Children of the Lotus Eaters (aka God Bless the Children, 1970)

Network: NBC
Original Air Date: December 14th, 1970

As a genre, the made for television movie often gets pushed to the back of the line with regards to its importance. The “message film,” which was a prevalent element of many TVMs, is often remembered as contrived, heavy handed drama that had to play it straight, settle for conformity and breach its message with a conservative wisdom that too often only skated over whatever issue was at hand. Although many films fell into this category, there are other titles that transcended the FCC/Network boundaries to speak to real issues in ways that other films simply did not. I was astounded by the heartbreaking honesty of the perils of drug abuse in Children of the Lotus Eaters (originally titled God Bless the Children).

Children was the pilot for a short lived series called The Psychiatrist. Richard Levinson and William Link had read an article in the March 21st, 1969 issue of Life Magazine titled A Town in Trouble by Jordan Bonfante, and loosely based their story on it. Jerrold Freeman adapted their idea into a teleplay. The article describes a town where over two-thirds of the teenagers were rampant drug users, and the parents were merely helpless bystanders. Indeed, Children is practically a parent free film, where the authority figures are the well-meaning but impotent police chief, a psychiatrist and his ex-junkie cohort. Otherwise, these teens live in a world all their own, and despite the quiet beaches and small town setting, it is a dark and dangerous universe made up of burnt out teens who still manage to exude a disturbing sense of innocence.

The series starred Roy Thinnes as Dr. James Whitman, the above referenced psychiatrist. He plays it calm and cool, but despite his aloofness, he exudes a sense of rebellion with a willingness to buck the system in an attempt to find resolutions. Dr. Whitman brings in ex-heroin addict Casey Poe (the electrifying Pete Duel who committed suicide about a year after Children aired) in the hopes that he can break through to the teens and help them understand where they are heading in life. Teddy (John Rubenstein) is the group’s leader, and he’s every bit as smart as he is addicted to drugs. Casey quickly realizes that there is no hope to redeem them all so he targets Kendall (Joy Bang) because her wide-eyed trust leads him to believe she can be saved. The problem is that Casey's own issues are so deeply rooted that he no longer needs drugs to destroy his sense of self. Every step he takes only forces him to take two steps back before he realizes that he’s the one who needs to find redemption.

In an interview about the series, Thinnes stated, “For one thing, we have no endings, no solutions to our stories – because we deal with questions that have no answers.” And Children offers hardly any answers at all (the people in the Life Magazine article seemed to fare a bit better). The film, which initially focuses on the teenager’s rampant drug use pulls back in the most painfully elegant ways and becomes about Casey working through his own self-destructive attitude. The message is as long as you can save one person from destroying their life, you’ve done something great.

The Psychiatrist was part of NBC's Four in One Wednesday night programming, and it was rotated with McCloud, San Francisco International Airport and Night Gallery. Aside from the pilot movie, six episodes aired between March - September, 1971. I’m not sure how the rest of the series fared, but the pilot is captivating, and it employs many of the same qualities you might find in an exploitation movie screening on 42nd Street in an effort to extol a message you probably would never see in the theater. Seriously, there are kids tying off before they shoot up and Poe tries to get high in a church bathroom! However, despite some of the more visceral qualities, Children is a graceful high-wire act, brutal and honest, and probably the best made for TV movie I’ve seen in a long time. Leave it up to Levinson and Link to bring in the goods yet again.

Fire! (1977)

Network: NBC
Original Air Date: May 7th, 1977

Irwin Allen brought disaster movies to both the big and small screen. He produced Fire in between The Poseidon Adventure and The Swarm, along with several other tele-film treats (including Flood). This is so not like me, but I do prefer his theatricals to his television fare. It’s not that Fire is a bad movie really, but it is easy to lose patience with its somnolent pacing and feels just a tad too long.

