Move Over Kolchak for "The Norliss Tapes"

A more serious version of The Night Stalker (1972), The Norliss Tapes (1973) featured Roy Thinnes as an author who becomes an investigator of supernatural phenomena. In the film's opening scenes, David Norliss (Thinnes) confides to his publisher that his book debunking fake spiritualists has taken a different turn. When Norliss suddenly disappears, his publisher discovers a set of tapes in the writer's home. The plot unfolds as Norliss' publisher listens to his tapes.

On advice from her sister, Ellen Cort (Angie Dickinson) seeks out Norliss when her recently-deceased husband shows up in his art studio, takes a blast from a shotgun, and vanishes. Ellen reveals that her husband, sculptor James Raymond Cort, died from Pick's Disease (a brain disorder). Shortly before his death, he became obsessed with the occult and befriended an antiques shop owner who gave him a scarab ring symbolizing the Egyptian god Osiris. With ashen skin and glowing eyes, Cort is definitely dead--but that hasn't stopped him from working on an unusual statue molded from red clay.

The creepy dead husband.

Producer-director Dan Curtis follows the same general premise as his earlier made-for-TV films The Night Stalker (1972) and its sequel The Night Strangler (1973). The difference is that Darren McGavin played Kolchak, the investigate journalist in those films, with a dash of humor--thus balancing the chills with levity. With The Norliss Tapes, Curtis clearly intended to make a straightforward fright film--and he largely succeeds. His film evokes an eerie atmosphere, enhanced by the scenic Carmel coastline with its winding roads. There are some genuine shocks, too, such as when Cort's creepy face pops up at a window when the curtain is brushed aside.

Roy Thinnes, less frantic here than in The Invaders, makes a believable hero. Angie Dickinson lends some class to the proceedings and Vonetta McGee proves once again that she deserved a better career.

The Norliss Tapes also served as a pilot for a TV series, though NBC passed on it. Interestingly, Dan Curtis filmed an earlier pilot, back in 1969, about another investigator who specialized in cases involving the supernatural. Kerwin Matthews starred in In the Dead of the Night, which ABC broadcast as a 60-minute TV movie called Dead of Night: A Darkness in Blaisedon.

Contrary to popular opinion, Dan Curtis was not involved in the original Kolchak TV series. He did serve as an executive producer for the 2005 revival, Night Stalker, starring Stuart Townsend as Kolchak.

Snack-sized Film Reviews: "Horror at 37,000 Feet" and "Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You"

Hey, something's wrong with this plane!

The Horror at 37,000 Feet. What can you say about a movie in which William Shatner gives the most credible performance? That’s the challenge with The Horror at 37,000 Feet, a 1973 made-for-TV film with a better reputation than it deserves. It makes one wonder if the film’s admirers have actually sat through all 73 minutes. The premise shows promise: An airplane departs London with a handful of passengers and cargo consisting of remnants from an abbey used by Druids for sacrificial rituals. It’s not long before the plane comes to a standstill mid-flight, the cabin temperature drops to icy depths, and possessed passengers start spewing Latin. The cast consists of TV veterans Chuck Connors, Buddy Ebsen, Roy Thinnes, Paul Winfield, Will Hutchins, and Shatner. They struggle with poorly-developed characters, bad dialogue, and inane plotting. At one point, Connors’ pilot copes with the situation by telling the stewardesses to offer free alcoholic beverages! Only Shatner rises above these ruins as a defrocked priest who ultimately takes matters into his own hands. My advice is to steer clear of The Horror at 37,000 Feet and seek out three other nifty made-for-TV terror tales:  Gargoyles (1972), Trilogy of Terror (1975), and Spectre (1977).

I don't think a single strand of
Lawford's hair moves during the film.

Ellery Queen: Don’t Look Behind You. Before NBC launched the popular Ellery Queen series with Jim Hutton in 1975, it made an earlier TV movie with Peter Lawford as the literary detective. Ellery Queen: Don’t Look Behind You (1971) was intended as a pilot for a prospective series that never materialized. It’s easy to see why, although it’s not a total disaster. Based on the 1949 Ellery Queen novel Cat of Many Tails, the plot revolves around a series of apparently unrelated NYC murders committed by a killer dubbed “The Hydra” by the press. The connection between the crimes is a clever one, but it’s revealed with almost half the running time remaining. Even worse, it doesn't take much deduction to figure out the killer’s identity (there are only two viable suspects and one is much too obvious). Unlike Hutton’s 1940s-set series, Don’t Look Behind You is a contemporary mystery and Ellery has been transformed into a ladies man. In lieu of his father, Inspector Queen (wonderfully played by David Wayne in Hutton’s show), Harry Morgan plays an uncle that works for the police department. Lawford and Morgan don’t really click and Stefanie Powers is wasted as a suspect that gets involved with Ellery. Although the teleplay is credited to Ted Leighton, Columbo creators William Link and Richard Levinson may have penned an earlier draft. In an interview on the Ellery Queen TV series DVD boxed set, William Link mentions working on an Ellery Queen movie. However, the script was rewritten while he and Levinson were vacationing in Europe. They had their names removed from it. Given the timing, I suspect he was referring to Ellery Queen: Don’t Look Behind You.

