CHILLERS

CHILLERS (1990 TV series). 

This French-English TV series with a foolish title is based on the work of novelist Patricia Highsmith of Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train fame. The title makes one imagine that this will be a series of scary stories, but while there are a few creepy moments, that is not exactly the case. The main trouble is that not all of Highsmith's short stories translate well to the screen, and when I looked up some of the stories that had been adapted, I didn't find the originals all that great, either. Flat wind-ups do not make for compelling episodes. Perhaps Highsmith worked better in the longer form, although there are many who might disagree. While none of the 12 episodes of this short-lived series -- hosted amiably by Anthony Perkins -- are outstanding, there are a few that are notable. "A Curious Suicide" has a man killing an old friend, now a widower, who married the woman he loved; Nicole Willamson and Barry Foster are excellent as the two principals. "Old Folks at Home" finds a middle-aged couple regretting it after they take in an elderly couple who at first seem sweet but then become more and more demanding. In "Sauce for the Goose" a woman murders her husband to be with a younger man, a singer, then winds up fearing for her own life. Ian Holm stars in "The Stuff of Madness" in which a woman has numerous pets stuffed and spread throughout her garden while her husband obsesses over an old flame. In "Under a Dark Angel's Eyes" a man isn't told that his hateful mother has died so he can keep paying the bills for the couple supposedly looking after her -- Ian Richardson and Peter Vaughn offer exemplary performances in this. 

Stephane Freiss in "Puzzle"

One episode, "The Thrill Seeker," I found too poor  to even finish. Two others are notable for vastly different reasons. "Puzzle" offers a fine performance by Stephane Freiss as Harry, a handsome executive who is caught between two attractive girlfriends who don't know about each other. Like many other episodes, this is entertaining but is not at all a "chiller" and also has a flat resolution. "The Day of Reckoning" is notable if only for the fact that it was helmed by well-known director Samuel Fuller. But the plot, a weird one about tensions between both humans and poultry at an automated chicken farm, is evocative but goes nowhere, becoming rather silly all told. I can only imagine what Fuller thought when he was handed the script!

Verdict: Some very good premises that initially stir the imagination but don't quite hold up for the most part. **1/2. 

GENERAL ELECTRIC THEATER: BLAZE OF GLORY

Lurene Tuttle and Lou Costello

 "BLAZE OF GLORY." General Electric Theater. 1958.

This was the first episode for the seventh season of General Electric Theater, hosted by has-been and future president Ronald Reagan. Lou Costello plays Neal Andrews, a plumber who gets a phone call from a woman needing emergency service. His wife, Ginny (Lureme Tuttle) isn't bothered so much by the fact that the client is female as that the whole thing sounds suspicious: Lou will be picked up by a man and must wear a suit and tie instead of his plumber's outfit. Driven to a hotel by guys who seem like thugs he learns that he has been taken off by a gang of jewel thieves. 

Joe Corey and Jonathan Harris 

At the hotel, Neal meets the head of the gang, an elegant man named Favier (Jonathan Harris). A diamond has apparently dropped down the sink and Neal is required to obtain it -- or else. But with the help of a dissatisfied gun moll, Gladys (Joyce Jameson), he just might be able to outwit the thieves. Well, when they were talking about "the golden age of television," I doubt they meant this mediocre, if well-acted, episode, which isn't much different from the type of stuff Costello did in the movies minus the slapstick. A cast stand-out is Harris, who downplays the campiness he displayed on Lost in Space and delivers a fine performance as the oily and rather sinister Favier. 

Verdict: Costello is as amiable as ever even if the material is trite. **.