Night Gallery (TV Series) Pilot (1969) User Reviews

Three Paintings in the Galley of the Terror

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 17 March 2018]

Divided in three segments hosted by Rod Serling, the pilot of "Night Gallery" presents three great supernatural stories. 'The Cemetery' tells a story of greed and revenge, with Rody McDowall and Ossie Davis in the cast. "Eyes", directed by Steven Spielberg, tells the ironic story of a wealthy and cruel blind woman performed by Joan Crawford that uses two men to allow her to see for eleven hours. "The Escape Route" tells the story of a Nazi war criminal confronted by one victim that finds a surreal means of escape. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Galeria do Terror - Piloto" ("Gallery of the Terror - Pilot")

Exhibiting unwholesome behavior...

[majikstl · 7/10 · 5 January 2005]

This remarkable trio of spooky stories served as a pilot to the not-quite-so remarkable TV series of the same name, though now it is just as likely remembered as the point where two screen legends passed at opposite trajectories of their careers. Steven Spielberg's first professional directing job was segment two of this anthology, which also proved to be one of Joan Crawford's last acting efforts, certainly her last worth noting.

Conceived by another legend, the brilliant Rod Serling, the concept of the film and subsequent series was meant to be a variation on his classic "Twilight Zone" series, varying tales of supernatural horror, each tied to a grotesque painting and each introduced by Serling, acting as the gallery's curator. It was an excellent start, though the resulting series proved to be a pale imitation of "The Twilight Zone," a peculiar hodgepodge of styles and concepts, some classics and some just plain silly.

The TV movie itself stands alone, though the trio of tales unfold in descending order. The first and best is "The Cemetery," a variation on the classic ghost story. In this southern Gothic creeper, Roddy McDowall murders his wealthy uncle, but finds that enjoying his newfound inheritance is a bit difficult since a painting on the wall seems to suggest that Uncle is buried, but not dead. The story is slight, even silly, but boy, oh boy, does Roddy know how to chew the scenery. I can think of no other actor who so obviously loved to act more than McDowall and here he plays evil to the hilt. Roddy was undoubtedly one of the most intrinsically likable stars there ever was, so much so that he could play the most despicably evil characters and still make the character a delight. "The Cemetery" is nicely written by Serling and tightly directed by Boris Segal, but it is Roddy's one-man show.

But if Roddy McDowall could make loathsome characters inexplicably likable, than Joan Crawford had the knack for negating any trace of sympathy that her characters might possess. In Spielberg's "Eyes," Joan plays a ruthless millionairess who happens to be blind, but has the chance to briefly see again by buying the eyes of a living person who is in desperate need of money. It is a nice performance; hard and demanding, Crawford never asks for pity, but nevertheless earns it with the story's nifty twist ending. More a clever idea than a solid story, the tale is not particularly suspenseful; bit it does displays a cool sense of cynical irony. And never is it apparent that it is Spielberg's first crack at professional film-making, so sure is his use of the camera and setting of mood.

The third tale of the trilogy, "Escape Route," is probably the most like the classic "Twilight Zone," dark and brooding; yet least successful as a thriller. Richard Kiley is a war criminal who thinks he can escape his past by literally throwing himself into art. Rod Serling has other ideas. As the trilogy's closing act, I guess it was suppose to be the one with the most impact, the one to show off Serling's penchant for moralizing. It doesn't quite come off. I think part of the problem is that Kiley, a good actor, lacks a powerful screen presence. The best episodes of "Night Gallery," and for that matter "The Twilight Zone," featured actors with strong personalities who were not only talented, but adept at pushing their performances to the edge, flirting with going over the top, just as McDowall and Crawford do. Any short form fiction, be it on the page or on the screen, needs that heightened sense of drama, that admission that reality has been left behind.

Though it had some strong episodes at first, the "Night Gallery" TV series fell out of Serling's control and eventually became sort of a ghost story version of "Love, American Style," a crude mix of cheap jokes and heavy-handed suspense. It's a pity that it didn't stay true to this pilot; it could have been another "Twilight Zone."

I agree with those who said that this pilot is much better than most of the subsequent series--it's better written and more interesting.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 19 March 2011]

It's curious, but when you look at the page for this pilot for "Night Gallery", it reads as follows:

"Directors: Boris Sagal, Barry Shear, and 1 more credit » "

You have to click on the '1 more credit' tag to learn that Steven Spieberg himself was this other director--and this was his first professional job as a director! This is more than enough reason to watch the show's first episode and interesting that unless you click this link you might never know about his involvement.

In some ways, this pilot is quite typical of a regular episode of "The Night Gallery". It consists of three separate stories (this often varied) and each is a story about horror and irony. The main difference, however, is that most of episodes of the series were NOT written by Rod Serling--despite him being the host of the shows. Here, he writes all three segments and so it's not surprising that they are very high quality--he was a heck of a writer and the execs at the network were idiots to hire him essentially as a host and begrudgingly let him contribute a few scripts. Duh.

