I was surprised to read from reviewer 'theowinthrop' that this Amazing Stories episode was based on a real life crime case back in the Thirties! I'm sure that one didn't rely on putting thumb tacks or rat poison in a guy's sandwich, but who knows? This episode is pretty much done entirely for laughs with a pretty well known cast of actors who eventually went on to bigger and better things. I couldn't figure how all the bar patrons would benefit by the insurance policy taken out by customer Joe (Joe Pantoliano), but the story breezes by so quickly you don't have much time to dwell on that little detail. Old Mike Malloy (Douglas Seale) sure proved to be a solid tippler, putting away nearly four cases of whiskey, vodka and scotch in a matter of days, and wasn't going to be outdone by a mere couple glasses of lamp oil or antifreeze. When the frustrated barflies couldn't get rid of Mike the old fashioned way, they decided to throw him off a bridge, but that backfired big time, with the next day's headline proclaiming the 'Murder Trust to be Executed'. I had to do a double take when I went down the cast list for this story. The Salvation Army guy at the end of the program turned out to be Royal Dano, but did anybody else think he looked the spitting image of Buddy Ebsen?
Review of One for the Road
