Without even reading the credits I knew this one was directed by Robert Stevens. He has the Master's (Hitch) touch. The vague sense that something is not quite right. The slow build up of anticipatory suspense. Then - the final, shocking reveal.
Let's face it, any drama which features a ventriloquist's dummy is going to be creepy. So the audience is on edge for a start. Here we have lonely spinster Jessica Tandy falling in unrequited love with handsome vent Max Collodi who appears and leaves the stage in a puff of smoke, and always performs his act sitting down. Initially Collodi simply replies courteously to the spinster's letters, politely turning down her requests to meet him in person but, eventually he consents. They meet in his darkened hotel room. She is so excited she just has to reach out and touch him... I guarantee you won't be prepared for what happens next. I thought I had guessed the twist. But I hadn't. And it's a shocker! A wonderful half-hour's entertainment benefitting from the quality of actors, Tandy, Tom Conway and William Shatner, and a worthy entry in this quirky series.
Let's face it, any drama which features a ventriloquist's dummy is going to be creepy. So the audience is on edge for a start. Here we have lonely spinster Jessica Tandy falling in unrequited love with handsome vent Max Collodi who appears and leaves the stage in a puff of smoke, and always performs his act sitting down. Initially Collodi simply replies courteously to the spinster's letters, politely turning down her requests to meet him in person but, eventually he consents. They meet in his darkened hotel room. She is so excited she just has to reach out and touch him... I guarantee you won't be prepared for what happens next. I thought I had guessed the twist. But I hadn't. And it's a shocker! A wonderful half-hour's entertainment benefitting from the quality of actors, Tandy, Tom Conway and William Shatner, and a worthy entry in this quirky series.