The first segment, "The Cemetery", stars Roddy McDowell as a scum-bag nephew waiting for his disabled disabled Uncle (George Macready) to die. You can't help but hate McDowell's character--he is 100% awful and delights in anticipating the old man's death. In fact, he tries his best to 'simplify things'--by putting Macready by an open window on a cold day when his butler (Ossie Davis) has his day off from work. Not surprisingly, when the old man soon dies, McDowell is ecstatic--unseemly so. However, his joy at is cut short when strange things start to happen to a creepy painting in his house...what, exactly, it is and why is something you'll have to find out for yourself. While I would not consider this a great segment, it is very good and a welcome introduction to the series. Plus it's humorously black ending is worth waiting for--although not entirely unexpected. I'd rate this one an 8..nearly a 9.

The second segment, "Eyes", has the distinction of starring Joan Crawford. Oddly, despite her fame, the directing job was given to young Spielberg--an untried professional to say the least. Crawford plays a horrid lady who can get whatever she likes simply because she's rich and wicked. She shows this by her trying to get her doctor (Barry Sullivan) to arrange for an evil surgery--to transplant a poor living donor's eyes into Crawford!! Sick, yes, but even sicker because she knows that IF the surgery works, she'll only be able to see for a few hours at most!! As she says, "My single abiding interest is MYSELF"! Naturally the doctor refuses, so she blackmails him to get his cooperation. Nice lady, huh?! And, based on Christina Crawford's book "Mommy, Dearest", perhaps not unlike Crawford in real life!! Regardless of whether or not this is true, Crawford was wonderfully wicked in this show--it's one of her best performances late in her career. And who is this pathetic donor? None other than Tom Bosley (who, incidentally, was also surprisingly good)! Naturally there is an ironic twist--and it's one of the best episodes of the series. I'd give this one a 9--though I will admit there were a few plot holes with this one that other reviewers have also noticed. Still, it's a winner.

The third, "Escape Route", stars Richard Kiley--a very good actor who most would not recognize despite his many appearances on TV, movies and on stage. Kiley plays a man who is a Nazi war criminal living in South America. He becomes fixated on a painting in a museum--a painting with WEIRD qualities. And, a man at the museum (Sam Jaffe) recognizes him as an evil officer from Auschwitz. What happens next has a lot to do with a creepy painting of the man being crucified that's in the same art gallery in "Escape Route"--wow, is that spooky! However, despite this, the final segment is not especially scary, though it is a nice story about Karma. I'd give this one 7.

Overall, this pilot is quite a bit better than the subsequent series. Much of this, I am sure, has to do with Serling's continually diminishing involvement with the scripts. However, on occasion, the show did manage some incredibly effective episodes. I'd give this pilot an overall score of 7.

Enjoyable 3-part TV movie that launched "Night Gallery"

[Marta · 10/10 · 8 June 1999]

Very well made TV movie, with 3 different stories. the first stars Roddy McDowall as a bastard nephew who kills his uncle to take his money, then is haunted by the ghost of the uncle (or so he thinks) to death. Ossie Davis also stars in this episode, and he's wonderful. This is my personal favorite of the three. Roddy is snide and sly as the nephew, and when he starts to come unhinged he's marvelous. The second stars Richard Kiel as a WWII concentration camp captain hiding in some South American city, where he becomes strangely fixated with an idyllic painting of a man fishing in a mountain lake. The painting hangs in a museum, and he spends day after day in there just staring at it and eventually feels himself drawn into the painting. It's a relief to be hounded no longer by the war crimes police when he's in the painting. But back in reality he's recognized as a Nazi who was condemned after the war, and a former camp inmate tells the police about him. Kiel runs to the museum, intent on going into the life in the painting for good. But he makes a big, big mistake and will spend eternity paying for it and his crimes against humanity. The last episode stars Joan Crawford in a pretty much one-woman play. She's a blind rich woman, living in a huge penthouse apartment in NYC, who pays a loser for his corneas so that she can have them transplanted in her eyes. The kicker is that she will only be able to see for about 8 hours, and she doesn't care a bit that the man she takes the corneas from will be blind forever. She has the operation, and when the time comes to take the bandages off, the instant she does the city is plunged into a blackout. She spends the 8 hours trying to get out of the apartment building in the dark stairwells, and finally makes it back to her apartment when the sun comes up. She finally sees the sun, but it's the last thing she does.

I love this movie; and I also loved Night Gallery, but this film has 3 different viewpoints and would appeal to a large audience. All the performances are excellent. Steven Spielberg directed the Joan Crawford segment, "Eyes"; it was one of his first director assignments.

Above-Average

[laffinsal · 8 April 2004]

As far as TV pilot films go, this one is stellar. While the "Night Gallery" TV series, which resulted from this, had a number of classic, unforgettable stories, it's often this opening feature that most people remember the best.

Of the three segments, I've always enjoyed the middle one with Joan Crawford, best. She does a great job. Super script too...such irony! The final segment is great as well, with Richard Kiley giving a powerful performance. Another classic ending. Roddy McDowell is also fine in the first segment, although aside from the creepy cemetery painting (I like how it keeps changing), this one was the least interesting to me, of the three stories.

A fine, fine production all-around. Great acting, awesome scripts, and terrific production levels for a TV special of the time. It's too bad the series itself, has not been remembered so well through the years, but this was a superb kick-off for it. Rod Serling is wonderful as usual, giving his characteristic dry, eerie delivery for each of the proceedings. Highly recommended!

