Thanatos Palace Hotel (1 Feb. 1965)

Norman Manners is suicidal, and is saved by a fire company when he jumps from a building. While recuperating, he is visited by Mr. J. Smith, who invites him to a recreational resort for ... See full summary »

Director:

Laslo Benedek

Writers:

André Maurois (story), Arthur A. Ross (teleplay)

Stars:

Alfred Hitchcock, Angie Dickinson, Steven Hill

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
Angie Dickinson	...	Ariane Shaw
Steven Hill	...	Robert Manners
Barry Atwater	...	Borchter (as G.B. Atwater)
Bartlett Robinson	...	Mr. J. Smith
Rex Comeaux	...	Devereau
Robert Reiner	...	The Doctor
Charles Fredericks	...	The Big Man
Gail Bonney	...	The Gray-Haired Woman
Pat Renella	...	The Lean Man
Adrienne Ellis	...	The Young Woman (as Adrianne Ellis)
Nancy Sanderson	...	The Nurse
Len Hendry	...	The Driver
Henry Wills	...	The 1st Cowboy
Lew Brown	...	The 2nd Cowboy

Storyline

Norman Manners is suicidal, and is saved by a fire company when he jumps from a building. While recuperating, he is visited by Mr. J. Smith, who invites him to a recreational resort for those who wish to die, the Thanatos Palace Hotel. Borchter, the proprietor, tells Mr. Manners that he can stay for as long as it takes to become comfortably ready for death. He meets a beautiful guest, Ariane Shaw, who has resided at the hotel for six months, providing services for her room and board. Her service is the romancing of male guests in preparation for their deaths. With Manners, for the first time, she finds a reason to live, as does he. In order to avoid death, they must escape from Thanatos. Manners devises a scheme whereby each of the three Riders who guard the facility will be killed. Unfortunately, Ariane is too weak, and she allows the Riders to capture Manners, hanging him from the nearest tree.

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Plot Keywords:

guard | hanging | barbecue | resort hotel | escape attempt | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 1965 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Shamley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

48 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Promising Premise Gone Awry

The episode's premise is a really unusual and promising one. People bent on suicide, but too hesitant to do it themselves, are invited to a "suicide hotel", where it will be done for them at an unknown time and in a humane manner. Steven Hill signs up, but while there, meets the gorgeous Angie Dickinson. Understandably, he now wants to escape with her in tow. But wait! Just who is she? The climax is a real stunner. Despite the promise, the brilliantly staged climax remains the only real reason to catch up with this otherwise erratic 60 minutes. The problem lies mainly with a muddled script and a confused Angie Dickinson who appears as mixed-up with her role as the script is. The problem is not with her acting ability; it's with the uncertainty of the script itself. She just doesn't know which emotions to draw on, while the director is probably as confused as she is. (See if you can figure out what her role is supposed to be in the hotel's suicide program.) Also, Steven Hill seems miscast. He's simply too strong a character to ' let someone else do it'. All in all, I suspect the script was rushed into production which would account for its poor development-- a problem with the demanding hour-long format as a whole. Anyhow , the only reason to comment is because there's an A-grade suspense story buried somewhere here, awaiting proper treatment from a budding screenwriter.