A Trailer a Day Keeps the Boogeyman Away! Halloween A-Z

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I Married a Witch 1942

I Married a Witch is a 1942 romantic comedy fantasy directed by René Clair. The movie combines elements of witchcraft and romance in a lighthearted and whimsical tale.

The story revolves around a 17th-century witch named Jennifer, played by Veronica Lake, and her father Daniel (Cecil Kellaway), who are burned at the stake by the Puritans. Before their execution, they curse the descendants of the man responsible for their demise, the Wooley family.

In a quest for vengeance, Jennifer cast a malevolent curse upon all future generations of the Wooley family, ensuring that each of their sons would be destined to marry the wrong woman, leading to a lifetime of unhappiness.

Their spirits have been trapped in a tree for centuries.

Fast forward to the 20th century, and lightning strikes the tree, releasing the spirits of Jennifer and Daniel. Jennifer, still a mischievous and enchanting witch, is determined to seek revenge on the Wooley family. However, when she meets Wallace Wooley, played by Fredric March, a descendant of her accuser, she finds herself falling in love with him.

Jennifer decides to abandon her vengeful plans and use her magical powers to win Wallace’s heart. She brews love potions, casts spells, and creates humorous chaos in the process. As their love story unfolds, Jennifer’s magical antics lead to a series of comical and unexpected situations.

I Bury the Living 1958

I Bury the Living will be a film I cover in-depth for Sunday Nite Surreal. So stayed tuned

I Bury the Living is a 1958 horror-thriller film directed by Albert Band. The strange and offbeat story uses a graveyard as its primary stage, to follow Robert Kraft (played by Richard Boone), a cemetery manager who discovers that the placement of black and white pins on a map (a map that is a matrix of a sardonic, animated face) of the cemetery seems to affect the fate of the individuals they represent. When he mistakenly places a black pin in a plot reserved for a living person, mysterious and tragic events begin to unfold the first time the uncanny deaths occur is when Kraft sticks the wrong pins in the plot owned by newlyweds, and winds up dead. The question of the film is, was it a mere coincidence, or can Kraft control who lives or dies?

As the body count rises, Kraft becomes increasingly obsessed with unraveling the deadly secret behind the map, leading to a suspenseful and chilling exploration of fate, superstition, and the boundaries of reality. Theodore Bikel plays Andy McKee. Frederick Gately’s (Wicked, Wicked 1975, mostly working in television) cinematography almost gives the film the effect of being a stage play.

The Incredibly Strange Creatures 1964

An oddity, Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? is a cult film released in 1964, directed by Ray Dennis Steckler, who also appears in the film as the character Jerry (Ray Dennis Steckler aka ‘Cash Flag’). The movie is often considered one of the worst films ever made and has achieved a certain notoriety in the realm of cult and exploitation cinema. The low production values, amateurish acting, and incoherent plot have contributed to its reputation as a “so bad it’s good” movie.

The film’s plot is quite bizarre and disjointed, featuring a mix of elements like romance, hypnotism, murder, and musical numbers, and yet nothing is ever fully explained such as the reason for the acid-disfigured victims kept in a cage. It follows bad boy Jerry and his friends as they attend a beach carnival, where Jerry becomes hypnotized by Madam Estrella and is compelled to commit murder. The film then follows his efforts to resist the urge to kill and uncover the secrets of the sinister Madam Estrella though the motives of Madam Estrella and her aide, Ortega, are also unclear.

Unemployed jerk Jerry (Ray Dennis Steckler credited in this oddity as ‘Cash Flag’) is pals with sidekick Harold (Atlas King), but he’s a lousy boyfriend to Angela (Sharon Walsh). When he takes her on a date to the beach carnival, they go to see a mysterious fortune-teller named Madam Estrella (Brett O’Hara). Jerry is attracted to one of the dancers at the carnival named Carmelita (Erina Enyo) which pisses off Angela. Jerry is invited to come backstage and is put under a hypnotic spell by Madam Estrella and soon begins to go on a murder spree killing dancers, beginning with headliner Marge Neilson (Carolyn Brandt). Jerry is haunted by strange hallucinations and soon learns the news of the carnival killings. When he seeks out Angela, he gets a wave of murderous lust again and nearly kills her too. Jerry is determined to learn Madam Estrella’s hidden secrets.