The horror pulps viewed through Serling's prism

[sskelton · 10/10 · 18 September 2003]

Serling performs a refining act on the "Tales from the Crypt"-brand of horror with this grim triptych. Each story is a little morality tale in the style of "The Twilight Zone," but instead of that series' sense of surreal wonder, the focus is now firmly on the macabre. The plotlines follow the model of the 1950s horror pulp comics, with characters spoiling for their comeuppance: a black-sheep nephew suffers a revenge beyond the grave after murdering his rich uncle; a ruthless blind woman blackmails a surgeon into performing a transplant using the eyes of a desperate bum; a war criminal finds what he thinks is respite from his pursuers when he is miraculously transported into a museum painting. The rest is pure Serling, though, with sharply drawn characters, stylish dialogue, and his characteristic final twist of irony. The execution is first rate, with a terrific cast, good production values (music, editing, photography), and inventive visuals from directors Boris ("The Omega Man") Sagal, Barry ("Across 110th Street") Shear, and Steven Spielberg (in his maiden effort).

Night Gallery

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 3 December 2007]

In "The Cemetery"(..directed by Boris Sagal), a loathsome money-hungry nephew, Jeremy Evans(Roddy McDowell, playing him as a really slimy scumbag) ready and willing to horde on his Uncle's inheritance, just waiting for the old timer,William Hendricks(George Macready) crippled and ravaged by a stroke that has taken his means of movement and communication, to croak. His Uncle was once a painter obsessed with death..his works often evoke that. Osmond Portifoy(Ossie Davis)has been under employ to the old man for many years and Jeremy relishes in reminding the butler who will be dipping their hands in the money jar. To show you just how virulent Jeremy can be, he points out to Portifoy(..and for extra slander, he uses "Portifoy" nearly every sentence with a sneer)how his mother worked her fingers to the bone without ever asking Uncle for a dime and that he always desired to live the good life, but needed the means to do so. McDowell is in command carrying this heavy smell of pomp and greed("I'm a black sheep nephew with an itch")..you just love to hate him. Jeremy finds out that he'll receive his Uncle's inheritance due to the fact that his mother is dead and her share will go to him thanks to a clause in Hendrick's will. So Jeremy locks his Uncle's wheelchair next to an open window allowing the draft to kill him(..while also letting his Uncle peer at the family graveyard as a reminder of where the old man is about be heading). Oh, but you know Jeremy's got his comeuppance coming to him, yes sir! Jeremy notices a painting on the wall(Hendrick's portraits line the wall of the stairwell) and the freshly dug grave where dear dead Uncle was buried begins to change every time he looks at it. Watch as Jeremy slowly unravels as he sees Uncle's casket appear, then open, then show someone rising slowly walking to the front door of the manor. But, all is not what it seems. I do think McDowell's tour-de-force performance approaches high camp but I just enjoyed it immensely..he's such a blood-sucking leech, a real weasel. Watching Jeremy squirm and ultimately become frightened out of his wits was a ton of fun.The ending is a bit silly(..and rather logically unsound), pointing out another schemer out for a payday, but overall I think it's fun, if derivative somewhat. The idea of the ever-changing portrait is a cool idea, I thought.

The second tale, "Eyes"(..directed by Steven Spielberg)stars Joan Crawford as an acid-tongued, rich, blind woman, Claudia(who has built her own apartment complex in New York and lives as it's only tenant), who blackmails a surgeon, Dr. Frank Heatherton(Barry Sullivan)into performing a dangerous and unorthodox grafting procedure transplanting the central optic nerves of an obsessive gambler's eyes, Sidney(Tom Bosley of "Happy Days" fame) needing 9 grand to pay off a debt from a bookie threatening his life. Although the procedure will only grant her 11 hours of sight, she's willing to have that for just the precious moments to see color and objects always darkened to her. But, in a nasty bit of irony to match her own behavior towards others like Heatherton, New York City goes through a black out ridding her of those precious moments she has so longed for. This tale has that Rod Serling intellectual banter between characters you remember from stage-like episodes of "Twilight Zone" as fates are contemplated and discussions are batted around. This also has the "coming out" stylistics of a future filmmaker.

The third tale, "The Escape Route"(..directed by Barry Shear) follows a Nazi named Strobe(Richard Kiley, with a scar covering one eye for extra impact)hiding away in South Africa, haunted by memories of his war crimes and constantly looking over his shoulder worried about being caught by agents who specialize in hunting "his kind" out. He becomes pre-occupied/transfixed with a museum painting of some fisherman on a mountain lake..his desire is to enter the painting as a means of escape from the torments of running. He tries to shake an old Jew, Bleum(the marvelous Sam Jaffe, whose frail, wrinkled body, offers a terrifying example of what torture, imprisonment & death can do to one who had seen it all)who seems to recognize him. A creepy crucifixion painting depicting one's suffering leads us into Strobe and Bleum's first meeting..and, for a reason you'll find later, is as important to this tale as the fisherman painting. A chilling exploration of a tired monster with few escape routes whose wish is granted..just not the way he thinks.

