tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post4668268947268847420..comments2024-03-16T11:23:44.620-07:00Comments on A Thriller a Day...: Letter to a Lover: Season 2 Episode 8John Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-56525430167299378482016-05-03T16:10:13.352-07:002016-05-03T16:10:13.352-07:00YOUR RIGHT JACK I THINK IT WAS PREATY GOOD EPISODE...YOUR RIGHT JACK I THINK IT WAS PREATY GOOD EPISODE LOT TWISTI TURNS. AND FOR ME IN CLOSET I KNOW GOOD ACTRESS WHEN I SEE ONE. SHE WAS LOT LIKE REAL PERSON. DIDNT HAVE TO BE BABE. SHE WAS REAL, AND HER HUSBAND AND ANOTHER FINE ACTOR LOVE HIM IN POISONER . SEE HIM AS GAY TORRIST ON ONE STEP BEYOND THE EPISODE DELILA GREAT ACTOR MURRY MADISON. Titanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195496420672353933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-52017770946244260442015-12-05T00:15:44.751-08:002015-12-05T00:15:44.751-08:00I love this episode and think the pacing is amazin...I love this episode and think the pacing is amazing. It moves right along. It's also mostly white instead of the grays and blacks of the previous episodes. It stands out. I wasn't bored, rather, drawn into the story. I love the Karloff stabbing intro, and the long opening sequence before it with no dialogue, much like a Hitchcock film sequence, told only with images. I don't always prefer the horror episodes over the crime, and as others here have said, the good crime episodes are horror. Being a gay man, it's hilarious to see how you straight guys come down on an actress for not being pretty enough, but that's not an issue for you with the male leads. Unfair and unreasonable, silly straight guys.Jack Rabbit, INLAND EMPIREnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-11681161596355559592013-09-02T12:19:15.299-07:002013-09-02T12:19:15.299-07:00I dunno, I think you guys are pretty intolerant of...I dunno, I think you guys are pretty intolerant of genres outside of your comfort zone. The cozy, pokey British drawing room mystery is something many people enjoy to this day. I agree that the staging of the 'reveal' was incredibly clumsy, but better direction would have made it all seem less silly (it wouldn't have BEEN less silly, just seemed less silly).<br /><br />Ann Todd's icy beauty and sexuality are not to everyone's taste, but she became the rage of England and the U.S. after THE SEVENTH VEIL, and her enigmatic performance here was certainly meant to be reminiscent of MADELEINE, the film directed by her then-husband David Lean about the notorious Madeleine Smith murder trial. Todd specialized in sly, polished types who were emotional volcanos underneath, and she was very much a Hitchcock blonde (in THE PARADINE CASE). I agree that she looked matronly here, but maybe that was the idea. I for one was curious about whodunit and why, and the limited cast and artificial goings-on were part of the fun for me.<br /><br />Major THRILLER episode? No, by no means. But it was a diverting hour.tjonasgreennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-36330063490855337332012-05-13T12:37:49.766-07:002012-05-13T12:37:49.766-07:00Well, as much as I'd like to chide Peter and J...Well, as much as I'd like to chide Peter and John for their MST3K schtick, the SCTV comment is right on the money here. This is, for all practical purposes, a satire on a British drawing room murder mystery, right down to Ann Todd's complaint about Matheson's, "insane jealousy." (Why IS jealously always "insane" in these things? Never threatening, dangerous, foreboding, obsessive, or--in this case--tedious.)<br /><br />Larry R., if you ever check in here again and see my post, please let me know what you were drinking when you watched this episode. It obviously blunted your usually sharp judgment in a way that I'd like to experience, too!<br /><br />Surely everyone involved with this knew they had a script that was barking louder than the Thriller hellhound who kept running past that gate. In trying to escape this episode, the dog clearly showed more career survival skills than the human actors. (See, Peter and John, I can do that schtick too! :) )<br /><br />They did miss a bet here, though. In addition to the scar, the nurse really should have had a hunchback like Jane Adams in "House of Dracula."Bob Lindstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02074903551228708722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-53739698451889649672012-01-05T18:02:32.289-08:002012-01-05T18:02:32.289-08:00Letter to a Lover probably would have put me to sl...Letter to a Lover probably would have put me to sleep half way through if it didn't exude a continuous vibe of plot disorientation, which kept me wondering just WTF was going on. <br /><br />I really enjoyed the starched Limey peformance that Murray Matheson gave to Todd. Ann Todd may have not looked the right part for his wife, but she did a fine job of adding just enough intrigue to keep the mystery unsettled. Felix Deeback and Avis Scott were servicable in their roles. <br /><br />The story events were mostly house bound and drifted forward like a London fog. At times it seemed like an old English stage play. After 40 minutes of slow motion acting, thing jerked forward abrubtly with the action played out in a sped up manner and the loose ends explained and tied up. <br /><br />Letter to a Lover was certainly not one of the better Thrillers, but the acting redeemed it somewhat. One and a Half Karloffs.Hynekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08641908347705520084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-59013818377541164992010-10-20T23:51:41.066-07:002010-10-20T23:51:41.066-07:00I couldn't remember where I heard the name She...I couldn't remember where I heard the name Sheridan Gibney (author of the stage play on which "Letter to a Lover" is based). Checked IMDB-- he wrote (among many others) the screenplays for two classic Paul Muni films- "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" and "Story of Louis Pasteur" (co-starring Thriller's own "Jack the Ripper", Donald Woods) in 1932 and '35--both of which won Academy Awards. Yes, there's no substitute for a good, solid script; too bad his work didn't cut it here on ATAD.