It's a tradition in my house to watch this episode of "Thriller" on Halloween night. About 10 years ago, Ken Crane's was having a fire sale on laser discs. I picked up the Boris Karloff Thriller box set as a lark. It contained this episode, which was an unexpected treasure. I really love it. It's so much fun. It has a very young, handsome, pre Star Trek, William Shatner. This is more than just a toss-off episode of an old series. It's actually a mini-movie. It has everything. Natalie Schaffer plays high camp as an alcoholic author. William plays the (seemingly) concerned nephew. This is when Shatner was in-between being a serious actor, and becoming the lovable ham that we know today. He starts out nice and subdued. Then... watch out. He goes over the edge when he sees the "blood" on the painting. Fun stuff. There's nice Black and White cinematography, wonderful atmosphere, and a lot of genuine chills. At the very end of the episode, the hairs WILL stand up at the back of your head. If you get a chance to watch it, WATCH IT!
17 Reviews
I'd love to have that painting...curse or not!
planktonrules22 October 2018
Long ago, a painter was found dead in his studio of an apparent suicide. The painting he was working on at the time was a morbid picture of the Grim Reaper!
More than a century passes. Beatrice (Natalie Schaffer) now owns the painting. When her nephew (William Shatner) arrives to visit, he's horrified by the picture---not just because of the subject matter but because 15 of the 17 owners have come to bad and abrupt endings! Despite his pleas, Beatrice insists on keeping the painting....and is soon found dead. What next?
As you might expect, there is a lot more to the story and the painting....and it is pretty cool. Overall, a very good episode and a good chance to see Shatner 'Shatner it up' in the final moments of the show.
More than a century passes. Beatrice (Natalie Schaffer) now owns the painting. When her nephew (William Shatner) arrives to visit, he's horrified by the picture---not just because of the subject matter but because 15 of the 17 owners have come to bad and abrupt endings! Despite his pleas, Beatrice insists on keeping the painting....and is soon found dead. What next?
As you might expect, there is a lot more to the story and the painting....and it is pretty cool. Overall, a very good episode and a good chance to see Shatner 'Shatner it up' in the final moments of the show.
A Good Slice of Life Drama
Hitchcoc27 November 2016
We have Robert Bloch back in action for this screenplay. Most of the best episodes for this series came from his pen. A rich and famous whodunnit writer buys a house and turns into a representation of her output. She also purchases a painting of the Grim Reaper, a painting that has a curse on it. Onto the scene comes nephew, William Shatner, who appears to be concerned about her excesses, particularly her drinking. He also spins the tale of the evil painting, begging her to get rid of it. She has just married a gigolo who is young and insincere. Of course, the painting is going to get into the act at some point. This has a really nice sense to it, giving us a clue then taking it away. It was a really good offering to conclude the first season. Shatner is actually quite good, doing his overacting bit that would be his trademark a couple years later in the original Star Trek.
Portrait Of Death
AaronCapenBanner31 October 2014
William Shatner stars as Paul Graves, who is visiting his aunt Beatrice Graves(played by Natalie Schaefer) who is a successful mystery novelist who has just purchased a reputedly cursed painting called "The Grim Reaper" which is a portrait of a large skeleton carrying a scythe over its shoulder. Rumor has it that when it bleeds, someone close by is doomed to die, and when blood appears on Paul's hand, it seems like the curse has started again, and will devastate the household... Chilling episode is another masterpiece, a perfect follow-up to previous week's "Pigeons From Hell", which delivered a masterful one-two punch for fans. Fine acting, script, and direction punctuated by a superb music score and perfectly realized ending make this a true delight, not just to be viewed on Halloween.
Last episode of the first season.
Last episode of the first season.
The PEAK of TV's Golden Age of Horror
lrrap2 April 2020
Text: "Thriller" at its finest. My late brother and I watched it on 6/13/61, a beautiful, sunny early summer evening; maybe that's why we found it more exciting and (yes) Thrilling than terrifying. However, in late '63, we caught it in syndication on a cold, dreary November night (this was our second viewing and we were 2+ years "more mature"), after which we were so FREAKED that we almost had to sleep with the lights on. Such is the power of this great episode.
