Once Upon a Savage Night; Kraft Suspense Theatre; Nightmare in Chicago; Robert Altman, William McGivern

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[I am updating this review on April 9, 2011, as I have recently seen this episode for the first time on Museum.tv - as I explain here. The updates appear in brackets.]

Season #1, Episode #21.

Once Upon a Savage Night

Original Air Date - April 2, 1964. There is some question as to whether this episode was a two parter. Episode 1.22 would air two weeks later on April 16, 1964. There is no entry in the IMDB.com episode list for April 9, 1964. [Update - this episode was not a two parter. Near the end of the Museum.tv posting of this episode, there appears an original commercial for the Perry Como musical special that often appeared in place of KST during its original run. Perry Como would replace KST on April 9th with guests Bob Newhart, Ray Charles and others.]

Setting/Time - Chicago in the present [Update - the episode takes place near Christmas].

Plot/Review/Discussion - I have never seen this episode, so this part of the review will be difficult. [Update - I have now (March 2011) seen this episode at Museum.tv. See this link for an updated explanation.]

According to The Encylcopedia of Television (p. 82), this episode was intended as a pilot for a new series. That plan did not work out, but the episode was later released as a TV movie called "Nightmare in Chicago."

The episode is a crime story about a serial killer. The story is told from the point of view of the murderer. There also appears to be a secondary story about transportation of nuclear missiles on the highway.

This was the third and final KST episode written by William McGivern. This story appears to be based on his novel, Death on the Turnpike. McGivern was a prolific crime writer whose stories often appeared on television police shows, such as Kojak and Adam-12.

Robert Altman directed this episode. This was the final episode of KST that he directed.

[Update - This story was, in fact, the story of a serial murderer who played cat and mouse with the police as he tried to escape on the Illinois Turnpike. The existence of the military convoy complicated the plot, as it hampered police efforts to capture the killer, while the manhunt interfered with the convoy.

The convoy looked impressive as it rolled with flashing lights down the highway at night. The convoy's imposing appearance added to the drama.

The conflicting goals of the police (catch the killer v. protect the convoy) constituted the secondary plot, which complicated the main conflict while helping to provide the resolution.

This episode tried to present a psychological explanation for the killer's actions. The explanation was confusing and incomplete.

Despite the plot and psychological complications, the story's race to the climax was simple and effective. All of the complicating factors were resolved with the completion of a simple physical task.

Despite the sometimes seedy nature of the story, this episode (much like the other KST episodes) showed class. Everyone (including the killer) wore a suit and tie and drove big American cars.]

Miscellaneous - This episode's title is not to be confused with "A Cruel and Unusual Night" (episode 1.28). This is another pairing of KST episodes with confusingly similar names, with both titles sounding like they were written by Snoopy.

Cars - I do not know what cars were used in this episode, but there were undoubtedly many opportunities to see classic vehicles. This opportunity provides a reason that I hope to see this episode one day.

[Update - The cars were difficult to discern, as most of the action took place at night and musuem.tv's version is black-and-white. The killer drove a 1964 Chevy station wagon for a time. The police drove a 1964 Chrysler. During the highway scenes, one could spot the back of a 1960 Chevy going through a toll booth.

At one point, the killer caused a major accident in his attempt to stall the police. The cars in that accident were all from the mid to late 1950's. The KST producers were hampered in this regard by the great difference in appearance between 1950's cars and 1960's cars. The producers could not destroy a large number of new cars (for budgetary reasons) so they were forced to stretch the viewer's credulity by staging an accident in which the cars all happened to be obviously older than the cars from the rest of the episode. Today, that problem does not exist, as ten year old cars look very similar to new cars.]

Actors

Philip Abbott played the murderer. He acted for nearly 50 years until his death in 1998. He starred earlier in KST episode The Long, Lost Life of Edward Smalley (1.08) along with John Alonzo (who also appeared in this episode). Abbott's longest running role was on The F.B.I. , in which he both acted and directed.

Ted Knight starred as (I believe) a police official. He would later become famous for his role in Mary Tyler Moore. [Update - After seeing Knight for so long as Ted Baxter, one has to fight to remember that he is not playing his KST role for laughs. Once I forgot about Ted Baxter, Knight's role as the police commissioner was relatively strong, as he struggled to balance his duties to catch the killer with his need to see that the convoy proceeded smoothly.]

Charles McGraw played in the first of his two roles on KST.

The IMDB.com entry for this episode lists Andrew Duggan and Carroll O'Connor, but one of the reviews of "Nightmare in Chicago" states that these references are erroneous. [Update - O'Connor and Duggan did not appear in this episode.]

Kraft Suspense Theatre; Leviathan Five; Arthur Kennedy; Hobbes; Harold Stone; Andrew Duggan; Robert Webber; Frank Overton; Frank Maxwell

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Season #1, Episode #14

Leviathan Five

Original Air Date - January 30, 1964. This was the 4th episode aired during 1964. Twenty-nine (29) total episodes were aired during 1964 - more than any other year and almost half of all KST episodes.