Fire starts with a bunch of convicts working in the forest. One of them (Neville Brand) starts a somewhat minor blaze, and the rest of the chain gang attempt to extinguish it. However, it reignites and the inferno heads towards the sleepy community of Silverton. The melodrama rages just as strongly in this village as we see that the burning fires are both literal and metaphorical. Alex (Alex Cord) and Peggy (Patty Duke) are reluctantly heading towards a divorce while Sam (Earnest Borgnine, who replaced Fred MacMurray) and Martha (Vera Miles) are heading towards potential coupledom and Harriet (Donna Mills) has her trajectory set towards total hysteria when one of her grade school students is lost in the fiery forest!

While I do love a good soap, and I certainly enjoy watching things go up in flames, the romance stories simply aren’t that captivating. The section of the film dedicated to a convict named Frank (Erik Estrada) attempting to escape so he can prove his innocence leads nowhere, and that desperate search for a child named Judy (Michelle Stacy) is anti-climatic at best.

Although the stories are bare and mostly uninvolving, seeing this cavalcade of small screen actor awesomeness made up for a lot of Fire’s downfalls. The film, which was shot at Burbank Studios and in Oregon, cost $2.7 million, making it the most expensive TVM at the time of its production. The crew took advantage of slash burnings in Oregon and used them in their footage. So, what Fire does have, obviously, is lots and lots of fire, and true to Allen’s slick sense of suspense, you are never sure who is going to get out alive. There was one death in the film that had me gasping, and isn’t that why we are drawn to the disaster genre? These films feature large scale calamities with all the glamour of any other major film but are also all the more traumatic through the unknown tragedies that may lie ahead! We are a complicated species!

Irwin Allen liked to think big with his small screen disasters and made a deal with Warner Bros. to release his tele-films overseas theatrically. In an interview Allen joked, “I created a marriage between Warner Bros. International and the network. To the profit of both and to myself, of course.” For Fire and Flood, the network and the studio put up the money, which made the films half as expensive for both companies. Allen liked that his films were about big visuals, and could translate to any audience. He said, “They can almost be seen without dialogue. They are action films with basic human appeal.” There is a reason this guy was nicknamed the Master of Disaster!

The 120-minute film was re-edited into a 90-minute feature and aired as a twin bill alongside Flood, on June 11th, 1978. It was nicknamed TV’s first disaster double feature! And if you'd like to reenact this doubleheader, you can buy both Flood and Fire on DVD through Warner Archive!

The theatrical poster for Fire

This House Keeps Getting Possessed and Other TV Movie Goodies!

As many of you know, This House Possessed is my all time favorite TV movie, and not just because Parker Stevenson is so tasty in his Sergio Valentis either! Possessed is a genuinely entertaining film that has carried me through all things good and bad and I love finding other fans of the best TVM going! Thanks to Aunt John at Kindertrauma for sending along this link to Vinnie Rattolle's blog which takes an incredible look at Possessed, offering tons of interesting tidbits and some nice pics as well! If you are so inclined to get your Possessed fix-on, you can also look at my own picture gallery and read my review (you can read my capsule review here). All the kids are doing it, so why not stop on by!


In other TV movie news, a movie theater in New York called the 92YTribeca is screening two awesome classics: Bad Ronald and Don't Go To Sleep!!! These screenings are on separate nights, so please click on the links for the deets. Oh man, I so wish I was closer to New York! If you can go, please report back, I'd love to hear about how the screenings went! And another big thank you goes to Meep over at Cinema du Meep for the head's up!

Recently, I came across a website for a man named Ryal Haakenson who chronicled his time as an extra in movies. He's got a special section just for his work in TV movies! Most of these look like they were shot and released in the 90s, so it's a nice little inside look at the dying breed of the television movie.


And finally, although it's not TV movie related I still thought this was worth mentioning - if you get Antenna TV, then be prepared to catch the incredible Three's Company spinoff Three's a Crowd, starting June 27th at 6 pm! And yes, I said incredible! I adore this show just about as much as Company, the combination of John Ritter and Robert Mandan is absolutely perfect! Crowd was a truly funny sitcom that deserved more than the one season it got. It's worth revisiting, so if you have the chance, I say go for it!

Happy Birthday John LLewellyn Moxey!!!

