YOO-HOO, MRS. GOLDBERG

YOO-HOO, MRS. GOLDBERG (2009). Written, produced, and directed by Aviva Kempner.

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg is primarily a biography of Gertrude Berg, who played the much-beloved character of Molly Goldberg on the long-running radio/TV series The Goldbergs. (Her neighbor would yell out of her window, "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg.") But it is also an evocation of a particular time in history, and a look back at the radio, television and motion picture industries as they were during a different era. In addition, Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg also covers everything from WW2, the holocaust and anti-Semitism to the often tragic consequences of the blacklist in the fifties and its effect on many careers in show business. Berg, born Tilly Edelstein, became "the first woman to build a media empire." She wrote but originally had not intended to act on the radio show The Rise of the Goldbergs, but she was so suited for the lead role that she got it, and continued to play the part when it debuted as the TV series The Goldbergs on 1/10/49. Philip Loeb was excellent as her husband, but due to his liberal and labor causes he was branded a communist and CBS dropped the show when Berg refused to drop Loeb. However, Loeb finally had to leave the series when it became apparent that no other network would air the program as long as he was a part of it (he later committed suicide). 

The Goldbergs continued with first Harold Stone, and then Robert Harris, as Mr. Goldberg, but it lost much of its audience when the family moved from the Bronx to the suburbs. Although focusing on a Jewish family, it was the universal themes on the program that made it a hit with so many. Berg later wound up doing more than one project with, of all people, Sir Cedric Hardwicke! The movie is bolstered by interviews with the late Berg's relations, co-workers, and many people both in and out of the industry who were greatly influenced by her. Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg is charming, sad, and altogether excellent. NOTE: The DVD release of Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg contains many extras, including a few episodes of the series itself. 

Verdict: This is a superb documentary on every possible level. ****

PERRY MASON SCREEN TESTS

Burr (right) testing for part of Hamilton Berger 

PERRY MASON SCREEN TESTS.

A special 50th Anniversary DVD of the venerable Perry Mason series features several 1955 screen tests for the actors on the show, introduced by Barbara Hale. Raymond Burr actually tested for the part of Hamilton Berger -- with a different (uncredited) Perry Mason, who is not bad -- and there were other actors auditioned for Perry along with Burr. One test shows William Hopper (Paul Drake) playing Perry with a different Della Street. Then there's Ray Collins playing Lt. Tragg while Hopper again plays Perry. In another test Burr plays Perry while an unknown blond actress plays Della, coming off more like a "B girl" than a private secretary, way too sexy, and not exhibiting much acting ability. A more talented blond actress does a courtroom scene with first Burr as Perry and then Hopper. Judging from these tests, the producers made the right choices for these roles.

Verdict: Interesting "backstage" look at the making of Perry Mason. ***

COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE

Judd Holdren  and Aline Towne

COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE  (12 episode Republic series/1953). Directors: Harry Keller; Fred C. Brannon; Franklin Adreon.

In the near-future Commando Cody (Judd Holdren of Zombies of the Stratosphere) whose identity "must" be hidden behind a mask "for security reasons," and his team are up against, the Ruler (Gregory Gaye of Dodsworth), an outer space despot who is out to take over the earth, as he has other planets, or destroy it. The Ruler creates weather changes that lead to tidal waves, destroys atomic research stations, employs germ warfare, alternately freezes the earth than causes super-high temperatures via twin suns, then tries to tilt the earth using a magnetic field. In each episode the Commando and his assistants foil the Ruler's plans, taking off to such places as the moon and Mercury when they need to in the Commando's rocketship (he also uses a jet pack to fly). There has always been a debate over whether Commando Cody is a serial or a TV show. Apparently it was originally conceived as a TV series, but for some reason was shown in theaters first as a series of short films (the episodes don't end with cliffhangers as serials usually do, but are more or less self-contained). The series was then shown on television. In any case, Commando Cody is a lot of fun, with adequate acting and more than serviceable special effects. Along with the colorless Aline Towne, William Schallert [The Man from Planet X] and Richard Crane play Cody's associates, Lyle Talbot is cast as an equally colorless earth guy working with the Ruler, and Rick Vallin plays Captain Duron. Gloria Pall is the space babe who answers messages for the Ruler; she is decorative and little else.

Verdict:  You either love this stuff or you just hate it! ***.

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. SEASON ONE

Robert Vaughn

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. SEASON ONE 1964.

