tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post2891563235960407152..comments2024-03-16T11:23:44.620-07:00Comments on A Thriller a Day...: Late Date: Season 1 Episode 27John Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-22468649764109706432018-01-05T04:48:16.040-08:002018-01-05T04:48:16.040-08:00How delusional was Jim (Edward Platt) that he expe...How delusional was Jim (Edward Platt) that he expected his Lana-Turner-like Trophy Corpse to stay faithful to his bald ass? Especially when he's away from home ("working in the city") 5 days a week.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-79767818374348256232012-07-19T15:54:08.942-07:002012-07-19T15:54:08.942-07:00Jolly good CMAC!
The best crime thriller yet and o...Jolly good CMAC!<br />The best crime thriller yet and others have referenced Hitchcock with good reason. Equally comical and suspenseful and only marred by the last act. <br />I will give this a three only because I havent seen this series before and live in hope that something brilliant deserves full marks. (Still better than giving a three to The Guilty Men...do you think our hosts will ever recant???).JCRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-87217496929625991952012-06-26T21:33:28.563-07:002012-06-26T21:33:28.563-07:00In reference to Peter's question about where t...In reference to Peter's question about where this was shot on the Universal backlot, the house was on Industrial Street, located behind the more familiar New England Street that forms part of Court House Square. The Paradise Club was actually the To Kill a Mockingbird school shot from behind. The school was then located at the end of New England Street, "between" (though farther back) the Courthouse and New England Street.<br /><br />G. Giblin, author, Alfred Hitchcock's LondonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-71258551828629255912012-04-01T21:19:59.194-07:002012-04-01T21:19:59.194-07:00"If it were an Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode,..."If it were an Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode, it would be the best of that entire series."<br />........................<br />There, there, just settle down and take it easy. I want you to put down the remote and slowly step away from the television.<br /><br />Don't panic, the men in the white coats are your friends and are going to take you to a nice, quiet place where lots of people have similar delusions...er, reasonable assertions.Ken Francisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-53507854030056365472012-02-11T15:51:04.165-08:002012-02-11T15:51:04.165-08:00I'm surprised, I thought this episode would be...I'm surprised, I thought this episode would be almost universally lauded. Only 3 Karloffs? No its a 4 out of 4<br />asll the way, #6 of 67 on my list. I bought every bit of it, it was brilliant. Maybe some viewers just aren't willing to rate a non-horror episode that high. If it were an Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode, it would be the best of that entire series.Cmacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-17471236511030170552012-01-27T21:54:27.456-08:002012-01-27T21:54:27.456-08:00I think in the hands of a Hitchcock all the little...I think in the hands of a Hitchcock all the little delays as Larry Pennell plotted to get the body out of there and had to deal with things like falling shoes and that strange truck driver would have generated almost unbearable suspense. In the hands of Herschel Daugherty it was just tedious. It didn't even get silly enough to border on absurdity (imagine a Roman Polanski with a story like this). Yeah, the score's great, and I love Doris's ditzy teenaged daughter and her dizzy boyfriend. It was like Doris and her boyfriend in miniature. But the car crash was rather broadly telegraphed (I was hoping he'd crash into the taxi) and the finale ludicrous.<br /><br />Or maybe I'm just bitter that Larry Pennell never took off that t-shirt. What a wasted exercise in objectification!Frank Millernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-41576666628805346842011-09-20T17:28:54.921-07:002011-09-20T17:28:54.921-07:00Wadda ya know, another Thriller episode that cente...Wadda ya know, another Thriller episode that centers on infidelity. <br /><br />I share the confusion about the family relations. I don't know why the writers chose to change the father and son relationship between Jim and Larry to a not to believable brother and brother scenario. <br /><br />Despite those crooked and entangled branches on the family tree, the plot intrigues soon made me forgot all that. <br /><br />As posted earlier, this episode was really a one note score, but it was written and played very well in my opinion. <br /><br />Edward Platt conveyed a believable sense of guilty conscience in his deathly act. Larry Pennell was perfect as the role of the simple, but fiercely loyal younger brother. After these two main characters were sketched out, the rest of the show was basically a long Hitchcockesque scene of "Get rid of the effin' body!". Sure, most of the situations Larry got himself involved in were comically convoluted, but the acting, camerawork, and musical score made the whole thing work. <br /><br />The last 30 seconds sucked big time! As morally sound (for a wife killer) as Platt made Jim out to be, I still wasn't convinced by Jim's last act.