ONE STEP BEYOND / "The Aerialist" - 1959

Just got a set of  ONE STEP BEYOND episodes and thought I'd check them out. I randomly picked a title and was thrilled to see two of my favorite monster movie actors starring in it, and who both worked on Roger Corman films around this time. Anyway, the story's about the Patruzzio family, trapeze artists in a circus. During a show in which the the safety net was removed, one of them falls and is paralyzed, causing the family's decline.

It stars Mike (DAY THE WORLD ENDED, VOODOO WOMAN) Connors, Yvette (ATTACK OF THE FIFTY FOOT WOMAN, ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES) Vickers, Robert (THE BLACK ORCHID) Carricart, Ruggero (THE LOST WORLD) Romor, Penny (MISTER PEEPERS) Santon and Charles (ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN) Watts.

And of course, that's John Newland as our host.

Before a show, papa Patruzzio is arguing with his son, Mario, about family stuff.

Mario's married to Carlotta, a member of the aerial team. He finds her flirting with some delivery guy (boy, talk about type casting for Yvette!). When he asks her what she was doing, she tells him basically to mind his own business!

Papa tells Mario that Carlotta is no good for him, and that it's effecting their act. Mario doesn't want to hear it and talks back to his dad...

And gets slapped in the face for his effort. Mario then says, it'd be a shame if I didn't catch you during the act, papa!!

So, it's time for the show, and there's a packed audience to watch the thrills.

The Patruzzios are up, and the safety net is taken down for added drama...

Then, Mario has to catch papa but their hands slip and the dad drops to the ground, and is totally paralyzed from the fall. But, no way in Hell did Mario drop him on purpose.

C. C. Higgins, the owner of the circus, wants Mario and his brother to continue with their act to help pay the medical bills, but Mario says that he's lost his nerve and will not get back on a trapeze again. This causes a huge rift between the two.

Mario goes to an employment agency to find a job. After talking with the representative for a few minutes, Mario gets up and walks out. He was being offered a job for $3 and hour, an insult to someone who was making $400 a week!!

Mario's lost, and kinda in La La Land. He's talking about Italian cigars for his dad and doesn't even notice Carlotta packing her bags! As she's leaving, Mario shouts to her that papa was right!.. You're no good!!

At this point, Mario has one last trick to do on the trapeze. He climbs up to the platform, grabs the trapeze bar and  swings a few times before doing a flip, hoping to drop to the floor and die there, a fitting end for what happened to his papa.

But, from nowhere, his dad grabs him and Mario gets safely back to the platform. 

Brother Paul walks in to see Mario shouting, papa saved me! And the other trapeze is still swinging, proof of the miracle.

The brothers race to the hospital to see their papa, and, he's not in his room. They think he has died until the nurse tells them that he went to surgery, the doctors were trying to figure out what had happened to him moments earlier. She says that all of a sudden their dad reached his arms out like he was holding something!

Papa is rolled back into his room where Mario gives him all his love...

Well, as happy an ending as possible I guess, John then explains in scientific terms what had happened, I don't remember the name of it but it basically means... Being in two places at once. Like Tabonga! and Eegah!!

THE PLOT THICKENS - "Pilot Episode" (1963)

Tonight I've got a real Saturday the 13th Special for you. It's the pilot for a crazy TV show called "The Plot Thickens" made in 1963, that never aired, and after I explain the concept, you'll probably understand why!

 

Let me see if I can explain this! "The Plot Thickens" was a game show with a panel of celebrities competing for $500.00 cash! The panel watches a special ten minute murder movie that was made specifically for the show, and afterwards, the suspects are brought into the studio and questioned. After a series of questions, the panel makes their choices of who they think the murderer is.

The wonderful Warrene (The Phantom Planet, Black Zoo, Rat Fink) Ott is the hostess/bailiff for the show. That's the black cat mascot of the show there with her!

The host of the show was Jack Linkletter, the son of the great Art Linkletter. Jack also hosted the great folk music show on TV called "Hootenanny" in 1963-1964.

The panel from left to right was Richard Halley who was an actual private detective, then Stanley Ralph Ross, Jan Sterling, and the always charming Groucho Marx.

Part of the deal was that if one of the panelists gets it right and the detective doesn't, then the prize money is doubled to a thousand dollars.

 

If you don't remember who Jan Sterling is, maybe this shot from "Women's Prison" will jog your memory!
 

The live audience seems to be enjoying the show!

Warrene wheels out the big screen TV so the panel can watch the ten minute production titled "Murder In The Crystal Ball."

This phony swami, his wife and his buddy have been ripping off a whole lot of people, and the swami is ready to call it quits, and get on out of town and retire, but his wife wants to do just one more seance for some high dollar big shots, so he begrudgingly agrees. His lovely wife Lois is played by Linda (Naked Flame) Bennett, and his pal Arnold is played by James T. Callahan, who was also in a "Twilight Zone" episode, "Ninety Years Without Slumbering."