With the spy craze at its height, and bolstered with the name of a leading character provided by no less than James Bond-creator Ian Fleming, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was primed to succeed and it did, although it took a while to gather steam. There was always a light, playful element to the series, although eventually it was practically -- and unfortunately -- turned into a comedy. The first season black and white episodes are often considered the best in the program's [almost] four year run, although later seasons also had their highlights. Especially memorable episodes include: "The Double Affair" in which Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) is replaced with a double; "The Giuoco Piano Affair" in which villainess Gervaise Ravel (an excellent Anne Francis of Honey West and Forbidden Planet fame) hides out and causes mischief in the Andes; "The Deadly Decoy Affair" in which a top Thrush agent (Ralph Taeger) is transferred by UNCLE agents besieged at every turn; "The Yellow Scarf Affair" which involves airline crashes and Indian Thuggees; "The Brain Killer Affair" with Dr. Dabree (Elsa Lanchester) hoping to operate on Alexander Waverly (Leo G. Carroll); "The Bow Wow Affair" in which very dangerous dogs play a key role;'The Secret Sceptre Affair" with an unusual turn from old-time star Gene Raymond; "The Gazebo in the Maze Affair" with George Sanders and Jeanette Nolan as a weird old husband and wife; and "The Odd Man Affair" with Martin Balsam as a long-retired UNCLE agent helping out on a case and overstepping his bounds. Two episodes featured the evil mistress of disguise, Dr. Egret : "The Girls of Nazarone Affair" featured pumped-up female Thrush agents, and -- possibly the best first season episode -- "The Mad,  Mad Tea Party Affair" had the quirky Zohra Lampert giving a fine performance as an innocent and baffled woman embroiled in bizarre and dangerous events inside UNCLE headquarters. Egret, who was played by Lee Meriwether and Marian Moses, was never seen on the series again; neither was Dr. Dabree [even though she vowed vengeance] or Angelique (Janine Gray), a sexy THRUSH assassin who appeared only once in "The Deadly Games Affair." Even the lesser episodes of the show were of interest, and Vaugh, Carroll and David McCallum as Ilya were perfectly cast. True, the show was on occasion stupider and sillier than it needed to be -- it got worse in later seasons -- but it was slick, well-made for the most part, and quite entertaining.

Verdict: Can't beat these boys! ***1/2.

SUSPICION VOLUME 1

SUSPICION Volume 1.1957 TV series.

Fifteen of the filmed episodes (apparently half of the show's episodes were taped live) of the mystery/suspense series Suspicion have been collected on three discs in an initial volume. The show was produced by Alfred Hitchcock's TV unit, and the Master directed the first episode, "Four O'Clock," himself. Taken from a Cornell Woolrich story it concerns a jealous husband (E. G. Marshall) who plants a time bomb in his basement to kill his wife and her alleged lover. (Frankly, Hitch seems a little disinterested with the material until the nail-biting final minutes; still this is a good episode.) Other memorable shows include: "Heartbeat," a sad tale in which David Wayne gets a misdiagnosis from a heart specialist and doesn't realize how much he is in danger if he exerts himself (also in this episode is that very weird actress Barbara Turner); "Protege," an All About Eve variation with an excellent (as always) Agnes Moorehead  as an alcoholic actress on the comeback trail bedeviled by a viper-like, ambitious assistant (Phyllis Love); and "Death Watch" in which witness Janice Rule and protector-cop Edmond O'Brien learn that the former is to be targeted by a dirty cop whose identity is unknown. (The only trouble with this suspenseful episode is the highly illogical wind-up). 

The best episodes in this collection are "The Way Up to Heaven," a Roald Dahl concoction in which a wife (the wonderful Marion Lorne), who desperately wants to fly to Paris to see her grandchildren, is continuously stymied by the selfish manipulations of her husband (Sebastian Cabot) until he gets his amusing comeuppance; and especially "Doomsday," which features a knock-out performance by Dan Duryea as a notorious criminal planning a major bank heist -- with major complications. Other guest-stars on the show include Donna Reed, Audie Murphy, Michael Rennie, Rafael Campos, Rod Steiger (excellent in "The Bull Skinner"), John Beal. Joseph Cotten, William Shatner, and Bette Davis in the fairly awful "Fraction of a Second," in which she gives another of her pretty terrible latter-day performances.

Verdict: Good old show with more hits than misses. ***.

THE BARBARA STANWYCK SHOW VOLUME 2

THE BARBARA STANWYCK SHOW. Volume 2. 1960.

