Old School TV: Boris Karloff's Thriller- 'The Twisted Image'

An Episode with a notable Guest Star and a clear influence on Pop Culture for Decades to come.

This is...

The eyes have it!  We're promised that this one will be a Thriller...as sure as his name is Boris Karloff.

I mean, it's not.  His name was actually William Henry Pratt- just FYI.

Our Lead is...Leslie Nielsen?!?

Back in his straight man days, he played a Corporate Executive with one big issue...

This obsessed lady.

She literally just kept staring at him every afternoon for a month before she finally talked to him.  He politely dismisses her advances, but she clearly misreads everything.

On top of that, there's a wannabe Executive in the same Office (who works in the Mailroom).

He does what he can to look the part, but he's nothing special- at least that is what his mean-spirited Sister tells him!

His obsession with being like Nielsen eventually leads him to meeting up with the woman, who is obsessed with BEING WITH Nielsen.

He tries to make her fall for him- since he's 'just as good'- but that doesn't end well for one of them...

In the aftermath, the man manages to somewhat-successfully frame Nielsen for the crime and goes full-on delusional as he 'returns home' to see Nielsen's wife and child.

He ends up taking the latter and standoff ensues.

Nielsen manages to get the kid back as the Police arrive and the man engages in some not-so-subtle symbolism.  Do you get it?!?  The End.

A strong, personal-feeling Episode.  This one is interesting for having pretty much no supernatural element.  Others I've reviewed featured magic mirrors, visions of the future or at least implied mysticism to keep one alive for Decades longer than normal.  This one- just people with clear emotional and psychological issues.  I mentioned at the beginning how it seemed to be a big influence on Pop Culture.  The obvious example would be American Psycho.  Nielsen is emulated by a person who wants to literally become them, aided by the fact that they look somewhat alike.  The Book and Film are full of similar-looking guys for obvious, thematic reasons.  On top of that, you have Films like Single White Female and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle that definitely feel similar to this.  That said, I'm not claiming that the Writer of the original Story (adapted here) necessarily *invented* those ideas.  It is just interesting to see something that feels more recent than it is on a Show from 1960.  Seeing Nielsen play things 100% seriously is nice too and he does a good job.  The Writing and Acting tend to veer to the melodramatic, soap opera-y at times though.  It's not bad- just on the nose sometimes.  All in all, Twisted Image is a strong Thriller Episode.  As a bonus, it included a role for a person of color...kind of...

After covering all of the Episodes I have on hand, let's take a break from Thriller.  More Anthology Shows to cover, so keep your eyes peeled.

Old School TV: Boris Karloff's Thriller- 'The Prediction'

I won't be random for a bit as I have two more of these to get through.

As such, we return to Boris Karloff's Thriller for...

For the first time, Karloff is actually IN THE STORY and not just watching from The Near Dark Area.

He's a fake Psychic who dabbles deeply in cultural appropriation.
To be clear, this is not me being 'OMG I'm so offended' or anything- just pointing out the obvious.

It is, after all, a Stage Show within the Episode.

During a performance, he has a real vision- which shakes him to his core!

He sees a Boxer dying in the Ring, which is pretty rare. 
According to Google, there have been 1,876 in the last 136 years (and this aired in 1960).

He continues to have visions, while the people around him are keeping secrets.

His Assistant is dating a guy who her Dad won't like. 

Well, I have some good news and some bad news...

His Manager decided not to warn the Boxer's Manager and just got drunk instead.

More predictions- all about death- come true, including that of the Assistant's Father.

Karloff tries to help, but people pay him very little heed.

He has one last vision- a man named Dudley dying in a car crash. 

As it turns out, Dudley is the guy who the Assistant is dating and is now going to elope with.

After some attempts at coercion and just accepting fate, Karloff gets himself *ahead* of the duo on the road and puts himself in the path of the car, killing him.

Afterwards, they see the Petrol Station (this is the UK) blow up- the same one they would have stopped it.  He traded his life for their's (but not the Petrol Station Workers').  The End.

The kid gets in the picture and nails it!  Was it any surprise that Karloff would be good here?  I mean, he's Boris Karloff.  Sarcasm aside, it was nice to see him take a bigger part in this.  I've already seen Shatner get killed twice in this Series, so it is nice to get some variety.  The Story- as a whole- isn't anything too unique or special.  The 'guy gets visions and tries to save people' shtick is nothing too exciting.  There are many subtle aspects to it, however, that I think Karloff nails.  He doesn't play it too soft.  He doesn't play it too hard.  Like a master craftsman, he is very precise here.  The other Actors do nicely too, even if their parts aren't as juicy.  The lovebirds never get any real 'breakout' moments, bu do just fine here.  It's interesting how much they tell us and don't show us.  For instance, we don't see the fight where the guy dies.  We don't need to, so why bother?  If you like classic, Old School TV, this will deliver, as always.  It isn't above being cliche, but...so be it.  Look into this man's eyes and say something bad- I dare you!

Next time, I have one last one to go from this batch and one more famous Guest Star.  Surely, I can't be serious.  Stay tuned...

