tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post3385759562795403494..comments2024-03-16T11:23:44.620-07:00Comments on A Thriller a Day...: The Terror in Teakwood: Season 1 Episode 33John Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-83503624756295757172015-11-30T23:12:25.701-08:002015-11-30T23:12:25.701-08:00Watching these episodes in order, and this is my f...Watching these episodes in order, and this is my favorite so far. Right up there with "The Hungry Glass" and "The Cheaters." But this has Charles Aidman in it, and I really, really love Charles Aidman. Great story, beautifully shot, good acting, nice pacing, great score. But most importantly Charles Aidman is in it. Great episode. Charles Aidman is in it.Jack Rabbit, INLAND EMPIREnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-77926816599910603462015-01-04T04:44:48.815-08:002015-01-04T04:44:48.815-08:00regarding John Ireland: He was reputed to be very ...<i>regarding John Ireland: He was reputed to be very well endowed</i> <br /><br />If this IMDB pic is any indication, yes, and he dressed to the right<br /><br />http://www.imdb.com/media/rm388465920/nm0409869?ref_=nm_ov_phAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-48895668793976899392014-07-20T15:23:20.202-07:002014-07-20T15:23:20.202-07:00Hey--it was one of the best episodes with less war...Hey--it was one of the best episodes with less warts and all. <br /><br />Try some pianist doing "Peace, Peace," by Bill Evans. <br /><br />To be sympathetic, Ruggolo was a jazz pianist for the TV, Movie media with constant work--some was good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-80248763723067200262014-07-20T15:01:34.405-07:002014-07-20T15:01:34.405-07:00ME TV runs it again tonight at a reasonable 9:00 p...ME TV runs it again tonight at a reasonable 9:00 pm CDT. Polovetzian or Polovtsian), <br /><br />Yes--I agree, "Goldsmith outdoes himself, with a score featuring mostly brass and those awful-sounding, Herrmannesque low woodwinds."<br /><br />This episode, sans the poor special effects regarding the severed hands, would go great on the big screen old time movie theatres on a NPR fund raising pitch. Well, the audience screaming per Psycho could be off-putting to yours truly who eschewed a generation brought up with popcorn chewing, amorous interludes, et al.<br /><br />Poor snob that I am at the golden 65 year mark. Well, I can always play back Fantasia on DVD.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-40435287056765597712014-03-14T01:42:06.860-07:002014-03-14T01:42:06.860-07:00FWIW: I just rewatched this one for the first time...FWIW: I just rewatched this one for the first time, and having been reading some of the comments here would like to add that Guy Rolfe gave what was probably the performance the great Colin Clive would have given had he still been alive and well when the episode was filmed (taking off maybe a decade or so as to Clive's actual age, but no matter). How fun it would have been to have had Karloff introduced "our special guest star, Mr. Colin Clive", but, hey, it's not a perfect world. To have made it even more perfect an aged Dwight Frye in the Reggie Nalder crypt opener role would have made it truly perfect.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-55180693996941373392013-11-14T18:03:14.820-08:002013-11-14T18:03:14.820-08:00Amadeus.Amadeus.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-51945616072196262452013-11-14T18:00:27.770-08:002013-11-14T18:00:27.770-08:00Yes-the musical score. The obsessive compulsive j...Yes-the musical score. The obsessive compulsive jealous rival is well acted. This episode is another one of it's kind in the whole series. Geez-let's not forget the big production Hollywood flick about the young Mozart done in by his horrid malefactor. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-41106405069968807692013-07-28T14:56:40.133-07:002013-07-28T14:56:40.133-07:00First, regarding John Ireland: He was reputed to ...First, regarding John Ireland: He was reputed to be very well endowed, which would have made him a cool cat in any milieu!<br /><br />This was a great episode, one of the very best of a series that too often settled for the milky bland. I remembered this from childhood and enjoyed it here thoroughly, with the exception of the awful effect of the crawling hands at the end. Even on a low budget, there hadda be a better way --<br /><br />Liked Aidman, he was a ruggedly handsome and relaxed alternative to the twisted persona so well realized by Rolfe. And I've always loved Hazel Court, who so often played scheming women. The shot of her passed out on the bed in her negligee struck me as surprisingly explicit and erotic for American TV in '61. <br /><br />Franz Liszt was considered the greatest piano virtuoso anyone had heard when he became the rage of Europe, and he had unusually large, long hands which allowed him a tremendous span on the keyboard. As a result, the music he wrote for piano was considered (and still is) devilishly difficult to do, and perhaps impossible for pianists with smaller hands than he had. So this aspect of the story was not far-fetched at all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-62723392879274239582013-07-20T18:42:59.066-07:002013-07-20T18:42:59.066-07:00"Étude in Black" Nicholas Colasanto Tele... "Étude in Black" Nicholas Colasanto Teleplay: Steven Bocho<br /><br />Story: Richard Levinson & William Link September 