Spoiler Warning.
If you saw this as a child you remember it. Period. Of how many old television shows can you say that? Ray Bradbury's carnival nightmares haunted him from childhood and it is only when he tapped into his own subconscious fears and fascinations that he became an immensely successful writer. This is pure Bradbury material.
Hitchcock's close friend Norman Lloyd directed this and there are 'Hitchcock touches' galore - the quicksand scene was shot with flawless suspense - two overlapping voices Jaddo's voice utterly self-involved and insane and seemingly unaware of anything., the dying man's voice desperately pleading. Jocelyn Brando was a great 'Baby Doll' type and managed to give her torrid part lots of convincing and intense moments. She is more spoiled child than mature seductress and her cruelty is childish and impulsive.
Academy Award winning Jane Darwell (Grapes of Wrath) steals every moment of screen time she is on, even when not saying a word. It does make one sad to see the great talent in the likes of Pat Buttram and Gomer Pyle's George Lindsey that was wasted wholesale on TV in its heyday. Billy Barty, the greatest 'little people actor' of all time does not get to strut his stuff but just seeing him is a treat.
Major Spoiler: Everyone projects what it is in the jar. Charley Hill makes HIS projection of what is in the jar actually come true. It is his wife's head in the jar. That ribbon is the creepy touch of all time. The way it floats and the floating hair is reminiscent of the other unforgettable childhood movie moment: Shelley Winters underwater in Night of the Hunter.
If you saw this as a child you remember it. Period. Of how many old television shows can you say that? Ray Bradbury's carnival nightmares haunted him from childhood and it is only when he tapped into his own subconscious fears and fascinations that he became an immensely successful writer. This is pure Bradbury material.
Hitchcock's close friend Norman Lloyd directed this and there are 'Hitchcock touches' galore - the quicksand scene was shot with flawless suspense - two overlapping voices Jaddo's voice utterly self-involved and insane and seemingly unaware of anything., the dying man's voice desperately pleading. Jocelyn Brando was a great 'Baby Doll' type and managed to give her torrid part lots of convincing and intense moments. She is more spoiled child than mature seductress and her cruelty is childish and impulsive.
Academy Award winning Jane Darwell (Grapes of Wrath) steals every moment of screen time she is on, even when not saying a word. It does make one sad to see the great talent in the likes of Pat Buttram and Gomer Pyle's George Lindsey that was wasted wholesale on TV in its heyday. Billy Barty, the greatest 'little people actor' of all time does not get to strut his stuff but just seeing him is a treat.
Major Spoiler: Everyone projects what it is in the jar. Charley Hill makes HIS projection of what is in the jar actually come true. It is his wife's head in the jar. That ribbon is the creepy touch of all time. The way it floats and the floating hair is reminiscent of the other unforgettable childhood movie moment: Shelley Winters underwater in Night of the Hunter.