Revue TV's House Director, Herschel Daugherty, is again SUPERB in his guidance of this show-- acting, pacing, staging, lighting, atmosphere --ALL remarkably solid. He was truly one of THRILLER'S unsung heroes. Case in point: how would we EVER know that Natalie Schafer was such a terrific actress if it were not for this single 50-minute film, featuring the most convincing DRUNK scene I have ever witnessed? And the effect of the roaring, roilng, rolling (whatever) fireplace flames on the Reaper during this scene in the library is perhaps the single most impressive image from the entire series. Bravo, Mr. Daugherty.
Then there's actor Scott Merrill, whose performance I enjoy more every time I watch it; here's a Broadway/dance guy whose career highlight was playing the male lead (Macheath, aka: "Mack the Knife") in the big, historic revival of "The Threepenny Opera" on Broadway from 1954 through December of 1961 (his performance is preserved on the famous cast recording). He was apparently whisked away from the production to film "Grim Reaper", his ONLY credit listed on IMDB, probably returned to the stage show, which closed at the end of the year. After that...NO stage credits listed either.
So here we have this very talented guy's ONLY visual legacy, as he deftly, coyly slinks his way through the proceedings (I LOVE the moment when Robert Cornthwaite confirms that "your wife loved you very deeply, Mr. Keller" and Scott just blows him off with "Yes, I know; shall I see you out?"), only to meet his match in the Shat man, who nails it dramatically in the poisoning scene---c'mon, everybody..lets' all admit it---Shatner is REALLY good in this scene, and does indeed seem very impatient that Scott just stop screwin' around and DIE ALREADY!
Call me weird, but I LOVE the opening dialogue stuff in Act 2, especially that great set with windows, glass doors, balconies, that parasol-style lamp, sun-rooms, etc through which the cast moves in, out, and around. Again, the mark of a fine director's hand.
THE MUSIC: We've all seen the classic medieval images of Death serenading his victims via his fiddle playing; Jerry Goldsmith's score for "Reaper" gets my vote as the single greatest score of all time for episodic TV --- his use of the steely, grating "Death's Fiddle" within the string orchestra, which at times seems to be stirring up the infernal winds of Hell, colored by the biting, reverb-y effects of the Novachord (an early keyboard synthesizer) is so far above and beyond the norm of what could have been expected from a composer in such rushed circumstances that it almost defies reality.
Thus "Thriller" ended its incredible 1st-season ascent and, as the summer of '61 began, genre fans entered an all-too-brief Golden era, with "Thriller", Hitchock, and TZ all in reruns ("Purple Room" would be shown the next week), plus the tail end of Roald Dahl's bizarre "Way Out" and, in July, NBC'S own "Thriller-Lite" summer replacement show "Great Ghost Tales" which, like "Way Out" contained a few of those HOLY GRAIL excursions into horror that typified this incredibly cool time in the history of TV. But that was long ago.... LR
Revue TV's House Director, Herschel Daugherty, is again SUPERB in his guidance of this show-- acting, pacing, staging, lighting, atmosphere --ALL remarkably solid. He was truly one of THRILLER'S unsung heroes. Case in point: how would we EVER know that Natalie Schafer was such a terrific actress if it were not for this single 50-minute film, featuring the most convincing DRUNK scene I have ever witnessed? And the effect of the roaring, roilng, rolling (whatever) fireplace flames on the Reaper during this scene in the library is perhaps the single most impressive image from the entire series. Bravo, Mr. Daugherty.
Then there's actor Scott Merrill, whose performance I enjoy more every time I watch it; here's a Broadway/dance guy whose career highlight was playing the male lead (Macheath, aka: "Mack the Knife") in the big, historic revival of "The Threepenny Opera" on Broadway from 1954 through December of 1961 (his performance is preserved on the famous cast recording). He was apparently whisked away from the production to film "Grim Reaper", his ONLY credit listed on IMDB, probably returned to the stage show, which closed at the end of the year. After that...NO stage credits listed either.
So here we have this very talented guy's ONLY visual legacy, as he deftly, coyly slinks his way through the proceedings (I LOVE the moment when Robert Cornthwaite confirms that "your wife loved you very deeply, Mr. Keller" and Scott just blows him off with "Yes, I know; shall I see you out?"), only to meet his match in the Shat man, who nails it dramatically in the poisoning scene---c'mon, everybody..lets' all admit it---Shatner is REALLY good in this scene, and does indeed seem very impatient that Scott just stop screwin' around and DIE ALREADY!