Also, the film features various dance costumes and scenes from the carnival midway, which are noted for their historical interest as they capture the atmosphere of the Long Beach Pike in the early 1960s.

Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? has garnered a cult following among fans of low-budget and exploitation cinema. It is often appreciated for its unintentional humor and its unique blend of genres and elements. Interesting note:

The three cameramen who started their careers under Ray Steckler’s guidance would go on to leave indelible marks in the film industry. Joseph V. Mascelli, for instance, authored a widely acclaimed cinematography manual, plied his trade as a cinematographer for Arch Hall Sr., and even took a shot at directing his own Z-horror film, “Monstrosity.”

In parallel, the camera operator Vilmos Zsigmond and his assistant, László Kovács, who had fled Hungary in the tumultuous year of 1956, embarked on their ascent with the Hollywood camera profession. Their involvement in “Incredibly Strange Creatures” marked one of the early steps in their dedicated climb, how ironic – they began their remarkable careers with one of the worst films ever made.

Island of Terror 1966

Island of Terror is a 1966 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher. The story unfolds on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, where a group of scientists led by Dr. Brian Stanley (played by Peter Cushing) and Edward Judd as Dr. Davis West becomes embroiled in a terrifying ordeal.

A series of gruesome deaths occur on the island, with victims reduced to skeletal remains, and the local population is gripped by fear. Dr. Stanley and his team soon discover the cause of these horrors: the island has become infested with deadly, gelatinous creatures resembling turtle-like amoebas with tentacles, which suck the bones out of their victims, leaving them as lifeless husks. The monocellular creatures are reminiscent of those in Caltiki, the Immortal Monster 1959 which also features a scene in which one of the characters loses a hand.

In the pursuit of a potential cancer cure on a remote island nestled off the Irish coast, the project’s esteemed scientist unwittingly creates a monstrous new organism that thrives by devouring all other living creatures.

As the scientists and the island’s inhabitants attempt to combat the horrific creatures, they realize that traditional weapons are ineffective against them. The film explores themes of scientific curiosity, survival, and the desperate struggle to find a way to defeat the relentless, bone-devouring monsters. The film also stars Niall MacGinnis as Mr. Roger Campbell. Offering support to David West is his beloved socialite girlfriend, Toni Merrill (Carole Gray).

Island of Terror features two well-known actors in British cinema, Sam Kydd plays the constable, John Harris who discovers a missing farmer dead in a cave. The frightening discovery reveals the body is a mass of jelly. Eddie Byrne (Hammer’s The Mummy, The Vengeance of Fu Manchu) is the island doctor, who mocks mere simplicity used to describe the gruesome condition of the corpse: “There was no face, just a horrible mush, with the eyes sittin’ in it.” 

Fisher knows how to create an eerie landscape and in this horror/sci-fi hybrid, the mood is suffocating due to the isolation and the inescapable reality that they are all marooned on this remote island. The village is encircled by these insatiable parasites, as they try desperately to survive while scrambling to find a way to exterminate these organisms before catastrophe strikes. Of course, there’s a twist ending… the scenario repeats itself in Japan.

The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant 1971

The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant is a 1971 science fiction horror film directed by Anthony M. Lanza. The story revolves around an ambitious scientist, Dr. Roger Girard (Bruce Dern), who conducts a groundbreaking and ethically questionable experiment.

Dr. Girard successfully performs a head transplant, attaching the head of a convicted murderer, Max (played by Albert Cole), to the body of a mentally disabled man, Danny (played by John Bloom). The result is a grotesque and unnerving two-headed lumbering mess. Max and Danny’s conflicting personalities and desires create chaos and tension within their shared body.

As Dr. Girard struggles to control his increasingly unhinged creation, Max’s criminal tendencies resurface, leading to a series of violent and deadly actions. The trashy pick also stars Pat Priest (The Munsters) Berry Kroeger, and Casey Kasem.

The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant is known for its cheesy, campy, and exploitative nature, more ridiculous than bizarre, or macabre. It has become a cult classic for all the obvious reasons.

