This episode features Bikel doing an amazing performance as a crazy man who couldn't possibly exist in real life, but is entertaining as a villain on the screen.
He's a McCarthy character who makes McCarthy look like a teddy bear. He has files on people, and calls their employers to get these people fired. He begins by calling them "communists", and proceeds on to calling them "evil people". Where does he get these files? What does he do for a living to pay the rent? Well, even in 1962, this was a poorly written piece that doesn't explain any of this. But McCarthyism was a big topic, and that sold this story.
Bikels madman character has an imaginary plan to turn all "evil people" into midgets at four O Clock. Lol, by magical will from his mind.
Well, no need for a spoiler. This was predictable even in 1962. It would have been predictable in 1962 BC.
The performance by Bikel makes this worthwhile, but the story is very goofy. The character is even goofier. It's a sort of "Frank Burns" character, or "Dr. Smith", someone who doesn't really exist, but whom some people want to believe exist.
Which makes this very ironic. Had this character been written by a right wing fanatic, he would be a ridiculous hippie who helped a Charles Manson type escape prison and would have been the next victim of the Manson character.
In other words, these characters are just contrived bits of convenience. They're characters that nut jobs much like this character would believe do exist. And that is ironic, but don't look for a real person to be like this. That would make you just like this character.
However, it is very watchable. For that, I credit Bikel.
He's a McCarthy character who makes McCarthy look like a teddy bear. He has files on people, and calls their employers to get these people fired. He begins by calling them "communists", and proceeds on to calling them "evil people". Where does he get these files? What does he do for a living to pay the rent? Well, even in 1962, this was a poorly written piece that doesn't explain any of this. But McCarthyism was a big topic, and that sold this story.
Bikels madman character has an imaginary plan to turn all "evil people" into midgets at four O Clock. Lol, by magical will from his mind.
Well, no need for a spoiler. This was predictable even in 1962. It would have been predictable in 1962 BC.
The performance by Bikel makes this worthwhile, but the story is very goofy. The character is even goofier. It's a sort of "Frank Burns" character, or "Dr. Smith", someone who doesn't really exist, but whom some people want to believe exist.
Which makes this very ironic. Had this character been written by a right wing fanatic, he would be a ridiculous hippie who helped a Charles Manson type escape prison and would have been the next victim of the Manson character.
In other words, these characters are just contrived bits of convenience. They're characters that nut jobs much like this character would believe do exist. And that is ironic, but don't look for a real person to be like this. That would make you just like this character.
However, it is very watchable. For that, I credit Bikel.