Setting/Time - (1) a courtroom in a modern (unnamed) American state and (2) a nearby underground research facility (via flashback).

Plot/Review/Discussion -

Four scientists and a security guard are trapped by an accidental explosion in an underground laboratory. (I do not remember how deeply underground they were, but I recall the elevator clearly indicating a descent of more than 1,000 feet.)

After the explosion, the scientists calculate how long their limited air will last and how long it will take rescuers to reach them and reopen the air vents to the surface. They determine that they cannot survive unless they kill one man quickly. They devise a method where one man will be selected by lottery either to commit suicide or kill one of the others at his own discretion.

The story takes place in a courtroom as the surviving four men are placed on trial for the murder of the fifth man. We do not see exactly how the man died or who killed him, but that is not the point of the trial. All of the survivors face trial, even though only one man presumably pulled the trigger.

Many of the KST episodes focus on a choice between right and wrong. This episode includes the same focus but with a different emphasis. In "Leviathan Five" the choice has already been made and the characters must fight over whether that choice was right or wrong. The survivors' very method of choosing one among them to die is the basis for the charges against all of them. There is no obvious bad guy, only a near impossible situation and plausible arguments on both sides of the issue.

The survivors defend the charges on the basis that they were cut off from society and had to create new rules. They argue that they were not subject to the laws of their (unnamed) state anymore. [The writers' avoidance of any reference to any particular state is a source of awkwardness.] The issue comes down to whether it is right for a small group to kill one of their members if it will save the rest and if they are cut off from civilization. In this episode, the question depends also on the fact that all five men voluntarily took part in the plan.

The story is not as scientific or philosophical as I am making it sound. Other reviewers (at IMDB.com) have focused on Hobbes or an article by a Harvard law professor, but one need not be familiar with these works in order to enjoy this episode. The dispute is presented thoroughly through crisp and simple dialogue - mainly the cross-examination between the prosecutor and the lead scientist.

The writers needed to separate the scientists and the guard from civilization in order for the plot to work. In doing so, the plot lost some credibility. They never made clear why the scientists needed to perform their duties so far underground in the first place. All the audience sees of the underground laboratory are books, papers, a wall control panel and some living quarters.

More interesting is the question of why they needed an armed guard so far underground (aside from the fact that the presence of the guard and his gun are important to the plot). Who was the guard expecting to shoot? What kind of trouble was he expecting 1,000 feet below ground? Is scientific work prone to erupt in violent arguments? If not each other. who was the guard protecting the scientists from? There already were guards and a checkpoint at the entrance to the facility. Notwithstanding the protection above, were they expecting prowlers to make the long journey down the shaft?

If the scientific work involved something so dangerous that it had to be kept more than 1,000 feet below the surface, was it really safe to risk gunplay down there? [This is never explained, but maybe that is what caused the explosion - a guard in another underground shaft at the same facility got trigger happy - with disastrous results.]

And speaking of safety, why did the scientists wear labcoats (aside from the television/movie stereotype of scientists wearing labcoats as some sort of uniform)? They did not seem to be doing anything that could get their clothes dirty (aside from dealing with the consequences of the explosion that trapped them all below ground with limited air). Maybe the facility owners would have been better advised to spend their safety money on preventing explosions instead of issuing useless labcoats.

And not to be overly picky, but the motorized golf cart that carried the scientists from the elevator down the long hallway (the guard would later reveal the exact distance) seemed to be pointless too. Come to think of it, they could have done without that entire hallway. There did not appear to be any other offices down there. Why not simply place the lab near the base of the elevator and avoid some very difficult tunnel construction (not to mention the expense of maintaining the golf cart)?

While others (for example Star Trek fanatics) might try to explain these points with reference to some implausible scenario (e.g. 'this is how laboratory work is done in a parallel universe'), I am content to suspend disbelief just enough to enjoy the plot despite these questions. In fact, a viewer is not likely to notice these things upon seeing the episode for the first time.

I noted also that the courtroom objections seemed to be handled correctly, especially the judge's treatment of the hearsay rule and the fifth amendment (although the main character's use of the fifth amendment would turn out to be improper and might result in contempt charges). This contrasts sharply with modern courtroom dramas.

This episode is one of three KST episodes in which William P. McGivern received a share of the writing credits. His writing focus was usually on crime and police work. I suspect he contributed some of the courtroom and legal knowledge to supplement "Leviathan's" philosophical conflict.

Cars

As far as classic cars are concerned this episode featured quantity over quality.

The opening to the flashback featured a shot of a full parking lot of early 1960's models. The only one you see actually moving is a 1962 Dodge Dart station wagon that carries the lead scientist from his home to this facility. And this brings to mind another question about plot awkwardness. The scientist testifies that he drove, even though he had a driver in the car with him. This is never explained, although it does place the "driver" in the same category as the armed guard. The scientist should have suspected trouble at this point, seeing that he had a driver that served no purpose. This fact should have tipped him off that the armed guard that met him at the shaft entrance would serve no purpose either - except to fill a plot hole that might involve shooting.

