Thriller (U.S. TV series)

Overview

Thriller was created by Hubbell Robinson for MCA's Revue Studios. It was produced by Fletcher Markle, William Frye, and Maxwell Shane. Among the many writers for the series were Robert Hardy Andrews, and Robert Bloch, who adapted a number of his own stories, notably "The Weird Tailor."

In addition to serving as the host of the series, Karloff starred in five episodes: "The Prediction," "The Premature Burial," "The Last of the Sommervilles," "Dialogues With Death," and "The Incredible Doctor Markesan."

Other actors included Leslie Nielsen in the show's first episode "The Twisted Image, William Shatner in two episodes, "The Hungry Glass" and "The Grim Reaper," Constance Ford in two episodes, Mary Tyler Moore in two episodes and Edward Andrews in three episodes. Child actress Beverly Washburn appeared in "Parasite Mansion"; Joan Tompkins appeared in "The Cheaters" and "Mr. George." Elizabeth Montgomery, Tom Poston, and John Carradine in "Masquerade." Carradine also starred in "The Remarkable Mrs. Hawk," co-starring Bruce Dern and Jo Van Fleet; Ed Nelson starred in four episodes: "The Fatal Impulse," "The Cheaters," "A Good Imagination," and "Dialogues With Death."

Other performers included: Rip Torn. George Grizzard, Natalie Trundy, Bethel Leslie, Patricia Medina, Patricia Barry, Richard Anderson, Richard Chamberlain, Elisha Cook, Conrad Nagel, Larry Pennell, Russell Johnson, Diana Millay, Philip Carey, Kathleen Crowley, Susan Oliver, Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., J. Pat O'Malley, Henry Daniell, Robert Vaughn, Marlo Thomas, John Ireland, Jeanette Nolan, Virginia Gregg, Hazel Scott, Lloyd Bochner, Scott Marlowe, Judson Pratt, Olive Sturgess, Mary Astor, Marion Ross, MacDonald Carey, Natalie Schafer, Phyllis Thaxter, Estelle Winwood, Antoinette Bower, Jane Greer, Dick York, Jocelyn Brando, Richard Carlson, William Windom, George Kennedy, Cloris Leachman, Monte Markham, Patricia Breslin and Edward Binns.

Episodes

Due to a number of TV stations that pre-empted Thriller in favor of local programs, Thriller only ran for two seasons starting September 1960.

Season 1: 1960–1961

The show premiered on September 13, 1960 with the episode "The Twisted Image."

Season 2: 1961–1962

The second season of Thriller started on September 18, 1961 with the episode "What Beckoning Ghost?" and had 30 episodes in the season.

DVD release

On August 31, 2010, Image Entertainment released Thriller: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 for the first time. The 14-disc set contains all 67 episodes, remastered and uncut, with new commentary tracks and more.

Reception

In a brief review of its premiere, Time called it the "hour-long bloodmobile...unpromising".

In Danse Macabre, Stephen King's 1981 history and critique of horror fiction, King suggests that Thriller was the best series of its kind up to that point.

In a review of the anthology's 2010 DVD release, Hollywood Reporter said "Not all the episodes work, and the transfers can be a bit grainy. But when they do — the strong shadows living in the black and white, the awesomely overwrought score by composers Jerry Goldsmith and Morton Stevens (if only they had music like that again), the storytelling not using gore and cheap scares as crutches — the results are genuinely goosebump-inducing."

Musical score and soundtrack

Each episode of the first season featured a specially composed score with the main theme and majority of writing by Pete Rugolo with additional compositions by Jerry Goldsmith and Morton Stevens. In 1961 The Original Music of Thriller, composed, arranged and conducted by Rugolo was released on Bob Shad's Time label.

Track listing

All compositions by Pete Rugolo.

1. "Theme from "Thriller"" - 1:33
2. "The Hungry Glass" - 4:14
3. "Voodoo Man" - 2:55
4. "The Guilty Men" - 3:06
5. "Girl With a Secret" - 2:24
6. "The Purple Room" - 2:40
7. "Twisted Image" - 1:47
8. "Rose's Last Summer" - 2:42
9. "Worse Than Murder" - 2:04
10. "Child's Play" - 2:13
11. "Finger of Fear" - 3:31
12. "The Man in the Middle" - 2:55

Personnel

Books

Gold Key Comics published a comic book version of Thriller, changing the title to Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery after the series ended; the series lasted until the 1980s, long after not only the end of Thriller but also the death of Karloff himself. Dark Horse Comics published an archive reprint of the series beginning in 2009.

McFarland & Company published Alan Warren's This Is a Thriller! - An Episode Guide in 1996, an exhaustive account of the history of the show. Here it was revealed that it was Alfred Hitchcock more than anyone else who was responsible for the demise of the series, after he came aboard on NBC with The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, an expanded one-hour version of his previous half-hour series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.