Lou Jacobi stars as Harvey Turman in this niftily macabre episode (written by Haskell Barkin), a man whose back nags at him just as surely as his wife Nadine (Peggy Cass) does. She doesn't offer him much understanding or support, and most men would likely find her to be annoying. Harvey goes to see a mysterious doctor named Roebuck (Farley Granger) who offers a simple yet ghoulish solution: get rid of the back pain by also getting rid of the woman who is a pain in the ass. Harvey doesn't take him too seriously, but agrees to the deal. Of course, the wife dies in an accident - however, we find out it was absolutely no accident - and Harvey realizes that there is no deal breaking with this nefarious new presence in his life. This episode is really more about dark humour than anything else, and is a fair deal of fun. The casting of Granger is very appropriate considering his role in the legendary Hitchcock thriller "Strangers on a Train", and the actor seems to be having a whale of a time in the role. Cass is likewise well cast as the wife, and the likable Jacobi plays a nebbish with comedic flair. The direction is courtesy of Armand Mastroianni ("He Knows You're Alone") and future Spike Lee cinematographer and feature director Ernest Dickerson serves as the director of photography here. A nice touch is to have the Turmans watch "Night of the Living Dead" on TV; that films' director George A. Romero was one of the executive producers and an occasional writer on this show. Any person whose aggravations and tension manifest themselves physically should find some sympathy for Harvey, and it's a real source of amusement when the poor guy has to keep the cycle of "pain killing" going. Good stuff. Seven out of 10.
12 Reviews
Another bizarre Tales from the Darkside episode...
poolandrews16 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Tales from the Darkside: Pain Killer starts as Harvey Turman (Lou Jacobi) collapses in pain in his kitchen while picking up a teaspoon (!), his back has gone although the following day at the hospital Dr. Roebuck (Farley Granger) says there is no physical reason for it. Two months pass without Harvey being able to work & the constant nagging from his overbearing wife Nadine (Peggy Cass) isn't making his recovery any easier, then out of the blue Dr. Roebuck phones Harvey to claim he can guarantee to cure his back pain. Harvey talks to him & discovers Roebuck has a very unusual proposal for curing his pain...
Episode 3 from season 1 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during October 1984, the first of four Tales from the Darkside episodes to be directed by Armand Mastroianni I have to admit I thought Pain Killer was clever & amusing little horror anthology piece. The script by Haskell Barkin has an amusing premise & is probably the first Tales from the Darkside episode to have a sense of black humour running through it, the bickering between Harvey & Nadine is funny on it's own & the revelation by Dr. Roebuck that cause of his pain is his wife just sits so well & works perfectly! I didn't quite get the end & thought it was a bit rushed & left too many questions unanswered but I also thought there was a certain amount of fun in not knowing & having to come up with the explanations myself. There's a line at one point where Nadine says 'computers are the future', the guy who wrote this (back in 1984 when computers were still the size of a small shed) was bloody right wasn't he? At only 20 odd minutes it moves along like a rocket & is a neat story with an unexpected twist at the end which isn't perfect but does satisfy.
At the start of Pain Killer Nadine & Harvey are watching Night of the Living Dead (1968) which was directed by George A. Romero who was I think connected with this show in some capacity. There's nothing particularly scary in this episode & relies on a dark story & black humour for it's shocks & twists. The acting is good especially the Turman's who have a definite chemistry even if it's not a flattering one!
Pain Killer is a good story which I liked, apart from a slightly odd ending I thought it worked very well & was worth the 20 minutes it took to watch it...
Episode 3 from season 1 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during October 1984, the first of four Tales from the Darkside episodes to be directed by Armand Mastroianni I have to admit I thought Pain Killer was clever & amusing little horror anthology piece. The script by Haskell Barkin has an amusing premise & is probably the first Tales from the Darkside episode to have a sense of black humour running through it, the bickering between Harvey & Nadine is funny on it's own & the revelation by Dr. Roebuck that cause of his pain is his wife just sits so well & works perfectly! I didn't quite get the end & thought it was a bit rushed & left too many questions unanswered but I also thought there was a certain amount of fun in not knowing & having to come up with the explanations myself. There's a line at one point where Nadine says 'computers are the future', the guy who wrote this (back in 1984 when computers were still the size of a small shed) was bloody right wasn't he? At only 20 odd minutes it moves along like a rocket & is a neat story with an unexpected twist at the end which isn't perfect but does satisfy.
At the start of Pain Killer Nadine & Harvey are watching Night of the Living Dead (1968) which was directed by George A. Romero who was I think connected with this show in some capacity. There's nothing particularly scary in this episode & relies on a dark story & black humour for it's shocks & twists. The acting is good especially the Turman's who have a definite chemistry even if it's not a flattering one!
