Retro TV Chills: This One's A "Thriller"

Looking for some scary old school television terror tales to watch this Halloween? Check out Thriller (1960-62), hosted by the one and only Boris Karloff. Though it only ran for two seasons, the show is highly regarded by many genre fans, including Stephen King, who praised the show in Danse Macabre, his 1981 overview of the horror genre. The series actually started out offering tales of murder and suspense, similar to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but shifted its focus to horror during the middle of the first season. Several of the episodes, including “Pigeons From Hell,” an adaptation of a Robert E. Howard tale, and “The Grim Reaper,” are considered classics of TV terror. While the show continued to alternate between crime dramas and horror stories, it’s those scary outings for which the series is best remembered. Here are several episodes to view for a Thriller-ific night of chills!

From Season 1: 

The Hungry Glass – Based on a short story by Robert Bloch, the author of Psycho, this episode stars William Shatner and Russell Johnson. That’s right, Captain Kirk of Star Trek and the Professor from Gilligan’s Island in the same show! And it also features Donna Douglas of The Beverly Hillbillies in a small but pivotal role. A young couple buys a seaside mansion for a bargain price, but get more than they bargained for when they find out the place is haunted. Why is the attic full of mirrors…and what do our characters see in them? Is there something waiting inside the glass? It’s fun to see Shatner and Johnson together, and there are some truly creepy moments in the show. Adapted from Bloch’s story by director Douglas Heyes, this is one of the best episodes of the series.

Dark Legacy tells the story of Mario Asparos, a magician whose uncle dies and leaves him a book of powerful black magic spells. Mario tries to summon a demon, hoping to gain wealth and power. But when you play with dark forces, be careful what you wish for…and be ready for the price you have to pay. This episode was written by John Tomerlin and directed by John Brahm, who also helmed the films The Lodger (1944) and The Mad Magician (1954), as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. The cast includes Henry Silva (best known as a villain in a host of B movies) and character actor Harry Townes. The mist-shrouded look of this episode (a hallmark of many of Thriller’s finest hours) is a mix of film noir and horror and it adds to the story’s eerie vibe.

From Season 2:

La Strega is the story of Luana (played by Ursula Andress, the original Bond girl in Dr. No) who’s saved from drowning by a young man named Tonio. He falls in love with her, but has to contend with her grandmother, a witch who warns him to stay away from the girl, or dire consequences will result. Can Tonio and Luana stop the witch's curse and escape her evil power? This moody, effective episode was directed by actress Ida Lupino and written by Alan Caillou. It features a great performance by Jeanette Nolan as the title character, and also stars Alejandro Rey (of The Flying Nun) as Tonio. 

The Incredible Dr. Markesan – Boris Karloff appeared in five episodes of the show, including this frightening tale. Fred Bancroft (Dick York of Bewitched) and his wife visit his Uncle Konrad, who lives in a dusty old house. They ask if they can stay there while they’re looking for a new home. At first, Konrad tries to get them to leave, there he ends up allowing them to stay. However, he warns them that they must stay in their room at night, and not move around the place. What’s going on in the house? Why does Uncle Konrad look and act so strangely? This blood-curdling entry is based on a short story by August Derleth and Mark Schorer, and was directed by Robert Florey, who knows his way around the horror genre, having been behind the camera for the films Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) and The Beast with Five Fingers (1946). The story has a horrifying conclusion that will stay with you long after you watch the episode.

Episodes of Thriller are available for viewing online on various services, and the entire series is available on DVD in a box set, Thriller: The Complete Series. There’s also a a one-disc collection of several episodes entitled Thriller: Fan Favorites. If you’re a fan of television horror, and enjoy classic series like The Twilight Zone and One Step Beyond, Thriller is worthwhile viewing. For more information on Thriller, you can check out my earlier post on "The Grim Reaper" here: https://jveclectic.blogspot.com/2021/03/thrillers-uncanny-grim-reaper.html?m=0. And remember, "As sure as my name is Boris Karloff....this is a Thriller!"

"Kronos" Hammer's Sword-Wielding Hero

Films which cross-pollinate genres are all the rage these days, but in years past they were far less common. Hammer Films, the British makers of classic horror films such as the long-running Dracula and Frankenstein series, actually attempted some multi-genre productions several times throughout their history. For example, the three films in the Professor Quatermass series, The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), Quatermass 2 (1957) and Five Million Years To Earth (1967), all contained elements of both science-fiction and horror. In the 1970s, when some of their films were attaining less box-office success than in their late 1950s and 1960s glory years, Hammer made a couple of overt attempts at genre mashups. The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974) was a co-production with Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers studio. The film, set in China in the 1800s, starred genre stalwart Peter Cushing as Professor Van Helsing, and combined elements of Hammer’s Dracula series with martial arts action.