<br /><br />When Larry gave me the carpet and I dropped it, two and a half Karloff heads rolled out...Hynekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08641908347705520084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-23998958960700354972011-08-17T14:26:56.018-07:002011-08-17T14:26:56.018-07:00Again, I find myself a bit underwhelmed while othe...Again, I find myself a bit underwhelmed while others say this is great (as opposed to the last voodoo episode which I kind of liked and everybody else blasted). The confluence of events in this was almost comical and really seemed convoluted to me. I was surprised when I saw Woolrich wrote this. And I smelled the revised ending a mile away. Dumb and not credible. But that's not Woolrich's fault.Chris Kempnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-62182887984214177592011-07-31T07:19:06.473-07:002011-07-31T07:19:06.473-07:00Of course, now I've listened to the commentary...Of course, now I've listened to the commentary track and found they pretty much covered the confusing relationships.<br /><br />The commentary was perhaps scarier than the episode. "We're with Larry. We want him to get away with pinning it on Sid." Since Jim's trip home from the city was out of the ordinary, it would seem he made trip because he knew about the infidelity. Even if he had left immediately, he had all the time on the train to think. This sounds likes premeditation. Even if the murder wasn't premeditated, divorce the woman, don't end her life. So, while I can appreciate the dark humor in "Somedays, you just can't get rid of a body," I'm definitely not rooting for Jim and Larry.Rodneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16246240288605771860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-32620386608049905822011-07-31T06:10:38.292-07:002011-07-31T06:10:38.292-07:00I'm glad someone else mentioned the relationsh...I'm glad someone else mentioned the relationships. We're told upfront that Jim and Larry Weeks are brothers. Gordon identifies Helen as Larry's sister. Larry identifies Doris as Helen's mother. And Doris is now the late Mrs. Jim Weeks. I rationalized it as Gordon's hepcat way of referring to all women as sisters (instead of saying niece or step-niece). But since PE has reported Larry and Helen as step-siblings in the source story, I think that Gordon's line must be a holdover from an earlier version of the story which had Larry as Jim's son (which would explain the casting). Reminds me of Star Trek's "Shore Leave" where Barbara Baldwin's character seems to named Mary Teller one moment, and Angela Martine the next.Rodneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16246240288605771860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-21080417516876722142011-05-05T05:48:36.302-07:002011-05-05T05:48:36.302-07:00I respectfully disagree that this was one of the b...I respectfully disagree that this was one of the better crime dramas. I could have been, but doesn't deliver on it's intentions. Instead it slowly deteriorates into a disappointing anti-climax.<br /><br />Larry Pennell plays the annoying goofball brother who fits the thick-necked-body-building-jock stereotype to a tee. It was uncanny how the producers found two actors (Larry Pennell and Edward Platt) who looked so much alike as brothers.<br /><br />My favorite scene was when the cheating wife's high heel shoe (she's already wrapped up in the carpet)slips off her foot onto the ground. Pennell jams her shoe back in and then proceeds to stuff both ends of the rolled carpet (dead babe still inside) with pillows. It looked like he was making a giant taco.<br /><br />My childhood memories of THRILLER are destroyed by all this lame crime dramas.<br /><br />"1 1/2 Karloffs".SoSo Cinemahttp://www.sosocinema.