My favorite TV movie director turned 86 years young today! YAY! I have loved this man for as long as I can remember. While he directed films in different genres, it was his thriller and horror films that allowed him to showcase his deft skills at generating copious amounts of suspense! I'll just link to his IMDb page because it's ridiculously long (and amazing), but I will say the world would not be the same without The Night Stalker, Home for the Holidays, The House that Would Not Die or Smash-Up on Interstate 5, or Where Have all the People Gone, or... or... there's just too many!



Turns out Panic in Echo Park is currently playing in its entirety on YouTube! This drama is not quite as good as his horror films, but it is a lot of fun and Dorian Harewood puts in a marvelous performance! Enjoy!

And Happy Birthday Mr. Moxey... Here's to 86 more!

Stephen J. Cannell 1941 - 2010

For someone like me who grew up on 70s and 80s television, hearing the names Aaron Spelling and Stephen J. Cannell could easily be likened to the sound of a light rainfall in summer. In other words, when it comes to guys like them, I'm easy like Sunday morning, ya dig? And both Spelling and Cannell impacted me in ways I never really understood until they were gone.

Cannell came up in a world where three networks were almost all we had to keep ourselves entertained and I imagine the market was was tough. He broke into television in the early 70s as a writer for Ironside and got his first producing credit in 1973 on a TV movie called The Chase, which starred Mitch Ryan (i.e. Greg’s dad on Dharma and Greg) as an unconventional cop. This pilot movie, which was also created by Cannell, was picked up as a series and ran for one season. After that he would go on to become one of the most prolific creators/producers/writers in television. He was responsible for such wonderful television shows as Toma, The Rockford Files, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, The Greatest American Hero, The A-Team, Riptide, Hunter, 21 Jump Street and Cobra, among many, many others.

Cannell had an eye for goofy machismo!
I saw this quote from him on IMDb, “Even though I was flunking English because I couldn't spell; in my high school year book under ambitions I had written 'Author'. When I went off to college I ran into a guy at the University of Oregon named Ralph Salisbury who was my first creative writing instructor and he turned all the lights on for me. He was the first teacher in all my years who actually said I had talent. Some people don't know this, but I have dyslexia."

Although I don’t recall reading a ton of interviews with Cannell, his dyslexia was something I was very aware of and it made for some inspirational dinner table conversation. My parents and I admired him immensely and adored his shows. My mom practically brought me up on The Rockford Files, and looking back I see where I inherited my boy-craziness from (boy, did she love James Garner). I have to say, I love Jim Rockford too, but Riptide and 21 Jump Street were my favorite shows to come out of the Cannell empire. In fact, I have recently been re-visiting both and they are just as good as I remembered. I was actually surprised with how well Jump Street has aged. Teen angst – that stuff never gets old, you know? I’ll even forgive him for Booker.

Cannell was married to his high school sweetheart and by all accounts, was a wonderful man who loved creating and writing. Not only was he talented, but his passion for television was certainly infectious and I can thank him for passing me the bug. My thoughts go out to Stephen’s family and friends.

Riptide's opening:


You can visit Cannell’s official website for more information on one of the greatest talents television ever saw.

And you can read my reviews of:

Riptide: The Pilot
Midnight Offerings

Piece o’ Trivia: Cannell wrote the awesome Columbo episode titled Double Exposure which featured Robert Culp as the bad guy. Let me get this straight, Stephen J. Cannell, Levinson and Link, Peter Falk and Robert Culp... together in one room?!? How did the earth not implode from all that awesomeness?!?

A nifty Rockford Files TV spot:

New Poll!

OK, this new poll might not star Bert, but it does feature him (Ebony, Ivory and Jade)...

Since it's Halloween and since John Llewellyn Moxey is my favorite small screen director, I thought I'd conduct on a poll on his movies from the 70s. I have a sneaking suspisicion that Night Stalker is destined to win big, but you never know what could happen when you enter my world of Made for TV Mayhem... That was me being creepy... Did it work?

Here's some clips full of Moxey-ness:

The House That Would Not Die


A Taste of Evil


The Night Stalker


The Strange and Deadly Occurence


Nightmare in Badham County

It's William Link Day!

