User Reviews

Ah, now here's a great ghost story; I love these tales where you can't quite figure out what's going on, where the tale will lead. Geraldine Page and Rip Torn (who were married in real life) were great as the seemingly befuddled (but sharper than they looked) caretakers of the haunted house. Though---seeing the state it was in, I guess they weren't too good at their job!

Because yes, this is a sure-enough ghost-filled house; you might even say that the house is haunted by its own past self. And since it was possessed by its own vision of its former splendour, I suppose it's no wonder that the elderly siblings ignored their housekeeping; if they could always see it through the lens of the past, in pristine condition, why bother to do any upkeep? Now, this isn't a perfect episode---not everything made sense; the script perhaps was a little sloppy. For instance.... if the pair meant to keep the murders a complete secret, why on earth would they put up fake tombstones in the back yard? Anyone who saw them would wonder about the deceased; if it weren't for the stones, I daresay the two murder victims would have been completely forgotten... Also, why was the cement-block wall in the cellar half-way broken down? You'd think the siblings would have made absolutely sure that the tomb was sealed up with the wall appearing as inconspicuous as possible.

And yes, I'm afraid I have to say it---those two blazingly-white skeletons looked as fake as could be. You could even see the seam in the one skull, where the top was fastened on. But wasn't it creepy when that boney hand started moving? Despite a few nitpicks, I really did enjoy this one; it's in the best classic ghost story mold, and I thought it was very effective. (Heh, I got a kick out of Janet holding that rat while thinking it was a cat.) And Geraldine Page did her usual excellent work here; it was a pleasure watching her.

(Oh, that song Page sings was quite lovely, called "Golden Memories" by Ian Jack. Does anyone know if it was written specifically for this episode?)

The presence of acting legends Geraldine Page and Rip Torn (real life husband and wife, here playing some not quite sane siblings) makes this "Ghost Story" episode seem equal to those screen versions of Tennessee Williams plays that brought Page great success the decade before this. She's a variation of those types of heroines that Williams created, even if she's a supporting character, and Torn is equivalent to the secondary characters in those plays/films that have incredible depth. They turn an otherwise slow paced gothic horror melodrama into an incredible piece of art.

The story focuses on the Mia Farrow like Lynn Loring whose search for tomorrow finds her at the childhood home of her mother (stage vet Jan Clayton of the original "Carousel") who has just died. For some reason, Loring wants to clean up the messy, delapitated house, recently condemned. Torn and Page live there as the caretakers, but they do little else but sit on a swing and sing a song called "Golden Memories". Soon, Loring has them cleaning up the yard, and tells the city inspector that the inside has been made pristine again too. But it's very apparent that something is off because where Loring sees cats, the audience sees rats.

A series of nightmares that Loring has reveals that a murder has taken place there, and it appears that Page and Torn may be out to kill her as well. They treat her with love and kindness during the waking hours but in her nightmares are much malevolent. Is this an indication of things to come, or is Loring, as the recurring voice of her mother tells her, heading down the same path as her, towards insanity? The script unfortunately leaves out important details and the audience has to make guesses as to why things are happening the way they are. It's frustrating, but oh so sensational when Page and Torn are on screen.

Janet (Lynn Loring) has inherited her mother's house after her death in a mental institution, a home that she must share with her aunt Hattie and uncle Jonathon (Geraldine Page and Rip Torn, who were married when this was filmed). She decides to move in and fix up the home so that her family can stay there. But of course, this is an episode of Circle of Fear/Ghost Story and that means that everything is going to wrong quickly.

After all, when Janet's mother died, she told her, "You're just like me."

So when Janet sees the home, she sees what it was and perhaps what it could be instead of the shambling wreck that it has become. So when she's cradling the family cat, perhaps she's really giving love and attention to a rat. If you've read this site for any time, you may realize that I absolutely love any movie where women slowly go psychotic.

This episode was written by Richard Matheson and Halsted Welles, who also wrote 3:10 to Yuma and plenty of television, including episodes of Suspense and Night Gallery. It was directed by Robert Day, who you may know from his work on movies like the 1966 version of She, several Tarzan movies and The Initiation of Sarah.