Boris Karloff’s Thriller
was an anthology series that aired from 1960-1961. I’ve discussed the show in a previous blog post, but now I’m about to talk about some of my favorite
episodes in this appreciation series.
“The Cheaters.” Written
by Robert Bloch, this story is about a supernatural pair of glasses that were
created by a sorcerer 200 years prior to the events of the story. The glasses are stamped with the word
“Veritas,” which means “truth.” This
episode is a mini-anthology of four short episodes as different people
encounter the glasses, called “cheaters.”
The protagonists put the glasses on and strangely enough, are able to
“hear” the thoughts of others; usually negative thoughts directed towards them.
It is debatable if this power is due to
wearing the glasses alone or if there is a measure of paranoia in the
wearer. In the last vignette, the
protagonist figures out that the way the cheaters actually work is that they
must be worn while looking into a mirror—the glasses are meant to reveal one’s
true self. So he does this, and let’s
just say…he doesn’t like what he sees.
I love this episode.
The vignettes get right to the point.
The acting is decent—though some actors chew scenery like old pros;
which a lot of them are. I love that the
old lady is a straight up kleptomaniac.
I love that the cheating wife deadass forgot her hubby’s birthday and randomly decided to celebrate it a week later.
I love that people can die from a tap on the head with a
candelabra. And what I love the most is
when the final protagonist—the unpublished author; the one who figures it all out—says that his book is
complete…except for the last chapter. I
straight hollered when I first heard that.
Dude…then your book isn’t complete.
Is this episode scary?
I’m sure it was back in 1960; sensibilities were way different
then. But I can see how it would have
scared the shit out of a 1960s audience.
The penultimate scene where the protagonist sees who he truly is, can’t
take it and claws his face off while his beleaguered, screaming wife is just
outside the door, begging him to come home is devastating. Then the episode ends. There’s no redemption and no one to come out
and say that everything turned out fine.
No. The episode ends when the wife hears her
husband completely lose his mind. In a
time where TV shows typically had happy endings, a downbeat ending like this is
a game changer. I can only imagine what
this did to viewers in 1960.
For that alone, I love it.
I do, girl. I really do. Always have.
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