him. Back at the office, Vincente notices the peddler attempting to set off his bomb and pushes it out of the way before it detonates. He awakens in the hospital being congratulated by Montez. In gratitude, Vincente is invited to an official reception in the palace. Tomas advises that Vincente bring a concealed handgun with which to assassinate Montez; Vincente is concerned that it will be discovered but hatches a plan to prevent this. Vincente is let in to the heavily-guarded palace and sets off the metal detector, the guards believe it is merely the cigarette holder which set it off and confiscate it before letting him enter, still carrying the gun. At the reception, Montez cheerfully introduces Vincente to his wife Ernestina, his daughter Consuelo, and several high-ranking members of his administration. Later on in the evening, Vincente walks in on Montez conversing with his staff about his foreign investments and downplaying the stories of the resistance movement; he is quickly ushered back in to the main party. He finds Consuelo playing piano for the guests and talks with her. She notes that she has not been allowed to leave the palace for years, and that she believes in her father's "great dream" for the country in building its infrastructure, and that those who protest against him are "agitators and troublemakers." However, she feels trapped in the palace and saddened that she sees few people her own age outside of the aristocracy. The evening comes to a halt when Mrs. Montez has an episode and must be escorted away from the party. Vincente returns from the reception and is met by Juan, who is confused as to why Vincente did not attempt to kill Montez then and there. Vincente explains that he had no opportunity to do so. Juan reports that the resistance is massing in the hills outside the city and is scheduled to march on the palace in one week. Thus, Montez must be assassinated by then. Juan begins to suspect that Vincente is falling for Consuelo and could betray their cause, although Vincente fiercely denies this. Three days later, Tomas's café is raided by the police and he and Juan barely elude their grasp. Juan voices his suspicions about Vincente's loyalty to Tomas. Tomas has news of his own: he has become suspicious of Estrella and followed her home only to find security agents patrolling her house. Based on earlier clues, they determine that Montez is carrying on an affair with Estrella. Meanwhile, Consuelo is showing Vincente around the palace. She shows him a poem her father wrote during the rebellion he led 31 years ago against the previous dictator. The verse seems to indicate that Montez was once idealistic and driven, not unlike Vincente. Montez enters and discusses how easily the people who praised him as a liberator turned into a mob once he assumed power, using the life of Simón Bolívar as an example to illustrate his point. He advises Vincente to "accept tragedy." Once he leaves, Vincente tries to tell Consuelo about the conditions of the oppressed peoples living outside of the palace, of which she has little knowledge. Meanwhile, Tomas decides to follow Estrella again and hides on the roof of her house. He sees Montez emerge from the front door and readies a handgun to assassinate him, but is garroted from behind by one of Montez's security officers. He is killed and his body is pushed off the roof, landing in front of a horrified Estrella as Montez drives away. The next day, Juan meets with Vincente and tells him the details of the previous night. Vincente asks Juan to accompany him on his next visit to the palace, but Juan no longer trusts Vincente. The resistance movement is preparing to march on the city within the next 24 hours. Vincente visits Estrella, still shaken from Tomas's death. She admits that she has been sleeping with Montez in order to pay for her house and possessions. They argue, and Estrella sees no difference between Montez and whoever replaces him, calling Vincente a murderer. Finally she screams at him to leave and he does after a brief struggle. Back at his office, Vincente returns Consuelo's call and agrees to meet with her, bringing along his handgun and a jeweled necklace in Tomas's cigarette holder. Juan prepares his strike force along with the others allied with the resistance, forming a massive crowd in the palace square held back by barricades and armed soldiers. Vincente enters the palace and purposefully sets off the metal detector with the necklace in the cigarette holder, claiming it is a present for Consuelo. He is allowed to pass and meets with Consuelo, confused and frightened by the resistance movement massing outside the palace. Juan begins leading his men in a chant calling for Montez's death. Montez's advisors pressure him into signing an order to use bombs against the resistance despite his objections. Montez asks Consuelo to get herself and her mother to the airport and asks Vincente to accompany them. Vincente nearly has an opportunity to shoot Montez but cannot due to the presence of a guard. Montez recounts the student rebellion he led 31 years ago, remarking that it is now he who is the dictator being overthrown and that even he is not fully in control of his country's power structure. Juan and the resistance move past the barricades and Montez's soldiers allow them to pass. They storm the palace and Vincente takes the opportunity to shoot Montez's guard and hold him at gunpoint. He says that Montez will stand trial for his atrocities. Juan and the resistance break in and set upon Montez as Vincente tries to stop the violence. Consuelo sees Juan's men drag Montez out of the office and realizes that Vincente was working against her father all along. Montez is executed and Juan immediately starts dictating military procedure, much to Vincente's horror. He notes that now that they have power they must use it wisely, fearing that all they have accomplished is the creation of another tyranny. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: October 1, 1959 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:17:00
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:43959
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1956-1960
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV – Commercials – Allstate insurance
- TV – Commercials – American Gas Association
- TV – Commercials – Camel cigarettes
- TV – Promos – "Playhouse 90"
- TV – Promos – "The Big Party"
- TV – Promos – "The Ed Sullivan Show"
CREDITS
- John Houseman … Producer
- Charles H. Schultz … Associate Producer
- Russell Stoneham … Associate Producer
- Robert Stevens … Director
- David Davidson … Writer
- Robert Drasnin … Music by
- James Whitmore … Host
- Ricardo Montalban … Cast, Vincente Hidalgo
- George C. Scott … Cast, Juan de la Torre
- Marisa Pavan … Cast, Consuelo Montez
- Liliane Montevecchi … Cast, Estrella
- Pedro Armendáriz … Cast, Carlos Montez
- H. M. Wynant … Cast, Tomas
- George Keymas … Cast, Security Agent
- Paul Lambert … Cast, Lorca
- Paul Comi … Cast, Martin
- Mike Pataki … Cast, Luis
- Edgar Barrier … Cast, Palace Officer
- Robert Carricart … Cast, Policeman
- Iphigenie Castiglioni … Cast, Mrs. Montez
- John Wengraf … Cast, DeJung
- Guy de Vestal … Cast, Rivera
- Clifford Botelho … Cast, Shoeshine Boy
- Ron Soble … Cast, Soldier
- Pepe Hern … Cast, Soldier
- Paul Clarke … Cast, Balloon Man
- Jorie Wyler … Cast, Secretary
- Miriam Colon … Cast, Carlotta
- William Bagdad … Cast, Lottery Man
- Salvador Baguez … Cast, Bartender
- Marc Snow … Cast, Doctor
- Than Wyenn … Cast, Client in Office
- Ronald Trujillo … Cast, Youth in Park
- Jorge Moreno … Cast, Policeman
- Daria Massey … Cast, Rosita
- Vivianne Cervantes … Cast, Receptionist
- Pilar Seurat … Cast, Girl in Park