17, 1972 <br /><br />Alex Benedict (John Cassavetes), the married conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, murders his mistress, Jenifer Welles (Anjanette Comer), after she insists on going public with their affair, and tries to make it look like a suicide. Columbo searches for clues to place Benedict at the murder scene. Blythe Danner and Myrna Loy guest star as Benedict's wealthy wife and mother-in-law, respectively. Pat Morita cameos in one scene as Benedict's butler. (During filming Danner was pregnant with her daughter Gwyneth Paltrow, who was born ten days after this episode aired.) <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-2197766976425614942013-07-20T18:25:13.309-07:002013-07-20T18:25:13.309-07:00The classical music was worth the price of admissi...The classical music was worth the price of admission. Agree that the special effects left much to be desired.<br /><br />I almost thought Leonard Nimoy was in this episode-oh, that was a Columbo Episode, or maybe not. The Shat was in a Columbo episode. As was John Cassavetes (in Greek: Ιωάννης Νικόλαος Κασσαβέτης; in a role similar to this tale, albeit without special effects. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-6744707639374253342013-03-14T20:18:24.225-07:002013-03-14T20:18:24.225-07:00In the last couple of days, I've been hard on ...In the last couple of days, I've been hard on Purple Room, A Good Imagination, Well of Doom, and most other episodes by implication. But here with this episode, and the previous one, Mr. George, we're finally starting to see some engaging episodes free of major story problems.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-48011056128769758762012-07-26T17:13:39.104-07:002012-07-26T17:13:39.104-07:00Our hosts have already said that they didn`t cumul...Our hosts have already said that they didn`t cumulatively give a four Karloff rating to any episode, so three and a half must mean this is as good as it gets...<br />I hope not - my first run through the series and I hope there are better ones down the line. Aside from the opening, the grave digger is extemporaneous - surely our hero would have given in to temptation and checked out the titular teakwood box anyways. Pure padding. And the big fight scene was truly lame...Aidman gently tosses the box at Rolfe who acts as if he`d been hit by a cannon. We`ve had some good drag em down knuckle dusters in the series so far but this wasn`t one of them.<br />Got to side with Hynek on this one - definitely fun and worthy of a three Karloffs but already have seen better.<br />BTW thanks to Frank Miller for the word "zaftig". Had to look that one up!JCRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-234708631129283232012-05-02T15:41:01.101-07:002012-05-02T15:41:01.101-07:00Just dropping in here to secure props for Caesar G...Just dropping in here to secure props for Caesar Giovannini's compositional and pianistic skills. While I was watching the episode, I was trying to guess if it was a Goldsmith or Stevens score. The underscore sounded like Goldsmith, but the original piano compositions didn't sound like him at all. I was relieved to find that my musical detection skills weren't failing me and that Giovannini was the composer of the quite authentic sounding sonata.<br /><br />Since his piano playing is credited, I assume he's also responsible for the very amusing hunk of Schumann's Fantasy in C allegedly played by Glocky's female student. It's exactly the kind of totally competent but somewhat leaden playing that Glocky complains about in the dialogue. Caesar interpreted this perfectly for the context.<br /><br />Also, as a bonus, here's a little of Giovannini's lounge music:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxlDgftADQUBob Lindstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02074903551228708722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-51664801131079085012012-02-17T17:58:23.365-08:002012-02-17T17:58:23.365-08:00Great episode! Having only seen Guy Rolfe as Mr. S...Great episode! Having only seen Guy Rolfe as Mr. Sardonicus and Toulon, I was thrilled to see him so effective as the doomed romantic pianist. Court has been more zaftig, but was effective as the innocent, concerned wife. And there were great character turns, particularly by the music critic.<br /><br />The high point for me wasn't the horror, it was the sonata performance, with the actors carrying most of it without any lines. It reminded me of the climax of "Rhapsody," one of Liz Taylor's best (and least well remembered) films. Watkins's growing excitement and Aidman's growing realization of what Court saw in her husband were particularly effective.Frank Millernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-20700003156353727672011-10-26T18:52:11.869-07:002011-10-26T18:52:11.869-07:00I'm a big Mad Love fan and was eager to see wh...I'm a big Mad Love fan and was eager to see what sort of improvisations the good folks of Thriller would take with the old crazed classical concert pianist with the possessed hands story.<br /><br />The overture starts off deliciously creepy with a spooky graveyard theft. It's not made evident what exactly is being done in the crypt, but from the grave keepers reaction, it ain't no bringing flowers.<br /><br />After that excellent prologue we're transported to the overseas to a modern New York City far removed from any old world supernatural dealings. Guy Rolfe is a terrific fit in the role of the tormented artiste. Hazel Court just needs to look good as his neglected wife. Charles Aidman is adequate as Hazel's old love interest and soon to be protector.