There are three outstanding episodes in volume 2 of The Barbara Stanwyck Show, but the rest are catch as catch can. Kent Smith, Robert Emhardt and John McGiver guest-star in "The Golden Acres," about a manipulative woman who lost out on love and now just wants cash. "Adventure on Happiness Street" has Stanwyck again playing Josephine Little in Hong Kong, a downbeat story of a doctor (Lew Ayres) who needs drugs for his free clinic and makes the mistake of dealing with Robert Culp. "High Tension," very well-directed by Robert Florey, is an excellent suspenser in which Barbara plays a woman returning a deaf adopted child to the orphanage when the bus they are on hits high-tension wires trapping everyone but the child aboard. [This is an especially ironic episode considering Stanwyck herself adopted a son and it didn't work out too well.] As usual, Stanwyck gives excellent performances in these, although she's miscast and somewhat weak in a black comedy called "Assassin." She appears in every episode except "Big Jake," which stars Andy Devine. A couple of episodes are nearly unwatchable, but other episodes that are entertaining include "Frightened Doll," in which Babs runs off with mob money, and "The Hitch-Hiker," in which she plays a lady lawyer married to Joseph Cotten. Other guest stars include Dana Andrews, Peter Falk, Joan Blondell, and Robert Horton. Sometimes the show is introduced as The Barbara Stanwyck Theatre and Babs herself always calls it "your gas company playhouse." Jacques Tourneur directed most of the episodes.NOTE: Click here to read a review of Volume One.

Verdict: It's always fun to watch Stanwyck. ***.

PERRY MASON SEASON 6

Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale

PERRY MASON SEASON 6.

The main change to this venerable series in its sixth season was the addition of actor Wesley Lau to the supporting cast. Lau played Lt. Andy Anderson, an assistant to Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins), who was still on the show but whose appearances became sporadic. Most of this seasons episodes were at least "B+" and quite a few were solid "A's."

For instance: An embezzler and his wife are caught up in surprising developments in "Double-Entry Mind" with Virginia Christine and an outstanding performance from Stuart Erwin. Lt. Anderson's cop cousin is implicated in a crime in "Hateful Hero," which features a superb turn by Jeannette Nolan. Liam Sullivan scores in "Inappropriate Uncle," in which a broke, irresponsible man inexplicably makes out a will but turns out to be wealthy after all. "The Stand-in Sister" is an excellent story of gangsters and switched babies with lots of good twists. In the excellent and unusual "Lurid Letter" -- there is no actual defendant in this episode, as such -- a school teacher is accused of making passes at her male students in an unsigned letter. "The Polka Dot Pony" answers the question of which girl is a woman's long-lost grand-daughter. Perry takes on the scandal sheet Spicy Bits as well as a lying client in "Velvet Claws" with Patricia Barry and Virginia Gregg. An excellent Robert Middleton plays an esteemed judge accused of murder in "Witless Witness."

Perhaps the single best episode of the season -- and one of the best in the entire series -- is "Weary Watchdog," in which John Dall plays a blackmailing art dealer. Perry reveals the killer -- which comes as an utter surprise -- in another courtroom  even as the jury in his own trial is still deliberating. This audacious episode may not stand up to close scrutiny but it certainly is a corker!

Raymond Burr became ill during the sixth season and in several episodes he was replaced by other stars playing defense lawyers of his acquaintance. These included Bette Davis ["Constant Doyle"], who faces Hamilton Burger in court and whose expression as she reveals the guilty party is priceless [she says to a hospitalized Perry on the phone: "I'll make a deal with you -- if you don't give me legal advice I won't take your temperature"]; Michael Rennie ["Libelous Locket"], a law professor who defends a woman accused of killing her blackmailer; and Walter Pidgeon ["Surplus Suitor"], who defends a woman with two beaus who is accused of murder. However, the best of these "substitute" episodes was "The Two-Faced Turn-A-Bout," in which Hugh O'Brian, a colleague of Perry's, not only has to defend a murder suspect but deal with the machinations of his own double.

Verdict: Perry's still going strong! ***1/2.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS SEASON 7

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS SEASON 7.

