The appearance of three A list actors and direction by Clint Eastwood sets this story apart from almost all of the silly episodes that preceded it in this series. An artist (Harvey Keitel) about to get his big break is devastated when his wife (Sondra Locke) is killed in a horse and carriage accident, and he swears off ever painting again, to the dismay of his agent (Beau Bridges). With all but one of his paintings intentionally destroyed, Byron Sullivan (Keitel) imagines his wife coming back to life, and sees her in the garden of the home they shared. He makes a connection between his paintings of her, and the way in which she materializes whenever her image disappears from his work. Finding a renewed spirit, he begins painting again, and considers whether he might be able to join her if he creates a work of art in which they both appear. As ghost stories go, this one has sort of a fairy tale, magical quality that leaves a haunting impression, more so than the 'Ghost Train' episode that kicked off 'Amazing Stories'.
Review of Vanessa in the Garden