<br /><br />The plot unfolds at a nice pace, allowing for Vicek's madness to establish, before unvieling his secret. Maybe I'm slow, but it took me almost until the lifting of the teakwood lid before I figured out what was inside. <br /><br />The scene where the old grave keeper ran into Charles and Hazel started out promising with hopes of my more shocking revelations from Vicek's past, but it fizzled out as a simple bribery scene. <br /><br />The other scene which didn't really work for me was when the jealous old critic delivered her schadenfreude speech with relish, only to be easily won over by Vicek's sucessful run through the Sonata #7. I wasn't that impressed. Old Vlad could have injected a bit more Liszt into his playing.<br /><br />Just when the classical bits were starting to drag things down a bit when, Hazel spots the Terror in Teakwood to wake us up. Now, the action gets pumping. Rolfe ups the tormented jealousy and than The Thing (pre Addams Family) takes center stage and finshes the story off as a Greek tragedy. I still don't know whether to laugh or be creeped out the special effects of those hands.<br /><br />Although it was a really good episode, I didn't think it one of the best as other reviewers did. I opened up my teakwood box and saw 3 Karloffs.Hynekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08641908347705520084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-2907709883250543872011-05-08T08:42:51.360-07:002011-05-08T08:42:51.360-07:00I missed the boat on this one. I wasn't impre...I missed the boat on this one. I wasn't impressed when I saw it years ago and still don't get it's appeal. This must be my PIGEDONS FROM HELL critical low score for an apparently loved episode. Maybe it was the frequent piano interludes that constantly broke the mood and tension for me. <br /><br />While it was sell acted by everyone, the idea that only one man can play a particular piece of music was a bit too much for me. Grim reapers and kids with hatchets in their heads is unbelievable too, but experienced by only a few which thus creates the story. Here, we are to believe that the entire world accepts the fact that only one man can ever play "Polovetzian Dance #2 by Borodin" or whatever it is... lol. Maybe he bought the 8-tracks that John Williams was hawking and learned from there.<br /><br />Either way, I can't comfortably give THE TERROR IN TEAKWOOD anything higher than "2 1/2 Karloffs".SoSo Cinemahttp://www.sosocinema.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-88320948198481208652011-03-12T22:59:04.238-08:002011-03-12T22:59:04.238-08:00Up there in the initial plot synopsis: where did t...Up there in the initial plot synopsis: where did the bit about Borodin's "Polovetzian" (correct spelling : Polovtsian) Dance come from? The "impossible" piece was Sonata #7 by Vicek's now-handless rival. Nothing by Borodin is head in the score.Paul Pennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15675804395438758118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-55305938790811697162010-12-09T16:32:09.034-08:002010-12-09T16:32:09.034-08:00If I was a kid watching this way back when it was ...If I was a kid watching this way back when it was first broadcast, it would have scared the crap out of me. Those hands were CREEPY and well done for the time. This was an excellent episode. Gothic, well acted, noirish. I want that graveyard set for next Halloween! I didn't know Reggie Nalder played Barlow, but I did recognize him from his portrayal of the Andorian ambassador from Star Trek. I loved that character and wished they had used him more than once.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-51193561068530029322010-12-09T11:18:59.525-08:002010-12-09T11:18:59.525-08:00A watchable episode marred (as THRILLER often is) ...A watchable episode marred (as THRILLER often is) by an underdeveloped, talky script and unconvincing effects, but saved by great performances and music (both Jerry Goldsmith's and Caesar Giovannini's). Two out of four Karloffs.Jackemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03325206400674467305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-86614411505758344482010-11-22T08:54:57.809-08:002010-11-22T08:54:57.809-08:00An all-around fun episode, though it's not goo...An all-around fun episode, though it's not good to think too hard about it. When Aidman opened the box, I was really surprised, and the show had me from then on.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-66052351735020656702010-10-11T00:00:39.737-07:002010-10-11T00:00:39.737-07:00Steve and Gary--