This is your EverLovin’ Joey saying ‘I’ will see you around the snack bar while I pick up an icy cup of the letter J!

Alfred Hitchcock: The Television Years: 8 Indelible Episodes

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“There are moments when even to the sober eye of reason, the world of our sad humanity may assume the semblance of hell”-Edgar Allan Poe

Alfred Hitchcock Presents opening credits

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Boris Karloff’s anthology tv series: It’s a THRILLER!

The Film Score Freak recognizes Lyn Murray composer of the heart obscurely

THE BEACH PARTY BLOGATHON- CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954) & Night Tide (1961) : Gills-A LOVE STORY!!!

As sure as my name is MonsterGirl, this is a Boris Karloff Thriller! “The Storm”

The camera frame evolves into a most simplistic line drawing, a chubby caricature of Alfred Hitchcock’s endearing profile which then converges with Charles Gounod’s “Funeral March for a Marionette” as suggested by Bernard Herrmann. Bernard Herrmann had scored so many of Hitch’s feature films, as well as John Williams and Dimitri Tiompkin. Hitchcock appears at first in a shadowy silhouette from the corner of the screen, then stepping prominently into the outline, filling his place as the master of the evening’s suspenseful ceremonies.

Now, I offer a brief snapshot of my oeuvre featuring some of my very favorite episodes of both Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. They never stale, they always tickle and cause that most delicious little shudder, from some of the finest mystery and suspense writers and re-experiencing the delight of seeing how the show had given some of the best acting talents their very first start…right here.

THE GLASS EYE

Season 3 Episode 1 aired on (6 Oct. 1957)

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Jessica Tandy, Tom Conway, William Shatner, Rosemary Harris, and Billy Barty

From Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Directed by Robert Stevens and written by Sterling Silliphant.

Jim Whitely (William Shatner) and Dorothy (Rosemary Harris) begin cleaning out the apartment of his dead Cousin Julia (Jessica Tandy), Jim comes across a small wooden box that contains a mysterious glass eye and starts to relate the strange and macabre story to his wife of why it remains in Julia’s possession.

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The proper, lonely, and romantically repressed Julia had fallen in love with a famous ventriloquist named Max Collodi (Tom Conway)Becoming obsessed with the performer she saw all his performances, sending him letters requesting to meet him. Eventually quitting her meager job, in order to follow his show around Europe, Max agrees to meet Julia, setting forth certain conditions upon their first encounter.

Once she arrives at his hotel room, she finds him sitting in a dimly lit atmosphere of mystery, surrounded by shadows and subterfuge. The darkness envelopes him, and he asks her to keep her distance. He sits at a table with his small dummy George.

Overcome with passion as the two begin to talk, Julia tries to reach out and touch the object of her undying passion -Max Collodi, but it comes along with grave consequences.

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An Unlocked Window

Season 3, Episode 17 aired on (15 Feb. 1965)

Dana Wynter as Stella, T.C. Jones as Nurse Betty Ames, and Louise Latham as Maude Isles

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, directed by Joseph M. Newman, from a story by Ethel Lina White.

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Nurse Killer-“You’re Such a Pretty Nurse, Freda” cackle, cackle.

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Over the course of two weeks, a psychotic maniac is on the prowl, being reported all over the television and radio. The police are baffled by this madman who is preying exclusively on live-in nurses.

Set the stage for a dark and stormy night, where Nurse Stella Crosson (Dana Wynter) and Nurse Betty Ames (T.C. Jones) are held up by the storm at the house of the man they are taking care of (John Kerr) He’s got a bad heart and lives in a creepy old mansion on the outskirts of town.

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Suddenly, the women get a phone call from the murderer telling them that he knows they’re alone, and is on his way over to kill them both. Stella goes around the house making sure all the windows and doors are locked tight, but discovers that they overlooked a small window in the basement that is flapping open from the storm. Is he already in the house?

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Maude Isles-“I read a book about a man who only killed trombone players, he beat them to death with their own trombones.”

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WATER’S EDGE-

aired on (19 Oct. 1964) Season 3 episode 3

Starring the vivacious, amazing  Ann Sothern, & John Cassavetes.