Pain Killer is a good story which I liked, apart from a slightly odd ending I thought it worked very well & was worth the 20 minutes it took to watch it...
Absolutely moronic in every sense of the word
callanvass6 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Harvey Truman's back flares up one night, and he's forced to sleep on the kitchen floor with debilitating back pain. He sees a man, lurking outside the window, but nobody believes him. Dr. Roebuck figures nothing is physically wrong, but mentally is a different story. Dr. Roebuck suggests that the pain stems from anxiety from his wife. In lieu of lamenting his anger towards her, Dr. Roebuck recommends he kills his wife to get rid of the pain once and for all. I didn't care for this episode at all. One thing I've noticed about this show is the lack of coherency, when it comes to stories. Up until the weird twist at the end, this episode makes virtually no sense. I kept thinking, why is the doctor this twisted, what is his motivation? It all comes full circle at the end, but I no longer cared. It features very poor acting and no likable characters what so ever. Harvey is an idiot, his wife Nadine is one of the most abrasive characters I've ever seen, and I just found myself getting angrier as the episode moved along. The only thing I'll give this episode credit for is that it's never really boring, and it features a correct statement about how computers are the future. I don't understand all the positive reviews for this episode, but oh, well. I think it's distinctly average
5/10
5/10
Pain Killer
Scarecrow-8810 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Harvey is in quite a dilemma. He works in the parts department of an auto dealership, but his shrewish wife, Nadine, always with demands and expectations, wants him (well, basically forces him) to study for a computer programming test so they can have a better income. Because Nadine never lets up, and only seems concerned with her own benefits, Harvey suffers severe back pain, tension deriving from her constant nagging, and cannot go back to work. With not a lick of sympathy, Nadine just tears into Harvey, no matter his pain, and it is taking its toll. Harvey's doctor, Roebuck (Farley Granger), offers a solution, a cure if you will, to the man's back pain—offing his wife! Clever casting of Farley Granger (Strangers on a Train) as the doctor who *arranges* for his patients to *be rid* of their problems, expecting them to return the favor. Peggy Cass is perfectly cast as Nadine, a woman who would grate on basically anyone's nerves. Lou Jacobi is ideal casting for the hapless victim, preyed upon by not only his ungrateful wife, but by the man who was supposed to heal him from his pain; his character is quite familiar to anyone who knows of the father or husband who tolerates his wife's never-ceasing griping and complaining, quietly burying the hostility to the point that it effects him physically and emotionally. Making an appearance is George Romero's classic "Night of the Living Dead", the movie Nadine is watching when Harvey has his first back episode.
A pain in the Butt
kapelusznik186 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
****SPOILERS*** Suffering from chronic back pain to the point where he can't get out of bed or, when he falls, off the floor car dealer Harvey Truman, Lou Jacobi, goes to visit Doctor Reobuck, Farley Granger, for help. It's the very same Dr. Roebuck that he saw was standing in his window-like a ghost-the night he fell and was unable to get up off the floor. The Doc recommends that Harvey's back and pain problems would be cured if he murders his nagging wife Nadine, Peggy Cass, who in his opinion is the cause of them!
Feeling that Doc. Roebuck is either a nut quack or homicidal lunatic Harvey as much has he would like to desist in killing Nadine not that he feels that much for her but it, if caught and convicted, would put him behind bars for the rest of his life. It's then as if by magic the very next day Nadine is killed in a car accident while out shopping and his back pain completely disappears! Not only that he get a visit from the woman Ann Tracey, Fay Sappington, who was behind the wheel of the car that killed Nadine two weeks later to apologize for what she did and ask for forgiveness!
***SPOILERS*** A confused Harvey goes to see Doc Roebuck to explain what happened and is surprised that Mrs. Tracy was in fact involved with him in getting Nadine killed! That's for a favor Dr. Roebuck did for her in curing the terrible back pain that she was suffering from! And now like it or not it's Harvey's turn to do a favor for another client of Dr. Roebuck in him killing the person who was causing him or her pain unless Harvey wants the pain that he just overcame to come back far worse then it was before!
Feeling that Doc. Roebuck is either a nut quack or homicidal lunatic Harvey as much has he would like to desist in killing Nadine not that he feels that much for her but it, if caught and convicted, would put him behind bars for the rest of his life. It's then as if by magic the very next day Nadine is killed in a car accident while out shopping and his back pain completely disappears! Not only that he get a visit from the woman Ann Tracey, Fay Sappington, who was behind the wheel of the car that killed Nadine two weeks later to apologize for what she did and ask for forgiveness!