This was the final season of the half hour Hitchcock program; the following year it became The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Although AHP remained an entertaining series, and there were quite a few B+ episodes, it might have had the least "A" episodes of any season. These extra-good episodes include: the classic and suspenseful "Bang, You're Dead!" where little Billy Mumy walks off with a loaded gun; the taut "Profit Sharing," in which retiring Henry Jones steals money from his company and tries to run off to Havana with a blonde; the very interesting "Kerry Blue," directed by Paul Henreid, in which a man (Gene Evans) blames his wife (Carmen Mathews) for the death of his beloved dog [both Evans  and Mathews are excellent]; and "Sorcerer's Apprentice," in which a carnival tramp (Diana Dors) takes advantage of a simple-minded runaway (Brandon De Wilde) -- Robert Bloch's story is predictably gruesome but fun.Guest-stars for this season included Robert Redford, Hugh Marlowe, Barbara Steele, and many others.

Verdict: Not the best season but hardly boring. ***.

V THE ORIGINAL MINI-SERIES (1983)

V (1983 four hour two-part mini-series). Written and directed by Kenneth Johnson.

Those who enjoy the new weekly V series may be interested in looking back at the original mini-series which aired nearly thirty years ago. My advice is not to bother, as the new TV show is much, much better, and the original V is nowhere near as good as the earlier sci fi alien invasion show The Invaders. Supposedly friendly aliens land on Earth in huge spaceships asking for our help and offering their knowledge in exchange. They are actually reptiles in human guise and eat mice, rats -- and people. They conspire against earth's scientists by fabricating a supposed plot by these scientists to conspire against them. In what seems like short order the aliens create an atmosphere of fear and paranoia, basically a police state, and have pretty much taken over, while some humans become quislings and collaborators. The analogy to Nazi Germany is cemented in a memorable scene in which a Jewish man explains to his son why he has to hide a scientist neighbor and her family. Marc Singer is a photojournalist who is pursued by the aliens even as he tries to expose them, and Jane Badler is Diana, a sadistic member of the invading force. The score sounds like an inept, pallid imitation of Herrmann's music for North by Northwest. Myron Healey, Andrew Prine, Robert Englund and William Russ are also in the cast.

Verdict: Somewhat entertaining but minor-league. **1/2.

THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW

THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW 1967 - 1969.

It must have looked good on paper. Get the wonderful Eve Arden and the talented Kaye Ballard together to play women whose children are married to one another. On top of that, the two families live next door to each other. And there are all sorts of problems, complications and feuding and fussing. If didn't really matter who played the husbands or the married children [in truth these actors were all competent if forgettable] as long as Arden and Ballard could successfully pull off a new team of Lucy and Ethel. Unfortunately, they don't. Even Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance as they got older and began to repeat themselves became much less fun as the comical couple after I Love Lucy -- a truly memorable sitcom -- went off the air and they dipped in the well once too often on The Lucy Show. [Let's not even talk about Here's Lucy or Life with Lucy.] It was a style of comedy that had its day and is still fun to watch in I Love Lucy reruns, but on The Mothers-in-Law it mostly didn't work. Much was made of the fact that many episodes of this series were written by people who'd done scripts for I Love Lucy, but a.) it was another era and b.) they were not writing for Ball, Vance, Arnaz and Frawley, and c.) even I Love Lucy had the occasional stinker episode. The Mothers-in-Law has the occasional laugh [Ballard does a dead-on impression of Bette Davis at her most affected], but mostly this show is made up of stinker episodes. Yes, Lucille Ball's lovably childish "Lucy" character was brilliantly brought to life by Ball, but in general it's not much fun watching grown-ups acting like eight-year-olds.

Verdict: Watch I Love Lucy instead where they did most of this shtick for the first time. **.

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES

Satellitedish.org has published an interesting article on the “Top 10 Made for TV Movies of All Time.” See if any of the ones that made their list are on yours as well.

Here's the link.

Years ago there used to be "Movies of the Week" and now cable shows a steady diet of telefilms. A lot of made-for-TV movies were just rip-offs, imitations and derivations of theatrical movies, but there have also been many telefilms of genuine quality. Recommendations anyone?

FRANCESCA DA RIMINI

FRANCESCA DA RIMINI. Opera by Riccardo Zandonai. The Metropolitan Opera 1985. Presented on Live from the Met. Stage Director: Piero Faggioni. TV director: Brian Large. Conducted by James Levine.