Old School TV: Boris Karloff's Thriller- 'The Hungry Glass'

After re-watching Targets, I had a desire to see more Karloff and old-school stuff.  In lieu of watching The Terror, I picked his TV Show.

This is one of the random Episodes I just happen to have, so let's see what's going with...

A young couple- including a just 30-year old William Shatner!- buy a House that has a 'haunted history.'

 The place has a history of glass-related injuries and deaths, but they try to ignore.  To be fair, Goldberg stayed there once and nothing bad ever happened to him involving broken glass.

Shatner tries to act cool, but he starts to see things.

They eventually find all of the mirrors- which were hidden- in a locked room.  Nice and creepy stuff.

He shows a picture he took of a ghost to the seller- The Professor from Gilligan's Island!- but they both question their sanity a bit.

He tells Shatner the story about how the original owner 'lived in her mirrors' (seeing herself as young forever) until she died there decades later.

Shatner burns the picture, vowing to forget all of this...

...until he hears a scream from upstairs.  He goes into the Mirror Room and sees...the ghosts taking his wife away!

He rushes over to save her...by smashing up the mirror.  I'm not sure I follow your logic.

When he comes to, he finds that he had actually been smashing up his wife!

In a panicky and confused state, he sees the now-ghost of his wife by the bay windows and jumps to get her...

In the aftermath, the Professor takes his passed out wife and leaves.  Have fun with the Police!

A dark, interesting Story.  The people in it are very relatable, which is what a story like this needs.  They make sure to explain that the wife is 'suggestible' and Shatner has past issues with 'hallucinations.'  You get what would become a classic Shatner monologue as he talks about his past issues with hallucinations during his time in the Korean War/Conflict.  They even give him one of the 'turn your head back to the camera' moves to really show off his Shatner-ness.  This is 1961, mind you, so this is just something they did and it has nothing to do with what would become his big moves.  He does a really good job here being vulnerable, but also hamming it up a bit for the big monologues.  Honestly everyone is really good here, from both ladies to Russell Johnson playing straight and serious across from Shatner.  The effects are nice and subdued here.  The ghosts are usually pretty blurry, but, you know, they are ghosts.  When they show up, they are important.  It helps that the original Writer here is Robert Bloch, so you're starting with something good.  One day I'll watch one of these with Shatner and he'll survive.  Until then, I'll just wonder why they rear projected this GIANT MIRROR as the background for Karloff's Intro.

A classic Episode that you should definitely check out.  Kirk + The Professor + The Writer of Psycho = Win.

Old-School TV: Thriller- 'Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper'

I felt like I should cover more of this Show since it usually turns out to be nice and surprising.  I guess that's why they call it...

This one is based on a Story by Robert Bloch, the famous Writer of Psycho.

Fun Fact: this was later retro-fitted for a 1967 Episode of Star Trek!

When a murder happens in San Francisco, an old British Lawman comes to Town with a theory: Jack the Ripper is immortal and stays that way by killing ritualistically.

They...take it well.

The Cops try to protect an area on the night he's supposed to make a kill.  However, they can't watch everywhere- for instance, this window after they just leave.

I will say that this death does make a little bit of a Plot Hole for me, but I'll cover it later.

They take an odd direction with the case: hang around with Artists, since 'Jack' is apparently known to be one/associate with them.

Well, in hindsight, they're not wrong.

Tragically, they can't stop the killings.  The next victim has tons of pathos too- sick kid, rough life.

As an added bonus, they tease that this will be stopped/interrupted, but its not.  Cold move!

As the date of the last killing time arrives, the Investigator and the Psychologist brought in to help him step outside.  That's when the latter kills the former, revealing himself to be Jack the whole time!

Well, all the clues were there.  The End.

A quirky, but serious Episode.  The whole premise is odd.  Jack the Ripper commits ritualistic, Satanic sacrifices to stay alive.  He travels across the World like an immortal, Satanic Anthony Bourdain.  This kind of works in the context of this Story and this time since photography is not as prevalent in this period.  Imagine trying to do it in the age of Facebook/Instagram/etc- no way he's not spotted all the damn time.  The Acting is nicely done and that may also be due in part to the direction.  As you'll see below, an Actor Directed this, so that could be related.  There's maybe a couple minor Actors that don't quite nail their parts- mostly the Artists- but that's a minor issue.  The mood created by the Episode is quite nice.  It is all about murder, but never gets garish.  You never see blood or any of that kind of stuff.  At the same time, they don't sanitize the emotional consequences of the deaths either.  If you're squeamish, it's a win-win.  I will say that the twist is interesting, but has some issues for me.  When we last see 'Jack,' he's with the Brit.  It is only moments later that we see POV Jack in action, so did he just go 'I need to pee- brb' or what?  The other ones hold up fine- it's just this one.  All in all, Thriller continues to deliver and I have no reason not to go back at least a few more times now, especially if he's behind the Camera...

Another solid Episode- which should be no surprise given who is involved.  It's a bit dated, but that can also be part of its charm.

