A Question of Fear/The Devil Is Not Mocked

'A Question of Fear'. Scripted by Theodore J. Flicker, based on a story by Bryan Lewis. Leslie Nielsen stars as Colonel Dennis Malloy, a veteran mercenary who prides himself on never feeling fear. Not putting any stock in superstition, he accepts a bet from a man named Dr. Mazi (Fritz Weaver): spend one night alone in a supposedly haunted house, earn $10,000. Malloy figures it'll be money in the bank. Well, he does experience some general weirdness, but he doesn't suspect what actually lies in store for him. This segment is a pleasant surprise, given that it marks a directorial effort for series producer Jack Laird; Laird was usually responsible for the forgettable comic interludes on the series. While never actually scary (and that's not really the point of the segment, anyway), it does have an appealing "lost in the funhouse" vibe - until the big twist is dumped into Malloy's lap. We then see how suggestible he really is. Taking up almost 80% of the total episode run time, 'A Question of Fear' is very engaging entertainment, with fun performances by Nielsen and Weaver. 11 years later, they were both in the anthology feature film "Creepshow", although they appeared in different segments there.

'The Devil Is Not Mocked'. Scripted by Gene R. Kearney (who also directs), based on a short story by Manly Wade Wellman. Host Rod Serling explains the effectiveness of the basic premise beforehand: what if one villain is faced with a different, even more insidious evil? Top Nazi von Grunn (Helmut Dantine) and his troops enter the Balkan castle of an unnamed Count (the well cast Francis Lederer), intending to expose the Count as the leader of a resistance. But von Grunn is going to get a nasty surprise from the Count. Again, we are treated to some great acting from the principals, with an officious Dantine and an amiable Lederer commanding our attention. The viewer might get the twist ending spoiled for them elsewhere, but yours truly will leave it to you to see for yourselves.

Familiar faces in bits include Jack Bannon and Martin Kosleck.

Seven out of 10.

'A Question Of Fear' - Leslie Nielsen plays a mercenary who accepts the bet made by a man(played by Fritz Weaver) who challenges him to spend the night in a haunted house for money. The mercenary scoffs at the cheap horror tricks on display in the house, but a hidden agenda comes into play, as the mercenary is faced with another horror entirely unexpected... Memorable tale is equal parts fun and menacing, with surprises and a nifty double twist ending.

'The Devil Is Not Mocked' - Francis Lederer plays a Transylvanian count who finds his castle invaded by the Nazis during World War II, but it then becomes a fight of who are the worst monsters... Most satisfying tale with an unbeatable premise of real vs. "unreal" monsters. Lederer's casting is most clever, having played this role before in "The Return Of Dracula".

I loved Night Gallery when it was first run just as I loved the reruns (was too young for first run) of The Twilight Zone. And while I've seen endless reruns of The Zone on cable, including the SyFy marathon every year I hadn't seen an episode of Night Gallery in years.

Two episodes of the series always stuck with me over the years though, the one in the pilot about the man scaring his father to death with paintings of the graveyard adjacent to their house and this one; A Question of Fear.

Since I couldn't find the series streaming anywhere I bought the first three seasons on DVD and just watched this episode for the first time in decades. A lot of these old shows don't hold up well over time, something we don't realize until we finally watch them again. The Zone is NOT one of those shows, it holds up perfectly. And I have to say that while I haven't watched any others yet this episode of Night Gallery has also held up very well.

Yes, the special effects are rudimentary compared to today but that really doesn't matter because everything else; the acting, and most of all the story, are just as good as I remembered them to be. And even though I already knew the plot twist at the end it didn't matter. It was a joy to finally watch this episode again and I look forward to working my way through all three seasons I have on DVD.

I highly recommend this series. It's aged very well and still provides great entertainment. The likes of Rod Serling will not pass this way again, mores the pity.

"A Question of Fear" is one of those bets that take place when a group of men have to exhibit their testosterone levels. Leslie Nielsen, normally a comedic actor, plays a soldier of fortune who is appalled by another man's (Fritz Weaver's) description of being utterly beset by fear attempting to stay in a haunted house.. Nielsen claims he has never been afraid and bets Weaver 10,000 dollars that he will not die of fright staying in the same house overnight. The game is afoot and Nielsen bids adieu to his rival. There is a great deal of techno-fear engendered by Nielsen is expecting this kind of stuff, and rejects it. Of course, we know that something more sophisticated and more cerebral is coming, so we wait it out. It's interesting. Throughout the entire episode I was pulling for the "bad" guy. I wanted him to have the wherewithal to succeed. This must have been a relatively expensive episode to produce.

I ran across "The Devil Is Not Mocked" a summer or so ago, so I knew how things would transpire. It tells the tale of a battalion of Nazis approaching a castle where they suspect an underground movement is being initiated. Rather than being repelled, they are met at the door by a gregarious, dignified man in a cape. He invites them in. Even their armor is allowed to enter the courtyard. The servants see to their needs. The host is unflappable. He continues to insist they will not find anything but are welcome to continue to search. The Nazi captain is convinced that there are escape routes but that no one will escape. This one can be figured out easily about a third of the way through. Still, it's a good deal of fun.

"A Question of Fear" is a very good episode. Neilsen and Weaver go hand in glove. The ending is a bit weak and could have been left ambiguous. Watching it first run had me going.