Call me weird, but I LOVE the opening dialogue stuff in Act 2, especially that great set with windows, glass doors, balconies, that parasol-style lamp, sun-rooms, etc through which the cast moves in, out, and around. Again, the mark of a fine director's hand.
THE MUSIC: We've all seen the classic medieval images of Death serenading his victims via his fiddle playing; Jerry Goldsmith's score for "Reaper" gets my vote as the single greatest score of all time for episodic TV --- his use of the steely, grating "Death's Fiddle" within the string orchestra, which at times seems to be stirring up the infernal winds of Hell, colored by the biting, reverb-y effects of the Novachord (an early keyboard synthesizer) is so far above and beyond the norm of what could have been expected from a composer in such rushed circumstances that it almost defies reality.
Thus "Thriller" ended its incredible 1st-season ascent and, as the summer of '61 began, genre fans entered an all-too-brief Golden era, with "Thriller", Hitchock, and TZ all in reruns ("Purple Room" would be shown the next week), plus the tail end of Roald Dahl's bizarre "Way Out" and, in July, NBC'S own "Thriller-Lite" summer replacement show "Great Ghost Tales" which, like "Way Out" contained a few of those HOLY GRAIL excursions into horror that typified this incredibly cool time in the history of TV. But that was long ago.... LR
Never laugh death in the face
stevenlawhon23 July 2019
The Grim Reaper (Thriller TV series 1960)
trimbolicelia28 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Very good episode from the excellent early 60's tv show Thriller, introduced by Boris Karloff. An excentric mystery writer buys a rambling spooky mansion and a hearse in order to bolster her professional image. She also buys a reputedly cursed painting of the grim reaper holding a scythe. Blood appears on the scythe whenever anyone is going to die. The writer's nephew arrives to warn his aunt of the danger of having the painting around. That's when things start hopping. The painting is creepy. Imagine having something like that on your wall. Great episode to watch on Halloween. Highly recommended.
Reap the benefits
hte-trasme24 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This episode of Boris Karloff's "Thriller" has a small role at the start fro the excellent actor Henry Daniell, which in a Karloff related context can't help but remind anyone who's seen of their work together in the brilliant film "The Body Snatcher." "The Grim Reaper" doesn't quite live up to that, but it is a very solid episode in the series.
It takes advantage of the strengths of the anthology-series format by emphasizing a small cast in a claustrophobic confined space and plenty of intelligent compelling dialogue. That's excellent scriptwriting is not surprising when it comes from Robert Bloch, as it does here.
Once the opening flashback ends a good tone is created and developed, with William Shatner playing a kind of earnest straight man to his eccentric, kooky mystery writer Aunt Bea, who has bought a hearse and a spooky old house for publicity, and decorated it with a "cursed" painting. The first half hour or so actually becomes a nice, tense character piece around Aunt Bea as well played by Natalie Schafer, as the comic tone around her idiosyncrasies becomes gradually graver and we learn more about her alcoholism and self-delusion.
There are a few twists after she dies but it loses a little steam closer to the end as more certainly creeps into our knowledge of events. I think it would have been more effective without the pedestrian crime twist at the end and without a revelation once and for all of whether the curse of the painting was real, but Bloch can't be blamed for these since this was evidently an adaptation of a story by someone else. In all, though, this is a success for "Thriller:" suspenseful, well-played, and skillfully scripted.
It takes advantage of the strengths of the anthology-series format by emphasizing a small cast in a claustrophobic confined space and plenty of intelligent compelling dialogue. That's excellent scriptwriting is not surprising when it comes from Robert Bloch, as it does here.
Once the opening flashback ends a good tone is created and developed, with William Shatner playing a kind of earnest straight man to his eccentric, kooky mystery writer Aunt Bea, who has bought a hearse and a spooky old house for publicity, and decorated it with a "cursed" painting. The first half hour or so actually becomes a nice, tense character piece around Aunt Bea as well played by Natalie Schafer, as the comic tone around her idiosyncrasies becomes gradually graver and we learn more about her alcoholism and self-delusion.
