Kraft Suspense Theatre; The World I Want; Leonard Nimoy; Sal Mineo

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Season #2, Episode #1

The World I Want

Original Air Date - October 1, 1964

Setting/Time - A modern city in the present.

Plot/Review/Discussion -

This episode is somewhat melancholy and sweet at the same time.

The main conflict in this episode is between an elderly cabinet maker and his wife. The man suspects that his wife is planning to kill him. He wants to disinherit her and leave his money to his orphaned niece. The conflict between the man and his wife escalates as the wife begins to suspect the husband's plans.

The title refers to the state of mind of the niece and the underlying conflict in the story. The niece has befriended a deaf and mute cousin that lives with the family. The growing conflict between her aunt and uncle upset her to the point that she would rather retreat into her fantasy world in which both she and the cousin are safe and happy and the conflict does not exist.

The niece takes on a larger role in the episode as the story goes on, as her fantasy world clashes directly with the aunt/uncle conflict when she and the cousin are forced into a final violent confrontation.

I am being vague as I wish to avoid plot spoilers and I have not seen this episode in well over a year. If RTV broadcasts this episode again, I will look for specific examples of scenes supporting the niece's longing for the "world" that she wants. As I recall, her desire for a different world is expressed both through her conversations with the cousin and her unhappiness with the growing strife in the household.

The underlying conflict in this story is the secret desire of the niece for her "world" versus the harsh reality in which she lives. Despite her desire for this world, the niece is not a child. I recall her being in her late teens or early 20's (as is the cousin). The outcome of the violent struggle helps determine the outcome of the niece's own desire for her world.

The idea of a separate "world" apart from the conflict of the aunt and uncle is reinforced by the living arrangements of the cousin. He lives below deck in a boat on the property of the aunt/uncle. The niece is never so happy as when she is visiting the cousin in his cramped quarters.

Halsted Welles received writing credits for this episode. His television writing credits span nearly thirty years, including four episodes of KST. His other KST episodes seemed to have the melancholy undertones that characterized this episode, although the plots were in no way similar.

Cars - I cannot remember the vehicles used in this episode, as most of it took place in and around the home. There were a few street scenes, so I am sure that cars played some role in the background. I will provide an update if RTV reruns this episode.

Actors

Albert Dekker played the uncle. He performed mainly character roles for over thirty years in movies and television, including Bonanza, Mission Impossible, Rawhide and KST spinoff Run For Your Life. He acted in 1955's East of Eden with future KST star Julie Harris and 1954's The Silver Chalice with KST actor Ian Wolfe. He had previously served as a Democrat state representative for the Hollywood district. He died in 1968 from what the coroner labeled autoerotic asphyxiation.

Jo Van Fleet played the aunt. She acted for over 35 years, including three episodes of Kraft Theatre in the 1950's and guest roles on shows such as Hitchcock, Route 66, Bonanza and Police Woman. In 1955, she acted in East of Eden with Albert Dekker.

Sal Mineo played the cousin. Mineo was 25 years old at the time. He was in a transition phase of his career. He was too old to play teen idol types and had begun playing darker characters.

Patricia Hyland played the niece. Her career appears to have been brief.

Star Trek connection -

Leonard Nimoy played the attorney that helped the uncle with his will. There were other Star Trek actors that played bigger roles on many KST episodes, but there was no KST guest star that was ever as high up on the Star Trek totem pole as Nimoy in this (and one later) episode.

The Comparative Legacies of Kraft Suspense Theatre and Star Trek

Star Trek was a low rated show that teetered on the brink of cancellation for its entire first run on television. Kraft Suspense Theatre attracted the best actors of its (or any) era. Yet Star Trek, its performers and its trivia are discussed and dissected far out of proportion to its original success. KST is virtually forgotten.

I wrote in my initial post that Kraft Suspense Theatre has been largely ignored by fans and biographers of 1960's television and the actors from that era:

Stars and their biographers are quick to point out their roles on other shows of that era, including Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Hitchcock, etc. But they usually see no benefit in touting their performance on Suspense Theatre.

In response, director Ralph Senensky has written to me that he often forgets Kraft Suspense Theatre when he is asked what shows he directed. Senensky directed numerous popular television shows before during and after the 1960's.

I suspect that many of the biographies that I have seen lack reference to KST because the biographers do not appreciate the significance of the show. Because KST has not been in syndication very much, it is not considered significant among biographers and historians.

Star Trek received poor ratings during its entire first run. Many other shows of that era did better in the ratings. Yet actors that played roles on Star Trek emphasize their Star Trek roles to the exclusion of shows that were more popular during the 1960's. Star Trek guest stars still appear at Star Trek conventions across the country, while there are no such conventions for KST or many other popular shows of the 1960's.

So not only is KST largely ignored, the original Star Trek's legacy exceeds its original success and reflects mainly its post-run popularity.

Grace Lee Whitney devoted most of her book to Star Trek (plus some small roles in other shows), while not mentioning her role on KST (IMDB.com still does not mention her role in KST, even though she had a speaking role).



Ralph Senensky's blog is named "Ralph's Trek," even though he directed more episodes of some other shows than he directed of Star Trek. Senensky's Wikipedia entry does not mention KST (or Hart to Hart or Barnaby Jones), but mentions Star Trek.

Lloyd Bridges' Wikipedia entry makes no mention of KST, yet includes a reference to Star Trek merely because Bridges turned down a role on that show.

Joseph Pevney's Wikipedia entry does not mention KST. It does mention Star Trek and also lists many of the individual Star Trek episodes (while failing to mention individual episodes for any other series).

Actor Ian Wolfe worked for almost 60 years, including some prominent roles with famous actors. His Wikipedia entry does not mention KST, even in the long catalogue of credits at the bottom. The narrative part of the entry does list both of his Star Trek episodes by name (and little else).

Perhaps no actor played a more prominent role on Kraft Suspense Theatre than Jack Kelly. Kelly's Wikipedia entry does not mention KST, but mentions his less prominent role in Kraft Mystery Theatre.

Warren Stevens played in three KST episodes, none of which were mentioned on his Wikipedia page. That page did mention his one Star Trek role.

Malachi Throne played in three KST episodes, none of which were mentioned on his Wikipedia page. But the same Wikipedia entry discussed his one Star Trek role at length.

Actress Katherine Crawford starred prominently in three KST episodes (and had family connections to the show and to Universal Studios). She had no connection with Star Trek. Not surprisingly, she has no Wikipedia entry. Had she guest starred even once on Star Trek, it is safe to say that by now she would have appeared at numerous Star Trek conventions and would enjoy her own cult following.

Of course, the Wikipedia entries and IMDB bios (as opposed to the IMDB catalogues) for Mickey Rooney, Milton Berle, Peter Lorre and other KST guest stars make no mention of KST.

There are many other examples.

This legacy helps define one purpose of this blog. The plots are the most important part of each review, but cataloging the well-known actors of each episode serves its own purpose. The list of famous actors adds gravitas to KST. The demand for KST would be much greater if it was more widely known that KST featured less prominent performances of the all-time greats. These considerations may hasten the day of a DVD release or KST availability on hulu.com.