From The Alfred Hitchcock Hour directed by Bernard Girard with a teleplay by Alfred Hayes, based on a short story by Robert Bloch.

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The prolific Robert Bloch, a genius writer of the horror suspense genre

John Cassavetes plays Rusty Connors who tricks his prison cellmate Mike Krause (Rayford Barnes) into telling him every detail about his gorgeous girlfriend Helen Cox (Ann Sothern). On his deathbed, Mike reveals to Rusty that he’s got a stash of $56,000 hidden away with the help of his dead accomplice, Pete Taylor.

Once Rusty is released, he goes in search of the epic Helen and finds her in the small town of Hanesville working as a waitress in a greasy spoon diner slinging hash and, and not quite as divine as Mike had related in his verbal memoirs.

Rusty pretends to be enamored with the voluptuous Helen, in order to enlist her in helping him find the stashed cash from the robbery. The journey leads them to a ramshackle boat house on a lake, inhabited by a sea of hungry rats.

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LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER

Season 3, Episode 28 aired on (13 Apr. 1958)

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Barbara Bel Geddes as Mary Maloney, Harold J. Stone as Lieutenant Jack Noonan, Allan Lane as Patrick Maloney,

From Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock himself with teleplay and story by the great darkly humorous British writer Roald Dahl.

Produced by Joan Harrison and associate producer/actor Norman Lloyd.

Roald Dahl
British writer of the darkly comedic fairy tale world, Roald Dahl

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Barbara Bel Geddes plays the dutiful Mary Maloney, a devoted wife and housekeeper. Husband police chief Patrick Maloney comes home and coldly tells her that there’s another woman he wants to marry and that he wants a divorce. Oh, yeah and Mary’s pregnant with his child, but he’ll let her have the child, they’ll probably be okay.

The usually composed and polite Mary erupts in a moment of rage killing him by way of blunt force trauma to the head with a giant frozen leg of lamb.

She then calmly calls the police, giving them her quick alibi, a story that she’d been out shopping, while the murder occurred. Lieutenant Noonan is the investigating officer on the case. He is bewildered by the lack of a murder weapon missing from the scene of the crime.

Mary being the ultimate hostess and good cook invites the hard-working detective Noonan and the other police officers to stay for dinner. Noonan says while stuffing his face with Mary’s fine meal, “For all we know, it might be right under our very noses.”

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CapturFiles_11 Old Mrs Keating gave me the ring test dangled it over my tummy, and it's a boy
“Old Mrs. Keating gave me the ring test today… dangled it over my tummy, and it’s a boy.”
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“I want a divorce…now we’ve got to be calm and sensible about it.”
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“You must have your supper darling, I wouldn’t ever let you go without your supper.”

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”I won’t let you leave, you can’t… you can’t.”
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“Try and stop me.”

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Road Hog

Season 5, Episode 11 aired on (27 Sep. 1962)

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Raymond Massey as Sam Pine, Robert Emhardt as Fred Fratus, Ray Teal as Ben Tulip, Richard Chamberlain as Clay Pine, Brad Weston as Sam Pine Jr. (27 Sep. 1962)

From Alfred Hitchcock Presents directed by Stuart Rosenberg, teleplay by Bill S. Ballinger from a story by Harold R. Daniels. Produced by Joan Harrison and associate producer/actor Norman Lloyd.

Dynamic character actor Robert Emhardt is deliciously vile as a very selfish and rude traveling trashy and risqué, novelty salesman who willfully forces a truck off the road, making it virtually impossible for the young injured Pine boy to make it to the hospital for medical care. He ultimately dies because of Salesman Fratus’ actions.

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Don’t Look Behind You

Season 1, Episode 2 aired on (27 Sep. 1962)

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From The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, directed by John Brahm and written by Barré Lyndon

Vera Miles is Daphne engaged to Harold (Jeffrey Hunter) Abraham Sofaer plays Dr.McFarlane, Dick Sargent (the 2nd yet inferior Darrin on Bewitched) is Dave Fulton who is madly in love with Daphne, Mary Scott is Wanda Hatfield and Alf Kjellin is Edwin Volck a brilliant composer.