One of the more offbeat projects to be released by Hammer during this period is Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter (1974), which features the adventures of the title character, a swashbuckling hero who hunts down and kills vampires, aided by his hunch-backed assistant, Professor Grost, an expert on the undead. The story begins when Dr. Marcus, an old army buddy of Kronos, contacts him and asks Kronos to look into a series of bizarre deaths which are occurring in his village. When Kronos and Grost arrive and look into the killings, they discover that the undead menace is draining youth, not blood, from its victims, leaving withered husks behind. Aided by a gypsy girl named Carla, whose life our hero has saved, Kronos and Grost try to locate the vampire and extinguish this evil creature.

Krono’s investigation leads him to the Durwards, a wealthy and aristocratic family. After a group of thugs attack Kronos and Grost, they realize that someone doesn’t want them to discover the true identity of the vampire. As he continues his search, Kronos finds time to drink tankards of ale, engage in a brawl or two, and of course, romance the lovely Carla. Who is the youth-draining vampire, and why does Marcus return from a visit to the Durward home with blood on his lips? Will Kronos and Grost figure out a way to defeat this very different type of vampire threat before it’s too late? There will be some eerie and frightening moments, sword-swinging action and a couple of unique twists on vampire lore before the terrifying truth is revealed.

Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter is a decidedly different type of Hammer production, combining swashbuckling adventure with horror and the supernatural. The film was written and directed by Brian Clemens, best known for his work on the classic British series The Avengers and The Professionals, as well as Thriller, a well-regarded mystery/suspense themed anthology series. Albert Fennell, who also worked on The Avengers and The Professionals, co-produced the movie. Clemens and Fennell had earlier co-produced another Hammer film, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), which was written by Clemens. First-time director Clemens keeps the action moving at a brisk pace, and the movie is as much an old-fashioned action-adventure tale as it is a horror film. Ian Wilson provides some striking cinematography, and the evocative score is by Laurie Johnson, another veteran of The Avengers.

Horst Janson is an athletic and dynamic hero, and John Cater is good as his partner, Professor Grost. The rest of the cast features several faces that will be quite familiar to genre fans, including Shane Briant, Wanda Ventham and Ian Hendry. Carla is portrayed by Caroline Munro, who’s well known for her appearances in films such as The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, At The Earth’s Core, The Spy Who Loved Me and Starcrash. Hammer had hoped this well-mounted production would launch a series of Kronos adventures, but the film was not a huge success at the box office, so no sequels were produced. Captain Kronos did return in comics form during the 1970s in two British publications dedicated to Hammer, The House of Hammer and Hammer’s Halls of Horror. There was also a novelization of the film written by Guy Adams published by Titan Books in 2011, and a four issue Captain Kronos comic book series from Titan Comics in 2018. The film is available on DVD and Blu-ray. Here's a link to the film’s trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PbRzrGTt2E.

This article on Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter is part of the Third Hammer/Amicus Blogathon, celebrating the best movies and television shows from this pair of much revered and beloved British horror film companies. I’d like to thank my fellow bloggers Gil from Realweegie Midget Reviews and Barry from Cinematic Catharsis for hosting, and for including me in the lineup. Check out the work of the other talented writers participating in this blogathon by following this link: https://weegiemidget.wordpress.com/2021/10/22/hammer-and-amicus-3/.

 

Curtis Harrington's Beguiling "Night Tide"

Linda Lawson and Dennis Hopper in Night Tide

October is that time of year when horror fans like to revisit old favorites and check out films they haven't seen before. One of the more intriguing and offbeat thrillers to come out of the early 1960s is Curtis Harrington’s Night Tide (1961). While it’s not really a horror film, it’s an atmospheric, offbeat story that will appeal to old school genre fans. A lonely sailor named Johnny (Dennis Hopper, in an early role) enters a relationship with a woman named Mora, who performs as a mermaid in a sideshow at a local marina. People keep telling him that her previous boyfriends have all met mysterious and violent ends. 

The ethereal Mora (Linda Lawson) believes she may actually be a mermaid. As their relationship continues, a mysterious woman stalks Mora. She appears to know about Mora’s past, and warns her that her 'true nature' will eventually show itself. Is Mora really descended from a race of sea people? Who is killing the men she’s been dating? What does Murdock, the owner of the sideshow, know about all this?