I have adored William Link since time began (well, since time began for me). He and his writing partner, the late Richard Levinson, made me the TV fanatic I am today. I have worshipped his work for my entire life and was so pleased to read a recent interview with him in the Los Angeles Times. His creation of Columbo brought one of the greatest characters ever given life to the small screen. It was a combination of the writing and Peter Falk’s impeccable performance as the peculiar, disheveled detective that won my heart and has kept it for all of these years. How thrilled was I to see Link has a new book called The Columbo Collection featuring twelve new mysteries?!? The answer: I was very, very thrilled! I just got my copy the other day and you can bet I’ll be diving in as soon as possible.

Levinson and Link
Aside from creating wonderful television shows like Columbo and Murder, She Wrote, Levinson and Link also made some of the most spectacular made for TV movies of a generation. They walked the line between moving and thoughtful dramas (The Execution of Private Slovik, That Certain Summer) and popcorn thrillers (Murder by Natural Causes, Rehearsal for Murder) with considerable ease. The work Mr. Link and his partner did for television in what I consider its golden era is something to be celebrated… and I celebrate Mr. Link every day.

Check out William Link’s IMDb page and drool!

Btw, isn't Peter Falk frickin’ adorable!

Chiller (1985)

Chiller (1985)

Network: CBS
Original Air Date: May 22nd, 1985

When you hear the name Wes Craven, there are several things you might think of. His theatrical horror filmmography ranges from visceral 70s grindhouse treats like Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes to the 80s supernatural horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street to the brilliiant post-modern 90s slasher Scream. It's not often you find people talking about his television work, but there was plenty of that too! Aside from his work on the 80s version of The Twilight Zone and then Nightmare Cafe in the 90s, Craven also helmed three entertaining made for television movies - Invitation to Hell, Summer of Fear (aka Stranger in Our House) and the pick of the litter, Chiller.

All three of these films lack the flair of Craven's theatrical releases, but while Invitation to Hell and Summer of Fear are fun popcorn thrillers, Chiller is the closest to Craven's signature big screen work. Definitely hampered by a lower budget, this film still displays a lot of depth and some wonderful acting, especially by Oscar winner Beatrice Straight.

Dastardly!

Straight plays a lonely widow named Marion Creighton who had her son Miles (Michael Beck) cryogenically frozen when he passed away. Since his death, she's adopted a child named Stacey (Jill Schoelen) and has continued to oversee the successful corporate business her son left behind. Due to an unfortunate accident, Miles has to be "defrosted" and is brought back to life. Marion is overjoyed with the return of her beloved son, but he's just not quite right. Besides the fact that he's constantly freezing, it seems that when Miles originally died, his soul departed and did not find its way back upon his earthly return, get it? Now, he's cold-blooded in so many ways other than just to the touch, and he gets the most pleasure from causing pain. Lots of pain.

Chiller raises many interesting questions about spirituality, the human spirit and how someone deals with being the one left behind. Is it perfect? No, but it lays the groundwork for many fascinating ideas and raises the questions we all have about the word life and what it means. And if you ain’t in the mood for thinking, Chiller is still a good horror film so you can expect Miles to have great fun torturing those he thinks are getting in his way!

The Deadly Combo: Jill is terrified and lovely!

Michael Beck is perfectly cast as Miles, whose good looks and charm remain intact, making it hard for others to see the evil lurking just beneath the surface. My favorite Scream Queen (and yours too, I hope!), Jill Schoelen doesn't have much screen time, but she's adorable as Stacey and ends up playing a big part in finale. Also, Paul Sorvino comes along to shake things up as the priest who is willing to question Miles' motives. Still, I think this movie wouldn't be the same without Straight who is compelling as the grieving mother. It never seems cruel that she's had Miles cryogenically frozen, nor do her actions at the end come into question and it's an interesting battle between a mother's love and being the only person who can stop the ongoing horror, caused by her only child. I just adore that woman!

Chiller got one of those dollar bin DVD releases, which matches the dollar bin vhs release it had some years back. In fact, I'd be willing to say the vhs was of (slightly) better quality. What a shame it is that such an outstanding television film by a name director with famous actors should end up with the el cheapo option. I do hope one day this movie gets the awesome release it deserves. Summer of Fear recieved the royal treatment with a pristine transfer and a great commentary track with Craven and I can't imagine why that wouldn't/shouldn't happen with Chiller. I'm actually begging now, and that's never pretty, so help a girl out, K?