As expected(considering the title)each episode features within it's plot the importance of a portrait. All three tales bear Rod Serling's distinctive writing style with the usual "gotcha!" twisting irony one grows to expect. I guess the first one is closest to the "Night Gallery" series, but this film is much better than what comes after it because of Serling's strong involvement in every tale presented. He is also the host introducing us to each macabre tale.

One of the better made-for-TV movies

[Casey-52 · 9/10 · 15 October 2000]

Any film fan knows that this is where Steven Spielberg got his start, directing the second vignette "Eyes". But NIGHT GALLERY deserves more respect and attention because of its overall creepiness than for the debut of a young "genius".

Rod Serling, creator of "The Twilight Zone", hosts this anthology TV movie that later spawned the TV series of the same name. Both the film and the series feature a multitude of guest stars that keep things interesting. Part 1: An obnoxious southern man (superbly played by Roddy McDowall) kills his uncle (George Macready) for his fortune and is later haunted by a painting of the family cemetery. Part 2: A blind woman (Joan Crawford) arranges to use a gambler's eyes (Tom Bosley) so she can see for a few hours, but things don't turn out the way she planned. Part 3: A Nazi war criminal living in South America is enchanted by a beautiful painting that reminds me of his happier past.

Of the three stories, Part 3 is easily the weakest. Part 1 and Part 2 are both amazing pieces of cinema and leave lingering memories to haunt you. But the plot and execution of Part 3 is rather boring and never really provides the viewer with memorable images or even a few chills here and there. Joan Crawford and Roddy McDowall easily take the cake as the best actors in the movie. Having always been a fan of both, I may be a bit biased, but most fans will agree with me that the two play wonderful villains, yet evoke a certain pity when they get theirs. The music in the movie is brilliant, by the way.

NIGHT GALLERY is an above-average TV movie that should be out on DVD already. The VHS is out of print, I believe, but try looking for it. My advice: watch the first two, then stop, rewind, and eject. Avoid the third installment as it will positively ruin the viewing experience.

The Eyes have it

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 29 June 2016]

Rod Serling presents three spooky tales revolving, in one way or another, around paintings. The basic ideas are not really new (for example, in the 1955 anthology "Three Cases Of Murder", a man physically enters a painting), but the stories are uniformly well-acted and worth watching. The first one is OK, elevated by Roddy McDowall's performance (he is perfect at playing "a swine"), but it has one of those "have your cake and eat it too" endings that I am not particularly fond of. The second is the highlight of the trilogy, stunningly directed in a semi-experimental style by the young Steven Spielberg; even in those 25 minutes you could tell that he would go far. The third is somewhat predictable, but still haunting. On the whole, a promising beginning for the series. **1/2 out of 4.

"May I claim my inheritance now?"

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 11 May 2017]

As big a fan as I was of Rod Serling's 'Twilight Zone', I couldn't figure out why I'd never run across 'Night Gallery' until I looked at the original air dates for the series. 1969 was my first year in college and I didn't have a whole lot of time for television, although weekly viewings of 'All in the Family' and 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' was a must.

So it's not many TV series that start out with an episode numbered zero, I thought that was the limited purview of super-hero comic books. I guess having this run as a TV movie pilot before the actual series began was the reason for the odd numbering here on IMDb. There are enough reviews on this board talking about the individual chapter plays, so I'll confine my remarks to other observations while I watched the stories.

For starters, considering the casting involved I'd say 'Holy cow'!, how did Serling and company come up with the payroll required for the talent involved in this show? Starting at the top you've got Joan Crawford, Ossie Davis, Richard Kiley, Roddy McDowall, Barry Sullivan and Sam Jaffe heading the various segments. Not to mention the guys who probably came cheap like Tom Bosley who was still doing guest appearances in TV shows of the era. And wait, can this be right - Steven Spielberg directing the second segment titled 'Eyes"! That was the Joan Crawford piece, talk about coming a long way!

I enjoyed all the entries here with 'The Cemetery' probably being my favorite. The twist ending managed to have it's own twist ending if you know what I mean, something that Serling achieved every now and then with the Twilight Zone series. I wasn't surprised that there was a story like 'The Escape Route' in the mix. Serling dealt with World War II and the Nazis more than once during his earlier series run. 'The Escape Route' was somewhat similar to the Zone's third season episode titled 'Death-Heads Revisited', in which a former concentration camp officer is rendered insane for the brutality with which he treated his prisoners. Crucifying Gruppenfuerher Helmut Arndt/Josef Strobe was a fitting end for a former madman.

So with this pilot episode out of the way I'll be looking forward to the rest of stories in the series. I like the concept involved, spinning tales out of paintings hanging in an art gallery curated by host Rod Serling. Serling didn't waste any time commenting on the trio of stories first presented here. When it was all over, he simply said "Good Evening". Good enough for me.

Premise Has Promise But Prematurely Putters Out

[P_Cornelius · 6/10 · 3 April 2009]

The first segment is better than the other two.

First, "The Cemetery". Rather than Southern Gothic horror, I find it more likely influenced by Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables. Where? Clearly, in the portrayal of generational guilt, culminating in the execrable Jeremy. For Jeremy seems the logical, if final, result of a family line dedicated to dishonesty and amorality. Uncle William (Hendricks) is himself a death obsessed picture of decay who has infected everyone and everything around him, including--in one of those wonderful Serlingesque Twilight Zone type twists--the seemingly loyal manservant, Portifoy. Poor put upon Portifoy turns out to be corrupt, avaricious, and greedy to the point of driving the foul Jeremy to insanity and death.

