Three bland half hour stories of which the first is the best of the trio. Considering the authors involved it’s a real disappointment. All three are introduced by Eamonn Andrews.
#1: A supernatural dark comedy based on “In The Picture” by Roderick Wilkinson. The glass shatters on a painting and out walks Mr X (Alan Badel) the unknown artist. Tour guide Mr.Jarvis discovers the broken glass but not Mr.X While leading a group around he points out where some items are missing. After seeing the glass he reports it to his boss.
Now he’s alone in the gallery and sees a man sitting on a bench looking at the painting. It’s a run down house on a path with fog. Jarvis says it looks deserted and needs a light in a window. Mr.X tells him to get closer to the painting. He knocks on the door with his cane and it opens. The two are now in the painting. That’s where Mr.X lives along with a woman and a weird butterfly collector named Mr.Snyder.
Jarvis looks around and spots all the missing items from the museum. That’s just the beginning of his trouble. This one does have a good sense of fun despite the dark subject matter.
#2: Straight ahead murder mystery based on “You Killed Elizabeth” by Mike Shayne creator Brett Halliday. George Wheeler and Edgar Curtain have been best friends since childhood. In college Edgar likes his booze but it causes blackouts. A few years later they open an advertising agency together and share an apartment.
Edgar goes a way to settle a big contract. George goes to a concert and meets Elizabeth Grange and falls hard for her. When Edgar returns he introduces him to Elizabeth. Bad move. A few days later George meets Edgar at a pub. He’s drunk and announces his engagement to Elizabeth. George takes out her apartment key and calls Elizabeth a tramp. He and Edgar start to brawl but it’s quickly broken up.
The next morning George sees in the paper that Elizabeth has been murdered. Edgar comes home drunk with blood on his hands and jacket. They agree on an alibi. The police buy it and the newspapers report no leads in the case. But then…..
@3: Psychological drama based on “Lord Mountdrago” by W.Somerset Maugham. In the House of Commons, Foreign Secretary Lord Mountdrago (Orson Welles) humiliates opposition member Owen (Alan Badel). Owen tells him he’ll return the favor and crush his spirit.
That night Mountdrago has a dream that he was being mocked at an exclusive party because he forgot his pants. Owen is there laughing at him. The next day in his office Mountdrago is tired from rehearsing a speech he is to give that night and lies down on the couch. He dreams he’s given the speech and then all of a sudden starts singing “A Bicycle Built For Two.” Owen calls for his resignation. The next day in the House Owen quotes from the song.
Mountdrago’s wife has him see a psychoanalyst. He tells him he feels guilty for destroying Owen’s career. Mountdrago doesn’t buy it. Now he dreams he’s making a fool of himself at a party. He spots Owen and hits him with a bottle. When he wakes up Owen is on a couch behind him and says he feels like he’s been hit on the head with a bottle.
The doctor tells Mountdrago to apologize to Owen. He refuses and says he has a better solution. This isn’t very good and if it was supposed to be even a bit chilly it totally misses.
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