''Gideon'', a play by

Paddy Chayefsky Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays. He was ...

, is a seriocomic treatment of the story of

Gideon Gideon (; ) also named Jerubbaal and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Ab ...

, a judge in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

. The play had a successful

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

run in 1961 and was broadcast on

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in 1971 as a ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in ...

'' special.

The story

Chayefsky drew from three chapters in the

Book of Judges The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdo ...

in writing this play, which explores the relationship of an ordinary man to God. "The Angel of the Lord" appears before Gideon and drafts him to perform one of God's miracles. Gideon is to save his people from idolatry by winning an impossible battle in which 300 Israelites will defeat 120,000

Midian Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...

ites. In the second act, which a ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine review described as the weaker of the play's two acts, Gideon asks to be released from his "covenant of love" with God. Gideon ignores God's order to kill some idolatrous Hebrew tribal chiefs, one of whom has a daughter who performs a seductive dance. Gideon tells God, "You are too vast a concept for me." Gideon explains that his pity for fellow humans is above God's law. The Lord acknowledges that man wants to be "a proper god. You know, he might some day."

The cast

In the original Broadway version, Gideon was played by Douglas Campbell and

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...

played "The Angel of the Lord." In the television adaptation,

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

played Gideon and

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...

played "The Angel of the Lord." The ''Time'' reviewer described Campbell's portrayal of Gideon in the 1961 production as "a simple-minded oaf one minute and a Judaic

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the next." ''

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'' noted that Ustinov played Gideon as "a lumbering Hebrew" in the NBC adaptation.

Reception

''Gideon'' was a critical success. A highly positive review appeared in the ''

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'', where it was written that Chayefsky "has a knack for looking into the lives and personalities of common people and finding humor, pathos and even greatness." John J. O'Connor conversely stated, "Neither very deep nor especially sweeping, 'Gideon' is a modest achievement, but its very modesty can be charming."

Television adaptation

The 90-minute ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'' adaptation on NBC aired in the United States on Friday, March 26, 1971 at 8:30 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small ...

. It pre-empted '' Name of the Game''. Chayefsky's Broadway script was adapted for television by Robert Hartung. George Schaefer produced and directed the TV version.

Closed-circuit experiment

Four performances of the play were transmitted over telephone lines from the stage of the Plymouth Theatre to a screen in the Auditorium Theater in

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, in March 1962 to test

closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly tr ...

. The audience in Rochester watched the live performances in

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on a 20 x 15 foot screen.

Cast

* Gideon —

* Angel of the Lord —

* Joash —

Arnold Moss Arnold Moss (January 28, 1910 – December 15, 1989) was an American character actor. His son was songwriter Jeff Moss. Early years Born in Flatbush, Moss was a third-generation Brooklyn native. He attended Brooklyn's Boys High School. ...

* Shillem —

Eric Christmas Eric Cuthbert Christmas (19 March 1916 – 22 July 2000) was a British actor, with over 40 films and numerous television roles to his credit. He is probably best known for his role as Mr. Carter, the principal of Angel Beach High School, in th ...

* Orpah — Little Egypt * Hezekiah —

Booth Colman Booth Colman (March 8, 1923 – December 15, 2014) was an American film, television and stage actor. In his later years he played older authority figures, such as doctors and lawyers. Colman appeared in films since 1952, when he debuted (uncredi ...

* Abimelech — Harry Davis

References

Review. (1961, November 17). ''A Proper God''
''Time'' magazine (requires subscription) * (1971, March 20–26). ''TV Guide'', North Carolina edition, p. A-88 ;Notes {{Paddy Chayefsky Broadway plays 1961 plays 1970s American television specials Hallmark Hall of Fame episodes Plays by Paddy Chayefsky Plays based on the Bible Comedy plays 1971 in American television