In "The Cemetery"(..directed by Boris Sagal), a loathsome money-hungry nephew, Jeremy Evans(Roddy McDowell, playing him as a really slimy scumbag) ready and willing to horde on his Uncle's inheritance, just waiting for the old timer,William Hendricks(George Macready) crippled and ravaged by a stroke that has taken his means of movement and communication, to croak. His Uncle was once a painter obsessed with death..his works often evoke that. Osmond Portifoy(Ossie Davis)has been under employ to the old man for many years and Jeremy relishes in reminding the butler who will be dipping their hands in the money jar. To show you just how virulent Jeremy can be, he points out to Portifoy(..and for extra slander, he uses "Portifoy" nearly every sentence with a sneer)how his mother worked her fingers to the bone without ever asking Uncle for a dime and that he always desired to live the good life, but needed the means to do so. McDowell is in command carrying this heavy smell of pomp and greed("I'm a black sheep nephew with an itch")..you just love to hate him. Jeremy finds out that he'll receive his Uncle's inheritance due to the fact that his mother is dead and her share will go to him thanks to a clause in Hendrick's will. So Jeremy locks his Uncle's wheelchair next to an open window allowing the draft to kill him(..while also letting his Uncle peer at the family graveyard as a reminder of where the old man is about be heading). Oh, but you know Jeremy's got his comeuppance coming to him, yes sir! Jeremy notices a painting on the wall(Hendrick's portraits line the wall of the stairwell) and the freshly dug grave where dear dead Uncle was buried begins to change every time he looks at it. Watch as Jeremy slowly unravels as he sees Uncle's casket appear, then open, then show someone rising slowly walking to the front door of the manor. But, all is not what it seems. I do think McDowell's tour-de-force performance approaches high camp but I just enjoyed it immensely..he's such a blood-sucking leech, a real weasel. Watching Jeremy squirm and ultimately become frightened out of his wits was a ton of fun.The ending is a bit silly(..and rather logically unsound), pointing out another schemer out for a payday, but overall I think it's fun, if derivative somewhat. The idea of the ever-changing portrait is a cool idea, I thought.
The second tale, "Eyes"(..directed by Steven Spielberg)stars Joan Crawford as an acid-tongued, rich, blind woman, Claudia(who has built her own apartment complex in New York and lives as it's only tenant), who blackmails a surgeon, Dr. Frank Heatherton(Barry Sullivan)into performing a dangerous and unorthodox grafting procedure transplanting the central optic nerves of an obsessive gambler's eyes, Sidney(Tom Bosley of "Happy Days" fame) needing 9 grand to pay off a debt from a bookie threatening his life. Although the procedure will only grant her 11 hours of sight, she's willing to have that for just the precious moments to see color and objects always darkened to her. But, in a nasty bit of irony to match her own behavior towards others like Heatherton, New York City goes through a black out ridding her of those precious moments she has so longed for. This tale has that Rod Serling intellectual banter between characters you remember from stage-like episodes of "Twilight Zone" as fates are contemplated and discussions are batted around. This also has the "coming out" stylistics of a future filmmaker.
The third tale, "The Escape Route"(..directed by Barry Shear) follows a Nazi named Strobe(Richard Kiley, with a scar covering one eye for extra impact)hiding away in South Africa, haunted by memories of his war crimes and constantly looking over his shoulder worried about being caught by agents who specialize in hunting "his kind" out. He becomes pre-occupied/transfixed with a museum painting of some fisherman on a mountain lake..his desire is to enter the painting as a means of escape from the torments of running. He tries to shake an old Jew, Bleum(the marvelous Sam Jaffe, whose frail, wrinkled body, offers a terrifying example of what torture, imprisonment & death can do to one who had seen it all)who seems to recognize him. A creepy crucifixion painting depicting one's suffering leads us into Strobe and Bleum's first meeting..and, for a reason you'll find later, is as important to this tale as the fisherman painting. A chilling exploration of a tired monster with few escape routes whose wish is granted..just not the way he thinks.
As expected(considering the title)each episode features within it's plot the importance of a portrait. All three tales bear Rod Serling's distinctive writing style with the usual "gotcha!" twisting irony one grows to expect. I guess the first one is closest to the "Night Gallery" series, but this film is much better than what comes after it because of Serling's strong involvement in every tale presented. He is also the host introducing us to each macabre tale.
The second tale, "Eyes"(..directed by Steven Spielberg)stars Joan Crawford as an acid-tongued, rich, blind woman, Claudia(who has built her own apartment complex in New York and lives as it's only tenant), who blackmails a surgeon, Dr. Frank Heatherton(Barry Sullivan)into performing a dangerous and unorthodox grafting procedure transplanting the central optic nerves of an obsessive gambler's eyes, Sidney(Tom Bosley of "Happy Days" fame) needing 9 grand to pay off a debt from a bookie threatening his life. Although the procedure will only grant her 11 hours of sight, she's willing to have that for just the precious moments to see color and objects always darkened to her. But, in a nasty bit of irony to match her own behavior towards others like Heatherton, New York City goes through a black out ridding her of those precious moments she has so longed for. This tale has that Rod Serling intellectual banter between characters you remember from stage-like episodes of "Twilight Zone" as fates are contemplated and discussions are batted around. This also has the "coming out" stylistics of a future filmmaker.
The third tale, "The Escape Route"(..directed by Barry Shear) follows a Nazi named Strobe(Richard Kiley, with a scar covering one eye for extra impact)hiding away in South Africa, haunted by memories of his war crimes and constantly looking over his shoulder worried about being caught by agents who specialize in hunting "his kind" out. He becomes pre-occupied/transfixed with a museum painting of some fisherman on a mountain lake..his desire is to enter the painting as a means of escape from the torments of running. He tries to shake an old Jew, Bleum(the marvelous Sam Jaffe, whose frail, wrinkled body, offers a terrifying example of what torture, imprisonment & death can do to one who had seen it all)who seems to recognize him. A creepy crucifixion painting depicting one's suffering leads us into Strobe and Bleum's first meeting..and, for a reason you'll find later, is as important to this tale as the fisherman painting. A chilling exploration of a tired monster with few escape routes whose wish is granted..just not the way he thinks.
As expected(considering the title)each episode features within it's plot the importance of a portrait. All three tales bear Rod Serling's distinctive writing style with the usual "gotcha!" twisting irony one grows to expect. I guess the first one is closest to the "Night Gallery" series, but this film is much better than what comes after it because of Serling's strong involvement in every tale presented. He is also the host introducing us to each macabre tale.