Hi, this is HP from Noise Junkies and this is Falling Alone from Dark
Destinations. Please join us as we examine one of the greatest sitcoms in television
history. Taxi on Night Mister Walters a taxi podcast. Good night, mister
Walters. We're being way media now I'll check this one if you will.
Tonight we offer you the summer food of the Scientists Failure, but there are
apparently some things that cannot be accomplished, and there is life and tail end.
Thanks and picture given. Welcome back, ourt lovers to Midnight Viewing the
Night Gallery podcast, where we discuss Night Gallery Ron Sertling's follow up to the
Twilight Zone. I'm following alone and with me here in the gallery are the
Culture Cast Chris Statue. I can't wait to talk about Breakfast at Tiffany's Owne's
Mickey Rooney and the projection was Mike White. Have you seen my collection?
I've got Hitler got a one of one. Yeah, it's actually inbox,
yes, minn. Now tonight we're talking about two episodes from season three.
They are rare objects. Inspector in tap Shoes, our artists and artistans take
a rather pardonable pride in network that you see hanging here. An example is
this item here. It's called Rare Objects and represents that potpourri of collector's items
that some men are prone to acquire. But there are collectors' items and collector's
items alver. Do you know? An excursion into the very strange Tonight's offering
in the night Gallery. Rare Objects is from season three, episode three.
It aired on October the twenty second, nineteen seventy two. This was written
by Ron Serling and directed by Jean Zoarc, starring Mickey Rooney, Raymond Massey,
Fay Spain, David Fresco, Victor Senjung. He was hop Sing on
Bonanza, but they've reduced him to a virtually non speaking servant role here.
Also Regis Kordick. He was Doctor Peel in Primal Scream, Night Stalker season
two Guys, and he's in two of episodes of Colombo, And he's in
two of my favorite episodes of the Monkeys, Christmas episode and fairy Tale.
This one's about a gangster on the Lamb seeking asylum with a man with a
pensiont for collecting interesting people or not so interesting? What do you think it
is? So goofy, and the reveal is so oh my god. You
know when they start going down the list of people, and the first one
that they start with is, hey, look they come out swinging. They
don't have Hitler immediately, but they have anastasias, so you know where this
is going. And then it's Judge Crater and stuff like this story is it
is a blackout sketch once again played for a thirty minute episode, and it
could have been. This is almost in a lot of ways, the essentially
a different version of what was the one with the not Kevin Spacey, Bobby
Darren and the old man from Willy Wonka Boy, Yeah, Jack Albert Simley,
is that not this? But just oh, here's another iteration. Instead
of him being turned into dog food, he's just kept in a cage somewhere.
It's it's that and that. And I think we all agreed dead Weight
was a blackout sketch, and I think that this is a blackout sketch.
I do think the I've Got a Hit thing is pretty funny, but it
was bizarre through and through. But hey, Mickey Rooney sure knows how to
disgustingly eat a plate topasta just like a real fucking just ugh. Who ever
thought that Mickey Rooney could play a tough guy? I just don't understand that
at all. Wait, wait a second, it's the same people who asked,
could this man play Japanese? Oh man, oh man. I just
the whole time, I was just like, he's a gangster. He's supposed
to be a gangster. That's what he always wanted to be my whole life.
I wrote it in my notes, I love tough guy Rooney. He's
four foot nothing with a marble bar between him and a six foot guy who
looks like he could tear him apart. Later on where with him and his
gangster mall and I thought she could tear him apart? Yeah, yeah,
ye gry Ooh okay, write that pasta off your face. First, it
was rough. This was a rough one. I mean, I love Raymond
Massey, but I think I was better off with Raymond Massey the last time
he was on the show. He was more appropriate than that one. Speaking
of the last one, it's the same set. He's in the same house.
Wow. I was about to ask because it looked like and I was
like, man, it's too bad they didn't show the top of the Mantle
and his head was there, Like that'd be a little weird. What's the
continuity of that one? That would have been great, Actually, that would
have been fantastic. Yeah, nobody needs to see Mickey Rooney's mouth close up
with sloppy Fetcini. Oh my god, also Fetuccini in a red sauce chick
his papers. Oh wait a second, you're saying this not a thing.