There are a few twists after she dies but it loses a little steam closer to the end as more certainly creeps into our knowledge of events. I think it would have been more effective without the pedestrian crime twist at the end and without a revelation once and for all of whether the curse of the painting was real, but Bloch can't be blamed for these since this was evidently an adaptation of a story by someone else. In all, though, this is a success for "Thriller:" suspenseful, well-played, and skillfully scripted.
Robert Bloch's blood dripping tale a final showcase for William Shatner
kevinolzak26 January 2022
"The Grim Reaper" achieves the impossible, topping last week's "Pigeons from Hell" for the most spine tingling entry of all, a fitting close to the up and down first season from the reliable pen of Robert Bloch. The opening scene once more sets out the events to unfold, as landlady Fifi D'Orsay unlocks the inner sanctum of artist Henri Radin to find him a hanging suicide, his concerned father Pierre (Henry Daniell) told that his son's morbid habits included sketching corpses in graveyards for his paintings, his deathless masterpiece an inspired rendition of the Grim Reaper as a skeletal figure complete with sharp scythe. William Shatner, reteamed with Elizabeth Allen from "The Hungry Glass," plays Paul Graves, rightfully concerned about the well being of his wealthy Aunt Beatrice (Natalie Schafer), indulging her image as an author of mysteries by purchasing Radin's Grim Reaper to adorn her library, her new home dubbed Graves-End to further the publicity. Bea's new husband is a young actor, Gerald Keller (Scott Merrill), swearing off his television career for her sake yet not forsaking his wolfish ways by doggedly pursuing her pretty secretary, Dorothy Lyndon (Elizabeth Allen), who genuinely cares about her employer. Paul has arrived to confirm the rumors about Radin's final work, how 15 of the painting's previous 17 owners have all died violently, which his aunt acknowledges but dismisses as simple superstition, until his revelation of the stigmata, that each time another death is imminent the painting begins to bleed. Incredible as it may seem, the onlookers are horrified to see Paul reach for the Reaper's scythe, thrusting forth fingers dripping with fresh blood. Aunt Bea's drinking noticeably increases during dinner, assumes the worst after spying one of her husband's failed attempts to seduce the unresponsive Dorothy, then spends the remainder of the evening drinking toast after toast to the Reaper alone in her library. Before morning, Paul is awakened to find his aunt lying dead at the foot of the stairs, apparently the victim of a brandy related fall, all of her assets left to husband Gerald. Dorothy heads back to the city while Paul remains at Graves-End to help Gerald, the new owner of the painting and thus next on the Grim Reaper's list of casualties, though hardly expecting to encounter the diabolical fate in store during a sleepless night of terror. The painting in Henry Lawlor's original short story was of a black madonna, Bloch's inspired touch to use the Reaper with its blood dripping scythe the stuff of nightmares, many viewers left with the mistaken impression that its eyes had a tendency to follow the characters around the room, as indeed Robert Cornthwaite's lawyer confesses during a reading of Bea's will. From Russell Johnson in "The Hungry Glass" to Natalie Schafer here, another GILLIGAN'S ISLAND cast member is seen to great advantage, her publicity seeking eccentric never once losing audience sympathy as she succumbs to realizations about a philandering husband and fears of death, the Grim Reaper in a sense her 'partner in crime.' What makes this the best THRILLER in my estimation is the varied twists and turns that Bloch effortlessly pulls off, no one is above suspicion, and Shatner's performance a masterful deception that only falters due to a script contrivance likely brought on by easily frightened network censors, Jerry Goldsmith's piercing music accompanying every reveal of the episode's centerpiece. The Grim Reaper is indeed as grim as expected, and even a bit more.
Karloff Hosts Shatner... and a Creepy Painting of the Grim Reaper
Witchfinder-General-66624 February 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The early 60s show THRILLER (aka. BORIS KARLOFF'S THRILLER) hosted by the almighty Boris Karloff is generally highly recommended to any lover of classic Horror. This last episode to the first season, THE GRIM REAPER (Seson 1, Episode 37) is particularly recommendable for several reasons, one being that it is one out of two episodes starring the young William Shatner. Being a fan of William Shatner and of THRILLER, his starring in an episode would be sufficient to make it a must-see for yours truly; however, the episode has more to offer.
