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From the days when all television programs were broadcast live: On a
scripted show, father (William Coburn) and daughter (Merle Albertson) are
just discussing the end of the world as such, when the airwaves are
hijacked some way or another, and we see, through a window, Hank (Rod
Steiger) drinking with his wife Jean (Virginia Vincent) and friend Al
(Frank Maxwell). The more drunk Hank gets, the more violent he gets too,
especially towards his wife. After a few minutes, the transmission is lost
again, and everybody on the studiofloor (all playing themselves) is only
trying to figure out what's going on, especially since there is no such
show that fits the drama that was unfolding on the air. At first though,
the studio crew tries not to panic, has announcer Roger De Koven make up
some excuses, and even throws in messages by the sponsor, Kreisler
Watchbands. A short time later though, the view through the window is on
the air again, and it soon becomes clear that Jean is actually cheating on
her husband with Al, and the two are planning to kill Hank by throwing him
out of window. Back on the studio floor, the crew makes desperate
attempts to save the man's life, whichisn't quite as easy, since they
don't even know which window they are peeping into, and when they have
finally figured out the approximate location of Hank's appartment, it's
another matter yet to convince the police - but still, when they finally
succeed, it's already too late, Hank has been thrown out the window to his
death, and all that remains for the studio crew to do is to act as
witnesses against his murderers ... Inspired piece of early
television that actually uses the live broadcast-concept to its full
effect, making it the key point to build up the show's considerable
suspense. Of course, a sober look at the premise reveals how little sense
it makes, but within the show's plot and concept, this doesn't matter one
bit - and all of this of course is helped by an inspired directorial
effort that counterpoints the fixed cameraview through the window with a
camera nervously moving around in the TV-studio, while the crew helplessly
tries to prevent a murder. Probably one of the best and most interesting
television shows of the 1950's.
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find Tales of Tomorrow - The Window at adultvideouniverse.com