Francesca's (Renata Scotto) brother knows that she'll never marry Giancetto Malatesta (Cornell MacNeil) if she sees what he looks like, so he arranges a cruel trick. He has Giancetto's handsomer and younger brother Paolo (Placido Domingo) show up on the da Rimini estate, where it becomes love at first sight for the two [in a very passionate moment in which the two principals never sing, only the chorus in the background, and Francesca presents Paolo with a rose). Unfortunately, the scene in which Francesca discovers the truth is not depicted in this version of Gabrielle D'annunzio's play, but there's plenty of fireworks to come in spite of it. Try as they might, Francesca and Paolo can't quell their rising passion for one another, leading to sex and disaster, and a deeply moving, beautifully staged finale. With superior production design by Ezio Frigerio and beautiful costumes by Franca Squarciapino, this presentation by the famed Metropolitan opera is first-class virtually all the way through. Scott is perhaps not in the best voice, although no fault can be found with her acting. Domingo sings the pants off his third-act aria in which he explains how tormented he is by his separation from Francesca, and the two singers vividly display the proper amount of sexual and romantic excitation. Despite a tendency toward shrillness at times, Domingo is excellent, as is Cornell MacNeil as his frightening brother and William Lewis as the nasty Malatestina, a third brother who loses an eye in combat. Among the supporting cast, pretty Isola Jones makes a strong vocal impression as Francesca's devoted servant, Smaragdi.
Zandonai's music is attractive and powerful, intense with passion throughout, and full of forecasting of the terrible events that will transpire. A masterpiece.

Verdict: Perhaps the only time you'll see a severed head batted around the stage of the Met. ****.

HONEY WEST

HONEY WEST (1965) ABC-TV series.

This series about a female private eye only lasted one season and thirty episodes, but it could be very snappy stuff. The TV incarnation of Honey was introduced on an episode of Burke's Law. The show was based on a series of exploitation novels by G. G. Fickling (a husband and wife writing team) with the emphasis on sex. Things are toned down a bit for the TV show, although the emphasis remains on Honey's shapely charms, as personified by actress Anne Francis. Although occasionally on the "cutesy" side, Francis is pretty much perfect as Honey, and John Ericson is similarly excellent as her partner, Sam Bolt. Honey inherited the detective agency from her father, and Sam -- who used to work for the old man -- now works for her, although in general they function as a team that now and then has a prickly relationship (this was in the days before "sexual tension" was coined). Most of the episodes were fun and well-acted, with plenty of action in a compact half hour minus commercials. There were only a couple of clunkers and even these episodes aren't really awful. The best episodes include "The Swinging Mrs. Jones" (a blackmail ring preying on wealthy married women); "Whatever Lola Wants" (a sinister society hostess); "Little Green Robin Hood" (Edd Kookie Byrnes as a crazy thief, with Allen Jenkins and Eleanor Audley -- who was the voice of Malificent in Disney's Sleeping Beauty -- also in the cast); and "An Eerie, Airy Thing" (a man out on a ledge wants to talk his wife, unaware that she's been murdered). Irene Hervey shows up now and then as Honey's likable and helpful Aunt Meg.

Verdict: Honey with some spice and humor to it. ***.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS SEASON TWO

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS Season Two. 

The second season of Hitch's half hour series -- not to be confused with The Alfred Hitchcock Hour although it often is -- presents more interesting stories of the macabre and dark humor with more hits than misses [although the final dozen or so episodes all fall kind of flat despite some interesting premises]. Jessica Tandy gives an excellent performance as a nervous mother with a secret in "Toby." Dorothy Stickney and Carmen Mathews have a "Conversation over a Corpse." "Jonathan" is an intriguing, hard-hitting story about the rivalry between a son (the excellent Corey Allen) and his father's new wife. In The Rose Garden" with John Williams, Patricia Collinge writes a book about her brother-in-law's murder, which certainly upsets her domineering sister. "A Bottle of Wine" pits Herbert Marshall against his wife's lover and "The End of Indian Summer" stars Gladys Cooper as a widow who may be the next target of a con man. Claude Rains offers a superb performance as a desperate actor in "Cream of the Jest." To read about season one of the show, click here. 

Verdict: More black comedy and chills from the Master. ***.

THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR SEASON 2

THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR Season 2. 1963. 

