INFORMATION & PUBS. // MAY 1 21960-""* | . | Mr, Pat Frank Tangerine Florida Dear Mr, Frank: I was especially interested to read your comments on Lawrence Laurent's review of the TV version of "Alas Babylon," Knowing how you feel about it, I thought you would be interested in the telegram to the producer, sent the following morning, and in his reply. ‘Man's will to survive which motivated the characters in your original story, is the bedrock upon which all Civil Defense reckoning must rest, ‘You have rendered a great service to the Nation's non- military defense efforts and I hope your book will continue to be circulated for many years, Sincerely, eee 64s sien ce | ay Leo A. Hoegh 824/H, Moore/fd/2201/5~4~60 cc: Gentral files (2)-~ Director (2) 7) AD, TEP, 118 Ae DAD, TEP, 113 ( ah Mr, Linden, 516 Winder y Mr, Heimlich, 105=1/2 Mr, Moore, 105~1/2 PA RF, 1115 B, C,Radio and Television Author Is Due Apology For TY’s ‘Alas, Babylon’ By BACK IN the days when Playhouse 90 (CBS. WTOP- TV) was a weekly series, it. was an. industry show: piece, a col- Ieetion of programs that gave honor to the entire indus: ty. Te also wove a large © amount of pleasure to the viewers i and pro. duced some bantent of the most mcmprabie pre grams in TV's brie? histary Last night, Mlashouse 90 Ww reduced tu a “special ‘or “sometime” status—‘ried to deal with a nuclear war. ‘This was a socalied “adapta: tion’ of Pat Frank's novel, “Alas, Babylon.” Frank is, entitled to an apology. at least, from the producers of the TV pl Franks novel is a well told, entertaining story about the successtul efforts of a Florida community to survive in a world wnat is no longer civilized. [t is an ennobling. story about the indomitability ‘of man. THE SWEEP of grandeur of Frank's novel was. re duced, on television, {0 an unhappy love story. It was able to prave only that bad- ly coneeived marriages not helped by hydro: olocausts. Who said thes were? Playhouse 90's version of Alas, Babslon” apparently pleased the Office of Civil and Defense Mubilizatinn, Unrloubtedly, this is worthe while; but as a dramatic production it was a com plete failure . Ac a student of the mass media of —eammunieation this reviewer is aware that earit medium speaks its own Tanauage: that the blessings of print are intimacy anda yy that ig, Not pos n commercial tole sion, ‘The language of the novel is not the language of the electron and the atom, Never before, however, Wwrence Laurent has a lack of dramatic ¢pn: tinuity been so sharply” il- lustrated as in last night's production. A hydrogen war was interrupted for a com mercial message. ‘One must suspect that a subject so terrible as the survival of a planet is not as well suited for the 21 ineh world as the question of which individual ean ex: tract from a holster and fire a revolver with the greatest. skill, BECAUSE adap‘or Davi SUift chore ip limit the ape of the story and be cause producer Peto Kurtner chose to limit man to his baser instinet, one hesitates to comment on the perform: anees, Don Murray did not demonstrate any great con- vietion, but, then. he was not given the Kind of lines that ‘would lead one to believe in a character. He performed as a hand some young man, eaught up ina disaster that was too great for him to compre- end. In this attitude. he was Joined by lovely Bar- bara Rush, who plaved the wife fren whom he had sevarated. The supporting cast was full of competent profes. sionss—Kim Hunter, Everett Sloane, Judith Evelyn and Rita Moreno--who siruzsled to make sense out of the whole business Dana Andrews wae used to narrate the story, althowsh he quickly disclaimed ererit by praclaimine that he hued been dead for a long time. The de siee of having acter nary sidered rather arin ade ago when it the motion picture. "Siinset Boulevard.” Ir was sod for ‘Aas, Babylon.” one must suspect, to pat the rule of movie actor Andrews, ‘Alas, Plashoitse 99. Als indeed.