Mrs. Gilling and the Skyscraper

"Mrs. Gilling and the Skyscraper" is a 1957 American television play by Sumner Locke Elliott which was an episode of The Alcoa Hour. Helen Hayes won an Emmy for Best Actress.

"Mrs. Gilling and the Skyscraper"
The Alcoa Hour episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 18
Directed by	Daniel Petrie
Written by	Sumner Locke Elliott
Original air date	June 9, 1957 (1957-06-09)

Cast

• Kathleen Comegys as Mrs. Millie Roos
• Robert Goodier as Roger
• Helen Hayes as Mrs. Gilling
• Halliwell Hobbes as Doorman
• Wilfrid Hyde-White as Gordon
• House Jameson as Mr. Mooney
• Jack Klugman as George
• Leueen MacGrath as Pauline
• Joanna Roos as Francine
• Katherine Squire as Annie

Reception

Variety argued Hayes "proved abundantly how well she deserves the accolade of “First Lady” of the American stage. In... a slim.but well-thought-out script... she played the role of a stubborn old lady with force and conviction, bringing to the characterization a wholly believable flavor of a 'lost' generation."^[1]

The Boston Globe called it an "inconsequential drama" that Hayes made "absorbing".^[2]