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-19017002727860923332011-01-25T19:08:04.485-08:002011-01-25T19:08:04.485-08:00this was the worst thriller by far, so bad that it...this was the worst thriller by far, so bad that it's beyond 'so bad its campy good'; the ridiculous explanations that everyone accepts, like carrying a carpet for miles to the all-night carpet cleaner; i missed the 'plot twists'; that one scene runs for five minutes with him just carrying the carpet, no dialogue at all; and could they have found two more dissimilar-looking actors to cast as brothers?lostcausenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-16786706245612640232010-11-12T16:25:24.968-08:002010-11-12T16:25:24.968-08:00When I saw that this was another crime episode I w...When I saw that this was another crime episode I was expecting the worst, but it sucked me in. I really liked the score and was hoping poor Pete Rugolo finally dashed off a good one, but no such luck. Watching this made me wonder what Ed Platt looked like with hair. The commentary was terrific--in my opinion, commentaries by people who are "experts" are much more entertaining and interesting than those involving creative people who worked on the show (or film).Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-6487380822081409662010-10-05T16:05:34.064-07:002010-10-05T16:05:34.064-07:00Sandwiched between two "supernatural" ep...Sandwiched between two "supernatural" episodes, "Late Date" emerges as the superior entry... Thank God, because THRILLER needed at least ONE crime episode that everyone rallies behind. I find the debate about the ending fascinating, and thank you, DJS, for revealing how the original story itself ends (..."30 seconds earlier"...). Ironically, I kinda do agree that the twisty "No, we've got to give ourselves up anyway, even though we just pulled off the perfect crime" coda seems entirely right for such a bizarre, intentionally one-note, serio-comic tale. After all poor Pennell has been through, it's a pretty hilarious conclusion -- and this is a black comedy, after all (a la TROUBLE WITH HARRY, THE BUSY BODY, etc.), more than a grim noir, in spite of how it was photographed. And even Dave's suggestion of a sequel is distantly hinted at as LP enters the police car... we can tell this lovable wacko might be hatching yet another "scenario" to save the day and help his clueless brother!Gary Geraninoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-85866739666545826282010-10-04T18:13:00.732-07:002010-10-04T18:13:00.732-07:00In this digital era I probably could have inserted...In this digital era I probably could have inserted my name into the credits of this episode as it is a fave, but, sadly this was/is not the case. The STEVE MITCHELL in this show was a character guy who seemed to work from time to time in the 50'S & 60's. He appeared on my radar when I was soaking in the credits for an I SPY episode entitled: "THIS GUY SMITH," when it was originally broadcast in 1968. I was tickled, of course, to see my name on TV even though it was not me. Occasionally, I hear myself on TV which isn't half bad. Enjoying the reviews and interviews guys! Thumbs up!Steve Mitchellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-37694368948953880082010-10-03T11:42:35.107-07:002010-10-03T11:42:35.107-07:00Well man, after being a big fan of this episode fo...Well man, after being a big fan of this episode for years it does my heart good to see it getting some props. Glad you guys dug it--and good further comments, Larry R.<br /><br />I'm glad Mr. Larry Weeks is no deft super-criminal; his "regular guy" resourcefulness makes us even more tense for his situation.<br /><br />One thing re: music--not to take away from the brilliant Goldsmith mind you (never! never!)--but I have to say I actually think the late 50s/early 60s was a boon in TV scoring. Leaving behind the canned stuff of the early/mid 50s we now find film music giant Hugo Friedhofer soulfully scoring every episode of The Outlaws (every one original music--nheard of!), easily the most downbeat western of the period. That was in 1960, and so was John(ny) Williams' theme for Checkmate, one of the most kickass in TV history. Legendary Bernard Herrmann was scoring some Have Gun Will Travels (many tracked with his CBS library music) and then some Richard Boone Show eps (a brilliant anthology/ensemble series now forgotten). Of course, Mort Stevens was no slouch on Thriller--some of its best scores, I'd say.<br /><br />Add neglected Fred Steiner for some really unnerving Twilight Zone music (as well as CBS library cues). Leonard Rosenman bringing some atonality to the small screen with his groundbreaking Combat music (after his striking theme for The Defenders), and who can forget Dominick Frontiere apparently siphoning notes from another dimension in his unforgettable Outer Limits work. And on and on...<br /><br />Enjoying the blog, Peter and John--keep it up!Larry Blamirehttp://www.bantamstreet.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-65151654469512989472010-10-02T22:38:03.937-07:002010-10-02T22:38:03.937-07:00And, not that Blamire and I didn't scrutinize ...And, not that Blamire and I didn't scrutinize this episode to within an inch of its life, but watch Jody Fair when she goes into the bathroom.