Room with a View/The Little Black Bag/The Nature of the Enemy

Rod Serling might have moved from sci-fi/fantasy to the macabre with Night Gallery, but two out of the three tales in this episode feel more like something out of The Twilight Zone.

The first story, Room With a View, sees a bedridden man manipulating his young nurse (Diane Keaton) into killing his unfaithful wife and her lover. It's over before it's begun, and doesn't leave much of an impression.

The second story is very 'zone', not just in general tone, but also because it stars Burgess Meredith, who previously made several trips to the fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. Here, he plays ex-physician turned wino Dr. William Fall, who stumbles upon a medical bag that has accidentally been sent back in time from the year 2096.

Instead of pawning the bag so that he can buy booze, as his newfound acquaintance Heppelwhite (Chill Wills) would like, Fall sets about using his discovery to cure the poor. Heppelwhite realises that the bag is worth a lot more than the eight bucks offered by the pawnbroker, so he kills Fall, takes the bag and organises a meeting with leading medical luminaries to demonstrate the futuristic equipment. In a neat twist, his actions prove fatal when the kit is deactivated by a technician in the future.

The third story is also rooted in science fiction rather than horror and feels like something Alan Moore might have written for 2000AD. Other reviewers don't seem to like the rather ridiculous nature of the story -- astronauts being attacked by giant moon mice -- but I love the silliness of the whole thing, including the notion of building a giant mousetrap to try and kill the oversized rodents.

Divided in three segments hosted by Rod Serling, "Night Gallery" presents two great stories and ends with a terrible segment. "Room with a View" tells a Machieavellian story of manipulation and revenge, with Diane Keaton in the beginning of career performing a nurse easily manipulated by her patient. "The Little Black Bag" tells a tragic story of greed with Burgess Meredith in the lead role. "The Nature of the Enemy" is a totally forgettable short story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Galeria do Terror - Quarto com Vista / A Pequena Valise Preta / A Natureza do Inimigo" ("Gallery of Terror - Room with a View / The Little Black Bag / The Nature of the Enemy ")

Divided in three segments hosted by Rod Serling, "Night Gallery" presents two great stories and ends with a terrible segment. "Room with a View" tells a Machieavellian story of manipulation and revenge, with Diane Keaton in the beginning of career performing a nurse easily manipulated by her patient. "The Little Black Bag" tells a tragic story of greed with Burgess Meredith in the lead role. "The Nature of the Enemy" is a totally forgettable short story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Galeria do Terror - Quarto com Vista / A Pequena Valise Preta / A Natureza do Inimigo" ("Galley of Terror - Room with a View / The Little Black Bag / The Nature of the Enemy ")

"Room with a View". A sickly middle-aged man (Joseph Wiseman) with a smoking hot young wife (Angel Tompkins) makes a point of getting to know his young nurse (Diane Keaton) a little better. The reason for this is soon made clear, as this is quite a short segment. Unfortunately, it leads to an underwhelming resolution that comes as no great surprise. This is made watchable by the acting (Keaton is cute and adorable, in one of her earliest roles), but is no great shakes. Directed by Jerrold Freedman ("Kansas City Bomber", "Borderline").

"The Little Black Bag". The lengthiest portion of the episode, this is scripted by Rod Serling himself from a story by C.M. Kornbluth. It's wonderfully acted by old pros Burgess Meredith and Chill Wills, as bums who discover a medical bag from the future that has accidentally been sent back to 1971. Meredith, a former doctor, is ecstatic at what this could mean for medicine, but Wills merely wants to make a bundle. This is wrapped up in a very effective and fun way, recalling Serlings' legendary 'Twilight Zone' series in the way that its revelation is so potent. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc ("Jaws 2", "Santa Claus: The Movie").

Finally, "The Nature of the Enemy". Another very short segment starring Joseph Campanella as a man at Mission Control overseeing a rescue mission on the moon. It's great at stressing the mystery element for a while, until it resolves itself with such a funny bit of business that it makes one think that Serling (who also scripted here) was basically just having a bit of goofy fun. Directed by TV veteran Allen Reisner.

Familiar faces in supporting roles and bits include George Furth, Arthur Malet, James Sikking, Albert Popwell, and Jason Wingreen.

Seven out of 10.

"Room With a View" is an interesting short about how a bed-ridden old man (Joseph Wiseman) manipulates the lives of others. It's short and has the wonderful Diane Keaton in a small role as a nurse. Next is "The Little Black Bag". It's about two hobos (Burgess Meredith, Chill Wills) who find a medical black bag from the future. Meredith wants it to cure people--Wills wants it to make money. It has a very satisfying conclusion. "The Nature of the Enemy" starts off well about two teams sent to the moon to set up camp. They both end up disappearing and (in an unintentionally funny scene) we find out what the enemy is. Hard to believe that Rod Serling wrote it. The only good thing about it is that it's short.