Baris Karloff's Thriller was one of the great anthology series of the 1960's. This was also the show that made me look at the credits. More specifically, it made check the credits on each episode to check for Robert Bloch's name; if I saw his name, I knew it would be an episode I would love. Turns out there were a lot of names on the credits I would continue to look for.
John Scolari and Peter Enfantino have been going through the series episode by episode in their A Thriller a Day blog. Here's where they trash my pick for this week's Overlooked Video:
http://blastr.com/2011/02/image-of-the-day-how-the-1.php
Ok. So it wasn't as great as Pigeons from Hell. The thing is that I am an uber fan of August Derleth's writings -- yes, even his lesser works. I also bow to no one in my esteem of Richard Matheson -- and, yes, even his L. Frank Baum movie. So, combine this with one of my favorite television programs of all time...well, I have never denied that I can be a gibbering fanboy.
Check it out for yourself:
http://www.archive.org/details/KarloffThriller
And don't forget to drop by Todd Mason's Sweet Freedom blog for more Overlooked Movies today.
I have the THRILLER box set, but don't remember this one from the description as yet, and so will have to delve in (I take them in only once in a while...I haven't even looked at the Jack/John Holbrook Vance episode "Man in a Cage" again yet). (Bloch's script from his short story "The Weird Tailor" was my childhood favorite, and it probably worked a little better with the blurry dupe the Hartford, CT station was running in the '70s, which gave away a little less of an unfortunate attempt at dramatic legerdemain.)
ReplyDeleteI wonder what I was watching when Thriller was on.Those pre-VCR days were a bitch.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to guess that you might've been in bed as a young'n in 1961-62, Evan...when it was on against ABC's BEN CASEY (a family favorite?) and CBS's HENNESEY (reportedly a decent sitcom, followed by I'VE GOT A SECRET), at 10p on Mondays (ET/PT), just after 87TH PRECINCT from the same production unit.
ReplyDeleteIn its first year, '60-61, it was on Tuesdays at 9p, up against ABC's STAGECOACH WEST and CBS's THE TOM EWELL SHOW (no seven year itches there) and the considerably more durable RED SKELTON SHOW...and the NBC lead-in for THRILLER was ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS:, in a pretty tough spot against WYATT EARP and DOBIE GILLIS, where I believe AHP was the likely victor. At ten PM, horror fans who didn't mind the "true story" nonsense could tune over to ABC for ONE STEP BEYOND/ALCOA PRESENTS.