Old-School TV: Boris Karloff's Thriller- 'The Purple Room'

I don't want to talk about The Tick ending.
I don't want to talk about Swamp Thing ending.

I know- I'll go back and do a different Show!  Good job, me!

As a reminder, Thriller was a Horror TV Show with Boris Karloff.  He'd appear at the beginning like all of the Hosts and then vanish like the wind.  He didn't milk it for all it was worth like some other Narrators!

I kid, I kid.  Here's...

The Show actually opens with a woman talking to someone off-screen, firing a gun and screaming.

Karloff appears as the Main Stars walk by.  This is a tale of ghostly revenge and intrigue.  Wait- this is also in B&W.

How do I know for sure if the Room even is purple?!?

A man is told that he has to spend one night in a House to claim it.  He's not happy about it.

Holy shit- Rip Torn!  This is not going to be a sedate performance!

Oh and the guy reading the Will is Alfred from Batman.  

That's not even the weirdest cameo here.

To convince Rip about the seriousness, they tell a version of the Story we saw the end of at the beginning.  Time and space are warped!

Rip, naturally, doesn't buy it and waves a gun around.  

So...just being himself then?

He does his best to resist their 'tricks,' but is then confronted by a Monster!  Damn 1960- you freaky!

Plot Twist #1: That was actually them.  They switched out his bullets with blanks.
If you're wondering how and when they got blanks, that's a good question.

Plot Twist #2: He seemingly dies from a Heart Attack, but comes back and is shot.  Hey- it's like that story!

Before this can go for Shyamalan on us, the Cops show up and their arrests seem imminent.  The End.

A solid Episode, even if the big turns were kind of obvious.  If you have no real surprises, having someone call them out in advance doesn't make it better.  He thinks that it is all a set-up...and it is.  I was hoping for something more, but it never came.  That said, the whole thing is done really well.  Torn delivers a properly-unhinged performance.  All of the other Players- like Napier- do there's quite well too.  The fact that the whole thing is wrapped around the same events happening- in fantasy and then reality- makes it a bit easy to stay ahead of.  

I do have to give props to, well, the Props Department.  They reused a mask from a Film made a few years earlier to create a truly-inspired 'creature' to frighten Torn's Character.  They didn't make it, but they had the presence of mind to use it.  

All in all, it is good, but it could have been great.  Speaking of great, though, I think you might recognize the Film that this House is from...

A good Episode, but lacking any twists that were telegraphed way in advance.  Good use of freaky imagery and Props though.

Old-School TV: Boris Karloff's Thriller- 'The Grim Reaper'

Not to be confused with the Music Video, this Show ran for two Seasons right at the start of the 1960s.

I have a handful of these and I picked the one with the most interesting Title.  

It ended up being more notable than I intended (and also pretty good).  This is...

In The Grim Reaper, the Story revolves around a cursed painting, the last work by a mad Painter who killed himself after he finished it.

I really like to picture that Karloff kept that painting and greeted people at the door like this too.  Don't you?!?

An older Mystery Writer buys the painting, which leads her Nephew to come and warn her of the dangers.

Every Owner has died violent deaths- all 17 of them!

Shatner (here a spry 29 years old!) explains that the painting bleeds before each death and...it's bleeding right now!

Complicating matters is the Aunt's young Husband, Shatner's girlfriend and the fact that former is constantly trying to force himself on the latter.

That morning, the Aunt is discovered dead at the bottom of the staircase!  

The Police suspect no foul play, but should they?

As it turns out, yes!

Shatner plays his big move shortly thereafter, poisoning the husband (and sole heir) and making it look like he killed himself out of guilt.  Damn, Shatner!

At this point, we get the Shatner we all know and love.  

He spills the beans to his lady and taunts the painting!

Bad idea as the lady locks him in the room with it to call the Police and... uh oh.

In some great POV, the Reaper seems to kill Shatner as his body is found the next day (but not shown due to the '60s TV Standards) and the painting is bloody again!  

The End.

A solid, creepy tale.  

It makes sense when you realize that this was done by Robert Bloch, the man behind Psycho.  He could write good B&W Horror- clearly!  

The Episode does a great job of giving you little hints and things that become important later.  For example, Shatner asks for the Husband's autograph (as he is an Actor) and then uses that as the 'signature' for his 'confession.'  

There are also lines like the girlfriend mentioning how Shatner's character drove her to drink that night.  She obviously didn't realize how intentional that was!  

The whole thing pays off nicely as everyone has a bit of an Arc.  The climax only suffers in that implies something that you would love to see.  

That said, they couldn't possibly do this effect *that* well in 1960 (and on a TV Budget), so I get it.  Not seeing it is better- I just also realize that some people will be bothered by this.  

All in all, this is a great introduction to the Show and I can only hope that subsequent episodes will match up.  

All I need now is Shatner in an Anthology Show from the '70s and '90s to complete the set.  Can someone hook me up?  In the meantime, enjoy this reminder of NBC's old, confusing logo...

Next time, will I have more Guest Stars and murder.  All signs point to yes.  See you then...