The art and set direction contribute mightily to the oppressive sense of doom in this segment. The color scheme in particular drives home the theme of impending demise and finality. Filled with cold bronzes (not gold, not amber but bronze), every shot of the molding, the staircase, the curtains, sheets, wallpaper, and even the cold bronze statues situated throughout more than hint at the vehicle of death, the bronze casket itself. Even the flesh tones of Jeremy and Portifoy melt into these bronzes. Only the ashen Hendricks stands out.

Yet Hendricks also projects the other apparent dominant color scheme, the ashen grey white which fills the space between the bronzes and reflects the outer color of the house per se. It's tomb like. Yes, the cast of characters are living in a virtual casket, surrounded by a gloomy mausoleum.

Thus the end of "The Cemetery" is not really a surprise. And Jeremy and Hendricks never really leave their graves. They've been residing in them all along, as has Portifoy. Woe be it to the next tenant of that house.

The segment, "Eyes", has always been one of my most disfavored ones. I don't know if it's the cast: I dislike Lady Joan, Tom Bosley, AND Barry Sullivan. I don't know if it's the oafish morality tale, typical of Serling sometimes but all coated in a sugary sort of irony that would be so typical of Spielberg as he developed. Or it might have been the static setting.

That said, there is one scene that does have merit. The one in the lawyer's office, where Resnick signs up to donate his eyes. In what would be a throw away moment, otherwise, Heatherton offers Resnick a drink. It's a drink from an ornate tumbler, just the sort of cold, useless bauble that Claudia Menlo would find so appealing. Resnick doesn't even notice it. Instead, he reminisces about what he has seen, a fight, a baseball game, the real things of his life, where image merges with sound, smell, and taste. Whatever Resnick's failings, he is still a whole person, a complete human being.

Not so our Mrs. Menlo. She has compartmentalized every facet of her existence in her quite literally golden gilded cage. She is surrounded by art objects, all just as cold as the frozen blue dress we first see her in as well as in iceberg-like blue eyes.

Other flaws: Of course, the first thing any viewer would want to know is why someone who had never had sight a day in her life would have a surgery whose grant of sight over such a brief time would STILL leave here without seeing a day in her life. For some odd reason, Mrs. Menlo chose to time the operation so she only had the nighttime. Well, probably not such an "odd" reason, as the story wouldn't have worked without the night setting, and the great New York City blackout of 1965 was also fresh in viewers' minds. Oh, and just another thought: a lonely woman, living alone in her own apartment building. Wouldn't she have her own emergency generators, especially as that NYC blackout of 65 was indeed so fresh in the memory?

"The Escape Route", the last segment, contains a couple of desperate performances, alas. Others will disagree, but that is all I could think about as I watched it. And it was especially true when Strobe gave his "confession" to Gretchen through the shared wall of their apartments. What could have, and should have, been played with subtlety, perhaps pensiveness, quiescence, and moral confusion, was instead given over to Gretchen's cackle and the Sermon From a Whore. It just didn't work.

Next, there is the issue of the sympathy we feel for Strobe. Intended or not (No doubt "not") the degree of sympathy for him is enormous, simply because the rest of the cast was filled with such sanctimony, including that self-satisfied smirk on Serling's face as he walked away at the end. Too, what felt sooo out of place, at least today, was all the 1960s psychologizing about guilt and justice, which was the segment's essential theme. It's a misreading of human nature, IMHO. One thing we've had plenty of opportunity to observe since this segment was made is that mass murderers and genocidal maniacs do NOT feel guilt. Quite the opposite, they usually feel that they're doing God's work.

One last remark. Sam Jaffe playing the quintessential Jew was a disaster. Isn't it a wee discordant to have a crucifixion symbolize Jewish suffering? Not to mention making a referral to Jesus the last word uttered by the strangled Blüm. It just seemed wrong. All this in addition to Blüm's character being more creepy than Strobe!

Even better than the Twilight Zone

[drystyx · 10/10 · 7 May 2007]

I was there when Night Gallery first appeared, in my early teens. And I was into Theatre at the time and knew a few things about production. Nihgt Gallery was instantly a classic. Rod Serling would introduce the segments with paintings which led into the plot. One had Roddy McDowell playing his usual malevolent character to the max, in an ordinary tale made better by acting and production. Another segment dealt with the rich buying happiness in a very unique and creative way. It wasn't a mind blower, but the most reminiscent of the Twilight Zone series. The third was the true classic, with Richard Kiley giving a masterfully performance of a vicious horrible creature, a Nazi war criminal who thinks he merits leniency after years on the run. He feels he can escape into a picture at a gallery in which men are fishing at a serene lake. This episode alone is better than any Twilight Zone series, and that is not easy to do. This was easily the creme de la creme, the Mona Lisa of Rod Serling's career, undeniably. If you haven't seen it, you must watch it! You will be enthralled! There were later episodes that also had great suspense, and terror that modern gore films can only fantasize about producing. The famous "Earwick" episode, the super scary "Robert the Bruce" episode. It's easy to see why studios won't release these again, for the same reason they don't release the other great classics of the past (Bronco, Sugarfoot, Laredo, The Untouchables-it's even hard to find some everyone knows about-Gilligan, the Hillbillies, Big Valley), because they want to make audiences think the old classics were the ho hum shows they air today so they won't lose audiences from new show. You will be pleasantly surprised by NIGHT GALLERY

What Rod did next.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 9 February 2023]

In the '50s, EC comics produced a range of graphic horror titles that upset conservatives with their blood-curdling stories. As a result, a comics code was introduced to tone down the gruesomeness.