Although Hitchcock continued to give his usual droll introductions, the opening of the series was different from the first season, and composer Bernard Herrmann did a new arrangement of the theme music, Charles Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette. [While this made the theme sound a little more sinister, it was vastly inferior to Gounod's own arrangement. Herrmann, however, did do some wonderful scores for individual episodes.] Highlights of the second season include: "a Nice Touch," with actor George Segal taking advantage of casting agent Anne Baxter in a reverse role from her Eve Harrington in All About Eve; "Nothing Ever Happens in Linvale" with Phyllis Thaxter suspecting her neighbor Gary Merrill of doing away with his wife; "Beyond the Sea of Death," which sort of illustrates Shakespeare's saying of "don't kill the messenger;" "Beast in View," with Joan Hackett pursued by a vengeful Kathleen Nolan [marred by a terribly dragged-out ending]; and "The Body in the Barn" with Lillian Gish in a fascinating, twisting tale of murder and revenge. Arguably the three best episodes of season two are: "Good-bye George," which has one of the best -- and funniest -- endings of the entire series; "Final Escape," a prison shocker featuring top performances by Edd Byrnes [77 Sunset Strip], William Keith, and Stephen McNally, and which has one of the most horrifying conclusions of any story ever; and the grotesque "Jar," based on a Ray Bradbury story, which resembles a kind of poetically gruesome E.C. comics horror tale. Directed by series producer Norman Lloyd, it features fine performances from Pat Buttram, William Marshall, and Jane Darwell, among others. And a great ending. 

Verdict: Despite a few clunkers this remains a great series. ***1/2. NOTE: Click here to read about season 1.

THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR SEASON 1

THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR [1962 - 1965]. First season. 

The half hour Alfred Hitchcock Presents expanded into an hour with a name change to match but with the same droll introductions by the inimitable Alfred Hitchcock. As usual the stories ran the gamut from chillers to crime dramas to suspense stories to murder mysteries. Surprisingly, many of them lacked a final twist or other clever aspect, but were more matter-of-fact, rescued by a good plot or excellent performances. Most of the episodes of the first season were in the "B" or "C" category -- with a couple of "D's" -- but there were also several outstanding "A" episodes. These include: "Captive Audience," with a superb James Mason as a writer losing his grip on reality over a beautiful woman (Angie Dickinson); "Hangover," with Tony Randall trying to piece together the past few days with the help of Jayne Mansfield (whose appearance and solid non-sex kitten performance are a very pleasant surprise); "Paragon," a strange story about a completely self-absorbed woman played winningly by Joan Fontaine; the very moving "Lonely Heart," in which Nancy Kelly is convinced that Gena Rowlands was accidentally given her own baby [both actresses are excellent]; and the completely unpredictable "Death and the Joyful Woman," in which Gilbert Roland ferociously plays a monster father and Lorraine Day is equally good as the secretary who is in love with him. Even the less interesting shows are quite entertaining and well-acted. 

Verdict: Good show, Hitch! ***.

THRILLER SEASON 1

THRILLER Season 1. 1960 CBS TV series. 

After Alfred Hitchcock Presents had been running for several years on CBS with half hour episodes, it moved to NBC. CBS then decided to hire horror star Boris Karloff to host an hour-long mystery anthology series entitled Thriller. [Alfred Hitchcock Presents was eventually turned into The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.] Karloff made an excellent host (although one could argue that Hitchcock was even better) and generally gave good performances on the infrequent occasions when he appeared in an episode (in the second season). Stories on the program ran the gamut from mysteries to crime thrillers about gangsters -- anything that thrilled -- but eventually there was a strong concentration on macabre and outright horror stories, some adapted from classic short stories. The program ran for two seasons. 

Highlights of the first season of Thriller include "Worse Than Murder" with the versatile Constance Ford (who played a very different role in the superb Hitchcock episode "The Creeper") as a hard-as-nails blackmailing bitch; "The Mark of the Hand," based on a Charlotte Armstrong novel; "The Poisoner," with Murray Matheson doing away with irritating in-laws; "The Merriweather File," about a man accused of murder; "Late Date," with a man covering up for his brother after the latter commits murder; "Papa Benjamin," a tale of voodoo with John Ireland as a musician playing a very memorable "Voodoo Rhapsody;" "Final Impulse," with a bomb in a woman's purse and a frantic search to find her; "Prisoner in the Mirror" with Henry Daniell as wizard Cagliostro; "Dark Legacy" with Harry Townes as a magician who's desperate for a book of secrets; "Pigeons from Hell," an adaptation of the Robert E. Howard tale with Brandon De Wilde; and "The Grim Reaper," a Robert Bloch story about a painting with a death curse starring William Shatner and Natalie Schafer. 

The very best first season episodes were: Robert Bloch's "Cheaters," in which an old pair of spectacles reveal others' secret thoughts to the wearer; "Trio of Terror," a trilogy of macabre stories well-directed by actress Ida Lupino [who directed several episodes of the series]; "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper," based on another classic story by Robert Bloch with John Williams and Donald Woods [directed by actor Ray Milland]; and "The Terror in Teakwood," a fascinating chiller about a pianist's severed hands with Guy Rolfe and Hazel Court. 

