Mon 20 Aug 2018
A TV Review by David Vineyard: Two Episodes of KRAFT SUSPENSE THEATRE (1964 & 1965).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[8] Comments
KRAFT SUSPENSE THEATRE. NBC, 1963-1965, 60 minutes:
“One Tiger to a Hill.†Season 2, Episode 8. 03 Dec 1964. Barry Nelson, Diane McBain, James Gregory, Peter Brown, Warren Stevens. Teleplay: Robert Hamner. Directed by Jack Arnold.
“Four Into Zero.†Season 2, Episode 15. 18 Feb 1965. Jack Kelly, Martha Hyer, Robert Conrad, Sue Randall, Joe Mantell, Jessie White, Bill Quinn. Teleplay: Don Brinkley. Story: Milt Rosen. Directed by Don Weiss.
What these two episodes of Kraft Suspense Theatre (syndicated under the title Crisis) have in common is the fact that both are caper stories, and in both cases ones with happy endings. Not that the anthology series didn’t have its fair share of crime does not pay tales like any other series from the sixties, but at least these two episodes are different.
“One Tiger to a Hill†opens with a jewel thief breaking into a safe and relieving it of close to half a million in goodies. That draws the attention of the head of the Burglary division. James Gregory who is enjoying a bit of fine dining and a good cognac when he receives the call — only to find that sharing the restaurant with him is jewel thief extraordinare Colin Neal (Barry Nelson) and his girl Diane McBain, making Gregory Neal’s alibi.
Neal and Gregory are friendly adversaries, Gregory the only cop to ever catch Neal and Neal the only thief to ever elude Gregory. Not so much Gregory’s subordinate Lt. Hadley (Warren Stevens) who wants nothing so much as to put away all thieves — in any condition he can catch them in.
The secret to Neal’s latest success is bartender Peter Brown who is his apprentice and pulled the latest caper in Neal’s style. There are complications though. Aside from Hadley and the much smarter and more dangerous Gregory, Brown is ambitious. He not only wants Neal’s career, he wants his woman, and he isn’t above framing Neal for a crime he never committed. Even worse he shoots a policeman while committing it.
Now Neal has to stop Brown, recover the stolen gems, and get the increasingly driven Hadley off his neck while not getting caught by Gregory.
This could all be done darkly and in a noirish mood, but it is much more a low budget TO CATCH A THIEF, and thanks largely to good players and a light script, it doesn’t pause long enough to let you question the obvious gaps in the story, and it works for what it is.
Next up is a somewhat more serious caper. “Four Into Zero.†Jack Kelly is the husband of wealthy Martha Hyer, tired of feeling as if he has been bought by his beautiful wife and determined to do something on his own. The something is a heist, and on a moving train across country from Chicago to Los Angles.
The train will be carrying the currency plates for a new banana republic in South America, and the plot is lift the plates being shipped from Chicago from the baggage car, use a printing press built by failed artist and engraver Jessie White to print a million dollars in the new currency, and return the plates unsuspected for delivery. Also mixed in the job is Robert Conrad, whose fiance has been working for the South American dictator and unwittingly providing all the details needed for the job.
Joe Mantell is the final part of the scheme, an alcoholic circus performer Kelly rescued from the gutter and dried out for a vital part of the caper, crossing the top of the train while it is moving with the plates.
And complications ensue as you might expect. Kelly’s wife and Conrad’s girl (Sue Randell) are suspicious, and when they meet decide to fly to Los Angles to meet the boys. Meanwhile railroad cop Bill Quinn is taking the same train on vacation, and there is this annoying little boy who keeps seeing men climbing outside on the train …
For once the caper goes fairly smoothly, until Mantell breaks his wrist, ironically on a crate of whiskey, and Kelly has to replace him on the final leg of the heist. It ends fairly happily with Kelly and Conrad rejecting their part of the spoils for love, and a nice ironic touch (actually foreshadowed in the script for once) ends the episode.
Everyone gets at least one good scene, and what more could television actors ask?
Neither the best or the worst of the series, this is your parents comfortable sixties television done with professionalism and style. Both episodes could easily have been expanded to features and both make for a tightly packed forty-eight minutes.
I can’t say either generates much actual suspense, but both are fairly handsomely done and the dialogue is intelligent and revealing in both, making you wish they had been more interested in the suspense end of the thing.
Of the two “One Tiger to a Hill†is the standout, but I recall seeing “Four Into Zero†when it first aired and surprisingly remembered almost every detail when I watched it again for the first time, so there is more here than may meet the eye
August 20th, 2018 at 10:50 pm
You probably should spell Martha’s name, Hyer — and that makes her pretty great and good looking, with a fine career.
