Author at Work

Ernie Kovacs is perfectly cast as an insufferable, instantly dislikeable hit author in this 1-acter by Durrenmatt, a fine talkathon for Goodyear Theatre. Actor-director Paul Henreid helmed the droll, darkly humorous show, and Henry Jones is a lot of fun, doing most of the talking, as the adoring fan turned blackmailer.

Durrenmatt concocted a timeless satire of things like celebrity, fandom, society's addiction to vicarious thrill-seeking, all of which have multiplied exponentially since this was made 60 years ago. The obvious elements of satire serve to undercut the piece's suspense, as the conclusion is so clearly foretold, but the two actors make it work. I was interested in seeing Joe Biroc credited as cinematographer, a very minor TV credit for the cameraman of film classics in many different genres.

Ernie Kovacs is hailed as a comic genius and rightly so, but as many of the comedy greats have shown, they are equally at home in drama. Mary Tyler Moore in "Ordinary People", Dick Van Dyke in "The Runner Stumbles" are just two of the many examples of this.

In the special, "Ernie Kovacs: Television's Original Genius", there is the marvelous clip of Kovacs performing a monologue from Euripides' "The Trojan Women", which he performs marvelously. The ending is too good to tell, but the bit is introduced by the narrator who suggests that there may have been something inside Kovacs that wanted to be taken seriously as an actor.

This episode, which features Kovacs as a controversial author as well as Henry Jones, before his memorable turn in "Phyllis", is the clear evidence that Kovacs was an actor, who was very much at home with comedy, but could also handle drama quite well. This story is compelling, essentially a two-character study.

Sadly, this is not on DVD, which is a pity, because when it was shown on TVLand, the print seemed to be quite well-preserved. Well worth seeking out.