It shouldn't be no joke by the way. Okay, his name's Collodny and
he's played by a tiny irishman, but he's clearly Italian. He's eating pasta
in an Italian restaurant. His right hand man is name Tony. He's clearly
supposed to be Capone or somebody like Capone. But why wouldn't they just lean
into the Irish of him, Like there aren't any Irish gangsters. I'll name
some Dean O'Banion bugs Moran Onnye Madden, come on, man, Buddy McLean,
Mickey mean Machine Murphy. He was a Boston Weddy Bulger. Well,
yeah, there you go, there's a Boston boys. How about Sean Irish
carbon McKenna. That to me was a mess in the episode. Either just
make him straight Italian or make him Irish. I don't know why this interim
Collodney. It feels like the stuff that certainly used to complain about when he
was writing for like Playhouse whatever. Oh they made me change the character's ethnicity
so that wouldn't offend anybody. But that's what he's doing here. Okay,
was this the fifties. I'm guessing it's the nineteen fifties. Oh until there
was a wah wah guitar in synth playing, so then I assumed we're in
the seventies. But then Mickey Rooney gets in a Model t Ford, so
now I guess it's the thirties. But then Hitler so forty six. Afterwards,
I don't know. This was the weirdest time episode of all time and
I have no idea whatever we were in. I was disappointed that at the
end it wasn't like and then there's an alien. There's just an alien in
the cell's That's what I wanted. I wanted it to fully just embrace the
dumb, because this is like the reveal in this episode is a really like
just again some dumb sounds derrogatory, but it is very not well thought out
it makes very little sense, like it is a gag. It is a
visual gag that once you start thinking about it logistically, it makes no sense.
But it's not being played purely as a visual gag, like this is
the climax of the episode. This is how the episode ends. We are
led to believe the episode wraps up with him being placed in a cell the
end, like it's I laughed, I thought it was funny, but I'm
not gonna sit here and defend it as quality, like I can appreciate for
something for how absolutely just ridiculous it is, which I think this episode is
is firmly in that camp. I think I could have enjoyed this one if
it were a blackout skit, but it just takes so long to get there,
and Raymond Massey just chewing it up everybody. Rooney and Massy are both
chewing up the scenery, but it takes Massy a long time to get where
he's going with his soliloquy. And I can only think that that's thanks to
Rod, where it's just like, oh cool, I get to write for
this guy, and I'm just going to write overwrite it so much. Rod
Sterling overwrites something I know Evan for Fenn Rod for some reason, the signs
that we need to know how he's keeping these people here, that there's a
wonder drug involved that makes them docile and also gives them longevity. So he's
going to be yeah forever. Okay if we didn't need it, because you
mentioned the episode dead Weight with Bobby Darren and Jack Albertson, and while we
were watching that episode, I think we all theorized that it was going to
go to some weird supernatural place, like all of the potential lame avenues that
that episode could have gone in, this one did. Yes, he's gone
to hold him and keep him prisoner forever, and there's gonna be some so
bad and then oh, let me say this. I mentioned I would start
doing this hooray for Day for Night. It looks so good, looks so
fantastic in this episode. Congratulations yet again night galloray for a glorious Day for
Night. The other thing I want to say is they feature it a lot.
Mickey Vernie's trembling lower lip. All I could think every time he did
it was some studio handler not beating him on the day that he was able
to do that, where they instructed him that he needed to look scared.
It just it was such a rode thing, like, oh, I'm scared
now, I will do the lower lip thing that they taught me or they
beat into me when I was a child. I know that's terrible, but
kept thinking about it. The question that I have is what does one do
with a Hitler? Yeah, what does one do with an Amelia Earhart or
a Judge Creator? What? You just have them in a cell and they
just sit there like it's again like the stakes of the episode. All of
a sudden, Yeah, like you mentioned, they go from feeling realistic to
and then there's a door that opens and Hitler's there, And it's very similar
to that Star Trek episode, well many Star Trek episodes, but especially that
one with Saul Rubinstein where he is kidnaps data and has them there. He
wants these unique items. Oh he's the collector from Marvel. Yeah exactly,
So rold Emondson sure, yeah, why not? I love Norwegian polar Explorers.
Let's get this guy in here, right, Judge Crater, Great,
they are just a couple of years away from Hafa. That's the one that
we don't have here. But yeah, again, like the logistics and everything
aside, like the twist is just okay, and his explanation is just very
strange. And for all the posturing that he does essentially before we find out
what the reveal is, for that to be the reveal, it's like and
that's what all the posturing was for Hitler in a cage like okay. Also,
it's Amelia Earhart and Anastasia and blah blah blah blah blah and Kalodney and
Hitler. Colodney and Hitler are of this. It's the way that they ate
Pasta. Just make it about al Capone. This is what happened al Capone.