<br /><br />She's popping a zit ... that isn't there.DJSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-47708052083264125712010-10-02T21:56:41.403-07:002010-10-02T21:56:41.403-07:00You know that shot in the very beginning where Lar...You know that shot in the very beginning where Larry crouches down beside Jim on the stairs? It begins with his head out of the shot, and looking at the T-shirt, all I could think was, wouldn't it be a crapper if he came down into frame ... and he WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN?DJSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-1617491270889882682010-10-02T19:14:20.661-07:002010-10-02T19:14:20.661-07:00You were so close, Peter. Jim actually doesn't...You were so close, Peter. Jim actually doesn't survive the crash either, so Larry has three bodies and the patrol car to ditch. His T-Shirt, thankfully, remains unscathed.John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-28060014604654604202010-10-02T18:05:26.672-07:002010-10-02T18:05:26.672-07:00Larry, from his backseat position, manipulates the...Larry, from his backseat position, manipulates the cops to crash their patrol car coming around dead man's curve (because, according to Thriller, every curve in Los Angeles is high up on a mountain). Larry and Jim manage to survive the crash but they now have to dispose of the bodies AND the patrol car. Larry's game.Peter Enfantinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04317575598411394944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-56837710256433233322010-10-02T17:40:09.589-07:002010-10-02T17:40:09.589-07:00When I first saw Scoleri’s lines above, I misread ...When I first saw Scoleri’s lines above, I misread them as “the early days of ADHD,” meaning Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which certainly describes the quotation.<br /><br />Oddly enough, I was just thinking of suggesting John and Pete EXPAND the ratings system to a 1-to-10 scale, which might lend a better read on the “temperature” of each episode in relation to the others. I’ll stop thinking about that, now.<br /><br />What I’ll suggest instead is that anyone interested enough to comment might also give THEIR OWN assessment in terms of a rating. That way, by the end, we might have some kind of interesting group consensus as to what the best episodes are.<br /><br />John and Pete and I also discussed polling the readers of ATAD outright — each of us give a Top Ten, and say why. And while I despise the whole list-making, five-stars-or-no-stars, thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down school of reductionism (“does it rock or does it suck?”), in this case it might yield a good guideline of, say, ten shows for non-initiates that are a must-watch.<br /><br />Quibbling over the ratings as John and Pete see them is the direst waste of discussion space. Each post to the site should contain INFORMATION that enhances the cumulate.<br /><br />I dislike the denouement of “Late Date,” too — mostly because it’s a TV cop-out. The short story ends at exactly that thirty-second mark described by Pete and seconded by Walker Martin. But it doesn’t destroy the show for me — in fact, it suggests A SEQUEL in which Larry Weeks must now continue to deploy his wiles to get them out of the fix caused by brother Jim’s misplaced conscience and big mouth!DJSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-78377972852967052472010-10-02T17:06:36.736-07:002010-10-02T17:06:36.736-07:00Part 2-
A few miscellaneous observations --
Re...Part 2- <br /><br />A few miscellaneous observations -- <br /><br />Re: Ed Platt - mention should also be made of his role as the kindly wizard/high priest dude in George Pal's "Atlantis" (also filmed late '60/early '61), where Ed struggled to help the hero AND maintain his own dignity while all around were losing theirs. <br /><br />RE: Richard Reeves - Last summer I did a big study of Irving Berlin's WWII stage show/film "This is the Army" of which Reeves was a cast member in real life. You can catch a few shots of him in the film version as one of the young dancing gentlemen who woo their comrades-in-drag during the "Ladies of the Chorus" number (I am NOT making this up).<br /><br />RE: Jerry Goldsmith: The reason he was able to turn out masterful scores every time for these shows (which everyone though would end up forgotten) comes down to 2 words: genius and integrity. Check You-Tube, where you can see a lengthy (2 hour?) on-camera interview with the composer that he did late in his life (I think he was ill when this was filmed). Listen as he describes his work in early television; it will provide further insight into the man's true creative brilliance.