Tales of Tomorrow: The Invader
Originally broadcast on ABC on Friday, December 21, 1951 at 9:30 PM Eastern Time.
Plot: An estranged scientist, his son and the son's girlfriend stumble upon something otherworldly at sea that threatens all of them.
Analysis: This is one of the unique cases where the cast is more interesting than the product. But, first things first, the episode. It starts with an intriguing first act, building up the character drama and suspense... and then everything feels rushed to a conclusion that is ultimately not very satisfying. Does not help that most of the last act is done with the lights off and your imagination is left to fill in the blanks. In the end, it's a good start done in by the limitations of time and technology.
Now, our players. First off, the girlfriend is played by Eva Gabor, quite possibly the biggest name outside of I Love Lucy we have stumbled across so far. We're actually catching her quite early in her career as most everything she had done up to this point was bit parts on television or uncredited roles in movies. Rest assured, this will not last long as we will see her again in about a decade in television time in the role she is probably best remembered for. We will catch up with her then. For this role, she's not bad, given enough to move the plot along and be believable.
Next, we have the son Roy played by William Eythe. Eythe is probably best known for his roles in the movies The Song of Bernadette and The Ox-Bow Incident. Sadly, we are catching him at the end of his career as he will die in 1957 at the age of 38. He is worth noting for another reason - Eythe was also one of the actors unfortunately trapped in the celluloid closet of the times. It is worth remembering that being a Communist and being gay at the time was practically synonymous, both viewed as subversive threats to the American way of life. As for his role here, he does just fine, playing the guy under pressure to be what his father wants while he needs to prove he is his own man. His character shift in the second act may be predictable, but he pulls it off well.
Finally, we have another character actor, one with a very long road ahead of him. Chandler the diver is played by Salem Ludwig. Ludwig has more bit parts in television and movies ahead of him well into the past decade, so I will be more than happy to acknowledge him as the roles accumulate over time. For now, he is credible as a bullying character in the scenes we see him in.
The Bottom Line: In sum, what do we have here? It's passable, especially with the character building in the first act, but the second act practically torpedoes everything as we skid into the predictable. Got to give them credit for at least trying with the make up effects though, even if they are ultimately not so impressive. We do also see some examples of the limitations of live television in the 1950s as we have a lot of spliced in stock footage and scenes played in the dark. Overall, it is worth a watch just for the credible efforts the actors give the script.
The Invader is included with eleven other episodes on Collection Two of Tales of Tomorrow (http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Tomorrow-Collection-Leslie-Nielsen/dp/B000BCKFXE/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1405118569&sr=1-2&keywords=tales+of+tomorrow). It can also be found streaming on Hulu Plus.
Next time, we're back to loving Lucy.
Originally broadcast on ABC on Friday, December 21, 1951 at 9:30 PM Eastern Time.
Plot: An estranged scientist, his son and the son's girlfriend stumble upon something otherworldly at sea that threatens all of them.
Analysis: This is one of the unique cases where the cast is more interesting than the product. But, first things first, the episode. It starts with an intriguing first act, building up the character drama and suspense... and then everything feels rushed to a conclusion that is ultimately not very satisfying. Does not help that most of the last act is done with the lights off and your imagination is left to fill in the blanks. In the end, it's a good start done in by the limitations of time and technology.
Now, our players. First off, the girlfriend is played by Eva Gabor, quite possibly the biggest name outside of I Love Lucy we have stumbled across so far. We're actually catching her quite early in her career as most everything she had done up to this point was bit parts on television or uncredited roles in movies. Rest assured, this will not last long as we will see her again in about a decade in television time in the role she is probably best remembered for. We will catch up with her then. For this role, she's not bad, given enough to move the plot along and be believable.
Next, we have the son Roy played by William Eythe. Eythe is probably best known for his roles in the movies The Song of Bernadette and The Ox-Bow Incident. Sadly, we are catching him at the end of his career as he will die in 1957 at the age of 38. He is worth noting for another reason - Eythe was also one of the actors unfortunately trapped in the celluloid closet of the times. It is worth remembering that being a Communist and being gay at the time was practically synonymous, both viewed as subversive threats to the American way of life. As for his role here, he does just fine, playing the guy under pressure to be what his father wants while he needs to prove he is his own man. His character shift in the second act may be predictable, but he pulls it off well.
Finally, we have another character actor, one with a very long road ahead of him. Chandler the diver is played by Salem Ludwig. Ludwig has more bit parts in television and movies ahead of him well into the past decade, so I will be more than happy to acknowledge him as the roles accumulate over time. For now, he is credible as a bullying character in the scenes we see him in.
The Bottom Line: In sum, what do we have here? It's passable, especially with the character building in the first act, but the second act practically torpedoes everything as we skid into the predictable. Got to give them credit for at least trying with the make up effects though, even if they are ultimately not so impressive. We do also see some examples of the limitations of live television in the 1950s as we have a lot of spliced in stock footage and scenes played in the dark. Overall, it is worth a watch just for the credible efforts the actors give the script.
The Invader is included with eleven other episodes on Collection Two of Tales of Tomorrow (http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Tomorrow-Collection-Leslie-Nielsen/dp/B000BCKFXE/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1405118569&sr=1-2&keywords=tales+of+tomorrow). It can also be found streaming on Hulu Plus.
Next time, we're back to loving Lucy.
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