Writer: L. Ford Neale, John Huff
Director: Alexander Grasshoff
Actors:
Richard Kiel as the Diablero / Alice Ghostley as Dr. Agnes Temple / Victor Jory as Charles Rolling Thunder / Ramon Bieri as Captain Joe Baker / Marvin Kaplan as Albert Delgado / James Griffith as George M. Schwartz / Dennis McCarthy as Ballistics Man / David Lewis as Auctioneer, Malloy / Morris Buchanan as Night Watchman / Marilyn/Madilyn Clark as Hostess / Keith Walker First Reporter / Bill Deiz as Second Reporter / Alex Sharp as First Policeman, Mason / Lois January as Mrs. Rhonda June Marsky (aka Adele Saperstein) / Barbara Morrison as Mrs. Luci Lapont Addison / Riza Royce as Mrs. Charlotte Elaine Van Piet / Ernie Robinson as Chauffeur / Troy Melton as Desk Officer / Walt Davis as Second Policeman, Crawley / Arthur Wong as Auction Attendee / Richard Geary as Auction Guard / Bob Golden as Police Detective Tackwood / Paul Baxley as Cop in stairwell
Memorable Line:
Vincenzo: "If I were a cliff dweller I wouldn't be downtown Chicago. I'd be dwelling in my cliff in an adobe hut 2 stories high, which is not exactly the Hancock Tower!"
Story:
A medicine man is condemned to walk the Earth for eternity, constantly collecting a horde of jewels.
Richard Kiel stars as an evil Indian sorcerer, and it goes without saying that he takes care of the scares department with ease. Where it loses me, is why he has to kill (or stage suicides). He's able to gain control without a problem - murder is superfluous. Though he might derive pleasure from the act, Kiel doesn't relay this. In fact, Richard's sorcerer is very workman-like. To end a curse, He has a job to do, that's the primary motivation.
Despite these cloudy issues, "Bad Medicine" is clear in every other aspect. While the shape-shifting Kiel is impressive, the newsroom sequences are an equal delight. Everyone shines. Ruth McDevitt and Jack Grinnage are both wonderful here. Ruth's Miss Emily sticks up for Carl in an argument with Tony and later helps Kolchak play an elaborate con on Updyke. Poor Ron, I kind of felt sorry for the guy here. He's not a bad sort but Carl plays him like a fiddle. And another casting gem was seeing Barbara Morrison play one of the Diablero's victims. Fans of MST3K will remember her as Polly Prattles in the movie, "Project Moonbase".
Simon Oakland is his usual brilliant self. I loved the scene where he's camped out all night at the office waiting for his errant reporter to return. The script here had me tickled (Tony asks Carl if he ever reads the paper, to which Kolchak replies with a quick "No"). I can't express enough just how good McGavin and Oakland were together.
The end sequence relies on that old Kolchak luck again - I never felt he was in any real danger (at least not in the same way he was in Zombie or the later, Spanish Moss) and the solution seemed a little pat and simple. Other than these few hiccups, this is a winner.
Grade: B+
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