The world of academia is occupied by intellectual types, social misfits, and radical thinkers. At one such particular local college, there is a fiend ravaging women while they walk home through the neighboring woods. At a social gathering of faculty, they speculate the motives of the madman, using their knowledge of criminal psychology and floating theories around while drinking cocktails and fawning over the beautiful Daphne. Is Daphne going to be the maniac’s next victim?

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Return of Verge Likens

Season 3, Episode 1 aired (5 Oct. 1964)

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The Alfred Hitchcock Hour directed by Arnold Lavin and based on a short story by Davis Grubb.

Peter Fonda is Verge Likens a simple, respectable farmer’s boy whose father is murdered by a ruthless politician again perfectly befitting the acting chops of Robert Emhardt as Riley McGrath who thinks he can get away with anything. George ‘Goober’ Lindsay plays D.D. Martin, McGrath’s cutthroat flunky in a role that is quite a contrast from the oafish and good-natured Goober Pyle.

But Verge is smart, patient, and not impetuous when it comes to laying the blueprints for his master plan of revenge.

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Lonely Place

Season 3, Episode 6 aired on (16 Nov. 1964)

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Starring Teresa Wright, Pat Buttram, and Bruce Dern.

From The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Directed by Harvey Hart, with a teleplay by Francis Gwaltney from a short story by C.B. Gilford

This is perhaps one of the most disturbing pieces of suspense television, that would quite aptly fit onto the larger screen adaptation as a major motion picture. The cinematography is stunning and Teresa Wright and Bruce Dern’s acting is so distinctively nuanced that it lifts the narrative beyond mere television drama. The theme of isolation, dread, and psychological/physical abuse by Emery and Jesse is stunning and at times nightmarish. Teresa Wright plays the meek Stella, a woman who has been so beaten down by her obnoxious and domineering cretin of a husband Emery played by Pat Buttram. Stella is a gentle soul, who loves animals, befriending a little squirrel who becomes her only source of joy. Along comes the menacing Bruce Dern as the mysterious Jesse who is willing to work for $5 a day picking peaches, knowing all too well that Emery is exploiting his labor. He proceeds to terrorize Stella, kill her pet squirrel, and turn the ineffectual and spineless Emery against her, as he is unwilling to protect or defend his own wife, being a cowardly quasi-Neanderthal himself.

Dern inhabits one of the most striking performances as a vicious socio-pathic drifter, so transcendent for its day that it’s utterly chilling to watch the narrative come to force. Dern’s Jesse makes his sleazy character Keeg in Cycle Savages 1969 pale in comparison.

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The landscape of a Gothic Americana horror story.

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‘GOOD EVENING’-MonsterGirl

Boris Karloff’s Thriller 1960s television series

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From the show’s opening iconic musical score, you know something deliciously sinister is about to occur. The word THRILLER appears against a fractured white web like graphic title design quite a bit in the style of Saul Bass. The discordant piano and horn stabs of modern jazz already bring you into the inner sanctum of menacing story telling. As Boris would often say as a precursory welcome,“Let me assure you ladies and gentlemen, as sure as my name is Boris Karloff, this is a thriller.”

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Boris Karloff’s THRILLER was an anthology series that ran from 1960-1962. It included 60 minute B&W episodes, 67 in all, that were expected to compete with The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Thriller ad

The series was developed by Executive Producer Hubbell Robinson and producers William Frye, Fletcher Markle  & Maxwell Shane for MCA’s Revue Studios. The format was somewhat plagued by two ambivalent themes, leaving the show’s narrative straddling both crime melodrama and tales of the macabre genres. But… either atmospheres created by some of the best writers, directors and players delivered a highly intoxicating blend of both.

“I think the title leaves the stories wide open to be based on melodrama not violence or shock. They’ll be stories about people in ordinary surroundings and something happened to them. The whole thing boils down to taste. Anybody can show you a bucket of blood and say-‘This is a bucket of blood’, but not everyone can produce a skilful story”-Boris Karloff (1960)

Karloff starred in five episodes: The Prediction, The Premature Burial, The Last of the Somervilles, Dialogues With Death, and The Incredible Doctor Markesan.

