Fox Mystery Theater (TV Series) The Corvini Inheritance (1984) User Reviews

Love thy neighbor...

[canndyman · 8/10 · 14 June 2020]

This has always been one of my favorite episodes of Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense, and it's a pity that more of them weren't up to this standard.

The plot revolves around a young woman, Eva Bailey (played with perfection by the beautiful Jan Francis), who is being stalked after moving in to her new apartment - where she lives alone.

Her next door neighbor Frank (played by David McCallum) offers to help - he's the security manager at a top auction house and, after an initial reluctance from Eva, goes ahead and installs a CCTV camera in the hallway to monitor her front door. Frank is quite taken with Eva, and is perhaps hoping for a closer relationship - but she politely spurns his advances.

Things take a more sinister turn when the security-obsessive Frank is entrusted with guarding an extremely valuable jewelry collection - the Corvini Inheritance - which is due to be auctioned by his company. The collection is said to be cursed, and has brought nothing but death and misery to its owners over the centuries. Frank seems to become entranced by a huge pendant, the centerpiece of the collection, which is said to change color if the wearer is unfaithful to her husband. Could the curse be real - and could Frank now be somehow under its spell?

This is a very suspenseful and entertaining episode - the two leads are excellent, Jan perfectly portraying Eva's resolve and vulnerability, and David striking just the right balance of Frank's over-efficiency, coupled with his rather odd and obsessive nature. The locations around Maida Vale in West London make an atmospheric backdrop, the direction is superb, and you really do get to feel Eva's fear of the stalker. You can also relate to her slight sense of unease around her new neighbor - the camera outside her door becoming increasingly intrusive as time goes on, which she perhaps regrets ever agreeing to.

I've never got tired of re-watching this episode over the years, and it definitely ticks all the boxes in terms of mystery, suspense and an intriguing storyline.

Downbeat

[analoguebubblebath · 6/10 · 25 October 2003]

First viewing: November 1984 / Second viewing: October 2003

And so it comes to a close. The final `Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense' has just been viewed after a nineteen year gap. `The Corvini Inheritance' is a downbeat tale of loneliness - not unlike Francis Ford Coppola's `The Conversation'. David `Invisible Man' McCallum plays the part of a troubled auction house head of security whose sanity suffers when a collection of valuable Italian jewellery is delivered to his premises. The camerawork is fantastic but the ending is sadly inevitable and almost an anti-climax. Notwithstanding this - the series has been something to cherish and we will never see its like again. 6/10

Nice

[gianmarcoronconi · 6/10 · 12 September 2022]

Episode with a really well done construction and an ending of an absurd banality with a paranormal component left in the background. The whole episode is built on the thin line of the protagonist's obsession both for the girl and for safety and the construction of the discomfort felt by her is done so well as to fully invest the protagonist, too bad that this feeling culminates in a stroke of final scene that to define trivial is almost a compliment. Moreover, this episode has a paranormal component that is almost totally neglected if not to make two or three scenes without even making too much sense and this is a great shame because the story of the amulet is fascinating and it would have been nice to deepen it.

Fantastic stalker story!

[manchester_england2004 · 9/10 · 20 February 2010]

THE CORVINI INHERITANCE is one of the best episodes of the HAMMER HOUSE OF MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE series as I shall demonstrate.

The TV series in question was a combination of hits and misses. Some episodes had wonderful concepts but became bogged down in very boring 1980s drama styles, with upper middle-class characters exchanging boring dialogue with each other. Most 1980s drama in Britain was executed along these lines. On the other hand, some episodes of this TV series were genuine exercises in suspense, tension and genuine horror. THE CORVINI INHERITANCE is one such episode. Another is A DISTANT SCREAM. But the best by far is IN POSSESSION.

The plot is as follows - a young woman who lives alone in a block of flats is terrorised by a stalker wearing a ski-mask. Living next door to her is a man who is the security chief at a local auction house. The two become close and the man does everything possible to help, including the installation of CCTV cameras. Who is the mysterious stalker? Can he be stopped? Watch and see for yourself.