As the Dart wagon moves through the parking lot, we catch glimpses of two early-mid-1960's Ford Thunderbirds and a 1963 Mercury Monterey (among many others). Those were all definitely quality cars, but it is much less fun when you see them parked instead of moving along the highway.

Actors

Arthur Kennedy played the lead scientist, who provided the testimony during the trial. Kennedy acted for fifty years until his death in 1990. He received five Oscar nominations.

Harold Stone played another of the scientists. Stone played numerous roles on television and movies for almost 40 years, including guest roles on Big Valley (with fellow KST actor Steve Ihnat) and KST spinoff Run For Your Life. I remember him as gangster Frank Nitti in The St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1967.

Robert Webber played the prosecutor. Webber was a well-known character actor for almost forty years until his death in 1989. This was the first of his two KST appearances. I remember him as a drug kingpin in Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978). He guest-starred in many of the most famous TV shows of his time.

Frank Maxwell played the armed guard in the first of his three KST appearances. He did character work for almost 50 years, including guest and regular appearances on network television. His roles usually were authority figures (police, military, etc.).

Andrew Duggan portrayed another of the scientists in the first of his two KST appearances. He is known for playing presidents, including Eisenhower and Johnson numerous times. He also played military leaders in modern settings and in westerns, such as Big Valley. He enjoyed many starring roles in television for nearly 40 years until his death in 1988.

Star Trek connection.

This episode's Star Trek actor is Frank Overton, who played the defense attorney. Overton starred in Star Trek's "This Side of Paradise" (directed by KST's Ralph Senensky). Overton played in one of the more well-known episodes of Twilight Zone, opposite KST's Gig Young. His IMDB "trivia" bio mentions his Star Trek appearance to the exclusion of the remainder of his 20 year career.

A Truce to Terror; Kraft Suspense Theatre; Steve Forrest, John Gavin, Frank Silvera, William McGivern; Michael Ansara

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Season #1, Episode #12

A Truce to Terror

Original Air Date - January 9, 1964.

Setting/Time - Los Angeles in the present.

Plot/Review/Discussion -

A businessman finds himself in an altercation with a hispanic man on a downtown street, resulting in an injury to the businessman. The businessman decides to seek revenge. We see the businessman's attempts to find the hispanic man in East Los Angeles. The situation escalates as his search intensifies. The plot culminates in a gun battle on the street and in a basement near the businessman's office.

In this episode, the businessman faces a choice between hunting down his attacker or forgetting the issue. The police, his business partner and a local community leader advise him to let it go. He presses on anyway. We see and hear his decision making process as he resists and ignores everyone's advice. The suspense is more about his decision than about the action that follows. There is no right or wrong decision, but we see the consequences as he presses forward and the conflict escalates.

The story is essentially an anti-war message, as reinforced by the written text on the screen at the conclusion of the show. The politics of the show detract from the plot. The message comes across as naive in light of the events of the past five decades.

The running gun battle/chase scene near the end is the closest (in the entire series) that KST comes to literally recreating the action and the atmosphere of the silhouette images in the opening credits.

William P. McGivern was the writer. He was mainly a crime novelist and mystery writer (even though this episode was not a mystery). He had been a police reporter and was noted for his realistic protrayal of urban life. That background comes through in this episode. This was the first of three episodes that he wrote for KST. He also wrote for police dramas such as Kojak, Adam-12 and other shows.

Cars - I did not recognize most of the vehicles, as they were older models from the 1940's in the hispanic section of the city. I did see the obligatory 1963-1964 Plymouth Fury taxi.

Actors -

Steve Forrest plays the businessman in the first of his two KST appearances in this episode.

John Gavin plays Forrest's hispanic antagonist. His most famous roles were in Psycho and Spartacus. Gavin later served as Ronald Reagan's ambassador to Mexico in the 1980's.

Frank Silvera plays the policeman that advises Forrest to abandon his search. His dialogue with Forrest in their second conversation is crisp and entertaining. He later starred in "That Time in Havana" with Forrest in the second of each of their two KST appearances. Silvera guest starred in many of the major television programs of the 1960's, including Rawhide, Hawaii Five-0, Gunsmoke, Hitchcock, The Flying Nun and KST spinoff Run For Your Life.

Star Trek Connection - The Star Trek connection is Michael Ansara, who plays the community leader/bar owner in the Mexican neighborhood. He advises Forrest's character to back off of his search (somewhat more forcefully than Silvera's character). He also helps Forrest's character and advises him as the situation escalates. Ansara played Kang on the "Day of the Dove" Star Trek episode. His other roles included small parts in Ten Commandments and Julius Caesar as well as larger roles in what seems like every major television program of the past sixty years, including a reprise of his Kang role on various Star Trek spinoffs. His original role on Star Trek, once the only thing I knew of him, now seems minor in light of the body of his work.
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