Writer: Bill S. Ballinger
Director: Don Weis
Actors:
Fred Beir as Ryder Bond / David Doyle as Cardinale / Madlyn Rhue as Maria / Philip Carey as Sgt. Mayer / Lenore Kasdorf as Interviewed Girl / Marcus Smith as Interviewed Man / Alice Backes as Dr. Shropell / Patricia Estrin as Felicia Porter / Joshua Shelley as George Mason / Carol Veazie as Mrs. Sherman / Virginia Vincent as Mrs. Markoff / Carol Ann Susi as Monique Marmelstein / Gary Glanz as Bert the stage manager / Martha Manor as Maria's client / George Sawaya as Frankie Markoff / Uncredited actors as Philip Randolph Roark, Officer Turner, Markoff's Son, Arcade Manager
Memorable Line:
Kolchak: "You wanna help me Ron?
Updyke: "Yes Kolchak, I do"
Kolchak: "Oh Ron that's terrific you can come out tonight and help me dig up Frankie Markoff's body from the graveyard"
Story:
A "doppelganger" -destructive ghost who takes on the appearance of a living person it envies- Assumes the form of conductor Ryder Bond, and causes those dear to Bond to burst into flames.
Spooky ghost story seems to leave a lot of unanswered questions in its fiery wake, but if you listen and watch closely - the answers are there. So let's get those out of the way...
For one - many wonder why this ghost, an arsonist in his former life, is targeting Ryder Bonds friends? I think the answer is given by the gypsy Carl speaks to; as she explains that the ghost is malicious and is trying to wear down the human it wants to be. What better way to do that than to have Ryder implicated as a murder suspect and to keep him in the grip of constant, terrible grief. Also, it can't completely take over Ryder's body until he sleeps. So the underlying thread is that the doppelganger needs its victims in a weakened state.
As for how the driver caught on fire (he wasn't nodding off). As we'll see in a later scene with Carl; the 'ganger can set inanimate objects on fire. That automobile was pretty smoky - since we never saw the actual death, it's likely that it set the car interiors ablaze, not the driver himself.
With these gnawing questions put aside, one can focus on the frights this episode provides. And darn if it isn't one that gave me a LOT of goosebumps.
After the first grisly murder, a woman spots the quick whispery image of a smiling Bond. It's a creepy moment and one which the filmmakers build upon step by step. The spirit seems to grow in strength the more it kills and the more Ryder weakens. The ghostly form soon takes on enough substance that it even fools Carl, and nearly burns a room down around the jittery reporter. Darren does a great job playing Kolchak as more than a little freaked out. The bits with him and the gypsy are cute but also feature a hint of his growing desperation.
Desperation mixed with paranoia and the crushing lack of sleep are all elements in the fear. Carl takes Bond to a Church so that he might get some sleep. And while the doppelganger can't get into the sanctified ground, that doesn't prevent it from driving the conductor to the brink of madness. Its grinning visage bounces from one Church window to the next. tapping non-stop to keep Ryder awake... Wow -shudder- this became one of those enduring and indelible images in the show's short history.
Other thoughts: Monique makes one last appearance (she fills in on the crossword because Miss Emily is sick), Updyke gets in a good line about tequila when Carl shows up at work after 2 days without sleep. And later, the look of horror Grinnage gives when Carls asks if he'll help dig up a body, is classic.
Not everything works - Carl running down a list of those who have died from spontaneous human combustion, doesn't really prove his point about a doppelganger - but after 3 weeks of fair to middling, Firefall puts Kolchak back on track.
Grade: A
No comments:
Post a Comment