<br /><br />His "Late Date" score, as Larry Blamire observes, is quite similar to TZ's "Nervous Man in a Four-Dollar Room" (R.I.P. Joe Mantell this past week). The TZ score was (amazingly) written for FOUR players only (piano, guitar, percussion, and flute(s)). His "Late Date" score sounds like it used four flutes, piano, harp and percussion which included tympani in the big spots, but mostly Latin instruments: bongos (and their offshoot the "Boo-bams"), plus maracas and claves, both of which provide those curious "ticking" sounds (maracas featured prominently in the TZ score). There are clear similarities between a lot of his stuff (these two scores, the "Poisoner"/"Grim Reaper", "Well of Doom"/"Terror in Teakwood"),<br />but anyone who listens to the You-Tube interview will immediately understand the situation. And , to provide some perspective, Bach and Vivaldi, faced with their impossible, crushing deadlines, often re-cycled earlier works..sometimes note-for-note. Genius, all the same.<br /><br />Hey, I just realized that EVERY Thriller episode of Season 1 has its own, individually-composed score; what a luxury this must have been, especially for an hour-long series!<br /><br />LRLarry Rapchaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-89510359230106514242010-10-02T16:38:26.256-07:002010-10-02T16:38:26.256-07:00PART 1 -
Now wonder Hitchcock was concerned---this...PART 1 -<br />Now wonder Hitchcock was concerned---this show absolutely proved that Thriller could best him at his own game---and on his onw turf, too!<br />A fine screenplay adaptation by Sanford, first-rate direction from Herschel Daugherty (something of a Hitchcock protege himself, who challenges the master here with his razor-sharp work), and moody, striking camera work by Ray Rannahan. And, oh yes...Mr Goldsmith at his finest.<br /><br />I love the house...those striking street shots with the brilliant sky (was this backlot...or did they actually film in this house and not on a soundstage?) The interior--all that white woodwork, the bannister, etc..practically leaps off the screen, especially with all of the contrast-y shadows, which deepen as night falls. The great night photography...the skyline, the Paradise Club..all beautifully captured and totally evocative of the classic noir style.<br /><br />The fun, engaging and informative commentary by Dave Schow and Larry Blamire basically says all that needs to be said about the show itself; yeah, I was disappointed by the ending, but that's what they had to do to get the show made and broadcast.<br /><br />The plot twists and continual close-calls create and maintain a truly Hitchcockian tension throughout; the bed-room/bathroom scenes are deftly described by DJS as "a French bedroom farce with a dead body!" Boy, that Larry Weeks had to think quick...and often...which he does in a not-entirely convincing manner, another aspect of this film that adds to the tension; you KNOW that if he gets caught--even if he gets rid of the corpse---that the circumstantial evidence is going to be overwhelming---it just keeps piling up!<br /><br />It's amazing to realize that, just as Thriller was gathering critical mass and entering its brief but white-hot glory period, that "Late Date" could actually hold it's own alongside the horror episodes. Credit the creative control of William Frye; when we read in "The Hungry Eye" that Frye walks on the set at the end of the day, complains that there is too much light on the set and demands that the scenes be re-shot, you KNOW what kind of hand-on guy he was; this excerpt makes absolutely clear why Thriller looked and felt the way it did; it was Frye's vision, which controlled every aspect of production.Larry Rapchaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-21506792532880981112010-10-02T10:40:12.838-07:002010-10-02T10:40:12.838-07:00Actually, Walker, I stole that from an illustrious...Actually, Walker, I stole that from an illustrious Amazon reviewer, who said of Thriller: <br /><br />(...) I know that they started out the series Thriller as a crime themed show the acting is great but there really is not much horror involved in this series it might be the way the show comes on with the crazy lines on the show don't really care for that also the music score is not very scary I really should not prejudge this show till I watch a little more but I needed to express my feelings on receiving it and also the price for this series is rather pricey knowing this is a long time coming to DVD I guess it is expected to be high (...)<br /><br />What can I say, in the early days of ATAD it gave us the inspiration to go on. Not to worry though. You've seen the last of our crazy line/stick ratings.John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-40215094189640905422010-10-02T10:28:23.066-07:002010-10-02T10:28:23.066-07:00Our hosts state that "crazy lines" will ...Our hosts state that "crazy lines" will replace the crazy Karloff rating system and they give this insane episode 7 crazy lines. The entire THRILLER production crew called these lines "sticks". Therefore this show gets 7 crazy sticks. I personally think the lame, unbelievable ending ruined the show.Walker Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16089880902426182100noreply@blogger.com