| "A Man Is Ten Feet Tall" | |
|---|---|
| Philco Television Playhouse episode | |
| Directed by | Robert Mulligan |
| Written by | Robert Alan Aurthur |
| Original air date | October 2, 1955 |
| Running time | 52 mins |
A Man is Ten Feet Tall is a 1955 American television play by Robert Alan Aurthur. It was adapted into the 1957 film Edge of the City . [1]
The play is considered a landmark in American television because it featured a friendship between a black man and a white man, as well as providing an early star role for Sidney Poitier. [2] Poitier wrote in his memoirs the role as a personal triumph for him, although he briefly forgot his lines during the broadcast. [3]
Variety wrote "That’s not to say that it lacked exciting elements. But over and above the script itself (and a part of it, of course, as far as intentions go) was what seemed an unprecedented item that may be looked upon years hence in tv as parallel to a major decision of a higher tribunal. It may well be Aurthur’s supreme contribution to television." [4]
Donald Bogle noted the play was a landmark in its depiction of black characters although it "now looks like a prototype for Hollywood's fake idealized method for handling such Black/white friendships." [5]