Everybody thank you for Haffa again like or hafa Like, that's what I
equated this too, but they hadn't gotten there yet. And again, this
dude was just some schmuck criminal. He wasn't anything like right, Oh,
but I think you undersell yourself, sir. I think you are much more
than just that. Yeah, I would say Bobby Darren was worth more of
a rare object worth keeping because he killed kids. And then it said it
was okay. Most gangsters aren't okay with that. He was a real scumbag.
Gangster. This guy's just you know, this guy's a loser obviously,
like guys want to kill him, like his own people want to kill him.
I don't understand. You're not good job, sir. You're going into
hiding because you're a bad gangster. It's just the conceit of the episode is
bizarre. And then yeah, it feels like it's a joke because it's Mickey
Rooney. Oh you know, when he paints the waiter, he pulls out
this huge wad of cash. I am one hundred percent convinced that that's actually
was just Mickey Roney's wad of cash. He's renowned first walking with a wad
big enough to choke a horse. Wow, I forgot that Rooney played a
gangster once before. At least he was a Blue Chips packerd and scud Do
the classic Auto premature film, a movie I have never gotten through. Oh
boy, Yeah it's tough, and yeah I think he does acid with Jackie
Gleason and jail. See that makes me want to watch it. And I'm
gonna get fucking twenty minutes into it again and I'm just gonna go, what
am I doing? Don't do it? It's not worth it. It's not
worth it. Maybe there's a clip on YouTube. At least Mickey Rooney wasn't
doing yellow face. At least there's that. Thank Heavens for small favors,
Aha make a very tiny oh. Our paintings are in oils, watercolorcrylic,
charcoal, and occasionally promaldehyde case in point is painting. Here it's called Specter
in Tap Shoes, having to do with the nearly lost art of tap dancing,
I said, terms of Curran pursued taking on an intriguing dimension when the
dancer happens to be a ghost, as is so often the case, and
the sort of thing that you viewed in the night gallery. Specter in Tap
Shoes. This is season three, episode four. It aired on October ninth,
nineteen seventy two. Happy Halloween, Everybody, written by Gene Kearney,
Remember Him. This is from a story by Jack Laird and directed by Jean
Swark. My god, it does roll off the tongue. This one stars
Sandra D her second appearance, Dane Clark, Christopher Connelly, and Russell Florsen.
Sandra D's sister, a tap dance instructor, has committed suicide, but
is she really gone what do you think, Mike? This is another one
where I'm kind of hoping you guys can explain this one to me, because
I was just having a real hard time. She went off on a trip,
came home, and her sister had hung herself, but she could still
hear her tapping as she was going up the stairs. And then she found
that she was dead and had been dead for some time. And then no
one believes her, but that she keeps hearing these things, and her sister's
possessions keeps showing up where they should not be able to be suddenly available to
her. And a real estate guy shows up and says, listen, you're
going crazy in here. J Why don't you sell me this place? And
she says no, and she continues to go nuts. Neighborhood kids shows up,
says, where's your sister? Were you going to start dancing again or
something? And then he leaves and she goes further and further insane. Her
psychiatrist thinks that she's actually developing a split personality of some sort, that she's
taking on all of her sister's traits, and that seems that that's the way
it's going. The sister's ghost is now speaking to her, urging her to
follow her on her path to suicide. And it turns out all of the
sounds in the house were all recordings from the real estate guy in an effort
to drive her insane in an ultimate Scooby Doo like ending, and it doesn't
work. But then, oh, thank you for adding that part. But
then she wouldn't have known where certain objects were hidden in order to save herself.
So maybe the ghost of the sister is here. What's that music upstairs?
That makes sense? Now? Thank you so clear? Now that's perfect.
I didn't have the same issues you did following it, Mike. I
had a different issue, like this, why have this goddamn idiotic ending.
It's like, that's all I could think was Scooby Doo, like the Scooby
Doo ending. But then they did the other thing that they always do with
these things, where it's like it was a real thing, but it was
also a supernatural thing, and it's like, oh, fuck you, Like
that's my response. It's like you're doing both and it's such a shame because
you don't feel comfortable with just one or the others, so you have to
make sure you do both because you're not. You don't trust your audience enough.
Is what it feels like for it to have just been supernatural. What's
the problem with it being supernatural? It's not Gallery. Ghosts are okay on
Night Gallery. Last time I checked. We're pulling the rug out from under
ya. Oh it's the twist, Yeah it was. That was some Alfred
Hitchcock presents bullshit. That's not Night Gallery. We don't need that here.