August 20th, 2018 at 11:43 pm
I’ll fix the spelling, Barry. Glad you caught it. She was a very good actress and as you say, had a fine career.
August 21st, 2018 at 10:12 am
I haven’t looked to see how many episodes of the series are on YouTube, but people selling copies on DVD online are offering as many as 54 of the 58 that aired, 28 in Season One, and 31 in Season Two.
According to Wikipedia, the series aired three weeks out of every four, with a Perry Como show on instead the other week.
Also according to Wikipedia, Anthony Boucher serves as a story consultant for the series. I did not know that!
August 21st, 2018 at 6:12 pm
Autocorrect didn’t care for Hyer and I didn’t check it (in fact I just had to correct it again typing it here). Arrgh …
I think there are some 52 episodes listed on YouTube, but many of those are two episodes together and repeat some of the single episodes, so I would imagine most of the second season and at least half of the first are there.
At least one black and white episode is available with a promo for the Perry Como episode next week at the end. It may or may not be a pilot since the episode listed as episode one from the first season is in color and stars Jeffrey Hunter and Lloyd Bochner.
Quality isn’t great on them (hard to complain about free though), but so far all I have watched are complete. The usual suspects star: Lew Ayres, Gig Young, Robert Loggia, Tom Tryon, Jeffrey Hunter, Steve Forrest, John Gavin, Sal Mineo, Jack Warden, Andrew Prine, Jack Lord, Broderick Crawford, Lloyd Bridges,Telly Savalas (one in a toupee one without) and actresses such as Dana Wynter, Julie Adams, Julie Harris, Hyer, and McBain. Plus you get a few stars who weren’t doing as much television in that era like Peter Lorre, Chester Morris, and Pat O’Brien.
I don’t know how many of the stories used are original television stories and how many were taken from the slicks and digests of the period. Most of the stories are contemporary though a few have WWII settings and at least one is set in the early 20th century. Most of the names are familiar to television drama of the period even those directed by someone who later established a name in films (Pollack for instance).
For most of what I have watched recently the impressive thing is the writing in regard to character more than suspense. Without the restraints of continuing characters the protagonists in these stories are a bit more rounded, warts and all, even when they are the hero. That and a few episodes end on a downbeat even cynical note or are a beat off the usual “moral” of the story ending of similar fare from that period.
There is a sense, without actually rebelling, that producers and production team saw this as a bit more upscale than usual fare. A few episodes don’t look all that much worse than what you saw in some feature films of the era, especially those made by Universal Studio.
The adaptation of the JDM novel, THE DROWNER, appears as “The Deep End” with clu Gulager and Aldo Ray which I reviewed here.
I also admit I probably confused some of these with the Kraft Bob Hope Theater which was an anthology series that as I remember ran as a summer replacement series in the same time frame.
August 21st, 2018 at 7:54 pm
Have only seen a little of this series.
Liked JUNGLE OF FEAR Writer: John McGreevey Director: Earl Bellamy
Noticed the Anthony Boucher credits at teh end of the shows. Wonder what he contributed?
August 21st, 2018 at 8:31 pm
Apparently (according to Wikipedia) he was a story consultant. If so, I’d like to think it was more han an honorary position, and that they actually made use of the services he could provide.
August 22nd, 2018 at 4:04 am
These episodes were from a series sponsored by Kraft called KRAFT SUSPENSE THEATRE or SUSPENSE THEATRE or in rerun syndication CRISIS. Its best known episode was a two part story “The Case Against Paul Ryker†that became a successful theatrical film and lead to the TV series COURT MARTIAL. (https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=41350)
While this was considered serious drama of its time, it paled compared to the earlier KRAFT TELEVISION THEATRE (NBC 1947-1958). KRAFT TELEVISION THEATRE was one of the first dramatic anthology series of network television, as well as one of the most popular with the audience and critics. The series did live performances of TV original plays and adaptations of serious theatre for the public far from Broadway.
After it finally faded away with a changing TV audience, David Susskind did a version called KRAFT MYSTERY THEATRE (1959-63). Then SUSPENSE THEATRE (63-65).
August 22nd, 2018 at 10:32 pm
On KRAFT TELEVISION THEATRE, I liked:
THREE PLAYS BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS Director: Sidney Lumet (1958)
This was three one-acters, each with a good cast.
Would very much like to see more episodes.