tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post8902157621288433640..comments2024-03-20T15:28:13.030-05:00Comments on The Twilight Zone Vortex: "Four O'Clock"JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-115934970321591322020-02-12T20:45:17.519-06:002020-02-12T20:45:17.519-06:00Obviously, actors and actresses don't have to ...Obviously, actors and actresses don't have to resemble the characters they play (that's kinda why they call it "acting"); but it's still delightfully ironic that the great Theodore Bikel played a person as utterly vile as Oliver Crangle. (If ever there was a name in search of a character in a Dickens novel, it's that one). Bikel in real life was a kind, thoughtful and thoroughly civilized man, an outspoken enemy of hatred and prejudice in all its forms, who was both loved and respected throughout the profession. Like Jerry Orbach and Martin Landau, he was considered an "actor's actor", perhaps the highest unofficial term of praise performers can bestow on one of their own. (I was delighted when, as one of his last roles, he played Worf's adoptive father on "Star Trek: The Next Generation", another of my touchstone shows). Finally, as one who is slightly nutty on the subject of Angela Lansbury (an actor's actress), I am so pleased that her mother played Mrs. Williams in this episode, giving Angela at least an indirect connection to the world of "The Twilight Zone". What a pity that Rod and Angela never got the chance to work together.Thomas DiMaggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15528586971282008329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-25163687908908058572018-02-04T14:33:45.381-06:002018-02-04T14:33:45.381-06:00I agree about the lapses in internal logic and I a...I agree about the lapses in internal logic and I also agree about Bikel's performance. I actually like his performance very much and feel it's the one element which rewards repeat viewings. Also, I agree he needed none of the help from the wardrobe department to convey the eccentricities of his character. Although many fans of the series love the twist endings for which the series has become known, I've always disliked episodes that completely hinge on their twist, such as this one. Many of these twist-ending episodes seem to have been constructed backwards from the ending leading to all sorts of narrative problems. JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-36671728783242137332018-02-03T17:49:35.732-06:002018-02-03T17:49:35.732-06:00What I enjoyed about this episode was Theodore Bik...What I enjoyed about this episode was Theodore Bikel's nicely unhinged performance as Crangle, the regular interjections of the parrot ('Nut!'), and the excellent scene between Crangle and the voice-of-reason, Agent Hall, nicely underplayed by the excellent Linden Chiles, who I recognised from a 4th-season epiosde of The Fugitive ('The Breaking of the Habit', in which Kimble seeks help from Sister Veronica, the nun with whom he'd spent a two-episode road-trip, in that series' first season).<br />Less enjoyable: The logical inconsistency of having Crangle refuse to give his name when making his accusatory phone calls, but apparently putting his name & address on his poison letters (how else would Mrs. Lucas, the young doctor's wife, have been able to find him?) and the cliched use of thick spectacles to 'highlight' Crangle's mania - which makes Bikel's performance seem more like a caricature than it really is.Nick Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00231368602808812183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-36400977638957113942017-07-27T22:14:54.162-05:002017-07-27T22:14:54.162-05:00Thanks, Jack. I enjoyed the Selected Shorts progra...Thanks, Jack. I enjoyed the Selected Shorts program as well. No idea why change the original title of the Woolrich story but it can be confusing, especially considering the Price Day story appeared in Hitchcock's magazine and would have fit his show well, even with the fantasy element.JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-9978445927386382422017-07-27T22:08:08.301-05:002017-07-27T22:08:08.301-05:00A familiar face indeed. I would have sworn she app...A familiar face indeed. I would have sworn she appeared in an additional episode but apparently it was just the one, although the character type is all over the series.JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-42864151273080155532017-07-27T19:44:50.021-05:002017-07-27T19:44:50.021-05:00I listened to the NPR reading of the story last ye...I listened to the NPR reading of the story last year and enjoyed it. I also enjoyed your article. I always get this mixed up with the Woolrich story!Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-41410251997089443212017-07-27T16:52:37.426-05:002017-07-27T16:52:37.426-05:00If when you watch this episode, the landlady remin...If when you watch this episode, the landlady reminds you of someone ...<br /><br /> ... it's Moyna MacGill, in real life the mother of Angela Lansbury.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.com