As a guy who has worked amongst ...Steve and Gary--<br /><br />As a guy who has worked amongst musicians for many years, I have known LOTS of people in the classical biz who fit the Charles Aidman persona to a tee. Aidman's character could be anything---an arranger, copyist, proofreader, vice-president of a publishing house who composes and arranges on the side, etc etc. Believe me, many of these guys--even the composers themselves---are often unobtrusive, nebbish types who fade into the woodwork at rehearsals, concerts and recording sessions (as opposed to the general perception of musicians as flamboyant, eccentric wierdos). I think Aidman is a perfect fit for this great ensemble cast, and agree with Gary that he very effectively offsets the ego-manaical, vain Guy Rolfe.<br /><br />I can buy the argument far easier in the case of John Ireland who is, after all, supposed to be a bigtime, charismatic performer. The most he seems to be able to accomplish in "Papa Benjamin" is a limp, half-hearted attempt at beating time, just prior to his patended collapse to the stage floor; what an act!<br /><br />However, the brooding, self-obsessed nature of his character OFF-STAGE works for me, as he locks himself up, ignores his wife, and forges ahead with his magnum opus, the "Voodoo Rhapsody!" But, in the end, it's a dreadfully dull portrayal.<br /><br />LRLarry Rapchaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-31723160739498576432010-10-09T23:10:49.933-07:002010-10-09T23:10:49.933-07:00Casting calls: I completely agree about granite-ja...Casting calls: I completely agree about granite-jawed John Ireland in "Papa Benjamin"; Charles Aidman in "Teakwood," not so much. Aidman's stock-in-trade was decency and loyalty, with an easy intelligence that made him kind of endearing -- the nice guy next door that you can trust in a pinch (see TWILIGHT ZONE's "Little Girl Lost'). It's not surprising that, years later, it was his comforting voice that narrated ZONE in its 1980s incarnation. These qualities seem to be exactly what the desperate Hazel Court character requires. Besides, his unsnobby American 'everyman' music professional nicely contrasts with Rolfe's classically obsessed European sophisticate. Bottom line: I'm glad they went with empathy rather than accuracy and saved Lloyd Bochner for "Prisoner in the Mirror"!Gary Geraninoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-62611145332342706982010-10-09T11:06:47.826-07:002010-10-09T11:06:47.826-07:00In the end the 'hands" didn't bother ...In the end the 'hands" didn't bother me that much. Come on...this was 50 years ago, and the budget for effects was probably 50.00 or some similarly low number. Back then the effects only had to "work" that week and not have to stand the test of time.<br /><br />How ironic that we are commenting, in depth, about their "effectiveness." What bothers me about this show is that like many really good THRILLERS, it is marred by the out of sync casting of CHARLES AIDMAN, who is the show's weak link. Normally, Aidman, is money in the bank, and he had a long career to back that opinion up, but to me he was a poor fit as a guy in the classical music world. Not unlike the tragically un-hip JOHN IRELAND in PAPA BENJAMIN. As I have said before, the casting in THRILLER did not always work.Steve Mitchellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-80534009451907854372010-10-09T00:06:26.207-07:002010-10-09T00:06:26.207-07:00Incidentally, in the interesting trivia category (...Incidentally, in the interesting trivia category (and since this blog provides a great opportunity to "immortalize" this great series and the legacy of the people who worked on it), the actor John Craven who played the minor role of the doctor in Act 4 of "Teakwood" made his Broadway debut in 1938, creating the role of young George Gibbs in Thornton Wilder's "Our Town", the role which would go to William Holden in the movie version.<br /><br />Craven's father Frank (who appeared in Universal's 1943 "Son of Dracula" --oops..I mean "Alucard"), also created the central role of the Stage Manager in Wilder's famous play, thus teaming father and son in the same historic production.<br /><br />LRLarry Rapchaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-83988752141466781492010-10-08T16:53:11.196-07:002010-10-08T16:53:11.196-07:00Without question, they are the actual hands, "...Without question, they are the actual hands, "skinned" to be worn by Vicek. As Larry points out, Rolfe literally states this in his extended speech to Aidman which pretty much sums up everything that has happened. Still, the "plaster cast" red herring, if you will, seems to have been invented to take the pressure off the reality of this horrific situation, or at the very least to confuse and misdirect the censors. Since we know from the teaser that these precious hands were indeed severed, using the plaster-duplication gimmick as a suspense-building device (first Aidman thinks they're just casts, then he realizes-- yikes!) really doesn't work for me. Anyone looking into this dark situation who opens that box and sees those horror-inspiring hands is bound to examine them a bit more closely, just to make sure he knows exactly what he's uncovered. To leap to the bizarre conclusion that Vicek has somehow managed to merely make casts of those original hands seems not only a reach, but it makes their great "horror reveal" a tad ridiculous -- oh my God, he's staring at...PLASTER CASTS OF HANDS! I guess if Aidman had discovered a plaster life-mask of Carnovitz in that box, he probably would have fainted dead away.<br /><br />Whatever the truth may be here, "The Terror in Teakwood" is still a first-rate THRILLER, one of the episodes that people remember because of the disturbing impression it made on them way back when. And yeah, maybe the walking hands do come across as a little glove-like (hey, they were just used as gloves!), but seeing them walk at all, with that amazing Goldsmith music spurring them on, more than did the trick for me -- especially back in '61, with imperfect TV reception masking the prop flaws.Gary Geraninoreply@blogger.com