***SPOILERS!*** Apart from its starring Shatner, this was an episode that I didn't think I'd like in the beginning. It starts out when Shatner's super-square character Paul Graves tries to convince his eccentric mystery-writer aunt (Natalie Schafer) to get rid of her most recent purchase: an extremely creepy painting of the Grim-Reaper, which is said to bear a curse. The previous owners of the painting (including the painter) are said to have met violent deaths, which were always announced by the blade of the painted Grim Reaper's scythe, which suddenly began to bleed. Of course, the aunt does not believe in such superstitious nonsense, and, guess what...
As mentioned above, I did not think I'd like the episode in the beginning. The incredibly eerie violin score stands out even among the good scores to all THRILLER-episodes, and the Grim Reaper portrait is creepy as hell. However, the aunt was so damn annoying that I couldn't wait for her inevitable demise. As was Shatner's super-square character, who would refuse to drink alcohol and constantly make annoyingly moralistic remarks. The other characters include the aunt's sleazy young husband (Henry Daniell) and her young secretary, the typically innocent beauty (Elizabeth Allen). Then, there's a somewhat unexpected twist, from which point the episode is truly great. Ovearall this is a good THRILLER-episode, even though the first half is a little annoying, in particular due to the annoying aunt character. The score is maybe the best of all episodes, and the painting is so damn creepy. 7.5/10
***SPOILERS!*** Apart from its starring Shatner, this was an episode that I didn't think I'd like in the beginning. It starts out when Shatner's super-square character Paul Graves tries to convince his eccentric mystery-writer aunt (Natalie Schafer) to get rid of her most recent purchase: an extremely creepy painting of the Grim-Reaper, which is said to bear a curse. The previous owners of the painting (including the painter) are said to have met violent deaths, which were always announced by the blade of the painted Grim Reaper's scythe, which suddenly began to bleed. Of course, the aunt does not believe in such superstitious nonsense, and, guess what...
As mentioned above, I did not think I'd like the episode in the beginning. The incredibly eerie violin score stands out even among the good scores to all THRILLER-episodes, and the Grim Reaper portrait is creepy as hell. However, the aunt was so damn annoying that I couldn't wait for her inevitable demise. As was Shatner's super-square character, who would refuse to drink alcohol and constantly make annoyingly moralistic remarks. The other characters include the aunt's sleazy young husband (Henry Daniell) and her young secretary, the typically innocent beauty (Elizabeth Allen). Then, there's a somewhat unexpected twist, from which point the episode is truly great. Ovearall this is a good THRILLER-episode, even though the first half is a little annoying, in particular due to the annoying aunt character. The score is maybe the best of all episodes, and the painting is so damn creepy. 7.5/10
Nothing lovey dovey in this doomed house.
mark.waltz16 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Having earlier met "the professor" in a previous season one episode of "Thriller", William Shatner now gets to play opposite "Lovey Howell" (Natalie Schafer) as her favorite nephew who comes to warn her of the evils of a century old painting she has purchased. She's a delightfully eccentric mystery writer, now married to the much younger Scott Merrill, yet unbelieving in the story of the painting's habit of bleeding right before somebody is about to die. At that moment, Shatner strokes the painting and finds blood on his finger tips.
You'll not soon forget the sight of the painting, a dressed skeleton holding a reaper, and looking much more sinister than your typical skeleton. Elizabeth Allen, as Shafer's gorgeous secretary, Henry Daniell, as the original painter's father and Fifi D'Orsday as the painter's landlady co-star, with Daniell and Paul Newlan each on their third "Thriller" episode.
This is a great role for the Billie Burke like Shafer, an obvious alcoholic who is horrified more by her husband's disloyalty than the evil looking painting guiding her destiny. It's eerie yet humorous, and shows Shafer's range past her dizzy persona. A great way to end season one!
You'll not soon forget the sight of the painting, a dressed skeleton holding a reaper, and looking much more sinister than your typical skeleton. Elizabeth Allen, as Shafer's gorgeous secretary, Henry Daniell, as the original painter's father and Fifi D'Orsday as the painter's landlady co-star, with Daniell and Paul Newlan each on their third "Thriller" episode.
This is a great role for the Billie Burke like Shafer, an obvious alcoholic who is horrified more by her husband's disloyalty than the evil looking painting guiding her destiny. It's eerie yet humorous, and shows Shafer's range past her dizzy persona. A great way to end season one!
the picture
Kirpianuscus30 September 2022
A beautiful episode of Thriller, using Gothic ingredients more than familiar in wise manner. A loving nephew, preocuped by the secure of his rich and eccentric aunt, a painting with a dark history, the young husband of venerable lady and his sentimental interest for the secretary of his wife, a presumed warning offered by picture and two deaths, the last revealing the terrible truth behind apparences.
