Writer: Rudolph Borchert
Director: Don Weis
Actors:
Lara Parker as Madelaine / Nina Foch as Madame Trevi / Bernie Kopell as Doctor / Richard Bakalyn as First Hood / Marvin Miller as the Lecturer / Priscilla Morrill as Griselda / Henry Brandon as coven leader / George Chandler as Model Agency Manager / Douglas Fowley as Superintendent / Beverly Gill as Melody Sedgwick / Peter Leeds as Photographer / Henry Slate as Second Hood / Chuck Waters as Mickey Patchek / Dennis McCarthy as the figure / Diane Quick as Ariel / Nick Borgani as man at lecture /
Memorable Line:
Kolchak: "Whata'ya mean you don't wanna to talk about it? What kind of thing is that to say to a reporter..."
Story:
Kolchak tries to discover who's the witch behind the murders in the modeling world.
I didn’t care for this one at first, but it has grown on me over the years and has become a favorite. I think some of the broad, theatrical elements are what hung me up initially, but now I rather get a kick out of that. Trevi is a fun, biting send-up on the fashion industry. And beyond that, there’s real tension and scares to be had.
For instance: Mannequins. They’re creepy just standing there - but when they start moving around, as they do here, it’s spine-tingling. Though I admit that the effect is not as effective as what was seen in the old Twilight Zone episode, “The After Hours” (the line between who's human and who's the inanimate object is very obvious here), when enacted side by side with the satire, it’s forgivable.
However, that’s not the case for everything. The performance by Lara Parker (who played Angelique, in Dark Shadows) starts off fine. But during the witch’s coven scene she voraciously chews the scenery like it was made of chocolate. And her body spasms and maniacal laughter was embarrassing to behold. I know she’s supposed to be losing it, but zowie, she was waaay over the top.
Humor wise? The line about a "nominal fee" was priceless - and as always, the core actors are what make any episode worth watching. Simon Oakland gets in a couple of great lines and nearly blows his top in concern over Carl’s well being (There's a small subplot about gangsters threatening Kolchak, which leads to an actual exposé. Nice to know that they do break stories now and again)
Overall the pacing was tight, it was mysterious, tense -- the scene with the speeding car barreling after Carl worked because it really moved, Kolchak looked like he was in danger. Nina Foch did some nice acting, going from snooty and unlikable to sympathetic. And the ending (despite the silly Mannequin pile-on) was one of the show's better ones. Everything was wrapped up in a satisfying manner.
Of Note: It was neat to see Marvin Miller (The voice of Robbie the Robot in Forbidden Planet) and Henry Brandon (The Searches; Rocky Jones, Space Ranger) in bit parts.
Grade: A-
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