The concept is far from unique but the execution plays more on emotions and psychology. There is no blood or gore here. It may sound like THE TOOLBOX MURDERS but the only thing the two have in common is the presence of a mysterious character with a ski-mask.

The first strength of THE CORVINI INHERITANCE is the acting.

The always dependable David McCallum gives a stellar performance as Frank Lane, the head of security at a local auction house. His character was genuinely likable and easy to connect with on an emotional level. The range of emotions he expresses is truly moving and his reactions to everything that happens around him is highly believable.

Jan Francis decides to move away from the JUST GOOD FRIENDS sitcom in favour of a more serious role. Her performance as Eva Bailey, the woman terrorised by the stalker is stellar. Her character's strong will makes both her fear and frustration believable and thus easier to connect with.

The late great Terence Alexander - a famous character actor in Britain of the 1960s through to the 1980s - has an interesting role as the manager of the auction house. His delivery of lines is always excellent and he could make even the most boring dialogue sound compelling regardless of the role he played. This one is no different.

The rest of the supporting cast have small roles but play their parts well. They clearly understand the importance of their characters in the story and the importance of ensuring the delivery of every line and every reaction is perfect in order for the story to be conveyed in the right way.

And this brings me onto the second strength - the story.

The initial plot is already compelling in itself. To prevent boredom from setting in following scenes of action, the producers wisely decide to tag on two other story lines.

The first of these story lines revolves around the delivery of an unusual necklace to the auction house. The previous owner of this jewel has a somewhat disturbing past and the jewel itself almost appears to have a personality of its own! This is highly important to the story. Further to this, McCallum begins to experience strange phenomena at the auction house - whispering voices, strange visions, falling temperatures and so on. He is convinced that the jewel is connected to this.

The second storyline is designed to add depth to McCallum's character. He becomes closer and closer to Francis's character. Personality, emotions and intentions are revealed that make the character a highly interesting creation. Again, this is integral to the overall story.

The presence of the separate story lines in one overall story ensures the viewer's attention is sustained for the whole 75-minute duration. It also distinguishes this episode from others in the series.

All the various plot strands tie together in a logical and highly intelligent manner. As with all the best episodes of this TV series, THE CORVINI INHERITANCE has a highly memorable ending that remains imprinted on the viewer's memory long after it's all over.

And this brings me onto the final strength - the direction.

Gabrielle Beaumont has a long career as a director of TV shows, mostly drama, made in America. She shows a genuine understanding of making a story compelling.

Ms Beaumont understands the importance of character's reactions in conveying emotions. This is why she ensures the camera angles and the duration of shots is perfect at every point.

Ms Beaumont understands the importance of making characters interesting to watch and understand. This is why she uses a unique trick of showing McCallum's character on CCTV as a supporting character talks about his history. The camera cuts between McCallum and those watching him are highly effective.

But there is another pleasant surprise in store.

Direction by Gabrielle Beaumont utilises camera angles, haunting music, bizarre sound effects and tight editing to turn what could have been a mundane thriller or drama into an excellent work more akin to horror.

Even a simple scene that shows the stalker walking upstairs feels scary thanks to Ms Beaumont's superb direction.

The block of flats is not a particularly atmospheric location in itself. However, thanks to Ms Beaumont's careful direction, it does in many scenes feel like an incredibly eerie place where danger awaits!

Overall, THE CORVINI INHERITANCE is a truly compelling work that is a must-see for fans of David McCallum or fans of thrillers involving stalkers.

A very strong thriller.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 20 March 2024]

Frank Lane is busy ensuring the priceless Corvini collection is safe, as it prepares to go under the hammer. Frank's attention is taken by his new neighbour, Eva Bailey, who believes she's being stalked, Frank offers up security measures for her protection.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, such a strong storyline. It feels something of an oddity in this Hammer series, it would have sat better in The Brian Clemens Thriller series, because that's exactly what it is, a thriller.

The burning question, who's the real stalker, is Frank the cause and the cure, or is he just a lonely man, who's desperate for love, you'll have to watch to find out.

