Invitation to a Gunfighter (Playhouse 90)

"**Invitation to a Gunfighter**"
"Invitation to a Gunfighter"
Playhouse 90 episode
Directed by	Arthur Penn
Written by	Leslie Stevens
Story by	Hal Goodman; Harry Klein;
Original air date	March 7, 1957
Running time	1:30
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Blackwell Story"	Next →; "The Last Tycoon"

Last updated September 18, 2025

"Invitation to a Gunfighter" was an American television play broadcast in 1957 as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90 .^[1]

Plot

Townsfolk pool money to hire a gunfighter to get rid of another gunfighter who is terrorising their town.

Cast

Hugh O'Brian as Matt Jeffers
Anne Bancroft as Julie Bickford
Gilbert Roland as Dancer
Pat O'Brien as Sheriff Kyle Bickford
Ray Collins as Harris Clayton
Milton Parsons as Tuttle
Anne Barton as Mrs. Medford
Don Beddoe as McKeever
Paul Brinegar as Baxter

Production

It was the first time Penn worked with Anne Bancroft.^[2]

O'Brien recalled Penn as "terrific".^[3]

References

↑ Invitation to a Gunfighter at Paley Centre
↑ "Arthur Penn on directing "Invitation to a Gun Fighter" for "Playhouse 90"". You Tube.
↑ "Interview with Hugh O'Brien". Television Academy Interviews.

External links

Invitation to a Gunfighter at IMDB

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[1] Invitation to a Gunfighter at Paley Centre

[2] "Arthur Penn on directing "Invitation to a Gun Fighter" for "Playhouse 90"". You Tube.

[3] "Interview with Hugh O'Brien". Television Academy Interviews.

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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: Part 1" "For Whom the Bell Tolls: Part 2" "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" "John Brown's Raid" "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

v t e Films directed by Arthur Penn
Feature films	The Left Handed Gun (1958) The Miracle Worker (1962) Mickey One (1965) The Chase (1966) Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Alice's Restaurant (1969) Little Big Man (1970) Visions of Eight (1973) Night Moves (1975) The Missouri Breaks (1976) Four Friends (1981) Target (1985) Dead of Winter (1987) Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989)
Television	The Girl with the Stop Watch (1953) Friday the 13th (1954) The King and Mrs. Candle (1954) Buy Me Blue Ribbons (1954) The King and Mrs. Candle (1955) Invitation to a Gunfighter (1957) Portrait of a Murderer (1958) Flesh and Blood (1968) The Portrait (1993) Inside (1996)