Science Fiction Theater – Death at 2 A.M. - S 1 E 9 -1955
Notes by Bill Russo - watch for free on YouTube!
A scientist discovers a strength serum that gives a monkey the chance to escape his incarceration by twisting the iron bars of his cage into pretzels! Did the simian do the same thing to the hulking guy who was blackmailing the professor's assistant?
Familiar face Ted DeCorsia (if not familiar name) plays the dogged cop who's trying to untwist this tangled mystery. The professor is played by another actor whose face is far more familiar than his name – John Quale. Think Norwegian. He must have played guys named Olaf a million times in his career!
The opening scene, shot in sepia, is a deft homage to classic 'noir' with grotesque shadows flying about the screen as a death struggle silently plays out.
This may not be the best episode of SFT, but any entry in this series is automatically worth watching. It is the ninth episode, (in color) of the first season.
Before the Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, and the Outer Limits, there was Science Fiction Theater, which ran from 1955 to 1957. Hosted by Truman Bradley, a radio/TV announcer and 1940s film actor, each episode of Science Fiction Theater introduced stories based on scientific or pseudo scientific Principles. The tales usually related to the life or work of scientists, engineers, inventors, and explorers. The program concentrated on such concepts as space flight, robots, telepathy, flying saucers, time travel, and the intervention of extraterrestrials in human affairs. Broadcasting a total of 78 25–26 minute episodes, I t was also known as Beyond The Limits for repeat syndication during the 1960s, and alternatively as Science Fiction Theater.
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Far ahead of its time, SFT never really was able to grab a large audience for a few reasons, all of which were beyond the control of the producers. The series could not find a home on network TV, so it was sold to stations on a syndicated basis. It was generally shown on Saturday nights, which was a very good TV night back in the 50s. But it was hard to draw viewers because Saturday night belonged to Gunsmoke (ran for 20 years), The Lawrence Welk Show (still running after about 70 years!), Perry Mason, and Richard Boone’s series Have Gun Will Travel.
SFT disappeared after the 78th and final episode, but thanks to YouTube and other venues, it is slowly gaining cult status and recognition.
Before the Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, and the Outer Limits, there was Science Fiction Theater, which ran from 1955 to 1957. Hosted by Truman Bradley, a radio/TV announcer and 1940s film actor, each episode of Science Fiction Theater introduced stories based on scientific or pseudo-scientific Principles.
The tales usually related to the life or work of scientists, engineers, inventors, and explorers. The program concentrated on such concepts as space flight, robots, telepathy, flying saucers, time travel, and the intervention of extraterrestrials in human affairs. Broadcasting a total of 78 25–26 minute episodes, I t was also known as Beyond The Limits for repeat syndication during the 1960s, and alternatively as Science Fiction Theater.
The producers were an early adopter of ‘color’ TV. All of the season one episodes were produced in color, which was an expensive extra in the early days of TV. In season two, they apparently decided the extra expense was not warranted, so all of the second season episodes are in black and white.
Broadcasting a total of 78 episodes, I t was also known as Beyond The Limits for repeat syndication during the 1960s, and alternatively as Science Fiction Theater.
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