This episode reminded me of a couple of flicks that came out in 1958 utilizing the old 'husband drives his wife crazy' theme - "The Screaming Skull" and "My World Dies Screaming". Come to think of it, there's a little screaming going on in this one as well, as frail wife Mildred Beaumont (Judith Evelyn) becomes the victim of her husband's scheme to put her away with an assist from Midred's sister (Adele Mara). I guess if you've seen enough episodes of shows like Thriller and The Twilight Zone, your mind is racing ahead to try and figure out what the twist will turn out to be. Personally, I had Lydia pegged right from the start, even though the story did a pretty good job of keeping her character ambiguous until Eric (Tom Helmore) got back from his business trip. Then there was that little kicker with the doctor, was he imaginary or not? Sure, you heard Eric on the phone with him, but that could have been another friend playing along as Mildred listened in on the conversation. Now having Eric go mad and pop out the window was one thing, but here's what I don't get. If, as the title of the story suggests, Mildred's ghost came back to get her revenge on sister Lydia, how is it that the police detective (Frank Wilcox) gave no mind at all to the piano that played by itself?
8 Reviews
The first half was incredibly predictable...fortunately, it did get a bit better.
planktonrules25 October 2018
The first portion of "The Beckoning Ghost?" was incredibly predictable...far too much so. Fortunately, it did improve and overall it is worth seeing.
When the story begins, Mildred awakens and learns that she apparently has heart trouble and she's confined to the home. She has no memory of this nor the doctor treating her and her husband and sister convince her she indeed is quite ill. Additionally, she begins having weird visions of her own death...not realizing that this, too, is being orchestrated by them. Why? Because her husband and sister are lovers. This portion of the show is 100% predictable....no surprises here whatsoever.
After Mildred is scared to death, the show DOES improve significantly and the show is worth seeing. Just be aware that the first part is awfully poor....don't worry it gets better. What exactly happens? See for yourself.
When the story begins, Mildred awakens and learns that she apparently has heart trouble and she's confined to the home. She has no memory of this nor the doctor treating her and her husband and sister convince her she indeed is quite ill. Additionally, she begins having weird visions of her own death...not realizing that this, too, is being orchestrated by them. Why? Because her husband and sister are lovers. This portion of the show is 100% predictable....no surprises here whatsoever.
After Mildred is scared to death, the show DOES improve significantly and the show is worth seeing. Just be aware that the first part is awfully poor....don't worry it gets better. What exactly happens? See for yourself.
Whose Funeral?
AaronCapenBanner31 October 2014
First episode of the second season deals with a woman named Mildred Beaumont(played by Judith Evelyn) who has a weak heart and is frequently housebound. Her husband Eric(played by Tom Helmore) appears attentive and caring, as does her ever-present sister, but trouble arises when Mildred has recurring visions of her headstone and funeral, making her think that she will die soon, and as it turns out, she may not be so wrong... Reasonable start to the season has a most time-worn plot that isn't especially surprising, but is directed with style by Ida Lupino. Judith played a similar woman in the William Castle film "The Tingler".
Perfect scheme for this series
searchanddestroy-120 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
You find here the perfect scheme for this kind of series; a mix up of crime and terror. An atmosphere that we found in some Billy Castle's features, such as THE TINGLER, I SAW WHAT YOU DID, MACABRE, HOMICIDAL and so on. And most of all, this scheme is the very same as the notorious, the famous Henri Georges Clouzot's LES DIABOLIQUES. See for yourself:a husband plans to get rid of his wife and just after the ghost of this same wife comes to haunt him. In the french film, it was two women who got rid of the husband of one of them. I really like this TV show. I put it on the same scale as Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
One remarkable tale anyway, even if it has many references.
One remarkable tale anyway, even if it has many references.
The Best Laid Plans
Hitchcoc27 November 2016
A man who is married to an older, successful woman, is forced to beg for money from her. He becomes enamored with the pretty younger sister and so the two conspire to bump off the weak hearted woman by scaring her to death. The problem with this episode is that everything goes on without a hitch. The woman walks into the correct rooms. They manage to maneuver a casket wherever they need it. Of course, in a show like this, they are not going to get away with their crime. Something is going to intervene. There is little new here. At first it seems like a psychological drama, but soon becomes and actual ghost story. The first of the second and final season works reasonably well.