This feature length pilot for Rod Serling's Night Gallery consists of three macabre morality tales of the kind that would feature in many post-code horror comics -- spooky stories with an ironic twist but lacking in shock value, making them feel frustratingly anodyne.

In tale number one, Jeremy (Roddy McDowall), the greedy nephew of wealthy William Hendricks, regrets helping his ailing uncle shuffle off this mortal coil when an old oil painting shows the ghoulish figure of the dead man getting closer and closer each time he looks at it. It's an atmospheric effort, but suffers from a weak ending that pulls its punches (it sorely needs a gory EC-style payoff).

The second story (the directorial debut of Steven Spielberg) stars Joan Crawford as a self-centred blind woman who blackmails a surgeon into performing an operation that will allow her to see for a short period of time. What she doesn't bargain for is a city-wide blackout that leaves her in darkness when she can finally see. It makes one wonder why she didn't schedule her operation so that she would be able to see during the daytime. Tom Bosley of Happy Days plays the reluctant optic nerve donor who provides the Spielberg schmaltz.

The final tale is classic Serling, dealing as it does with SS-Gruppenführer Helmut Arndt (Richard Kiley), a Nazi war criminal hiding out in South America. He becomes obsessed with a painting of a fisherman in the local museum, entranced by the tranquility of the scene. When Nazi hunters finally find Arndt and give chase, he flees to the museum and pleads with God to let him become part of the painting. The twist is predictable.

With The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling explored fantasy and science fiction, which were perfectly suited to TV; Night Gallery is more horror-focused, but the constraints of what was allowed on television in the '60s means that the result isn't all that effective. Of course, with the talent involved, it's perfectly watchable, but I found myself longing for some graphic EC-style shocks (of the kind to be found in George Romero's Creepshow, still my favourite horror anthology).

ROD SERLING'S NIGHT GALLERY: "EYES". Why is this episode not on Hulu...

[hallowedgrnd · 3/10 · 6 July 2016]

Spielberg's segment is entitled "EYES", and tells the story of a rich, elderly, and vainglorious blind woman who contracts her (very reluctant) doctor to perform an eye transplant surgery that will restore her vision, albeit for only twelve hours. The eye comes from some sad sack who is desperate to pay off his own debts, unaware that he's losing his eyesight forever in exchange for a paltry sum that will be gone just as soon as he's paid. The surgery goes off seemingly without a hitch, only for the woman's new eyes to fail her shortly after exposing them to light. Subsequently, she is plunged into a dark nightmare of a night that will take away her very sanity.

Crawford's Final Substantial Role

[nickandrew · 6 November 1999]

This was Joan Crawford's second to last film (actually a TV movie) that was the pilot to the famous show created by Rod Sterling. There are three segments all which evolve around a painting and have very good morals. The first two are the best. Crawford's segment (the second) directed by Steven Spielberg (his directorial debut) is about a vicious, blind Park Avenue millionaire who undergoes an eye transplant just so she could see for a few hours, but everything does not go the way she plans. "Night Gallery" is a masterpiece, and I highly recommend it to anyone, especially Crawford fans or Twilight Zone fans.

Take a stroll through the NIGHT GALLERY

[virek213 · 8/10 · 20 June 2002]

First shown on NBC-TV in November 1969, NIGHT GALLERY, the pilot to the 1970-73 TV anthology show of the same name, was the last major work of Rod Serling, creator of what may still rank as the best TV series ever, "The Twilight Zone." Although, when the series started, Serling wasn't given the kind of creative control he felt he needed to make the series work (and not surprisingly, it was mercilessly compared to "The Twilight Zone"), on this pilot film, he was firmly in control. Adapting three stories from his 1967 collection "The Season To Be Wary", Serling came up with a thoroughly engaging anthology film that combined morality, melodrama, suspense, and the supernatural into a stunning brew not seen on television before.

Segment 1, "The Cemetery", directed by Boris Sagal, features Roddy McDowall as an unscrupulous nephew who causes the death of his uncle by exposing him to a cold wind in order to grab his hands on the old man's fortune. But as he soon learns, one of the paintings his uncle created in his last days--that of the family cemetery--keeps changing on him every time he looks at it. And soon, it seems to show his uncle coming back from the grave.

Segment 2, "Eyes", stars Joan Crawford as a ruthless, imperious blind woman who blackmails a prominent surgeon (Barry Sullivan) into giving her an ocular transplant so that she may enjoy roughly twelve hours of sight before going blind again. The operation, done with the help of an eye donation from a petty gambler, turns out to be a success--until a blackout causes Crawford to think otherwise. This episode is noted as the professional maiden directing effort for Steven Spielberg.

