''Forbidden Area'' is a 1956
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
thriller novel
Thriller is a genre of fiction, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. S ...
by
Pat Frank
Harry Hart "Pat" Frank (May 5, 1908 – October 12, 1964) was an American writer, newspaperman, and government consultant. Frank's best known work is the 1959 ''Alas, Babylon'', and '' Forbidden Area''.
Biography
Frank was born in Chicago ...
. Its plot involves Soviet
sleeper agent
A sleeper agent, also called sleeper cell, is a spy who is placed in a target country or organization not to undertake an immediate mission but to act as a potential asset if activated. Even if unactivated, the "sleeper agent" is still an asset ...
s intended to sabotage the U.S. war effort, who have been trained by
classical conditioning
Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a triangle). It also refers to the lear ...
to have an American "
cover identity
A covert operation is a military operation intended to conceal the identity of (or allow plausible deniability by) the party that instigated the operation. Covert operations should not be confused with clandestine operations, which are performe ...
" that they can remember as well as their own.
Frank was asked to write a book about a Russian invasion. He said he was inspired by
German troops landing in Florida in World War Two.
It was published in a magazine in serialized form as ''Seven Days to Never''.
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said it "isn't exciting at all".
TV rights were bought by
Martin Manulis
Martin Ellyot Manulis (May 30, 1915 – September 28, 2007) was an American television, film, and theatre producer. Manulis was best known for his work in the 1950s producing the CBS Television programs ''Suspense'', '' Studio One Summer Theatre' ...
.
1956 TV adaptation
In October 1956, CBS broadcast an adaptation of the novel as the first episode of its ''
Playhouse 90
''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of th ...
'' series.
Other proposed versions
CBS had an option to purchase the film rights.
In 1963, it was announced
Irving Asher
Irving Asher (September 1903 – March 1985) was an American film producer. Born in San Francisco in September 1903, he began his film production career in Hollywood in 1919. After joining the staff of Warner Brothers he was sent over to England a ...
and
Ely Landau would turn the novel into a film.
["Shooting at 20th Starts on Schedule: 'Take Her, She's Mine' Rolls; Axelrod to Walk 'Starpath'" by Scheuer, Philip K. ''Los Angeles Times'' 24 April 1963:] The film version was not produced.
See also
*
''Telefon'' (film)
References
External links
*
1956 TV adaptationat BFI
1956 TV adaptationat
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
Review of 1956 TV adaptationat ''The New York Times''
1956 American novels
Novels set during the Cold War
J. B. Lippincott & Co. books
American novels adapted into television shows
Novels by Pat Frank
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