Before we get to what’s making Christopher Lee look like he needs to sneeze, let’s do some Twilight Zoning, shall we? What we have first is the non-pilot for the original series. Non-pilot in that it aired not as its own thing but as a part of the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. And yes, if you wondering where you remember “Desilu” from, just hang tight, you’ll remember about fifteen seconds in. It stars William Bendix (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court) and Martin Balsam (yet another of those “oh, that guy” character actors who’s been in freaking everything, including Psycho and 12 Angry Men). Dreams feel really real, right? Sometimes too real. That’s all you need to know going in.
It’s available as a bonus feature on the Twilight Zone Season 1 Blu-Ray, which, let’s face it, you should own anyway. While we’re in the Zone, so to speak, let’s check out the radio dramas that they produced in 2002 with Stacy Keach hosting. Specifically, it’s “Shadow Play” starring Ernie Hudson.
All of those are available via Audible/Amazon. And they’re all pretty damn good.
Now this takes us to 1959 (don’t ask how, that’s the nature of weird shit, it just sort of happened between this paragraph and the last one). Italy, to be precise. And Uncle is a Vampire, the first Italian film to feature Sir Christopher Lee and as Wikipedia says (and it’s always right), the first Italian vampire movie. (I’m thinking there had to be one before the 1950s, but if you know what it is, ping me.) It can be a real pain when relatives come by the visit, especially when they are a vampire (a literal one, not an emotional or mental one) and they decide to share their particular affliction with you. As you might surmise by the title, it’s a horror comedy so enjoy. And also…I really need this musical score. It’s amazing.
