'The Golden Age of Television'

By Jay Bobbin, Zap2It | April 25, 2010

(Criterion)

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Several of the most classic plays staged live on the home screen in the 1950s – most of which became feature films later – are compiled in this Criterion Collection set.

Rod Steiger stars as a butcher looking for love in "Marty"; Andy Griffith plays a boisterous military recruit in "No Time for Sergeants"; Jack Palance portrays a boxer bracing for post-fight life in "Requiem for a Heavyweight"; Paul Newman is a baseball player helping an ill teammate in "Bang the Drum Slowly"; and Cliff Robertson and Piper Laurie are cast as an alcoholic couple in "Days of Wine and Roses." Also included is the Rod Serling-written corporate power struggle drama "Patterns." DVD extras: audio commentaries by, and interviews with, cast and crew members; booklet. **** (Not rated: AS)

Buy 'The Golden Age of Television' on DVD.