How DREADFUL is this episode? Aside from the dreary pacing, the show stars the
always-annoying Tony Randall, here portraying a character without a SINGLE SHRED
of sympathy. He's obnoxious, rotten, rude, condescending and boring for a full hour.
Worse, this episode is a complete rip-off of the far superior "Never Again" from the
first season of AHP, starring Phyllis Thaxter.
Absolutely terrible.
You've been warned.
I thought it was excellent, but I'm a Tony Randall fan and Hitchcock fan. As for it being a rip-off of Never Again, it isn't. True they were both about characters who commit murder while drunk, but other than that much different. Unfortunate you couldn't appreciate this one. Great script, great acting (Randall and Mansfield), and an important snapshot of the era (1962) IMHO.
shareDreadful? No.
Chilling? Yes
Great performances? Yes
Sorry, it's plain awful. I'm not a huge fan of the hour-length AH shows, which, like the hour-long TZ's are mostly padded
and terrible. This is one of them.
And, gee, "they were both about characters who commit murder while drunk, but other than that much different." Give
me a break. In "Never Again", we sympathize with Thaxter's character, and the tragic ending is far more powerful
and says a lot more.
As for Randall, he gets my vote as the unsexiest actor who walked the earth.
I agree that some of the hour long episodes are "padded' and drawn out. But I wouldn't say that about my favorite "An Unlocked Window". That episode really works with the longer length. The suspense is drawn out until you want to jump out of your skin. (at least I do!)
Randall as the "unsexiest actor who walked the earth." LOL Well, he isn't very sexy I agree. But I always thought he was cute and had a certain cerebral charm.
I could mention a number of other "unsexy" (for me) actors.
There was an actor on one of my favorite shows, St. Elsewhere, who gets my vote, David Morse. Good actor and I liked his character. On the show he was one of the few younger residents who was married. I could never figure out who would marry him. But I was too busy drooling over Denzel Washington (on the show).
And on "The Bob Newhart Show" there was Bob's orthodontist friend Jerry. A very funny character played by Peter Bonerz. But whenever he had a girlfriend on the show I'd think...not if he was the last man on Earth....
I used to like "An Unlocked Window", but every time I watch it, it wears thinner and thinner. First of all, by today's
standards, it's more than obvious that the new nurse is a man in drag. Maybe audiences were fooled in 1964,
but I don't think they would be today.
Furthermore, that drunken maid, or whatever she is, is so utterly annoying, I always WANT the nurse to kill her!!
The very last shot, and the sequence itself, is still spooky, as Dana Wynter's character is very sympathetic and we
want her to survive, but, of course, she does not. (It's even more erie that the bed-ridden guy and the passed-out
drunk must've been killed right after!).
"An Unlocked Window" remains a favorite episode of mine. It still manages to scare me even after repeated viewings (but that's how I am!). I recently watched my copy when there was a thunderstorm at night. The perfect setting to shiver in fear!
Granted, after a while the terrified housekeeper does grate on the nerves. Also, why does she get drunk? If I thought a serial killer was stalking me, I'd want to keep my wits about me and STAY sober.
Yes, "Nurse Ames" would not fool audiences so easily today. Many themes have been reused including this one and audiences are wise to them. But in black and white, Nurse Ames just looks like a buxom, plain, middle aged woman.
From my reading I've learned that T.C. Jones was one of the most famous female impersonators of his time. The show wisely put his name at the END of the credits. I saw him in a movie where he played the "mother". Very convincing.
Also, this b&w episode is vastly superior to the color episode in the rebooted Hitchcock show from the eighties. The darkness and moodiness of black and white plays so much better than color. In the remake, Annette O'Toole is the terrified nurse. But in bright cheerful colors, the tone of the episode is neither ominous nor scary. And the other "nurse" doesn't really fool anyone. At least not as much!
I respect your opinion. Hopefully, you will do the same for others.
shareHow GREAT is this episode! This is perhaps Randall's greatest role, an opportunity to play a serious character. He is absolutely great. And I didn't even recognize Jayne Mansfield, playing a B-girl Randall's character picks up and takes home. She is very far from her usual cartoonish bimbo character, and does an excellent job.
Absolutely excellent.
You've been given something to look forward to.
It's a great episode. That's how blackout drunks behave
shareI always like Tony Randall.
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