Shindig! (TV Series) Episode #2.14 (1965) User Reviews

This edition of "Shindig!" with guest co-host Boris Karloff was a fascinating find from YouTube

[tavm · 5/10 · 2 November 2008]

Coutesy of the Classic Television Showbiz site, I discovered this rare "Shindig!" entry from the YouTube one. It's the Halloween edition from 1965 with Boris Karloff as the guest co-host to regular host Jimmy O'Neill with special guest star Ted Cassidy who appears as both himself and as his "Addams Family" character, Lurch. The show begins with O'Neill singing two Beatles songs: "Help!" and another one whose title escapes me (fascinating note: later Fab Four collaborator Billy Preston was a musician here). Then we see Boris at a table with a crystal ball doing some banter with the host before disappearing, courtesy of a trick cut. After a commercial for Streidex, Boris then does his version of "The Peppermint Twist" in a speaking fashion with the camera literally panning up and down when he goes to those words. Then there are the regular singers warbling the hits of the week, none of which I recognized except for the "Memphis, Tennesse" number. Oh, and Mr. Preston sings a little during this. I should mention that somewhere here Mr. Karloff was supposed to have performed his own version of Boris Pickett's "Monster Mash" and while that particular segment may have been lost to the ether, an audio version was found on YouTube by someone else and was later recreated with existing video footage and scenes of Universal monster movies, Frankenstein among them. Also, Ted Cassidy as Lurch performing "The Lurch" with the female dancers was also lost though there are his performances with such-like dancers from other shows on the site (with Terri Garr among them). Then, after the Almond Joy spot, Boris makes both O'Neill and Cassidy as himself disappear (again, courtesy of a trick cut) before plugging the following weeks' lineup. Then, O'Neill and Cassidy say their own goodnights before dancing with the other cast as the credits roll...The version I saw was on kinescope with washed-out visuals almost throughout. So that was a mar on some of my enjoyment though also some of the performances weren't all that. I did get a kick out of Mr. Karloff's "Pepperment Twist" number, though, as he just sat there while those dancers were gyrating around him! Also, the Billy Preston number was off-sync here. Still, this was a fascinating chronicle of a dance-music show from a part of a decade before I was born.