Segment 3, "Escape", directed by Barry Shear, stars Richard Kiley as a Nazi fugitive hiding out in Buenos Aires who becomes captivated by a painting of a fisherman in the local art museum. He dreams of becoming that fisherman and escaping from hiding, but a chance encounter with a Holocaust survivor (Sam Jaffe) will deny him that in a chilling conclusion.

Although Serling's moralizing sometimes gets a bit on the heavy-handed side, NIGHT GALLERY is still superbly conceived, with the case giving excellent and often chilling performances. The first segment is appropriately spooky; the second ingenious and unconventional (for TV); and the third, even though it is the weakest, a worthy capper on this film. Spielberg, of course, got the glory for his segment, but Sagal's and Shear's segments are nothing to sneeze at either. All in all, NIGHT GALLERY comes highly recommended.

Great made for TV movie!

[mr. sardonicus · 8/10 · 29 September 2000]

As a collection of three stories, The Night Gallery stands as one of the best horror anthologies ever filmed. The first of the three stories is the best. Roddy McDowell and Ozzie Davis are fantastic in this eerie little piece about greed, deception, and revenge. The second story is also the second best. Joan Crawford is excellent as the heartless, sightless woman who will sacrifice anyone to be able to see the world around her. The last story is the least of the three. Although Sam Jaffe is very good as the survivor of a Nazi prison camp, Richard Kiley just doesn't do enough with his role as the former Nazi haunted by his monstrous past. All in all, this is one of the premier made-for-TV movies produced in the late sixties/early seventies era. With a few notable exceptions, the TV series which followed never really lived up to this auspicious beginning. If you've never seen this movie, it's definitely worth a look--if for no other reason than to see and hear Rod Serling introduce each episode.

good TV movie with top stars

[funkyfry · 7/10 · 5 November 2007]

"Night Gallery" was brilliant TV writer Rod Serling's follow-up to his cult hit "The Twilight Zone". These comments refer to the pilot episode, a feature-length anthology film with big-name stars directed by young directors (one of whom, Steven Spielberg, certainly ended up making a splash on the horror circuit and beyond). These stories are filmed in a quality color process and are all variations on a theme of painting and perception generally speaking.

The first story concerns a young upstart nephew (Roddy McDowall) who stands to inherit a fortune from his artist uncle (George Macready) and decides to help him a little along the way. Ossie Davis provides some very good support as "Porter Foy", the old man's reliable manservant. This vignette deals with the fragile hold of sanity on the conscious mind. I really enjoyed the performances of the lead actors in this one and it was my favorite in the film.

The second story features star Joan Crawford and was the one directed by Spielberg. It concerns a wealthy evil old woman who is willing to blackmail her doctor (Barry Sullivan) into performing an operation that will give her vision for 12 hours, but deprive another human being of his vision for the rest of his life. She finds a suitably desperate man with a gambling debt to do this. This story is very remarkable, somewhat sad in a way. I thought it was a bit too obvious in a way though.

The final story is relatively inconsequential, dealing with a nazi war criminal who is hiding in South America and is identified because of his association with a particular picture in a gallery. This portion of the film went on too long for what it's story was worth and the entire part with the prostitute could have been excised without anyone noticing.

All in all, this is a very entertaining piece of TV film-making that classic movie fans will enjoy discovering because of the classic stars who all give solid performances.

Excellent trilogy of macabre stories

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 21 August 2018]

Rod Serling writes and hosts a trio of terror tales that are all presented as paintings in a sinister art gallery.

First yarn and most ghoulish yarn, "The Cemetery" - Greedy and smarmy rich heel Jeremy Evans (a deliciously slimy portrayal by Roddy McDowall) murders his millionaire uncle so he can collect the man's fortune. However, Evans soon finds himself being haunted by a grotesque painting. Director Boris Sagal ably crafts a strong gloom-doom Gothic atmosphere. McDowall has an absolute ball with his delightfully detestable character while Ossie Davis impresses as loyal servant Osmond Portifoy. Dandy double twist ending, too.

Second and most powerful anecdote, "Eyes" - Mean and bitter wealthy old blind bat Claudia Menlo (superbly played to the spiteful hilt by Joan Crawford) resorts to ruthless measures to have her sight briefly restored only to have things go horribly awry due to an unexpected blackout. Directed with tremendous assurance and visual flair by Steven Spielberg in his directorial debut, this segment further benefits from ace acting from Barry Sullivan as the reluctant Dr. Frank Heatherton and Tom Bosley as hapless gambler Sydney Resnick as well as boasts a doozy of a grim climax.

Third and most caustic outing, "The Escape Route" - Unrepentant Nazi war criminal Josef Strobe (a fine performance by Richard Kiley) seeks refuge in a South American country, but still can't escape from the sins of his past. Director Barry Shear adroitly creates an edgy paranoid mood and builds a good deal of tension. Sam Jaffe contributes a typically sound turn as frail, yet resilient Jewish concentration camp survivor Bleum while Norma Crane adds plenty of acerbic bite as catty whore Gretchen. The chilling and brutally ironic final image packs a startling punch.

An on the money anthology film.

correction.....

