A Sound of Different Drummers (Playhouse 90)

"**A Sound of Different Drummers**"
"A Sound of Different Drummers"
Playhouse 90 episode
	Diana Lynn and Sterling Hayden in "A Sound of Different Drummers"
Episode no.	Season 2; Episode 4
Directed by	John Frankenheimer
Written by	Robert Alan Aurthur
Original air date	October 3, 1957
Guest appearances
	Sterling Hayden as Gordon Miller; Diana Lynn as Susan Ward; John Ireland as Ben Hammond; David Opatoshu as Ellis;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Topaze"	Next →; "The Playroom"

"A Sound of Different Drummers" was an American television play broadcast live on October 3, 1957, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the fourth episode of the second season. John Frankenheimer directed, and Sterling Hayden starred.

Plot

A young security police officer in a future totalitarian state is assigned to suppress illegal intellectual activity, including executing book readers. He catches a librarian hiding a banned book and joins her in reading books.

Cast

Sterling Hayden as Gordon Miller, the young security police officer
Diana Lynn as Susan Ward, the idealist librarian
John Ireland as Ben Hammond, a satisfied conformist
David Opatoshu as Ellis, the chief trial judge and secret reader

Tony Randall hosted the broadcast.

Production

Martin Manulis was the producer and John Frankenheimer the director. The teleplay was written by Robert Alan Aurthur.

Reception

In The New York Times, Jack Gould called it "the boldest and most stimulating" play of the season, an "intellectually compelling narrative", and "a powerful drama protesting the disease of conformity." He also praised the futuristic settings and sensitive direction of John Frankenheimer.^[1]

References

^ Jack Gould (October 4, 1957). "TV: A Powerful Drama: 'Playhouse 90' Offers 'Sound of Different Drummers,' Anti-Conformity Protest The Real McCoys". The New York Times. p. 47.

[1] Jack Gould (October 4, 1957). "TV: A Powerful Drama: 'Playhouse 90' Offers 'Sound of Different Drummers,' Anti-Conformity Protest The Real McCoys". The New York Times. p. 47.

[1]

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