Moon in the Gutter's MIA on Region One DVD Tribute Month: Made for TV Mayhem Style!

When Jeremy Richey, the man behind the beyond awesome blog Moon in the Gutter asked me to participate in his special MIA on Region One DVD Tribute Month, well you can imagine my response! In case you couldn’t – it was a resounding yes! Jeremy has been hard at work compiling a list of movies that should be available but for whatever reason, the Gods just aren’t listening! On my end, the biggest problem was narrowing down a title. So many great television movies are still unavailable on DVD and even worse, most of them were never even available on vhs. How sad that makes me. But recently, I’ve seen movies such as Dead of Night, The Girl Most Likely to... and The Norliss Tapes find a home in the new-ish DVD medium. And even more spectacular, Dark Night of the Scarecrow is coming out later this year! So, I will keep the dream alive while I continue to search out my little made for TV movies in any form I can get my grimy little paws on!

I spent a lot of time thinking about what film or films I thought topped my ‘essentials’ list, I nixed movies like Bad Ronald and Home for the Holidays, although I find them to be spectacular examples of this sub-genre much needing of a DVD release of their own, because I thought a really cool, lesser-known gem might be more interesting and a bit unexpected, and I’m all about being unexpected! You could say I’m a rebel…

When I went through my list, I had eleven titles I felt were not only deserving a Region One DVD release, but were also movies that needed to be mentioned if only because so often many of these amazing made for television movies tend to fall by the wayside, which only goes to prove the importance of what Jeremy is doing: Bringing a spotlight to the little folks. And I’m so honored he approached me to give my two cents. Hell, I’ll give you three cents!

The movie I decided to feature is one that I keep meaning to review anyway. It’s one of those films that should be in the vocabulary of all genre lovers. It’s a small screen thriller that kicks the ass of its big screen equivalents and it’s got Alan Alda, who is just one smoking hot dude. So, let’s get to it, shall we?



Isn’t it Shocking (1973)

Network: ABC
Original Air Date: October 2nd, 1973

Directed by John Badham, Isn’t it Shocking? revolves around beleaguered small town Sheriff Dan Barnes (the amazing Alan Alda) who separates time between his girlfriend and her obnoxious kids and his job in a town that is essentially a retirement community. He’s struggling with the idea of leaving this peaceful settlement for something just a touch bigger – you know, where some action might actually take place, but then a murderous stranger begins picking off the old folks. His method of murder –a machine which effectively gives the victim a heart attack! Also, this guy loves to eat chocolate when he kills. He’s creepy, he’s dangerous and he seems almost unstoppable, but Dan, along with his kooky secretary Blanche (Louise Lasser) and the world’s oldest final girl Marge (Ruth Gordon) - who holds the key to the mystery but is so dang senile that no one can quite figure out what she knows – put the pieces together to solve the crime.

The horrible outcome of a horrible crime

Black comedy at its best, Isn’t it Shocking? takes a topic seldom looked at in any genre – senicide. What could be creepier than killing an elderly person? It’s a subject that has been rarely explored, I assume because it’s just too disturbing and doesn’t leave a lot of room for entertainment. Somehow, this film walks that line and never crosses it. It’s quite upsetting - the opening death is a doozy - but Badham manages to expose the raw terror and sadness of taking a vulnerable life while crafting a dark comedy about the trials of small town life.

Smokin' hot with a smokin' gun!

Would I say Isn’t it Shocking? is brilliant? Yeah, I would. Wait, I want to be lame – Isn’t it Brilliant? Why yes, it is.

Largely unavailable to the public, Isn’t It Shocking? managed to air on television from time to time, but has now slipped into near obscurity, minus the memories of a few of us latch key kids! I tend to go on about how made for television movies sometimes eclipse their theatrical counterparts, and this film is a fine example of big screen entertainment made for our living rooms.

