tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post1000590985838654111..comments2024-03-16T11:23:44.620-07:00Comments on A Thriller a Day...: The Purple Room - Season 1 Episode 7John Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-39236276386343548022021-12-09T07:03:34.409-08:002021-12-09T07:03:34.409-08:00I always assumed that the reason for Rip Torn'...I always assumed that the reason for Rip Torn's return from the grave was a simple case of catalepsy, as we shall see in "The Premature Burial."casydemarcohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16300173612917513839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-25095917669896966172016-01-16T07:12:20.898-08:002016-01-16T07:12:20.898-08:00Yes i agree,there is such supernatural elements th...Yes i agree,there is such supernatural elements that story could stayed out as crime thriller.It would been cool after torns death after Patricia Berry shoots him it was real ghost and then cop nabs them for torns murder.Sometimes the producer isn't as great as hired.I was writer in school and certainly could change that tune in this episode and Well Of Doom.Over all it had every thing going for it.Titanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195496420672353933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-79208483457611670012015-08-29T23:59:18.473-07:002015-08-29T23:59:18.473-07:00There is more than one comment above (including Pe...There is more than one comment above (including Peter's initial one) suggesting that although this was a good episode, there was no real supernatural element, just a person dressed up as a ghost going "Boo!", but that misses a couple of important bits of dialogue near the end. <br /><br />Before that, however, there's some foreshadowing at the beginning, when the executor of Duncan's brother's estate warns him that "some people are repelled by their first impressions of it".<br /><br />When the Judson's returned to the house after deposing of Duncan's body in a car out in the swamp, Oliver recounts the (seeming?) scaring to death of his cousin and how he'd switched the bullets in Duncan's gun to blanks.<br /><br />Rachel stops him to say she was "frightened" watching it, because she felt "some other presence" in the room, "as if Jeremy Ransom and Caroline were...backing you up, egging you on."<br /><br />Later, after Rachel shoots to death Duncan as he returns to from the swamp dazed but alive, to confront her in the Purple Room. She hurried downstairs to find Oliver sitting at the bottom step, traumatized by having seen Duncan's "ghost".<br /><br />And here's where the second clue that the supernatural played apart. As she's telling him she killed Duncan, Sheriff Wiley arrives, explaining that "...we found your wagon down by the bayou with some stranger was in it. Fellow said his name was Ransom, Jeremy Ransom. He was out of his head, said someone was trying to kill him and his wife. So he ran off and we're looking for him. Did he come this way?"<br /><br />Clearly, the man seen was Duncan, but why did he tell the sheriff he was Jeremy, who'd been dead for a century? Could Oliver's "ghosting" of him been so traumatic for Duncan that when he came to he had become delirious and simultaneously suffered from amnesia? Not likely, because if that were the case, he'd also be disoriented by gaining consciousness in the middle of unfamiliar surroundings. Rather than running off as the sheriff relates, he wouldn't have been able to find his way back to the house that quickly, and if he was able to run (unlikely given his condition), he also wouldn't be dragging a leg as he did when confronting Oliver. Not to mention that a house in the middle of the night with no electric lighting would have been tough to find anyway.<br /><br />So for Jeremy/Duncan to run off in such a way as to disappear from the sheriff and his deputy most likely is explained most plausibly by saying the spirit of Jeremy had taken over Duncan, which is why he told them he was Jeremy and was fearful for the safety of he and his wife.<br /><br />Upon hearing such a thing, an officer would want to detain such a man to find out more about why he thought someone wanted to do him harm and to provide safety by apprehending the culprit. That Sheriff Wiley wasn't able to do so makes it seem as though Duncan's body was transported back to the house in a preternatural manner.<br /><br />Why would Jeremy want to go back to the house to be shot again? Could it be that he didn't want anyone living in it? Didn't want it to be bulldozed under for a development? Wouldn't he want to not be forced to relive the ghastly night of his death or did having Duncan unwittingly reenact the dread night somehow end the cycle forever, freeing Jeremy and his wife?<br /><br />There are plenty of plot holes in this, either being unexplained or extremely unlikely (how would Oliver know what kind of gun his cousin had, enabling him to switch to blanks and even if he did know, are blanks that easily obtained for the average person?). Still, the supernatural seems to play a large, if subdued, role in this episode.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-66562240817469573162014-08-19T17:58:49.742-07:002014-08-19T17:58:49.742-07:00Yes--ME TV's reruns will end eventually--too b...Yes--ME TV's reruns will end eventually--too bad they are not in chronological order these days per the Thriller Episodes. Hey--keeps us on our toes.