[noneabve1947 · 6/10 · 25 December 2008]

That was Richard Kiley in that nazi segment. Kiel was the guy who had the metal teeth in a James Bond film and was nicknamed "Jaws". I didn't read all the reviews having developed a headache, but I see most of you got it right. I'd also like to ask about Gary Collins (I think.....my mind doesn't work perfectly, either) who'se failed show was merged with Night Galery either before or after it's prime. Some of the segments are available free online but all the ones I want are short and I cant find them anywhere....anybody got a clue??? In fact, I would love for somebody to put together an anthology of those classic short episodes but I suppose the lawyers would object.

Macabre tales on paintings!!

[elo-equipamentos · 8/10 · 9 November 2017]

I was remembering about three episodes that I saw at TCM of Night Gallery, it's are great macabre tales, the first segment The Cemetery a young nephew who received a inheritance after leaves your old uncle to die deliberately and saw the painting changing everyday, in the second segment is most interesting for all them, an old blind woman (Crawford) buy a couple of eyes which will give to her twelve hours of plenty vision only and the final segment is about a former Nazi who intent to be a fisherman, as a pilot is a good start really!!

Resume:

First watch: 1998 / How many: 2 / Source: Cable TV-DVD / Rating: 8

Joan Crawford's performance

[egonvon-15525 · 10/10 · 26 November 2019]

Excellent performance byJoan Crawford photography from Steven Spielberg camera angles great. Very well done. All the actors especially Tom Bosley great performances. I've watched it at least 500 times a classic all 3 of the segments were very well done wish we had people like Rod Serling making great TV today

awful

[javiersimpatico · 1/10 · 31 January 2005]

the Plot Summary is wrong ,the Germany militar from the third story of the movie is not in Brazil, he is located in Buenos Aires Argentina , anyway the locations doesn't look at all like Buenos Aires , there is no doubt it was filmed in other place , everything is wrong , Argentine people don't look like Mexican and do not sing "cielito,,,"(typical Mexican song) in the restaurants, the national music in Argentina is tango, very disappointing , i guess that the director didn't know much about this culture , and the person who made the plot summary didn't see the movie very well . i didn't see the other stories, just the last , and it was enough to understand is not a masterpiece from the creator of twilight zone , it looks too that people voting didn't found the movie like something great ,

Haunted Painting/Bad Eyes/War Wounds

[blanbrn · 8/10 · 7 September 2020]

The pilot episode of "Night Gallery" featured three interesting stories all were full of drama and suspense plus they all twisted with things happening to bad people the segments were "The Cemetery", "Eyes", and "Escape Route".

"The Cemetery" involves a greedy and rich man(played to perfection by late great horror and sci-fi star Roddy McDowall("Planet of the Apes", and "Fright Night") who is set to inherit plenty of money from his rich wealthy family all he's waiting on is for his uncle to die. Well when that happens things change in the form of haunted art as the paintings on the stairway wall spooks everyone out. Only one by one each new rich receiver is no match for the art on the wall!

"Eyes"(directed by Steven Spielberg) is one interesting episode that twist with dire means. Starring legendary Joan Crawford(late in her work life) as a cold cruel woman who will do anything to see she wants her blindness cured. And so she blackmails her doctor into a plan. The donor(Tom Bosley from "Happy Days") happens to be a needy man for money as he's to pay off a mob debt, when the procedure takes place it has a wicked twist as wicked and damaged eyes don't last on a wicked face in front of sunlight!

"The Escape Route" involves a Nazi war criminal hiding in South America and a painting in a local gallery brings back memories really it's a little haunting and spooky it's like old war wounds. Overall well done pilot great and super way to start a well remembered classic series.

Pilot

[Prismark10 · 8/10 · 20 January 2024]

Night Gallery was another creation of Rod Serling. Macabre morality tales with introductions from Serling. He also wrote three of the scripts for this pilot. It is notable for the directorial debut of Steven Spielberg who gets to direct the legendary Joan Crawford.

The first segment has Roddy McDowall playing Jeremy the long lost nephew of an elderly disabled man. Jeremy forcibly makes sure his uncle freezes to death in the night so he can inherit his wealth. The family butler Osmund has little time for the greedy swine Jeremy. Soon Jeremy is haunted by a painting which keep changing. His uncle has risen from the grave and starts walking towards the house. Osmund later discovers another moving painting.

The second segment directed by Spielberg has Joan Crawford as Miss Claudia Menlo. A rich selfish woman, the sole occupant of an apartment building in New York that she owns. She coerces a surgeon for an eyes transplant, even though she will only have sight for 12 hours. Some poor sap up to his eyeballs in debt will be the donor in exchange of a lot of money. Miss Menlo did not take into account of something outside her control. She would still be in the dark.

The third segment has Richard Kiley as Helmut. An unrepentant Nazi officer hiding out in South America. At an art gallery he finds himself being drawn inside a painting of a man fishing in a boat. A serene life he desires that the Nazi dream of world domination is in tatters. While being chased by Nazi Hunters, Helmut ends up being horrified by another painting.

This was a strong pilot, all threes stories were strong and I remember the third story even after watching it many years ago. The weakness of the Spielberg directed one was Miss Menlo would not be left alone by the surgeon as she took off her bandages.