<br /><br />Incidentally, once per Thriller season, Murray Matheson poisons himself to close an episode.<br /><br />LRLarry Rapchaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-77805699436484801262010-10-20T21:57:45.406-07:002010-10-20T21:57:45.406-07:00Once again, Schow just nails it.Once again, Schow just nails it.Gary Geraninoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-64589471931990944342010-10-20T14:39:28.864-07:002010-10-20T14:39:28.864-07:00"Hrrmm" is that grunty-gaspy noise reall..."Hrrmm" is that grunty-gaspy noise really old guys make when they are rising up or sitting down, usually on the pot.DJSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-40076005579227479042010-10-20T14:11:19.225-07:002010-10-20T14:11:19.225-07:00"How attractive are YOU today?"
As the ..."How attractive are YOU today?"<br /><br />As the youngster in the group I'll sidestep that one, other than to say I'm twice the man I was 20 years ago.<br /><br />For the record, at nearly 50, Peter's still got one hell of a proscenium arch.John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-8250517372220176812010-10-20T14:00:22.945-07:002010-10-20T14:00:22.945-07:00Well, Hrrmm to you, Mr. Schow-
My friends down at ...Well, Hrrmm to you, Mr. Schow-<br />My friends down at the Legacy House Rest Home here in Mesa, USA wanted to invite you down to watch Barnaby tonight just after dessert (a lovely bread pudding--with extra soft bread). We'll be screening a special 35mm print of "See Some Evil, Do Some Evil" with guest star Roddy McDowell. Legacy House just may be our version of The Egyptian.<br />And make that five Karloff asses for "Letter."Peter Enfantinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04317575598411394944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-10099085623352994012010-10-20T13:46:39.027-07:002010-10-20T13:46:39.027-07:00“Letter to a Lover” is another “inevitable” THRILL...“Letter to a Lover” is another “inevitable” THRILLER: Born of a stage play, restricted to the proscenium arch, its dramatic pedigree veddy British and Hitchcock-flavored … but still, the plot switchbacks will have your head spinning. Nine Karloffs for plot, but plot is not enough, and I guess everyone else here hated “Sleuth,” too.<br /><br />No Karloffs for lack of explosions, laser fights and car chases, obviously. Also no bogeys, which probably really irritates those viewers who had trouble getting worked up over “The Weird Tailor.” (It’s almost as if the THRILLER crew suddenly remembered they did crime shows once upon a time, not so long ago, and thought to catch up.)<br /><br />This is the THRILLER equivalent of the Brussels sprouts you can push to one side on your plate, and the best way to think about it is as an interim (and optional) course prior to the final salvo of more noteworthy episodes. Today it would be considered grounds for cancellation, which means we never would have gotten to “The Incredible Doktor Markesan.” Keep that in mind.<br /><br />Three side-Karloffs for actual vicious dog.<br /><br />Four Karloffs for Ann Todd, who, as Lovely Ladies of THRILLER shall prove, was more conventionally attractive when she was younger, which was long before this episode. Like, two decades. How attractive are YOU today?<br /><br />If this had been an ordinary Hitchcock episode, nobody would be whining.<br /><br />Four Karloffs for Avis Scott’s visible scar for the entire show, making her the distaff Reggie Nalder of THRILLER.<br /><br />Pete has set the crap bar high indeed with the BARNABY JONES throw-down. We all need to remember the playing TV field of toilet chum with which THRILLER was surrounded — punishably awful dreck for the most part, much of which is venerated today as nostalgia, or worse, as culture. At least in this episode we get a taste of the creepy fog to which we have become accustomed; the remote lair; a couple of deaths; and best of all, a crackerjack Boris intro, for which he rates nine big stabbing furious Pratt noggins.DJSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-2869518321276833072010-10-20T13:06:10.913-07:002010-10-20T13:06:10.913-07:00I bet the THRILLER folks felt it was a little bit ...I bet the THRILLER folks felt it was a little bit of a coup to get Ann Todd, who in England had a pretty good stage and movie career, and perhaps they wanted to give her a role that would "flatter" her. Across the pond, she starred in films by people like Hitchcock, David Lean (whom she married), etc. But keeping this in mind doesn't make "Letter" pass any more painlessly.Tom Weavernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-13677091789526635532010-10-20T10:50:56.302-07:002010-10-20T10:50:56.302-07:00Gentlemen....