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17039193262140929110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-52343696594382216282014-07-01T15:17:09.437-07:002014-07-01T15:17:09.437-07:00My sentiments, as well--no comments since 2013 con...My sentiments, as well--no comments since 2013 considering ME TV's rerun at this which will surely end eventually.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17039193262140929110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-58703868698628500732013-12-30T16:22:38.629-08:002013-12-30T16:22:38.629-08:00Rodney, this was my take on this episode too. I...Rodney, this was my take on this episode too. I'm glad someone else had this suspicion. If we're right I think it elevates the story enough to add half an extra Karloff.Jasper Barkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07869166352199954744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-18917944157723143072013-06-01T16:19:51.952-07:002013-06-01T16:19:51.952-07:00I have commented on three Thriller episodes so far...I have commented on three Thriller episodes so far. These are currently being shown on ME TV on Sundays, 9:00 pm CST Daylight Time in the original order first shown on NBC. I first viewed Thriller when it was shown-I was 11 in 1960. I trust the ME TV versions have not been edited or cut to fit in more commercials? This episode did have initial shock value when I first saw it. The resolution to the episode is wanting-hey, the abandonment of the "corpse in the car" shades of Pyscho--good ole Hitch! The ghost mask--well, back in 1960--scary for an 11 year od. Now, mucho camp!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-73254455332248844352013-05-04T10:59:35.146-07:002013-05-04T10:59:35.146-07:00So why does the cop say Corey said someone was try...So why does the cop say Corey said someone was trying to kill "him and his wife"? Are we supposed to presume that Corey's body was now possessed by the original dead guy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-58466362200546270522013-03-14T06:22:18.358-07:002013-03-14T06:22:18.358-07:00I said last night of "A Good Imagination"...I said last night of "A Good Imagination", that Thriller shows seemed to be either dull, padded snoozefests, or flawed gems, but that I was having trouble finding ones that I really liked without considerable reservation.<br /><br />"The Purple Room", while not as flawed as "A Good Imagination" still falls into the flawed gem category. Everyone seems to like this one, and I wish I could too. There are certainly many things to like about it, mostly the atmosphere and cinematography. The problem with "The Purple Room", as with "The Well of Doom" and others is that the twist at the end is that there is no twist. We've figured out the whole plot very early on (Anderson and Barry are trying to scare Torn out of the house), and nothing happens to change that. Not only do we figure that plot out very early on, but Torn loudly announces it at every opportunity. This leads the viewer to think "Oh, it can't be that simple", but yeah, it really is that simple. No more, no less. The bit at the end where Torn is actually alive is tacked on, and doesn't fundamentally change what the plot was all along.<br /><br />Despite suspsecting Anderson from the beginning, Torn cheerfully has a drink with him anyway. There's no mystery to us about why he conks out. He tells us. Therefore, when he wakes up and his gun is still there, the possibility that it may have been tampered with was the first thing I thought of. It never occured to Torn, though. Despite believing that Anderson was out to scare him, the sight of Anderson in a mask a few minutes later is sufficient to scare him to death.<br /><br />The fact that he was drugged proves that this is no ghostly influence. The fact that they didn't take his gun proves that it's not going to be of any use. You can say that Torn is too frightened to figure this out, but even frightened, it's too simple to miss. I kept thinking that it can't be this neat and pat. If I've figured it out this deeply, there's got to be some big twist or revelation to change things. Nope. Nothing.<br /><br />Then the story gets weird. Whoops! Anderson didn't simply scare Torn out of the house, he scared him to death. For some odd reason, Anderson decides he has to move the body. Why? Next morning Torn will be found dead in his bed of a (genuine) heart attack. What's wrong with that? No, that's not good enough, decides Anderson. He's got to be found dead in his CAR of a heart attack. (Got to give the neighbors a fighting chance of catching you moving the body, or something like that.)<br /><br />So they dump him somewhere or other, but surprise, surprise, Torn isn't really dead. He staggers back to his house, Anderson and Barry think he's a ghost, and so kill him again just to make sure, then realize their mistake. Okay, these scenes are effectively done, but they're all NEW plot. They don't do anything to alter the original plot, which was laid out before us in full five minutes into the show, with nary a twist or swerve to fool us along the way.<br /><br />Anderson's character wasn't a doctor, was he? Since they didn't actually do anything to kill Torn, my first thought, even on a dark and stormy night in a really spooky mansion, would have been "Whoops, I guess he wasn't really dead after all". This is a good episode, but the plot depends too heavily on everyone drinking the dumb water for it to be great.