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Reviews
One Step Beyond: The Mask (1960)
Different ages, different reactions
I saw this episode when it first aired in 1960. I was then twelve years old. It scared the daylights out of me when the Egyptian prince possessing Private Wilenski talked in his sleep to his sweetheart ("Samara!" Your prince commands!"), when Private Wilenski's bandages were removed, revealing a swarthy Egyptian face instead of his own blond, fair one and when his face resumed its proper appearance after the discovery of the tomb. The show's claim that its episodes were based on fact fed my rather vague fears, the irrationality of which I already largely realized.
Seeing it again as an adult, I couldn't stop laughing! The "prince" spoke with a flawless American accent and the makeup was cheesy beyond belief: for Wilenski's "real" appearance, powder had obviously been added to his hair to make him appear blond and for his Egyptian scenes he had obviously been greased to make him look swarthier. The "two" faces were recognizably the same. Also, by then, I had long ago developed a healthy skepticism about such things.
Psychomania (1973)
Use your own imagination
One of the other posters thinks there is insufficient exposition of some aspects of the plot. On the contrary, I think one of the strong points of the film is that you have to use your imagination to "connect the dots" as best you can. Is the seance genuine, faked, or is a demon impersonating the dead child? What happened to Tom's father? What is Shadwell? The devil? (He recoils at the sight of the cross.) What is the significance of the frogs? (Some of the other posters thought they were objects of worship. The conclusion I came to is that they are the souls of people who had broken their pacts with the devil. This is certainly the case with Tom's mother.) How does the gang kill the policemen in the gruesomely funny morgue scene? Does Abby really escape or is Shadwell coming to claim her at the end? (She did, after all, take part in at least one murder.)
Not a masterpiece, but good bad fun.
Hansel and Gretel (1958)
Cheated!
I saw this as a child of ten and am reacting as such: Instead of being shoved into the oven and cooked at the end, Hans Conried, as the witch, is simply locked in the cage in which s/he had kept Hansel, evidently for eventual rehabilitation. (He/She says, "I'm not really bad; I'm just misunderstood.") I am sure I was not the only child who felt cheated, as the cooking of the witch was the part that I had been particularly looking forward to! I don't remember too much else about this version except for Rise Stevens singing the prayer for the children. I much preferred the 1954 puppet version with Anna Russell as the witch. (She gets her just deserts in the usual manner--and actually ends up as a dessert of sorts, as she is transformed into gingerbread (not very good gingerbread, judging from the expression on the face of the child who tastes her!))