Ace performance from little Ann Jillian that almost puts this 60-minutes over. The entry's concept of substituting telepathy for speaking is an interesting one. Unfortunately, the dynamics are muddied in development. It seems the telepathy taught to little Ilse must proceed in a language, English or German, yet she seems flummoxed by spoken words of any kind. Maybe I missed something, but the details of her acquired incapacity appear unclear in important respects. Adapting a concept of this type to an hour's dramatic format without lengthy exposition may be the underlying problem, even for such a skilled writer as Matheson.
Nonetheless, the acting's first-rate, especially from Jillian whose suffering can register only through facial expressions, which she does in controlled, non-sticky fashion. Ironically, it's hard to know just what therapeutic direction would help. It's certainly not that of the lock- step demanding teacher (Dailey). As a result, I ached along with her. Still, that Hollywood ending may have relieved audiences, but it's spread on pretty thickly, and amounts to a divergence from the TZ norm.
All in all, it's an interesting, if uneven, entry, salvaged in no small part by an excellent cast. (In passing—good to see the familiar face of the gnomish little Percy Helton picking up a payday.)
Nonetheless, the acting's first-rate, especially from Jillian whose suffering can register only through facial expressions, which she does in controlled, non-sticky fashion. Ironically, it's hard to know just what therapeutic direction would help. It's certainly not that of the lock- step demanding teacher (Dailey). As a result, I ached along with her. Still, that Hollywood ending may have relieved audiences, but it's spread on pretty thickly, and amounts to a divergence from the TZ norm.
All in all, it's an interesting, if uneven, entry, salvaged in no small part by an excellent cast. (In passing—good to see the familiar face of the gnomish little Percy Helton picking up a payday.)