"The Long, Hot Summer"...the TV Series!

Ah, the wonder of YouTube! I vaguely remember my parents watching a mid-1960s TV series based on the 1958 Paul Newman-Joanne Woodward hit The Long, Hot Summer. But since the show--which lasted just one season--quickly faded into obscurity, I figured it would never be released on video. Then, one night last week, I decided to search YouTube and--voila!--discovered four complete episodes. It's a small sample to judge a season comprised of 27 episodes, but still provides a feel for how the series was progressing...and perhaps why it failed.

Jimmie Rodgers sings the sublime title
songs over the opening credits.

Not surprisingly, the 1965-66 Long, Hot Summer TV series is based more on the theatrical film than on William Faulkner's Snopes family novels about life in Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi. Roy Thinnes plays Ben Quick, a good-looking drifter who has recently returned to the rural town with little money. Ben runs afoul of Will Varner (Edmond O'Brien), a domineering man who owns pretty much everything. Secretly, Varner admires Ben's pluck, but he doesn't like the hint of a spark between Ben and Varner's daughter Clara (Nancy Malone). Other characters include: Varner's weak son Jody (Paul Geary); Varner's mistress Minnie Littlejohn (Ruth Roman); and Eula (Lana Wood), a young woman of modest means who works for Minnie. Undoubtedly, fans of the 1958 film recognize all these characters. Indeed, the only substantial difference is that Jody and Eula are married in the movie, but only dating (in spite of Varner's objections) on the TV series. (Also, for the record, no one in the TV series attempts a Southern accent and Will Varner called his daughter "Missy" instead of "Sister").

Thinnes (without shirt) and Edmond O'Brien.

So how does it all work? Roy Thinnes and Dorothy Malone fare pretty well in the roles made famous by Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Thinnes can't replicate Newman's mischievous charm, but he broods well (and takes off his shirt a lot, especially in the beefcake-heavy second episode). Malone faces a bigger task, given that Woodward was a delight in the movie. Yet, she still captures Clara's spunk and mistrust of Ben. She shows promise in the second episode, but, alas, doesn't play a major role in the others ones I viewed.

Edmond O'Brien has big shoes in fill in taking over Orson Welles' larger-than-life portrayal of Will Varner. His take on the character seems more subdued, but the result is that his Varner seems meaner (and not the manipulative rascal played by Welles). Unfortunately, O'Brien left the series midway through the season (some sources claim he clashed with the producers on the direction of the show). Dan O'Herily replaced him and, though a fine actor, he lacks the charisma required for the part.

Lana Wood as Eula.

Among the supporting players, Ruth Roman registers effectively as Minnie. Paul Geary is incredibly bland as Jody (and nothing like the desperate son played by Tony Franciosa). Lana Wood (Natalie's sister), who is well-cast physically as Eula, does what she can with a poorly-developed part.

The episodes that focus on Ben and Clara's relationship work best. Unfortunately, other episodes (e.g., a falsely-accused murderer hiding in the swamp, Will thinking he may be terminally ill) come off as routine filler. One is left with the feeling that a TV version of The Long, Hot Summer may have worked better as a miniseries (incidentially, it was made into a two-part TV movie in 1985 with Don Johnson, Judith Ivey, and Jason Robards).

Roy Thinnes in The Invaders.

Following the show's cancellation, Roy Thinnes scored the lead in The Invaders TV series, which didn't last long either, but has acquired a cult following. Nancy Malone became a producer and director and eventually vice-president of 20th Century-Fox television. Lana Wood appeared as Plenty O'Toole opposite 007 in Diamonds Are Forever and guest-starred in numerous TV series. Cult favorite Tisha Sterling had a small recurring role on The Long, Hot Summer, as did Bobby Pickett--who scored a huge hit single with "The Monster Mash."