Second season opener
kevinolzak14 May 2009
The second season begins with a somewhat typical 'is she or isn't she crazy?' storyline centering on the well-being of a distressed wife with a bad heart who cannot convince anyone that she saw a coffin with her name on it. Never really builds up steam although the supernatural denouement is satisfactory. As the wife, Judith Evelyn, an actress who always appeared frail, is perhaps best known for two roles opposite Vincent Price: on Broadway in 1941's "Angel Street" (filmed as "Gaslight," with Charles Boyer replacing Price as the wicked husband) and on screen in 1959's "The Tingler," in which she played a mute. Playing the husband, Tom Helmore had known Boris Karloff for many years (and his ex-wife Evie married Boris in 1946) but this was their only professional acquaintance. Best known for his role in Hitchcock's "Vertigo," Helmore would end his career in one of television's most terrifying presentations: the NIGHT GALLERY episode "The Caterpillar," featuring Laurence Harvey and an earwig.
What a Let Down! Season 2's Opener a real DUD.
lrrap30 March 2020
After the momentum which steadily built through the latter part of Season 1-- which produced a MAGNIFICENT array of classic shows---HOW IS IT POSSIBLE that the "Thriller" team allowed things to crash-and-burn like this?
You've got Frye, Lawlor, Sanford, Lupino and Goldsmith, a pretty solid line-up to guarantee a dynamite second-season opener. And the failure of "Beckoning Ghost" to meet those expectations anticipates, to some degree, the quality of much of the 2nd season, which often fails to rise to the level that had been established in the last months of season 1.
I like the weird Goldsmith piano waltz with the distant reverb, a nice spooky effect. I also thought the single, continuous shot of Judith E. in her coffin and Judith E. standing next to her coffin was pretty cool; after such a slow, mundane Act 1, it briefly felt like this show was going to begin to pick up but, alas, the script is so run-of-the-mill that it's difficult to get oneself involved---ESPECIALLY coming on the heels of season 1's great stuff.
Adele Mara, a major babe in her day, was not much of an actress (I recognize her from the 1943 Stooges short "I Can Hardly Wait!" where she appears briefly as a secretary who is menaced by Larry Fine). I was pretty astounded by that terrific fall and CRASH that she takes courtesy of Tom Helmore; but, when things like this stand out as highlights of the episode, you know you're in big trouble. Too bad. LR
You've got Frye, Lawlor, Sanford, Lupino and Goldsmith, a pretty solid line-up to guarantee a dynamite second-season opener. And the failure of "Beckoning Ghost" to meet those expectations anticipates, to some degree, the quality of much of the 2nd season, which often fails to rise to the level that had been established in the last months of season 1.
I like the weird Goldsmith piano waltz with the distant reverb, a nice spooky effect. I also thought the single, continuous shot of Judith E. in her coffin and Judith E. standing next to her coffin was pretty cool; after such a slow, mundane Act 1, it briefly felt like this show was going to begin to pick up but, alas, the script is so run-of-the-mill that it's difficult to get oneself involved---ESPECIALLY coming on the heels of season 1's great stuff.
Adele Mara, a major babe in her day, was not much of an actress (I recognize her from the 1943 Stooges short "I Can Hardly Wait!" where she appears briefly as a secretary who is menaced by Larry Fine). I was pretty astounded by that terrific fall and CRASH that she takes courtesy of Tom Helmore; but, when things like this stand out as highlights of the episode, you know you're in big trouble. Too bad. LR
Dopey
collings50010 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The "Thriller" series seems to blend Hitchcock-type themes with a touch of the supernatural, and generally the episodes don't work. "The Best Laid Plans" is a good example. Initially, I thought this might be a clever story with a few good twists, but the contrivances pop up over and over (people see staged "visions" but never investigate, people enter and leave rooms at just the right moment, etc. etc.) and the supernatural touches seem contrived and head-scratching. A piano starts to play without anyone at the keys and the evil husband is so freaked out he jumps out the window and dies...all according to some "plan" that doesn't really make sense. I know, I know. This is only TV, it's the early 60s, a pioneering woman directed (Ida Lupino), so what do you want for your free living room entertainment, anyway? I get it. But still...
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