Many of the stories were based on writing taken from Weird Tales and scripted by that magazine’s contributors such as Robert Bloch (author of the novel Psycho) who wrote one of my favorite episodes The Cheaters as well as adapting his story The Weird Tailor.

Other contributing writers were Donald S. Sanford, Richard Matheson, Barré Lyndon and August Derleth John Kneubuhl, Alan Caillou, Robert Hardy Andrews, Charles Beaumont, Robert Arthur, William D. Gordon, Jay Simms and Wilkie Collins.

THRILLER had an incredible line up of serious dramatic players. Leslie Nielsen, Mary Astor, Rip Torn, Patricia Barry, Richard Anderson, Martin Gabel, Cloris Leachman, Fay Bainter, Victor Buono, Audrey Dalton, Alan Caillou, Elisha Cook, Robert Lansing, Mary Tyler Moore, Beverly Garland,Warren Oates, Werner Klemperer, Harry Townes, Jack Weston, Paul Newlan, Ed Nelson, Mildred Dunnock, Phyllis Thaxter,William Shatner, Elizabeth Allen, Guy Stockwell, Susan Oliver, Nehemiah Persoff, Torin Thatcher, Marlo Thomas, Robert Vaughn, John Ireland, Pippa Scott, Jeanette Nolan, Guy Rolfe, Hazel Court, Lloyd Bochner, Brandon DeWilde, Sidney Blackmer, George Macready, Tom Poston, Constance Ford, Elizabeth Montgomery, John Carradine, Edward Andrews, Estelle Windwood, Bruce Dern, Jo Van Fleet, Jane Greer, Richard Long, Ursula Andress, Lillian Bronson, Reta Shaw, Dick York, Howard McNear, Richard Carlson, Nancy Kelly, John Fiedler, Linda Watkins, Martita Hunt, George Grizzard, Robert Middleton, Natalie Schafer, James Griffith, Bethel Leslie, Patricia Medina, Richard Chamberlain, Sarah Marshall, Conrad Nagel, Reggie Nalder, Henry Jones, Russell Johnson, Natalie Trundy, Diana Millay, Philip Carey, Kathleen Crowley, Susan Oliver, J. Pat O’Malley, Judith Evelyn, Tom Helmore, Robert Vaughn, Virginia Gregg, Scott Marlowe, Judson Pratt, Marion Ross, Antoinette Bower, Jocelyn Brando, William Windom, George Kennedy, Abraham Sofaer, Monte Markham, Patricia Breslin, Charles Aidman and so many other great character actors.

Ida Lupino Looking Through Movie Camera
Ida Lupino directed Last of the Summervilles, The Lethal Ladies, The Bride Who Died Twice, La Strega, The Closed Cabinet, and What Beckoning Ghost? Guillotine, Mr. George, and Trio for Terror

The series drew much of its artist edge because of the directors who contributed their stylistic observations of the storytelling like Robert Florey, a French Screenwriter who was responsible for contributing to The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The Twilight Zone as well as assistant director on Murders In The Rue Morgue and the 1946 film The Beast With 5 Fingers yet another take of the Orlac saga. John Brahm directed the 1944 version of The Lodger and Hangover Square. Much of the overall tone of the series combined elements of film noir and classical horror. The shadowy gray-toned cinematography created so much of the atmospherics for some of the most memorable episodes in the series. Pigeons From Hell is yet another story adapted from Weird Tales Magazine. This episode was directed by John Newland of One Step Beyond, a television series consisting of half-hour episodes that were purported to be based on true paranormal events. Some other notable directors who contributed their work to the series were the ever-versatile Ida Lupino, Arthur Hiller, Lazlo Benedak, (The Wild One ’53) Hershel Daugherty, Paul Henreid, Douglas Heyes, and Jules Bricken.

THRILLER’S musical compositions seemed to be sculpted perfectly for each episode, underscoring the haunting and poignant quality of each story in such an evocative way that the music itself became integral to the narrative. The subtly intrinsic emotional quality in each of the arrangements help forge a climate of the distinctive theater of dramatic and unearthly chills.