We don't want that here. We want a ghost. In the final scene,
when Sandra d has her sister's tuxedo on she's approaching the noose, we
get a shot of a silhouette standing in front of the window and there's darkness
behind that. I actually felt dread during that moment while I was watching it.
This is an episode I had not seen previous. I should point out
it's hard to make me feel dread during the course of a two hour movie,
never mind a twenty five minute episode of a television series sandwiched in between
commercials. So to have this and it was just an old man at the
end is so insulting, because now I have to instead think about Dane Clark
going through her house dressed all in black like hiding audio equipment, and then
did he hire someone to impersonate her sister's voice? What's that loose end?
And then was he like hiding in the house the whole time and like sneaking
the objects I enter into sight? Like none of it makes sense, which
is a drag because I felt the horrible sensation of needing to know who that
shadowed figure was and simultaneously wanting to know nothing less. I don't want to
be like an Academy member who just throws an award every time they feel an
emotion. But goddamn it, this achieved what the show was supposed to do.
Plus, Sandra D's performance is so fucking solid. She's eminently watchable.
She avoids all of the bundle of ticks that most actors fall into when someone
is going insane. I believed everything she was going through, and it was
subtle, and it got worse and worse, and she basically it was a
transformation from herself to her sister over the course of the episode. If they
had given us a lame ending with a ghost, it would have been more
satisfying than it was. All in your head and it was some fucking culprit.
Good God, and then Sandra D just murders him too. That was
the good part of the episode. Yeah, it's wild though, because very
rarely on this show if we had our hero just straight out murdering someone to
to bring the plot to conclusion, Like normally there's some sort of twilight zone
and outside interference. She just pulls out a gun and shoots him point blank.
It's like, it's surprising. It's more like tails from the Crypt more
than anything else. Like it's tonally, it's kind of strange for Night Gallery.
The house she was living in, that's the cornerhouse on Colonial Street technically
New England Street on the Universal backlot. It's where Metlock lived. Oh,
very nice. Fun fact, it took me all morning to find that one.
I agree that sander D definitely brought it, and I, other than
seeing her on an earlier episode of Night Gallery, I'm pretty unfamiliar with her
work. So I did download Gidget and I'm looking forward to checking that out.
I did too. Nice. Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna have to
go on a Sandra D. Now. It's a corner of my brain that
is unfulfilled at this point. All Right, we're gonna probably a preview of
our next episode, and we'll be right back to wrap things up tonight.
We offer you the sour fruit of a scientist failure, for there are apparently
some things that can't be accomplished, and they're in life. The tale end
hangs the picture. In this the Night Gallery, we offer you paintings like
this with a graphic illustration and one of the most persistent and eternally recurring nightmares
shared all too commonly by all of us, that fear of being helplessly trapped
in some inescapable circumstances, and with it the hope that we can discover an
exit. The title of his painting is the other way Out, and imposes
the question is this trip desirable? Because this is the Night Gallery, their
taste, of course, must have necessity run towards the slightly odd, or
at the very least, the bizarre. That's what we deal with here,
as a bizarre, the expected unexpected, if you will, as in the
case of this painting here it's called Fright Night, featuring that beloved star of
stage and screen. The name eludes me, but there is you'll note of
familiarity about it. Actually, this Fiery operation is the sort of thing that
appears in strange houses, because that's what this painting depicts, a very strange
house, and you're welcome to share it with us, because this is the
Night Gallery. That's right. On the next Midnight Viewing, we'll be taking
a look at season three episodes five and six. You can come up now,
missus Milligan, smile please, and the other way out. That's right.
One of the episodes has two segments, Oh my God, Heaven Forbid
Midnight Viewing. The Night Gallery podcast is a proud member of weirding Way Media
Group and the theme song was composed by HP Until next time. What are
you working on in where can people find it? Mike White? I'm always
working on new episodes. I've been doing a lot of coverage of some film
festivals lately, so go on over to Weirdingwaymedia dot com where you can download
every episode of The Projection Booth, all the specials, all the regular episodes,
as well as some of the other shows that I work on, including
The Shabby Detective, which is all about the detective name Colombo. So hopefully
find some enjoyment in that. And how about you, Chris same. You
can find everything I work on at Weirdingwaymedia dot com, including the Culturecast,
which is a weekly movie podcast that I do every week. And as for
me, you can also find me at Weirdingwaymedia. At media dot com you
can hear my shows Noisejunkies it's a music podcast, or Dark Destinations. It's
half hour radio drama I write and produce. Thank you once again for joining
us here at midnight viewing. The gallery is now closed