I am appalled by your rude, insensi...Gentlemen....<br /><br />I am appalled by your rude, insensitive comments!<br /><br />Seriously, after watching this episode last night, I said to myself: "As long as "Thriller" insists on making crime shows, they might as well make 'em good---like THIS ONE (!)<br /><br />I thoroughly enjoyed it, with all of its twists and turns. True, I though Ann Todd might have been the cleaning woman in the prologue, since she's hardly a looker; but the plot obviously deals with middle-aged, upper crust folk, and this is, after all, 1960. So deal with it.<br /><br />And hold on another minute---of the last three shows, this was the only one that had a decent sense of timing and pace throughout, where all of the dialogue was GERMANE TO THE PLOT, with no extraneous filler. Again remember---this was an adaptation of a STAGE PLAY which in live performance probably ran at least two hours. So a Donald Sanford adaptation, (expertly done, no doubt), would necessarily yield a fairly taut 50-minute teleplay, which it did. I think its STAGE origins go a long way towards understanding the nature of this episode--AND to appreciating it.<br /><br />I thought Matheson was spot on, as always--cold, incisive, poised. The rest of the cast was also fine..exactly what you'd find in a British murder mystery of the day. <br /><br />I wondered if Avis Scott got that funky scar on her cheek from Sarah Marshall in "God Grante.."; maybe the vicious knife jab really got Ms Scott's arm AND cheek. Also, the Scotland Yard dude who solved the case was a dead ringer for Jack Barry, the guy who hosted the TV game show "Joker's Wild". And, of course, since this was a Brit-themed "Thriller", good old stalwart Richard Peel was on the scene as a cop, though he barely made it through this one.<br /><br />Too bad about the set, though; the interior of the country estate looked like it was sawed and hammered together the morning that they shot this show; the walls, doors, stairs--and those chintzy 2 X 4 bannisters made it look as though we were watching an actual stage play. A better, moodier lighting design would have helped immensely. (Incidentally, that's my big complaint about the "pristine" print quality of the 6 Thrillers released on video/laser disc in the mid-90's-- their overall brightness robs the shows of most of their darkness and depth, leaving the freshly constructed sets naked before our eyes; even the opening mausoleum scene of "Teakwood" looks bad).<br /><br />And how about Boris' aim when he scores a bull's-eye with that scalpel in the prologue!?<br />An all-around pro!<br /><br />"Letter to a Lover"---grudgingly accepting the fact that it's a CRIME show, adapted from a stage-play-that-could-have-been-made-for-any-other-TV-show-of-the-day......<br /><br />EIGHT Karloff heads ALL THE WAY, BABY!<br /><br />LRLarry Rapchaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-5191561159456040072010-10-20T09:37:21.888-07:002010-10-20T09:37:21.888-07:00Hey guys, love the blog! I just watched this epis...Hey guys, love the blog! I just watched this episode two nights ago after reading a positive review of it on IMDB. <br /><br />After reading your review, I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought it sucked donkey ass. The ending was like if you were playing a game of "Clue," with a bunch of crackheads. I agree that some of these crime episodes can be torture to sit through. Still, I read your review on the "Watcher," and I have to say it's one of my favorite episodes. At least the ending was conclusive unlike a lot of the other crime ones.Ultimate Tactical Warriornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413477571485423494.post-20541493985142203522010-10-20T06:53:08.741-07:002010-10-20T06:53:08.741-07:00I have to agree with you about the homely Ann Todd...I have to agree with you about the homely Ann Todd and all the guys chasing her puzzle. I kept checking my glasses. Maybe they were all tipsy? But I also have admit that I got caught up in the bizarre and complicated plot and I liked this episode, despite it being a crime story and not horror. Though maybe the women were the horror?<br />I can't see giving it zero Karloffs. One or two yes, but zero?Walker Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16089880902426182100noreply@blogger.com