The swami named Kazam was played by the remarkable Arthur Batanides, a staple of 60's and 70's TV. Besides shows like "Star Trek" and "Mission Impossible," Arthur was in two "Twilight Zone" episodes, "Mr. Denton On Doomsday," and "The Mirror," and also the "Outer Limits" episode called "Specimen: Unknown."

By the time the participants all get there, kazoom Kazam is already in a deep trance!

The floating trumpet blasts squeaky notes ala Ed Wood style..............

...............And freaks out one of the members of the group, the guy who brought a gun to the seance, Jay Adler as Mr. Lowe. Jay Adler was in "The Big Combo," "The Killing," and also two "Twilight Zone" episodes, "The Jungle," and "He's Alive."

Before the seance gets a chance to be over, Kazam is shot, and now it's time to figure out whodunnit!

Luckily there was a detective hiding in a closet who heard and saw the whole thing, now we just have to see if the panelists can figure it out!

Pretty much all Groucho can focus on is how beautiful both Linda and Warrene are! Everything else is just a moot point to him!

The actors try their darndest to stay in character, but it's difficult when Groucho Marx is asking you questions!

Panelist Stanley Ralph Ross gets an extra shout out here for his accomplishments in pop culture. Stanley. The big man who did it all stood 6'6" and wrote many episodes of "Batman," "The Man Fron U.N.C.L.E.," and "The Monkees," etc. He also is credited with the ultimate sports comment "The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat."

When's the last time you saw anybody smoking a cigarette on a TV game show? Stanley Ralph Ross died from lung cancer at the age of 64!

Groucho's the only one who correctly figures out who the murderer was, and wins the thousand dollars, but it's not exactly the prize he was seeking!

Personally, I think everybody should see this krazy show, it is truly one of a kind!

Here's a couple more nails in the coffin of why this had the potential to be a great show, the story was written by Robert (PSYCHO) Bloch..........

 

..........And it was a creation of Dungeon Superhero, and gimmick master supreme,

Mr. William Castle. I rest my case!

LIGHTS OUT / "Cat's Cradle" - 1951

Well, here we go... In today's dark tale, former local football star (shades of THE BRUTE MAN) George Logan shows up one night at the country home of Bob and Phyllis, former friends of his. George is down on his luck and is obsessed with having never fit in, and holds a grudge against the world. But he does have one talent, weaving a cat's cradle from the string he carries with him at all times, and claims that he can cast spells with it, even ones to commit murder if anyone gets in his way. This one goes downhill fast! 

It stars Martha Scott as Phyllis, Murvyn Vye as George, Larry Kerr as Bob and Klock Ryder as Mr. Woodley. Martha was a popular actress in the forties, then did mainly TV after that, appearing in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and BEN-HUR in the fifties. Murvyn was another very popular actor and appeared on ONE STEP BEYOND and THRILLER. Larry appeared on SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE,  and in THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK and THE LOST MISSILE. Klock (love that name!) only had five acting credits.

Let's get this road on the show!!.. First, Frank Gallop tries to creep us out with his diatribe. And after his (logical/illogical) intro, we can yell... Hey! Who turned the lights out?!!

It all starts with a bang, we hear a crash and Bob runs to help Mr. Woodley out of his truck and into his yard. The old man says that after he nearly ran over a man minutes earlier, and as he was driving away, he felt an invisible wire around his neck and was choking, and that's what caused the accident. Bob and Phyllis don't really know what to make of the claim, and Mr. Woodley leaves saying it's true.

Then old friend George Logan shows up out of nowhere. Bob and Phyllis are a little shocked at his appearance at first but invite him inside.

Bob and Phyllis are happy to see him but he seems detached, because of his feelings of not fitting in. After he's asked what he's been up to...

He pulls out his cat's cradle and starts showing them what he learned in India (I think) and tells them of all the meanings of the patterns.

George gets a little too happy as the more complex patterns become kinda evil in their significance. Bob, who's getting angry at George for his claims, shuts him down and then goes outside for some fresh air...

Outside, Bob sees the newspaper George dropped before he came in and sees the dead owl Phyllis is always complaining about because of its hooting at night.

So, Bob goes back into the house and confronts George about the bird. George says he killed the bird with the cat's cradle for Phyllis, which opens up a whole new can of worms!

After they find out that George has been watching and listening to them through the open windows at night (and saying how much he envied them and that's why he killed the owl for Phyllis), a heated conversation breaks out. Both Bob and Phyllis tell George to get the Hell out, and don't come back!!! EVER!

Well, of course George didn't take kindly to their words and grabs a chair for offense after pulling the table cloth off, along with dinner.

George snaps, he says that he's going to watch Bob die and starts weaving his patterns with the cat's cradle...

OMG!!! The knucklehead wove the wrong freaking pattern by mistake, I guess the one for suicide?!.. Go figure!

And what else?.. Frank plays with our minds one more time just before The Dungeon Janitor turns the lights out on him!