Drama and suspense are inherently not "feel-good" genres, but even so I was taken aback by the relentless negativity and hopelessness of this "Suspense" episode. Also, it's quite mysterious in terms of "when was this made?".
With IMDb's broadcast date by CBS of 1964 listing I was immediately puzzled because Vic Morrow co-stars. At that time he was at career peak, starring in ABC's hit "Combat!" opposite RIck Jason. His film chronology lists no other assignments during the run of "Combat!" so this credit appears to be years off. Given the ages of the rest of the cast, including former child actor David Winters, it could be as much as 5 years older.
The negative approach is attributable to writer Charles Beaumont, a master of the macabre, who is working in a realistic genre this time. Right up to the sardonic final shot of the race track sign stating "Fun for the Family", it is transparently clear that Chuck had a "ban blood sports" theme in mind writing.
Taciturn Whitmore, with a stogie hanging from his mouth, plays the big-name stock car driver who definitely needs a therapist visit to work on attitude adjustment. After checking into a hotel charging him $3 a night (that alone sounds low to me for 1964), he's confronted by Morrow and Winters playing fans. Morrow will be racing against Whitmore (Winters' character is only 15) and the two have vastly different ideas about their profession. Whitmore stresses the importance of not taking unnecessary chances, while Morrow is free-wheeling and hopes to win, period.
SPOILER:
Beaumont's story out-does "Rocky" in trying to redefine sports genre cliches. The famous "go the distance" of Stallone's legendary script, replacing the usual "winning is everything" is made into "aim at third place" by Beaumont, with Whitmore only interested in finishing in the money, to provide for his family, rather than planning to win. I guess this would be like a story/movie about the Olympics where the protagonists were fighting it out for a Bronze medal -I doubt that content would be greenlighted for production, being so inherently defeatist.
Morrow's approach ends in a flaming crash, killing his character, overly morbid in context, and moreso given the beloved actor's accidental death shooting the forgettable "Twilight Zone" movie.
Since neither James nor Vic in peak form on screen, the entertainment value is negligible. And just like bullfighting, boxing and even football, the public's awareness of the death-wish aspect of some sports has not killed off these sports, though of course bullfighting is limited to cultures where it has a tradition, like Spain. And the mania of Second Amendment absolutists that has led to 400,000,000+ guns in private hands in our country today speaks for a society with a screw loose.
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