Ten More Notable Movies that Deserve a Region One DVD Release:



The House on Greenapple Road (January 11th, 1970 on ABC): Christopher George is great at Lt. Dan August whose most difficult task to solving the crime is proving there was any crime at all. An all star cast supports George (including his wife Linda Day) in an amazing police procedural. Click on title for full review.

Dr. Cook’s Garden (January 19th, 1971 on ABC): In Bing Crosby’s last acting role, he plays a doctor who euthanizes anyone who he feels isn’t living up to his moral standards. Chilling and odd (mostly due to the casting of Crosby), this is a superb little thriller with a thought provoking storyline and a neat twist ending.

Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate (November 9th, 1971 on ABC): Like Isn’t it Shocking? this film is a dark comedy about the elderly. In this case though, these ladies kick some boo-tae! Mildred Natwick, Sylvia Sidney, Helen Hayes and Myrna Loy create a fictional woman for a computer dating service. A vicious stalker (Vince Edwards) appears, desperate to meet this made up woman and you know trouble will be brewing. Fun thriller with great pacing, acting and dialog, it’s like The Golden Girls meets The Fan. Seriously. Read my review at Camp Blood.

The Stranger Within (October 1st, 1974 on ABC): Barbara Eden gives one of her strongest performances as the beautiful housewife who is pregnant with something not quite human. Richard Matheson wrote the excellent, claustrophobic screenplay that plays off the common fears accompanied with pregnancy. Click on title for full review.



Griffin & Phoenix: A Love Story (February 27th, 1976 on ABC): Probably the single most moving film I have ever seen. I still don’t have the words to describe the sheer beauty of this film. One watch and you will know that world missed out by not giving Peter Falk more roles as the romantic lead. He’s incredible in a sorrowful but joyful film about love and the deepest loss of all – death.

The Bermuda Depths (January 27th, 1978 on ABC): One of the few Rankin Bass live action productions, The Bermuda Depths is like a piece of visual poetry. Soft, eerie and childlike (check out those miniatures!), this film envelops the fairytale story in sadness. A wonderfully melancholic romance that deserves a DVD with the works.

A Vacation in Hell (May 21st, 1979 on ABC): The Swinging 70s come to an end in style with this absurd and fascinating thriller about four women and a hapless male who find themselves stranded on the wrong side of the island they were vacationing on. When one of them accidentally kills a “native” man, they find themselves on the run from an angry family member. Lush, sexy, odd, sometimes really campy and always entertaining, A Vacation in Hell has just as many twists as it does awesome one liners. It also has a young Maureen McCormick hanging up her Marsha Brady image during an overtly sexual dance. It’s a must see. Read my full review at Camp Blood.



This House Possessed (February 6th, 1981 on ABC): I must have seen this movie 300 times since it first aired. It’s my cure-all for when I have the blues. Traditional ghost story updated with (then) modernized technology, the way the story is played out is far more important than the story itself. Stylish, creepy and a ton of fun, I don’t just love this movie because it stars my biggest crush, Parker Stevenson (although that would be reason enough!), I love it because it’s fantastic, and while thoroughly dated, it’s also timeless. Read my reviews at CC2K and Camp Blood. Don’t Go To Sleep (December 10th, 1982 on ABC): Absolutely frightening flick about a child who is killed in a accident only to return as a ghost bent on torturing her family. Geesh! It’s an accident! Talk about bitter! This movie has creepy written all over it, with the fears being heightened by the excellent cast led by Valerie Harper and the great Dennis Weaver. Talk about gut-punch endings. Wow. This movie will make you jump!

The Woman in Black (December 24th, 1989 on BBC): If you like your ghost stories agonizingly eerie like Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, The Woman in Black is the film for you! Slow, deliberate pacing only heightens the story about a young solicitor who is followed by a mysterious woman in black. This BBC chiller was actually made into a play, which I haven’t seen but I hear is absolutely fantastic. Update: I looked this up and see that at one point it was indeed available on Region One DVD. But now it’s OOP so I decided to keep it on the list. So what of it?!?


Note: Except for the The Woman in Black which is a British production, every single one of these films originally aired on ABC! Way to go ABC!!!

Dead of Night (1977) and then some!