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Jerry Goldsmith, Morton Stevens & Pete Rugolo  wrote some of the most vivid and beautiful melodies for the series. I was inspired by the episode God Grante That She Lye Stille, to name a song on my album Fools and Orphans after it.

Henry Daniell, who in addition to his marvelous face, had a wonderfully theatrical voice, plays the 17th-century reincarnation of his ancestor Vicar Weatherford in God Grante She Lye Stille. He condemns the witch Elsbeth Clewer to be damned to the fires of hell and burn at the stake. Memorable is his invocation “God Grant That She Lye Still.” in that measured and lucidly flowing tone of his.”Thou shall not suffer a witch to live!”

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Henry Daniell in God Grant That She Lye Stille.

Daniell would inhabit several striking characters in the series, including Dirk van Prinn the alchemist in The Cheaters.

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Henry Daniell as the cruel headmaster in Jane Eyre 1943.

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I’ll be writing about some of my favorite episodes in depth because THRILLER was so ahead of its time in terms of the serious and artful risk-taking of the various directors on board, the incredibly spellbinding storytelling and dialogue, inspired set & art design, experimental cinematography, dramatic performances, and evocative musical scoring.

Together the confluence of all these elements contributed to a show that often pushed the boundaries of what you might expect from a 1960s television series. Its moody, compelling, and haunting quality, has not been duplicated on any other anthology series of its type to date. Although I also feel passionate about The Outer Limits for much of the same reasons, a show philosophizing on morality with a very science fiction lens. I plan on covering that series in depth as well. Alfred Hitchcock Presents & The Alfred Hitchcock Hour was a fabulous mystery series that also merged noir with suspense. This is another show I’ll be talking about in the future. Yet THRILLER holds a special fascination for me, partly due to my enduring love for Boris Karloff.

Somehow THRILLER seemed to encapsulate its own Gothic methodology and mythos.

The sets had a uniquely eerie landscape and their own vitally uncanny, bizarre, and shadowy environment. Not unlike the way Val Lewton seemed to create his own unique cycle of supernaturally themed shadow plays for RKO.

The show still evokes chills and Gestalt responses in me even after having watched these episodes a hundred times over.

Also notable is Jack Barron’s make-up on the series, including The Incredible Doktor Markesan~

So please stay tuned as I journey back to Boris Karloff’s Thriller and wander through some of my most treasured episodes I’d love to share with you!

Also notable is Jack Barron’s make-up on the series, including Doktor Markesan

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a few scenes from a most groundbreaking & thrilling series!

A Wig for Miss Devore
A Wig for Miss Devore – Patricia Barry & Linda Watkins.
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The Storm-Nancy Kelly.
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What Beckoning Ghost?-Judith Evelyn.
Fingers of Fear
Fingers of Fear- Robert Middleton.
Mr George
Mr.George- Virginia Gregg and Lillian Bronson.
Masquerade
Masquerade – John Carradine, Tom Poston, and Elizabeth Montgomery.
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Rose’s Last Summer– Mary Astor.
Parasite Mansion
Parasite Mansion- James Griffith and Jeanette Nolan.
Pigeons from Hell
Pigeons From Hell– Ottola Nesmith.
Prisoner in the Mirror
Prisoner in the Mirror – Lloyd Bochner.
The Cheaters
The Cheaters- Mildred Dunnock.
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The Ordeal of Doctor Cordell-Robert Vaughn.
the grim reaper
The Grim Reaper– himself.
the hollow watcher
The Hollow Watcher– Audrey Dalton.
the hungry glass
The Hungry Glass– William Shatner and Joanna Heyes.
The Premature Buriel
The Premature Burial- Sidney Blackmer.
The Purple Room
The Purple Room.
the remarkable mrs hawk
The Remarkable Mrs. Hawk– Jo Van Fleet.
the weird tailor
The Weird Tailor- Sandra Blake & Hans the Mannequin.
The Incredible Doktor Markesan
The Incredible Doktor Markeson – Boris Karloff.
Doktor Markeson
Doktor Markeson
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There are 2 episodes listed that never made it to the screen- A Secret Understanding and The Black-Eyed Stranger.

Season One –

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Season Two