<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-4463491658209760572013-01-23T09:56:38.158-08:002013-01-23T09:56:38.158-08:00Loved this one...thought Torn was outstanding. De...Loved this one...thought Torn was outstanding. Deserving of it's status as one of the top ten fan favorites on DVD. Thanks so much guys for composing this aThrilleraDay web page. I respect your opinions...great job.Shatner's Grim Reapernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-50542349934531150772012-08-09T06:55:15.127-07:002012-08-09T06:55:15.127-07:002.5/4. Now it gets spooky! Excellent cinematograph...2.5/4. Now it gets spooky! Excellent cinematography.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-20938842438115054982012-04-17T12:50:43.468-07:002012-04-17T12:50:43.468-07:00SoSo is SO right about Rugolo's music. The asp...SoSo is SO right about Rugolo's music. The aspect that isn't noted so far is that throughout these opening episodes he insists on recycling elements of his horrible theme song (which Image unfortunately chose to put behind the DVD menu animation so we have to hear that crap time and time again.) After about three episodes we've heard WAY too much of that opening eschapee (WARNING: COLLEGE MUSIC EDUCATION IN OPERATION) -- dah-DAAAAAAAH-da -- and the intrusive "deedlely" triplets in the break - da-DAH da-DAH da-DEEDLELY-deeee. Ugh.<br /><br />I suppose this was done to give some semblance of continuity to an anthology show; but it just makes me want to poke a #2 pencil through my eardrums.Bob Lindstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02074903551228708722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-47056670718517416522011-12-11T15:30:28.622-08:002011-12-11T15:30:28.622-08:00SoSo--With regards to Rugolo's music, that was...SoSo--With regards to Rugolo's music, that was his style...the very loud, overly brassy scores (i.e., The Fugitive, Run For Your Life, Felony Squad) fit other shows he worked on better than this one, but he was who they hired.Mark Speckhttp://www.facebook.com/mspeck1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-37629034577339576782011-12-05T19:33:53.000-08:002011-12-05T19:33:53.000-08:00I really liked the banter between Richard Anderson...I really liked the banter between Richard Anderson and Patricia Barry as they were cleaning everything up in the second half. It reminded me of my favorite THRILLER episode, "Masquerade."Frank Millernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-27429454398527155552011-07-20T18:51:26.424-07:002011-07-20T18:51:26.424-07:00Finally some monster kid horror goodies!
This ep...Finally some monster kid horror goodies! <br /><br />This episode starts off with a very nice intro from Boris that psyches me up! <br /><br />It's funny to see a young Rip Van Torn. These days any mention of him and I immediately think of his infamous disheveled mug shot. <br /><br />A short scene early on with Alfred the butler is nice and reminds me somewhat of when him and Boris were together in the opening scene of Isle of the Dead.<br /><br />The proceedings move on pretty quickly and were off into a 60s version of Cat and the Canary. Patricia Barry and Richard Anderson are good as the scheming cousins. They play it pretty straight, while a Ripped up Torn energetically tries to pry their scam out of them. The atmospherics are great for the scenes in the house.<br /><br />The scene with the Phantom of the Opera ghost is the type of material that I expected of Thiller. After Rip falls and the cousin's antics are revealed is the plot starts to get a bit too loose and convoluted. As others have written, it would have been nice for an explanation of how Rip came back from the dead. The final fatal shooting dovetails nicely with the old legend and thus concludes what I'm sure everyone can agree, is the first classic episode of Thriller.<br /><br />I will decorate the Purple Room with 3 1/2 Karloffs.Hynekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08641908347705520084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-53505919599862845252011-06-26T14:04:42.968-07:002011-06-26T14:04:42.968-07:00I'm not convinced there isn't a supernatur...I'm not convinced there isn't a supernatural aspect to the program.<br /><br />Maybe he was near enough dead so that a cursory check would make someone think he was dead. Then he came to, half deranged from the events, spouting the gibberish to the police.<br /><br />Or, maybe . . . <br /><br />He did die. Really, in the time it took to place the car, there wasn't a hint that he was alive.? How about, instead, the body wasn't so damaged as to prevent Jeremy's ghost from possessing and animating it. Jeremy, forced to relive the events of his final night. That would explain what he said to the policeman and why he went past Oliver.Rodneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16246240288605771860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-53330079998635537142011-06-08T22:14:39.103-07:002011-06-08T22:14:39.103-07:00Liked this episode. Reminded me of an old EC comic...Liked this episode. Reminded me of an old EC comic!Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-30245854794936346482011-04-30T06:33:52.331-07:002011-04-30T06:33:52.331-07:00THE PURPLE ROOM is the first episode that provides...THE PURPLE ROOM is the first episode that provides a glimpse (and hope) of things to follow. They traded in the tone and mood of suburbia for a richer, gothic haunted house look. Cobwebs, candles, shadows... thanks to the new direction by William Frye and Douglas Heyes. Having it take place at the "Psycho" house only adds to the fun.<br /><br />Richard Anderson did quite well as the swarmy cousin. His performance certainly counter-balanced the agitated role of Rip Torn. Who really is in control here?<br /><br />I too agree with an earlier post regarding Karloff's introduction. It certainly looks like rear projection and not Boris in the actual scene with the actors, as I believe Richard Anderson mis-stated in the commentary.<br /><br />SoSo gives THE PURPLE ROOM a well deserved "3 Karloffs".SoSo Cinemahttp://www.sosocinema.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-56276536481645828822011-04-30T06:14:36.340-07:002011-04-30T06:14:36.340-07:00Thank you.
But as you can see from my digrestion ...Thank you.<br /><br />But as you can see from my digrestion of serious comments to goofy remarks, the show has destroyed my will to live. <br /><br />Side note: Ever notice how many people get hit by cars on THRILLER?SoSo Cinemahttp://www.sosocinema.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-6588728404358265482011-04-29T12:39:22.622-07:002011-04-29T12:39:22.622-07:00SoSo - You've earned your first merit badge by...SoSo - You've earned your first merit badge by making it to The Purple Room in one piece.John Scolerihttp://athrilleraday.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-81080034904364768372011-04-29T11:10:54.578-07:002011-04-29T11:10:54.578-07:00I plan to watch this episode tonight. Meanwhile, ...I plan to watch this episode tonight. Meanwhile, I'd like to take a moment to discuss the music of THRILLER.<br /><br />At this point, all has been credited to Pete Rugolo. No doubt he is a talented artist, but his selection of contemporary jazz music is oh so wrong for this series. With all the blarring trumpets and bongo drums, I'm expecting to see a chorus line of dancing girls followed by Joey Bishop from stage left. Maybe they should have had Bishop host it instead of Karloff... "As sure as my name is Joey Bishop, I can assure you this is a Thrilla Daddy-O!"<br /><br />Rugolo's music seems a bit more somber in the last episode (maybe it's just wishful thinking), but I will be forever grateful when Jerry Goldsmith and Morton Stevens takes over the music duties. <br /><br />My fondest memories of the THRILLER series was the music. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that the series kicked off with a very contemporary and dated jazz soundtrack. I guess the audience at the time found it trendy, but I have to imagine they too saw how music and imagine did not mesh.<br /><br />Enough of my rantings... off to THE PURPLE ROOM.SoSo Cinemahttp://www.sosocinema.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-90291360027997750442011-01-17T23:03:13.362-08:002011-01-17T23:03:13.362-08:00Okay. So this bloody comments engine wouldn't ...Okay. So this bloody comments engine wouldn't let me post with my name but it let me post with anonymous. I've been trying to post on the last few shows. Okay...anyway...<br /><br />Well, no old bittie, no reprehensible upper class people, that counts for something, but the old reliable sound stage makes an appearance again.<br /><br />This is by far the best of the first seven, but was disappointing in that it was not supernatural. Good post about why Rip Torn's character wasn't dead; that bothered me, too. I have to admit watching these first seven episodes I can't get out of my head how frugal the budgets must have been. I really wasn't digging the re-telling of the 100-year old story with just shots of the house. And during the Rip Torn part I kept wondering how the hell they were going to stretch this thing out for an hour. Thankfully the ghost appeared half way through and the plot got a second wind and moved on. Still...all in all I was disappointed, although the Karloff introduction was definitely better, and this was the first time I felt the score was kind of aligned with the atmosphere. Those bongos and flutes had been rather jarring through the first six. I hope the next few episodes don't fall back to the tedium of the first five (the gangster one wasn't that bad for having no action at all until the abrupt ending).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-36840231452850854162011-01-17T22:54:07.289-08:002011-01-17T22:54:07.289-08:00Test.Test.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-10382179556394203192010-12-19T17:39:07.563-08:002010-12-19T17:39:07.563-08:00Enjoyed this one, though it doesn't yet offer ...Enjoyed this one, though it doesn't yet offer up the chills I recall from Thriller reruns of my youth.Sidneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16284680909152676159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-15224988597803528222010-11-24T18:36:09.534-08:002010-11-24T18:36:09.534-08:00Ok, getting better, but still not quite there. Th...Ok, getting better, but still not quite there. The Psycho House and Oscar Goldman just detracted too much for me. And a young Rip Torn. Ghost scene was a bit creepy as it was coming out of the shadows, but then just went into lameness. Atmosphere in spades, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com