Verdict: Spooky, entertaining, and pretty classy all told. ***.

THE INVADERS BOOK TIE-INS

THE INVADERS paperback tie-in novels.

There were a small number of paperback book tie-ins to the sixties Invaders TV show. The first book was published by Pyramid books in August 1967 and was written by Keith Laumer. The book does not follow the "origin" story of David Vincent as in the TV show. For one thing, Vincent is not an architect, but an engineer, and he doesn't see a spaceship until the end of the book. He learns about the aliens when they begin farming out pieces of a deadly weapon -- a disintegrator gun -- to various manufacturers. The aliens look alike, talk in an alien language, and have super-human strength -- none of which is from the TV show. [There is no mention of the "mutated fourth finger."] The gun takes up the first third of the book, while the second part deals with a crazy man who attends UFO meetings and tries to trap aliens-- he thinks Vincent is one of them -- in his trap-laden old mansion. The third section of the book has to do with a large meteor coming down which is actually the aliens, Vincent's attempts to get the brass to take it seriously, and a sergeant who came across a slimy alien in its original form after it dropped to Earth. The book is acceptable, not badly written, but not that memorable, and the changes from the show are a little disorienting.

The second Invaders paperback, also written by Keith Laumar, was entitled Enemies from Beyond, and was an improvement. The first story, "The Survivor," has Vincent checking into the story of a man who witnessed a huge explosion at sea, leading Vincent to investigate a possible underwater base for the aliens. "The Allies" has the invaders unleashing huge, deadly monsters that attack people, with Vincent and a young lady trying to survive their attacks in a sprawling abandoned hotel. "The Clairvoyant" has Vincent befriending an old man who can predict when the aliens will try to kill the former. "The Telescope" has Vincent discovering an alien installation on the moon. All good stories, generally well-told.

The third Invaders paperback Army of the Undead by Rafe Bernard, was a disappointment. In this David Vincent travels to Auto City where the aliens are taking over human beings in the car industry by entering their bodies at the very moment of death. [These deaths occur during auto accidents engineered by the aliens.] Bernard introduces some new concepts -- the aliens' use of telepathy, which Vincent has somehow tapped into -- and explores other aspects of their nature. But while all this is admirable, it's also a trifle confusing, and the basic plot and characters are not that interesting. The book is also talky and the pace drags. Vincent notices that the aliens take over male bodies, and sort of hypnotize women who are in a highly emotional state. The main alien force -- at least in this story -- turns out to be female.

Verdict: The Invaders **.
Enemies from Beyond **1/2.
Army of the Undead **.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS SEASON ONE

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS Season One. CBS Television program. 1955 - 1962. 

Alfred Hitchcock was the host of this successful half hour mystery-suspense anthology series for seven years, then followed it with The Alfred Hitchcock Hour for three more years. While occasionally Hitch's introductions and closing can be lengthy and a little tiresome, more often they are quite amusing, benefiting from the host's comically droll delivery and timing. Hitchcock probably could have had a successful career as an actor a la Robert Morley. The very first episode, "Revenge," with Vera Miles sending her husband after the man who supposedly assaulted her, has become famous but is just a trifle flat. 

Among the more notable first season episodes are: "Into Thin Air," with Pat Hitchcock [Hitch's daughter] searching for her vanished mother; "Breakdown," in which Joseph Cotton gives an excellent performance as a man who struggles to communicate to people, who think he's dead, that he's still alive [his character is an SOB, however]; "Our Cook's a Treasure," with Beulah Bondi suspected of poisoning Everett Sloane; "A Bullet for Baldwin," in which John Qualen kills his nasty boss with surprising results; "The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby" with Meg Mundy; "The Baby Sitter" with Thelma Ritter and Mary Wickes; "Mink," a comedy of errors involving a fur piece starring Ruth Hussey; and "Momentum," an ironic tragedy with Joanne Woodward. As good as those episodes were, they were surpassed by the following: "Don't Come Back Alive," an insurance scam story with Virginia Gregg and Sidney Blackmer; "The Long Shot" with John Williams [who frequently appeared on the program], Peter Lawford and Gertrude Hoffman; "Help Wanted," with John Qualen as a man caught up in a sinister scheme; and "Legacy," about a woman who comes alive when she thinks a prince has killed himself for love of her. "Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid" was a touching and nicely sentimental change of pace with Barry Fitzgerald and Virginia Gregg [who frequently appeared on the show] and "The Older Sister" suggested that it was older sister Emma Borden who murdered her parents and not Lizzie, a theory that is now pretty much accepted by those who have researched the famous murder case. 

