The Bride Possessed

Matt and Sally Conroy celebrate their wedding day, but as soon as the couple set off on their honeymoon, Sally starts behaving strangely, believing she is someone else, a woman who was murdered.

It worth considering when this was made, all the way back in 1959, and for that I'll give this episode some real credit, it you're a fan of the likes of Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, I think you'll enjoy this.

I'm not sure this is the best from the series, I've been told it gets better, but it's certainly an interesting debut episode, and a sign of things to come.

I thought it was competently acted and quite well produced, it held my attention.

An interesting start.

6/10.

A pair of newlyweds on way to their honeymoon have their lives turned upside down when the bride suddenly undergoes a dramatic change in personality, claiming to be a woman who fell to her death locally. Her husband and a psychiatric doctor try to unravel the truth behind what she says, and the fate of the deceased woman.

Solid performances from Skip Homeier as the husband, Harry Townes as the doctor, and - especially - Virginia Leith (who handles the contrasting personalities of the new wife and the dead woman superbly), transform what could have been a corny time-filler into a compelling mystery. My only complaint is the ending, which - as others have said - is too sudden. We could have done with another five minutes to wrap things up. Still, this is a series I'm looking forward to seeing more off. 8/10.

This was the first episode of "One Step Beyond", officially sponsored by Alcoa, whose name is included in the title! This would be a typical series entry, as Skip Homeier plays newlywed Matt Conroy, whose pretty Louisiana born wife Sally(played by Virginia Leith) has a startling change of personality and accent on their honeymoon, which leads him to take her to see a doctor(played by Harry Townes) with knowledge of the new personality in Sally that leads back to a woman named Karen Warden recently killed in an accident off a cliff - or was it murder? Interesting plot is reasonably well handled, though abrupt nature of conclusion is unusual.

Prior to the legendary run of 'The Twilight Zone', if people wanted to satisfy their taste for the unusual, one good way to do so was to tune into 'One Step Beyond'.

Here, host John Newland (who also directed this episode) doesn't quite have as memorable a presence as Rod Serling, but that doesn't mean he does a bad job. Not at all.

His tale here is about a newlywed woman from Louisiana (Virginia Leith, "A Kiss Before Dying") who starts behaving strangely - speaking with no accent, for one thing - and treating her husband (Skip Homeier, "The Tall T") like a stranger.

This tale of "justice from beyond the grave" plays out with no real surprises, and DOES have a rather abrupt conclusion. But it's still a pretty entertaining tale, well told and well acted, especially by Ms. Leith.

Also starring Harry Townes ("Operation Manhunt") as a concerned psychiatrist.

Seven out of 10.

The first episode of "One Step Beyond" starts as newlywed couple Matt (Skip Homeier) and Sally (Virginia Leigh, who sports a rather silly southern accent and would go on to star in the cult b movie classic "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" three years later) when on there honeymoon, Sally begins to behave strangely, running off and not even recognizing who Matt is. He manages to track her to a house with the help of a police officer, and Sally begins explaining that she is someone else. She is taken to the local hospital where, the doctor (the great Harry Townes) reveals to Matt that she isn't his wife anymore. Is Sally crazy or is she really a bride possessed?.

Overall, I though this was a pretty good way to start the series off, the acting is pretty solid and John Newland is great in the opening and closing segments in his Rod Serling-esq role, the ending however is my only real problem it seems rather forced and abrupt, but still a solid first entry.