The Twonky

I guess you either love or hate "The Twonky". Considering the kinds of big studio made films that were coming out of Hollywood at the time this film was made, I find the Twonky rather refreshing. It's odd and quirky, and expresses many people's fears and concerns over the early days of television and what it might do to our culture. The film is not without it's faults, but I can overlook them, one reason being the film's star, Hans Conried, who brings something more to the cheap little film than another lesser performer might have. I have NOT read the original story, so I can't compare the two, but usually the original story is superior to any film adaption. However despite the films shortcomings, I find it a unique item from it's time. Mike Walters

A television set takes on an intelligence and a will of its own and terrorizes its owner. It is an interesting and amusing story but is slow moving and has a very limited plot. There is not enough explanation of what the Twonky is, how it came to possess the man's tv and what its purpose is-besides driving its owner crazy.

Hans Conreid is one of my favorite character actors of all time, and here he is put to the test as a man whose wife has bought him a television to entertain him while she is away So many people don't get the point of this movie, and it really is quite simple considering the history of the time. This is in the infancy of television and the motion picture industry was suffering at the time because people found it was cheaper to stay at home for their entertainment. So what does the industry do? They hire Arch Oboler of radio fame to write a screenplay about an almost despotic TV set. It's pretty basic, and makes for a surreal and entertaining time. Think of "The Twilight Zone" with a sense of humor and you get "The Twonky Zone" basically. Just sit back and enjoy, and if smoke 'em if you got 'em. The Twonky will light it for you.

Keeping in mind that the entire budget was probably more than Spielberg spends for lunch, this was not bad, especially for '52-53.

Somewhat different from Henry Kuttner's original story (where the twonky was a console radio set), I still really liked it. We just need to keep in mind the time it was made.

I've always liked Hans Conreid & thought he was a good pick for this role. It wouldn't have worked as a drama, but as a comedy -- great! As a long-time sci-fi & horror fan, I'm amazed that I had no idea this film existed until I stumbled across it on Turner Classic today.

Henry Kuttner, the short story author, also wrote the short story ("Mimsy Were the Borogoves") that was turned into the feeble "The Last Mimzy." For anyone who appreciates sci-fi from The Golden Age, it's well worth tracking down both of these. Kuttner died in his 30s of a heart attack, cheating us out of what should have been some great work.

I agree, this movie scared me half to death when I saw it as a kid (probably around 8 or so).

I was surprised when I ran into it much later on IMDb, and it was billed as a comedy. Looking back through adult eyes, it was probably pretty funny, and I hope to see it again someday. But back then, the idea that a TV that looked just like our TV could be alive, was really scary, particularly since I was already having nightmares about the big speaker from my dad's hi-fi system chasing me around the room.

Maybe it will come out on DVD or VCD some day, and I can see it again.