The very best episodes of the first season include the following: "Triggers in Leash," a suspenseful piece about gunslingers with Ellen Corby, Gene Barry, and Darren McGavin, all in top form; "The Case of Mr. Pelham," with Tom Ewell bedeviled by a perfect double; the very sad "Guilty Witness," with Judith Evelyn and Joseph Mantell in an unexpected tale of homicide; and the absolute best episode of the entire first season [and possibly the best episode of the entire series?] "The Creeper." In this unforgettable story Constance Ford offers a memorably sympathetic and tragic portrait of a woman who is frazzled by reports of a maniac murdering women in the neighborhood. The story is not just frightening, but ultimately heart-breaking. Reta Shaw, and everyone's favorite Percy Helton, are also in the cast, along with Steve Brodie and Harry Townes. "The Creeper" was very well-directed by Herschel Daugherty. Robert Stevens also directed many episodes, and Hitch himself stepped in to helm such stories as the aforementioned "Mr. Pelham." Not very episode was memorable, but virtually all of them were entertaining. Some fine actors were given wonderful opportunities to show off their range and versatility. Alfred Hitchcock Presents was one of the best television programs of the fifties and sixties, and remains quite watchable today. 

Verdict: You can't beat Hitch. ***1/2.

THE WILD, WILD WEST SEASON 1

THE WILD, WILD WEST CBS Television series 1965 - 1968. Created by Michael Garrison. Season 1.

This show had a great premise. Instead of another Man from U.N.C.L.E., James Bond, or comical Get Smart, The Wild, Wild West presented two Secret Service agents/spies/undercover men working under President Grant in the post-Civil War period. Like other spies, they had all sorts of nefarious bad guys and gals whose dastardly plots had to be stymied, not to mention certain megalomaniacs and genuises who had death devices and scientific achievements that were well ahead of their time. But our boys also had their own gadgets as well.

As Jim West, Robert Conrad is like no Secret Service agent imaginable, but that's part of what makes the show fun. Handsome West plays the role not in the humorless, stiff fashion you associate with government agents, but with a sexy, knowing insolence that makes his portrayal that much more enjoyable. He also wears the absolutely tightest pair of pants worn by any actor then or now on a TV show as part of an outfit that kind of resembles a bullfighters. Ross Martin is also notable as West's partner, Artermis Gordon, who generally dresses up in disguises in every episode. These disguises wouldn't fool anyone but they give good ol' Artemis more to do.

These first season episodes were in black and white. Among the more memorable episodes are: The Night of the Deadly Bed, which features a bed with a descending spiked canopy and a very exciting climax; Thousand Eyes, which presents a band of ship wreckers led by a blind captain; Howling Light, a relatively serious story of peace talks between the U.S. and native Americans being threatened; Steel Assassin, with John Dehner as a man made of iron parts; and Two-Legged Buffalo, with Nick Adams as a foppish prince and Dana Wynter as a woman supposedly hired to assassinate him. The Night of the Burning Diamond featured a jewel thief who had a super-speed formula, and Grand Emir boasted an excellent performance by Don Francks as the dandyish head of a club of assassins whose stronghold is invaded by West and Gordon. These last two were probably the best episodes of the first season, along with The Night of the Murderous Spring, about which more in a moment.

West's most notable antagonist was Dr. Miguelito Loveless, an evil genius dwarf played winningly and expertly by the wonderful Michael Dunn. Loveless, along with his giant helpmate Voltaire (Richard Kiel), was introduced in The Wizard that Shook the Earth, a disappointing episode despite the presence of Loveless/Dunn. His next appearance, The Night that Terror Stalked the Town, in which he creates a perfect duplicate of Jim West, was more memorable. His third appearance, Whirring Death, was pretty awful, but his final first season appearance, the aforementioned Murderous Spring, was more on the mark. In this Voltaire is replaced by obese Kitty Twitty (an excellent Jenie Jackson), who thinks Loveless will make her beautiful when he really intends to wipe out the whole world's population with a formula spread by ducks in the country's waterways.

Some of the episodes were real stinkers -- Night of the Freebooters was one of the worst -- but most were clever and entertaining, and some were quite excellent.

Verdict: Wild fun in the 19th century! ***.