While forgotten today outside the fans of the cult primetime TV soap and one of the campiest movies ever made, actress Barbara Parkins was once everywhere well regarded and quite busy. She didn't have the camp following of Patty Duke or the tragic ending of Sharon Tate, so outside of cinema and classic TV followers like myself, it's understandable that her career isn't as well regarded even though she's actually quite good. Along with David Birney, she was cast as the lead in the TV pilot for a short-term anthology occult series that I just discovered and am now finding enjoyment in.
Pleasant Valley is a well-regarded section of a small town, but there's a mystery about it that Parkins is determined to solve. Having just moved there with husband Birney, she's disturbed by voices she's hearing after purchasing a rather strange looking statue of a grinning woman (those teeth alone would turn me away from purchasing it), and she goes to see town historian Sam Jaffe. He tells her that the spot where her house is used to be used for execution, containing a gallows for hanging. A young woman was the last person hanged, and now it's obvious that her spirit is possessing the house.
Like Jean Val Jean from "Les Miserables", the woman was condemned for stealing a loaf of bread, and when condemned, she left the court with a laugh which is obvious what Parkins is hearing now. The atmosphere is perfect for a gothic thriller where beautiful old homes and kind townsfolk give the impression that everything is peaceful. Allyn Ann McLearie, Jeanette Nolan and Ivor Francis co-star, with Sebastian Cabot ("Family Affair") as the host.
The sounds of the 1779 court case come out of the transistor radio, and that really is a haunting twist. Quite a lot of fun. I consider classic TV anthology to be little mini-movies, cut to half the length of most theatrical films and half an hour shorter for the most part of TV movies.
Pleasant Valley is a well-regarded section of a small town, but there's a mystery about it that Parkins is determined to solve. Having just moved there with husband Birney, she's disturbed by voices she's hearing after purchasing a rather strange looking statue of a grinning woman (those teeth alone would turn me away from purchasing it), and she goes to see town historian Sam Jaffe. He tells her that the spot where her house is used to be used for execution, containing a gallows for hanging. A young woman was the last person hanged, and now it's obvious that her spirit is possessing the house.
Like Jean Val Jean from "Les Miserables", the woman was condemned for stealing a loaf of bread, and when condemned, she left the court with a laugh which is obvious what Parkins is hearing now. The atmosphere is perfect for a gothic thriller where beautiful old homes and kind townsfolk give the impression that everything is peaceful. Allyn Ann McLearie, Jeanette Nolan and Ivor Francis co-star, with Sebastian Cabot ("Family Affair") as the host.
The sounds of the 1779 court case come out of the transistor radio, and that really is a haunting twist. Quite a lot of fun. I consider classic TV anthology to be little mini-movies, cut to half the length of most theatrical films and half an hour shorter for the most part of TV movies.