Network: NBC
Original Air Date: March 29th, 1977

With the release of Dark Night of the Scarecrow later this year (fingers crossed!), and this release of Dead of Night on DVD today, the made for TV movie genre is getting some well deserved love. These choices are stellar. Dark Night is arguably one of the greatest achievements in the history of TV horror movies. Dead of Night might not ever receive as heady of an honor, but it is a wonderful anthology film that is both fun and terrifying. And if that ain’t some kind of icing on your cake, the DVD also comes with a second bonus feature, the pilot Dead of Night: Darkness at Blaisedon. YAY!


Dead of Night is an unofficial sequel to Trilogy of Terror, which we all know is not only one of the best made for TV horror films of the 70s, but also features one of the scariest mofos this side of, uh, Bubba from Dark Night of the Scarecrow (funny how that film keeps popping up)! Dan Curtis handled the direction for both anthologies, and he brought back Matheson, who penned the Zuni Fetish doll segment Amelia in Trilogy. Let's face it, Curtis and Matheson are like peanut butter and chocolate. Yeah, you know it – two great tastes that taste great together!

Like Trilogy, Dead of Night features two good - but not great - stories, with the third bringing on a gut-punch of a finale. This time, instead of a crazed, possessed voodoo doll, we’ve got an innocent child named Bobby. Uh, OK, maybe not so innocent, as we will soon find out!

But what of the first two films, you ask? Well, Second Chance stars Ed Begley Jr. as a fan of old roadsters who fixes up an antique car so good, it takes him back to the year the automobile was first manufactured – 1926! Now that’s a grand restoration! This is a non-horror fantasy tale about fate and it’s clever, if not overly memorable.


The second story, titled There’s No Such Thing as Vampires features a scared-witless Anjanette Comer as a possible buffet for the local bloodsucker. Her husband (Patrick Macnee) is a man of science trying to solve a mystery that is surely most un-scientific before his wife completely succumbs to this vamp. He calls upon one of his colleagues and things turn deadly. Besides Macnee and Comer, this short also features the wonderful character actor Elisha Cook. Also, this segment is an adaptation Matheson did from his own short story. Another fun, slightly flamboyant short.


Then we hit Bobby, or rather Bobby hits us! With his brass knuckles! Bobby stars the incredible Joan Hackett as a grieving mother who raises her child from the dead, only to find that he’s not exactly the same. Two actors, one set, minimal special effects and a wow-bang-punch finale! Awesomeness ensues. To say more would ruin what is sure to be an amazing discovery if you haven’t already seen this terrifying short.


The coup de grace of the DVD though is the spectacular extra feature, which was co-written by Mr. Curtis. A fun shot-on-video pilot which originally aired on ABC on August 26th, 1969, Dead of Night: Darkness at Blaisedon has some great Dark Shadows vibing along with a few truly suspenseful moments. Marj Dusay is Angela, the lovely lady who inherits a haunted mansion and who also finds out that she’s a medium. She hires two parapsychologists, the studly Seth (Thayer David) and his partner Sajid (Cal Bellini), and together they uncover the dark secrets of Blaisedon. Damn, I love this stuff!


Chances are if you’re reading this blog, you are already aware of and are a fan of Dan Curtis’ work. If you’re not and this is all new to you – well, first of all I’m jealous – Dead of Night is a great way to discover the master at work.
Read another review of Dead of Night at Kindertrauma

Read more about Dan Curtis at Kindertrauma

Also, check out the latest issue of Rue Morgue magazine which features a great look back at Curtis’ career as told by his fellow friend and cohort, William F. Nolan

House on Greenapple Road (1970)

House on Greenapple Road (1970)
Network: ABC
Original Air Date: January 11th, 1970


Anyone who frequents this blog is well aware of my undying love for Christopher George. When I read other’s descriptions of him I often hear the words “dependable” and “reliable” but those simple terms don’t seem to encompass the great talent he possessed. He often brought up the production of a film just by showing up and doing what he does best. Luckily, he didn’t have to do all the work in the excellent cop procedural House on Greenapple Road, but that beautiful face of his is an extremely welcome addition to this unyielding mystery.