Writer-director Harrington had a long career directing both television movies and feature films. Other films he was behind the camera for include the twist-laden mystery Games (1967), which featured James Caan and Katherine Ross, and What's The Matter With Helen? (1971), starring Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters. He also helmed one of my favorite made for television terror tales, The Cat Creature (1973), which starred David Hedison, Meredith Baxter and Kent Smith. Harrington's films are consistently enjoyable, and always worth a look.

In Night Tide, (which was completed in 1961, but not widely released until 1963) Harrington evokes the mist-shrouded style of producer Val Lewton. He was a huge fan of Lewton’s work and the influence of films like Cat People and The Leopard Man on Night Tide is clear. There could be a supernatural explanation for some of the film’s events, but we’re never really sure. What is evident is that some of the characters believe there are eerie forces at work, and that informs their choices in the story. Despite its low budget, the film manages to convey an effective sense of the uncanny. Night Tide has a dream-like aura, and the moody cinematography by Vilis Lapenieks adds to the film's otherworldly style.

The movie has been released in new, remastered editions in recent years by Kino Lorber Video and Powerhouse Indicator, and it's also available on streaming services like Amazon Prime. I recall seeing Night Tide on WPIX's “Chiller Theatre” in my younger days, and it was one of those movies that lingered in my memory in the years since. I've re-visited the movie several times, and recommended it to other film fans in my circle of friends. If you haven't seen the film, its well worth seeking out. Here's a link to the trailer for Night Tide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF6gPQh5t0A. 

Ruth Ware's Compelling, Eerie "Key"

The Turn of the Screw, the much-loved ghost story by Henry James, has been adapted multiple times for both television and the movies, most famously as The Innocents, the well-regarded 1961 film featuring Deborah Kerr. Another take on the story was the 2020 Netflix series, The Haunting of Bly Manor, from writer-director Mike Flanagan. In 2019, author Ruth Ware set her version of the story in the current day, with her novel The Turn of the Key. Ware is the author of several best-selling suspense thrillers, including In A Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10 and One By One. The Turn of the Key is an eerie, compelling and very cleverly conceived update to the classic story of the The Turn of the Screw.

The book is structured as a series of letters from a young woman in prison, who's writing to an attorney. Rowan Caine is a nanny that's awaiting trial for the murder of one of the children who were under her care. She's telling her story, in hopes of making the lawyer understand the series of events that led to her being imprisoned. Rowan had accepted what at first seemed like a dream job as a nanny to four children at an estate in the Scottish Highlands, but as with many things in life, this ideal opportunity turned out to be too good to be true.

When the parents of her young charges head off on a business trip, Rowan is left alone with three of the children, in a forbidding house which is upgraded with the latest in smart technology, so that everything in the home is controlled by an app named "Happy." As Rowan tries to bond with Maddie and Ellie,  the two middle daughters, she learns there were several previous nannies, none of whom stayed on the job very long. No one, including the children, Jack, the estate's friendly handyman, or the frosty and distant housekeeper, Jean, who acts in a hostile manner towards to Rowan from the start, will explain why those previous caregivers left the job so quickly.

Rowan gets caught up in a chain of frightening situations that seem designed to endanger the children, and perhaps drive her mad as well. As the odd and unexplainable events continue to occur, Rowan becomes convinced that someone or something is a serious threat to her and the children. The house seems to have a mind of its own, and the children may know more than they're telling about what's going on, especially Maddie and Ellie, who obliquely refer to "the ghosts," and other strange things, in conversations with Rowan. It seems the only person who can help Rowan get to the bottom of things is Jack, but is he part of what's going on? As her own grip on reality starts to slip, Rowan's not sure she can trust anyone.

Ruth Ware has often been compared to Agatha Christie, and her style is definitely influenced by Dame Agatha, but the novel is also a deftly plotted and original mashup of several genres and styles. The Turn of The Key is equal parts Christie, Henry James and modern techno thriller. In this suspenseful and compelling tale, modern technology is just as chilling as ghosts and things that go bump in the night. The story moves along at a breakneck pace, and as the novel reaches its conclusion, there are a couple of red herrings, off-kilter surprises and neat twists to the tale. Ware's well-drawn characters and suspenseful narrative will keep you turning the pages, but just remember that all narrators are not entirely reliable, and nothing is what it seems. The Turn of the Key is a great read for mystery and thriller fans as we enter the Halloween season.