Not many surprises but beautiful crafted story , giving the fair ways , clues and the perfect ( expected, maybe) final .
Something almost magic, reminding old novels of genre gives something real special , like a bucket of virtues, to this beautiful episode about greed and manipulation and curse.
So, just special.
Not many surprises but beautiful crafted story , giving the fair ways , clues and the perfect ( expected, maybe) final .
Something almost magic, reminding old novels of genre gives something real special , like a bucket of virtues, to this beautiful episode about greed and manipulation and curse.
So, just special.
When death comes knocking at your door
kapelusznik1829 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
****SPOILERS*** Coming to see famous mystery writer Betrice Graves, Natalie Schafer, at the Gravesend Mansion her devoted nephew Paul Graves, William Shatner, wanted to see that everything was all right with her since she's been hitting the bottle real hard the last few days and is in danger of suffering a stroke or even worse. It's at the mansion that Paul sees that Aunt Bee's husband or lover Gerald Keller, Scott Merrill, has been having an affair behind her back with the maid Dorothy Lyndon, Elizabeth Allen, and planning to elope together with her when she, who's in very poor health, finally kicks off.
Ther's also the painting on the wall of the infamous Grim Reaper that Aunt Bee bought for some 100,000 francs that according to folklore was responsible for the violent deaths of 15 of the last 17 people who owned it. With what looked like blood dripping off the reapers scythe on the painting it seems that old Aunt Bee is going to be its next victim; Or so were told by Paul who's a self proclaimed expert on the painting. It's isn't long that Aunt Bee is found dead at the bottom of a stairwell which is later determined by police Sgt. Bernstein, Paul Newlan, to be a tragic accident. It's when Aunt Bee's last will and testament is read by the family lawyer Mr. Phillips, Robert Cornthwaite, that all her earthly passions is left not to her nephew Paul but her cheating husband Gerald Keller!
****MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS**** Well the truth comes out in small doses with the so-called caring but really scheming good nephew Paul covering all the bases, with lies falsehoods as well as murder, to get his hands on his Aunt Bee's money. But the one thing that he overlooked was the painting of the Grim Reaper itself that was supposed to be the excuse or reason for all his crimes. Who in the end came to life and put an end to Pauls dreams of getting rich quick and getting away with murder but in reality putting an end to him instead!
Ther's also the painting on the wall of the infamous Grim Reaper that Aunt Bee bought for some 100,000 francs that according to folklore was responsible for the violent deaths of 15 of the last 17 people who owned it. With what looked like blood dripping off the reapers scythe on the painting it seems that old Aunt Bee is going to be its next victim; Or so were told by Paul who's a self proclaimed expert on the painting. It's isn't long that Aunt Bee is found dead at the bottom of a stairwell which is later determined by police Sgt. Bernstein, Paul Newlan, to be a tragic accident. It's when Aunt Bee's last will and testament is read by the family lawyer Mr. Phillips, Robert Cornthwaite, that all her earthly passions is left not to her nephew Paul but her cheating husband Gerald Keller!
****MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS**** Well the truth comes out in small doses with the so-called caring but really scheming good nephew Paul covering all the bases, with lies falsehoods as well as murder, to get his hands on his Aunt Bee's money. But the one thing that he overlooked was the painting of the Grim Reaper itself that was supposed to be the excuse or reason for all his crimes. Who in the end came to life and put an end to Pauls dreams of getting rich quick and getting away with murder but in reality putting an end to him instead!
The best Thriller episode ever.
preppy-318 August 2019
Eerie story about an eccentric mystery writer (Natalie Schafer) who purchases a painting the Grim Reaper. It has a curse too--everyone who owns it has died a violent death. Her cousin (William Shatner) visits her and pleads her to get rid of it...but she refuses. Then death and murders start happening.
Downright frightening episode. The painting itself is horrific and the story moves at a quick pace. The acting especially y Schafer and Elizabeth Allen is great and there's a neat twist at the end. Well-directed too. The only debit--Shatner is TERRIBLE in his role. Still it's well worth seeing.