A peek into chaos

As much as I love this man, he’s not the first image that comes to mind when people remember this thriller. House begins with a very young Eve Plumb (Jan on the Brady Bunch) coming home from school. She walks into the house expecting to find her mother but the house is empty. She enters the kitchen and walks past the broken dishes and puddles of blood and heads next door to her aunt’s (Julie Harris). It’s a harrowing segment that sets the scene for a dark look at the life of a missing housewife.

A little beauty amongst the chaos (and I don't mean Ed Asner!)

George is Lt. Dan August, a plain clothes cop with a nose for solving twisted mysteries. Think Sgt. Joe Friday with a touch of (intentional) humor. He is called onto the scene with his steadfast partner, Sergeant Charles Wilentz (Keenan Wynn who is always a pleasure). August is sure there is something more involved to the violent crime scene, but without a corpse he begins his routine investigation by looking for the missing housewife, Marian Ord (Janet Leigh looking divine).

Chrissy Snow's dad showing some machismo... Oh and Janet Leigh!

Of course, the husband is always the first suspect and the spineless traveling salesman George (Tim O’Connor) does nothing to prove his innocence. August digs deeper and we find that Marian was not the most faithful of wives. August uses several photographs he found hidden in Marian’s dresser to identify several men. Each one writes Marian off as a lonely housewife, but a series of flashbacks reveals that she left quite an impression on them. Also, we find that Marian was desperately seeking some kind of confirmation that she was still a desirable woman and not just an aging mother.

She don't take no shit. Don't even ask...

To say House is gripping would be an understatement. The expert cinematography, suspenseful script and A list acting will keep the viewer on the edge of their seat (and guessing) right up to the end. George is fantastic here and even gets to share a small scene with his wife (then still cast as Linda Day without the George). She plays a pot smoking receptionist who doesn’t like to take shit. Even Ed Asner shows up as the befuddled sheriff who unwittingly has one of the biggest clues right at his fingertips. In fact, this movie is all about clues. Everything that is said and done by the supporting players offers a bit of revelation about Marian’s disappearance so keeps your eyes and ears peeled when watching it.

Dan August at your service

The rest of the cast is amazing and I would feel amiss if I didn’t mention that House also features Walter Pidgeon, Julie Harris, William Windom, Peter Mark Richmond (Chrissy Snow’s dad!) and the always likeable Lawrence Dane.

House is a Quinn Martin Production. Martin is most famous for several police procedural television series such as The Fugitive and my personal favorite, The Streets of San Francisco. You won’t find any of the grime here from Streets (arguably one of the grittiest shows of all time), but you will catch Martin's signature top notch writing and themes of the “nothing is what it seems” kind. I would highly recommend anything that has the QM Production logo attached to it.

Tim O'Connor in an excellent role

House was so popular it spun off a series called Dan August starring Burt Reynolds (George had prior obligations and couldn't do the series). It ran just one season from 1970-1971 and I have never seen it. But if the movie is any indication of the quality of the series, than this is one show to keep an eye out for.

Dead of Night coming to DVD!

Thanks to David Fullam who gave me a heads up on the upcoming DVD release of the creepy TV Movie anthology Dead of Night. I just got this in my email from Dark Sky Films:

Legendary producer-director Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker) presents a thrilling trilogy of spell-binding stories with mystery-horror writer Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, The Twilight Zone). Dead of Night includes three short stories: Second Chance, No Such Thing As a Vampire, and Bobby, in addition to the extra feature A Darkness at Blaisedon and 100 minutes of bonus material, all available for the first time on DVD!

Wow, an extra made for tv movie! That’s too awesome. I did a cursory check on IMDb and discovered that Darkness at Blaisedon aired on August 26th, 1969 on ABC and was co-written by Mr. Curtis. Here is the IMDb synopsis:

Investigator Jonathon Fletcher and his assistant Sajeed Rau investigate supernatural incidents that the local authorities either cannot or will not tackle.

Holy Cheese! This is awesome! This is due to be released on January 27th, 2008.

Mark ye old calendars kiddies!

Here’s a little bit of the good stuff (Darkness at Blaisedon):