I like the way the two stories merge together, I think the stalker plot is the key element, but the story of the jewellery is also intriguing.

It's amazing to think that even then, they were talking about cameras and CCTV removing civil liberties, I wonder in these days of facial recognition and AI, if they ever considered the point we'd get to.

David McCallum is excellent as always, he's just the right side of obsessive and unhinged, Jan Francis also does a fine job.

One of the best from the series.

8/10.

Deeply flawed and disappointing episode

[mosquitor · 1/10 · 3 March 2021]

*WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS*

Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (known in the US as Fox Mystery Theatre) had some excellent episodes, some on a par with its predecessor Hammer House of Horror. Sadly, despite a very intriguing premise, The Corvini Inheritance is by far one of the weakest episodes. This is not the fault of the actors; lead performers David McCallum and Jan Francis do the best with the material they're given, but this is not enough to redeem a lacklustre script.

A major problem with the script is that the final twist, revealed right at the last moment, is far too obvious, almost from the very start. I would be surprised at any viewer who has not guessed the twist after the first ten minutes. And this brings me to the second major flaw: the characters are just far too unlikeable. David McCallum seems to be doing his best to bring out the humanity in his character of Frank Lane, extremely proficient at his job but seriously awkward and timid when it comes to human interactions, but ultimately the actions of the character are just far too creepy and suspicious from the start. There are all manner of red flags surrounding Frank, particularly the knowledge that he was far too possessive of his ex-wife, of whom Eva is apparently the spitting image, not to mention his habit of spying on all his neighbours' outside activities without ever once contemplating the ethical problems of such an activity, and how quick he is to become overhelpful and overly interested in Eva's stalker problem. Simply put, the man has 'deranged stalker' written all over him, making him particularly hard to sympathize with, and making anyone who actually does not guess the final twist look... well, really not that smart at all.

This could be helped somewhat if Eva were a likeable character, but if anything she's even more unlikeable than Frank, to the point you wonder why he's interested in her in the first place. She comes across as brash and overly standoffish from the start, and though she certainly has good cause to feel uncomfortable around Frank and spurn his romantic interest in her, she nonetheless leads him on by visiting his flat and allowing him to let her accompany him to his workplace to get away from the unsafety of her flat, before abruptly cutting off the friendship. Then when she gets a boyfriend, she goes for a man who if anything seems even creepier than Frank and even more lecherous and pushy in his advances on her, making her look cheap and shallow and extinguishing any sympathy we might have otherwise felt for her.

Then there's probably my biggest gripe of all with this episode, which only adds insult to injury given the aforementioned factors - the completely unnecessary addition of a paranormal element to the story. Although the episode is titled after the set of jewellery Frank is monitoring at work, the Corvini Inheritance itself is more of a subplot, taking second place to the plot of Frank supposedly tracking Eva's stalker, and it serves no purpose other than to add an annoying, contrived and completely pointless touch of the paranormal to a story that really does not call for invocation of the paranormal at all. Since Frank is clearly unhinged as is, there is no reason to believe he needs some ancient medieval family curse to bring out his obsessive nature and the eventual outcome of the story, and this aspect of the plot comes across as hopelessly cliched and unnecessary. Of course it's possible that the supposed paranormal activity Frank witnesses at work concerning the jewellery only takes place in his mind, which is my preferred interpretation, but either way it adds nothing to the overall plot or outcome.

And if the aforementioned subplot is unnecessary, the episode certainly seems to drag at times - while most of the HHOM&S episodes were initially written to be 50 minutes in length, they were expanded when the show was instead given a 75-minute time slot to allow a 'Movie of the Week' feel, resulting in some of them dragging unnecessarily, and that problem definitely shows here.

Ultimately, with the final outcome and subsequent twist, both of which we saw coming and are likely to shock no-one, the viewer is left completely unsurprised and empty, not helped by the fact the characters have been so unsympathetic that it's hard to care what happens to them at all.

The Corvini Inheritance definitely had an intriguing premise and there should have been a great story in there. Unfortunately it is executed so poorly and in such an uninspired manner that it ranks easily among the weakest of Hammer's 80s output.