Downright frightening episode. The painting itself is horrific and the story moves at a quick pace. The acting especially y Schafer and Elizabeth Allen is great and there's a neat twist at the end. Well-directed too. The only debit--Shatner is TERRIBLE in his role. Still it's well worth seeing.
"Come on in, we mustn't let fresh air in the house."
classicsoncall14 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
The initial season of Thriller closed out on a triumphant note with this horror/crime story with a twist featuring William Shatner in his second appearance of the series. He also turned up in an earlier episode regarded as one of the best titled 'The Hungry Glass'. This one utilizes some great sleight of hand with Shatner's character, Paul Graves, the nephew of a prolific author and screen writer who claimed death as a business partner, in a manner of speaking. Aunt Bea (Natalie Schaefer) wrote mystery stories, and as a morbid tribute to her career, purchased a gruesome painting of the grim reaper in a classic pose, complete with skeletal features and a scythe slung over his shoulder. Paul comes on the scene to reveal the disturbing history of the painting; fifteen prior owners have died a sudden, unexpected and violent death. There's a kicker - each time the painting foretold an impending death by actually bleeding, and to everyone's horror, it appears that the curse of the painting might be carried out one more time.
The cool thing about this story is the misdirection of Shatner's character and a set up involving Aunt Bea's most recent new husband Gerald Keller (Scott Merrill). That's why it almost seems like it comes out of left field when we finally realize that it was good old Paul himself pulling the strings to cash in on an early inheritance. I have to say, Shatner always did a good job feigning terror and paranoia, like the time he wigged out in 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet', a classic Twilight Zone episode. Here he loses his cool when his imagination starts to run away with him, never thinking that now HE's the owner of the Grim Reaper. Poor Shatner, along with 'The Hungry Glass', his batting average for surviving a Thriller episode wound up a disappointing 0 for 2.
The cool thing about this story is the misdirection of Shatner's character and a set up involving Aunt Bea's most recent new husband Gerald Keller (Scott Merrill). That's why it almost seems like it comes out of left field when we finally realize that it was good old Paul himself pulling the strings to cash in on an early inheritance. I have to say, Shatner always did a good job feigning terror and paranoia, like the time he wigged out in 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet', a classic Twilight Zone episode. Here he loses his cool when his imagination starts to run away with him, never thinking that now HE's the owner of the Grim Reaper. Poor Shatner, along with 'The Hungry Glass', his batting average for surviving a Thriller episode wound up a disappointing 0 for 2.
One of the Very Best Episodes of "Thriller"
gdevon189325 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Saw this when I was seven years old when it premiered on June 13, 1961. It scared the hell out of me. Even after 62+ years I still think of it now and then, and the sound of that scythe cutting the air at the end.
There was a clue early on that the William Shatner character was the bad guy, by the look in his eyes when he showed the blood on his fingers after "touching" the picture. But a little kid doesn't pick up on such clues. The only thing I would have improved on was the actual painting itself, with a skull that looks almost cartoonish, although spooky enough to me in 1961.
After all this time, it's amazing to me that William Shatner is still alive; but as his time grows short, I wonder if he doesn't think back on that painting now and then and wonder how and when the Grim Reaper will come for him.
There was a clue early on that the William Shatner character was the bad guy, by the look in his eyes when he showed the blood on his fingers after "touching" the picture. But a little kid doesn't pick up on such clues. The only thing I would have improved on was the actual painting itself, with a skull that looks almost cartoonish, although spooky enough to me in 1961.
After all this time, it's amazing to me that William Shatner is still alive; but as his time grows short, I wonder if he doesn't think back on that painting now and then and wonder how and when the Grim Reaper will come for him.
Great episode
ebeckstr-128 January 2024
One of the great anthology episodes of that era. The ending is right up there with some of the best from One Step Beyond and The Twilight Zone. Throughout much of the episode it seems a bit by the numbers, though still entertaining, but the use of sound and camera movement during the climactic scene is perfection and elevates the whole episode. One of the great anthology episodes of that era. The ending is right up there with some of the best from One Step Beyond and The Twilight Zone. Throughout much of the episode it seems a bit by the numbers, though still entertaining, but the use of sound and camera movement during the climactic scene is perfection and elevates the whole episode.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
