The Canary Sedan

Or TWILIGHT ZONE, if you prefer; but I think OSB is a bit closer than TZ show. That's the first AH PRESENTS episode which is so close to unexplained and "ghost" scheme. The music is so similar to OSB show that only an idiot - who has already seen the eerie show - could not see the link. But that doesn't prevent this episode to be good, effective and I highly recommend it.

You got a colourful chinese background in black & white and a great actress in Jessica Tandy. Sad to say that is all there is. A dull story told in a pedestrian way. I wonder why this episode is so different from all the others which are mostly brilliant.

The Canary Sedan is a very well plotted tale from the half-hour Hitchcock series, third season. It's set in an exotic locale (Hong Kong), and it features no American characters.

After all the Hitchcock domestic strife and wife murdering episodes this is something completely different. Jessica Tandy plays the lead character, Mrs Bowlby the wife of a British banker in Hong Kong, still a part of the rapidly declining British empire of the time.

Miss Tandy's character has a gift, can guess past and future events, as we learn when she'll still on ship (yes, it's that long ago, though modern feeling for the Fifties); and one wonders what ailment kept her away in England so long. Psych issues? I don't recall this being mentioned.

The plot thickens when, at the urging of her very busy husband she acquires a sedan, and a driver to go with it, wishes that it had been canary yellow instead of a darker color and,--lo!--this was precisely its color before its previous owner sold it, and then it was repainted; there's no reason given for the paint color change; and this gives one pause.

Mysteries abound in this episode, and presented, intriguingly, as little mysteries, some of which make the viewer wonder if Mrs Bowlby is losing her mind. She hears voices when being driven around the city, begins to determine the names of the people she hears.

The story is aided by eerie background music similar to that used in the later TV anthology series One Step Beyond, which dealt with the paranormal, also a feature in this episode. Or is it? Its main character may be hearing messages from Beyond, and yet she could also be having a nervous breakdown.

Tandy is superb in the lead, and she plays her character with dignity and class. Her performance has hints that the character she's portraying may be either confused by the sounds of the city or perhaps a little sick in the head. Or perhaps more than a little.

The ending, which I shall not give away or even hint at, is disturbing in its quietude, possesses a dark calm that does not feel like a conclusion. This is a brilliant entry in the series, and it's not one for the children; nor even, for that matter, teenagers; and not because it's shocking or sensational but because it's so adult

The eerie background music alone should bring back memories of ONE STEP BEYOND, which writer Sterling Silliphant may have had in mind. Sure has that creepy feel, if not one of those old dark house thrillers from the 50s. In short, a mesmerizing story, and a bit different in style than the usual Hitchcock ghost tale.

Jessica Tandy plays Laura, a renown psychic who can connect to the "other side," yet ironically has difficulty in connecting with her businessman husband (played by Murray Matheson, in the type of role he was well suited for). When joining James (Matheson) in Hong Kong, he arranges for her to have a chauffeured car and this is where is gets fairly creepy.

Once inside the car she connects with the deceased former owner, a countess who recounts her passionate love affair -- something Laura longed for in her otherwise dreary relationship. Next she arrives at the stately home of the countess and there's a special uncanny surprise awaiting.

Yes, I agree with a few of the reviewers, this story had many possibilities and definitely could have continued, a contender for a two part episode, better yet redone for Hitch's hour long tv show. In any case, a winner by Sterling Silliphant, one of the most insightful writers of the era, later a distinguished tv producer.

SEASON 3 EPISODE 37 remastered Universal dvd box set. 5 dvds. 16 hrs total running time.

It's a psychic ghost story. Seeing Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy, et. al.) at her youthful best is quite a treat. Along with husband, Hume Cronyn, they are masters of the American stage. This is a simple tale of a woman who begins to be invaded by psychic experiences (voices from the past, in this case). She meets her husband in Hong Kong. He appears distant and cold, considering the time that has passed since last they met. This would have made a very good movie with some more sophisticated writing and a bit more soul searching on her part. She is really left to her own devices and must sort things out herself. The scenes of 1950's Hong Kong are really pretty striking. Still, the episode seems somehow a bit cheap and underproduced.