Thriller's Uncanny "The Grim Reaper"

The 1950s and 1960s were a golden age for fantastical anthology shows on TV. Series such as The Twilight Zone, Science-Fiction Theater, Way Out, and The Outer Limits told memorable stories within the science-fiction, horror and fantasy genres. Even Alfred Hitchcock Presents dipped its toe into the horror end of the pool on occasion. One of the best shows of this type was Thriller, hosted by Boris Karloff, which ran on NBC from 1960-62. Thriller started out telling tales of suspense, crime and murder (akin to the Hitchcock series), but later in its first season the show took a sharp left turn, emphasizing tales of horror and the supernatural, adapting tales by Edgar Allan Poe, Richard Matheson, Cornell Woolrich, August Derleth and Robert E. Howard, and airing haunting original stories as well. While Thriller had a brief life on broadcast television, the series made a lasting impression on many viewers with its dark and intense stories, and gained a new generation of fans when reruns of the show aired in syndication on local stations. That’s where I first discovered the series in the 1970s, as a young science-fiction and horror fan.

One of the best episodes of Thriller is The Grim Reaper, the final entry in the series’ first season. The story grabs you right from the start: the prologue is set in the 1800s, when the father of a missing painter discovers that his son has killed himself after completing a very lifelike painting of that spectral harbinger of death, The Grim Reaper. After a sardonic introduction by Karloff, which ends with him walking towards the camera brandishing a scythe (!) the episode moves forward in time to the present. The story opens at the estate of the successful mystery writer Beatrice Graves, who is visited by her nephew, Paul. She introduces Paul to her new husband, a much younger man named Gerald, and her assistant, Dorothy. The wealthy Bea has a ghoulish sense of humor, having bought a hearse to use as her preferred mode of transport. She’s also re-christened her home with the name Graves End. Bea shows Paul her latest acquisition, the very painting of The Grim Reaper we saw in the prologue!

Paul tells his aunt that the painting is the reason for his visit. It has a cursed history, and many of its previous owners have died under mysterious and violent circumstances. He insists she should get rid of it, and informs her, Gerald and Dorothy that in the past, the painting has started to bleed just before its previous owners met their ends. Bea scoffs at the notion of a curse, and tells Paul she only bought the painting for the publicity, much like her hearse. Her nephew touches the painting, gasps, and turns back to the group, holding up his fingers, which are wet. There’s blood on the scythe! Is the painting really cursed? Is Bea fated to be its next victim? Before this chilling episode has ended, there will be some murderous twists to the tale, several of our main characters will be dead, and the grim visage of The Grim Reaper just hangs there, looking down on everyone….or does it?

The Grim Reaper has an eerie and claustrophobic feel, thanks to the excellent cinematography by Bud Thackery, as well as the taut direction by television and film veteran Herschel Daugherty. Most of the story takes place inside the house, and there’s a palpable sense of dread whenever the unearthly painting is onscreen. Thanks to the inventive camera work, it really does seem like it’s alive throughout the story. The dark and moody tone of the episode is aided immeasurably by Jerry Goldsmith’s atmospheric music score, one of the veteran composer’s very best efforts. The teleplay for The Grim Reaper was written by Robert Bloch, author of Psycho. Bloch adapted the story “The Black Madonna” by Harold Lawlor. He updated the original tale, changing the character in the title painting, as well as adding some of his trademark macabre humor. It’s one of his best efforts in both television or film.

The cast for the episode is excellent. If you only know Natalie Schafer from her role as Mrs. Howell on Gilligan’s Island, you’re in for a surprise. Schafer is terrific in The Grim Reaper, giving a superb performance that is filled with equal portions of humor and pathos, topped off a touch of élan. William Shatner, who plays Paul, is quite good as well, and his scenes with Schafer crackle with energy. There’s just a touch here of the “Shatner-isms” we’ve all come to know and love, but he chooses those over the top moments well. There’s a scene (spoiler ahead) where he gets to turn on a dime and is revealed to villainous, and it’s some of his best work as an actor. The fine supporting cast includes Elizabeth Allen as Dorothy, Scott Merrill as Gerald, genre stalwart Robert Cornthwaite as a lawyer, and veteran actor Henry Daniell, who portrays the father of the ill-fated painter in the prologue. Allen also appeared with Shatner in The Hungry Glass, an earlier episode of Thriller which was also scripted by Robert Bloch.

The Grim Reaper really draws you in with its slow burning sense of impending doom. Along with several other celebrated tales, such as “Pigeons From Hell,” “The Cheaters” and “A Wig for Miss Devore” and the aforementioned “The Hungry Glass,” it’s one of the strongest episodes of Thriller, a show that aired some of the most frightening tales of terror ever to grace a television screen. The show both creeped me out and delighted me when I first viewed the series in my younger days, and it remains one of my favorites. Thriller is definitely a series that’s worth digging into, especially if you haven’t seen it before, The show is currently available on Hulu, and there’s also a wonderful box set of the entire series that came out a while back, which is still available at retailers like Amazon. This post is part of The 7th Annual Favourite TV Show Episode Blogathon, hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts. Follow this link for more information, and to check out all of the excellent entries by my fellow bloggers: https://mercurie.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-7th-annual-favourite-tv-show.html.