Don't they use that to embalm bodies?

October 4, 2010 1:28 PM

I am haunted by a recollection of televised play that I believe I saw on Showtime sometime during the early to mid 1980s. One of the lines involves something to do with formaldehyde and no matter how hard I Google, I can't turn anything reliable up.

I seem to recall that the play starred Ned Beatty and was one of those very theatrical efforts that Showtime aired during the period. I remember it being shot on videotape on a closed set with no studio audience. If I remember correctly, Showtime did quite a bit of that back then, airing Pygmalion and Master Harold and the Boys.

I remember Ned Beatty talking about getting formaldehyde on his hands and never being able to get the smell off.

This quote has driven me crazy for years and I finally decided to submit it to the hive mind. Can anyone help me?

posted by BrianJ to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Total long shot here, but it looks like in 1977 they did a TV version of Our Town that still had the hint of sets, and he played Dr. Gibbs. Could that have been it?
posted by Madamina at 2:48 PM on October 4, 2010

Best answer: I'm thinking it was All the Way Home, which was a staged version of James Agee's A Death in the Family. You can see the script on Google Books, and I think the line you want is on page 20.
posted by bibliowench at 8:50 PM on October 4, 2010

Response by poster: bibliowench, you truly have my unending gratitude! That's it, that's it exactly! I can see him standing there, saying that line.

What a relief! I can finally stop thinking that I'd just dreamed it up. LOL!

If you're ever in my neck of the woods, you've got a free meal coming your way.
posted by BrianJ at 9:58 PM on October 4, 2010