***SPOILERS*** A confused Harvey goes to see Doc Roebuck to explain what happened and is surprised that Mrs. Tracy was in fact involved with him in getting Nadine killed! That's for a favor Dr. Roebuck did for her in curing the terrible back pain that she was suffering from! And now like it or not it's Harvey's turn to do a favor for another client of Dr. Roebuck in him killing the person who was causing him or her pain unless Harvey wants the pain that he just overcame to come back far worse then it was before!
Great Episode
claudio_carvalho10 March 2022
Harvey Turman is a middle-aged man that while watching "The Night of the Living Dead", has a terrible back pain and needs to sleep on the floor of the kitchen. His wife Nadine torments him with her shopping and wishes that he learns computer programming to make more money. He visits Dr. Roebuck, who does not find anything wrong with him, and concludes that his pain is caused by his obnoxious wife. The he suggests means to literally kill the cause of his pain, and soon Harvey learns who Dr. Roebuck really is.
"Pain Killer" is a great episode of "Tales from the Darkside". Only who has already had back pain can feel the suffering of Harvey Turman. The conclusion is also excellent à la "Strangers on a Train". My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Pain Killer"
"Pain Killer" is a great episode of "Tales from the Darkside". Only who has already had back pain can feel the suffering of Harvey Turman. The conclusion is also excellent à la "Strangers on a Train". My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Pain Killer"
Middling, but watch it for an old star
Leofwine_draca5 April 2015
PAIN KILLER is a straightforward episode of the then-new TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE TV series. Episode 3 of the first season, it tells of a man crippled by chronic back pain, who visits a doctor begging for pain relief. The doctor gives it to him in the form of a deal - kill his nagging wife, and he'll be cured.
It's one of those old 'evil pact' stories and to be honest it's a very middling story. The twist is barely noticeable and the story is so tame that it doesn't really register by modern standards. The production values and calibre of the acting is only just about acceptable. Still, there's one good reason to watch this, and that's Farley Granger. The Hitchcock star, who appeared in the likes of ROPE and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, plays the evil doctor and he's a real hoot; in fact, he's the only thing that stopped me switching off.
It's one of those old 'evil pact' stories and to be honest it's a very middling story. The twist is barely noticeable and the story is so tame that it doesn't really register by modern standards. The production values and calibre of the acting is only just about acceptable. Still, there's one good reason to watch this, and that's Farley Granger. The Hitchcock star, who appeared in the likes of ROPE and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, plays the evil doctor and he's a real hoot; in fact, he's the only thing that stopped me switching off.
The Doctor Knows Best!
ccthemovieman-110 October 2009
I've only seen three episodes of this show but I hope I see a lot more because, so far, these have been very entertaining. This episode is a case-in-point. And...although humor dominates this story, there is a lot of truth about stress being able to cause horrible back pain. Millions of people can relate to that.
Anyway, only four actors participate in this story, but three are "known" actors: Farley Granger, Lou Jacobi and Peggy Cass. All three do a great job in here. The fourth, Fay Sappington (nice name!), has a one-scene role as an old lady with a guilty conscience.
Granger was known more for his films; Jacobi for his TV work and Cass for her game-show participation. Anyway, they are all fine actors and fun to watch in this goofy story. It's a predictable story but it's still very entertaining.
Poor "Harvey" (Jacobi) is married to "Nadine" (Cass), a spoiled woman who mostly thinks about herself. She's pressuring her wimpy husband to learn computer programing. You have to remember, that was a pretty new field when this TV show was aired, so computers seemed like a tough way to make a living, especially when you're just a poor blue-collar working stiff like Harvey. But his wife is demanding he learn the trade so he can make a lot more money and she can spend it. The pressure to learn the tough subject is giving Harvey horrible backaches.
Harvey's doctor, "Dr. Roebuck" knows exactly what the problem is, and he guarantees the pain will be gone, Harvey is elated.....until he finds out what must be done to stop the pain. Granger is great in a low-key role.
This is a very funny episode with exaggerated performances, especially by Jacobi, who is a real hoot. Good camera-work provides a number of facial closeups of Jacobi, who gives us some funny expressions.
Anyway, only four actors participate in this story, but three are "known" actors: Farley Granger, Lou Jacobi and Peggy Cass. All three do a great job in here. The fourth, Fay Sappington (nice name!), has a one-scene role as an old lady with a guilty conscience.
Granger was known more for his films; Jacobi for his TV work and Cass for her game-show participation. Anyway, they are all fine actors and fun to watch in this goofy story. It's a predictable story but it's still very entertaining.
Poor "Harvey" (Jacobi) is married to "Nadine" (Cass), a spoiled woman who mostly thinks about herself. She's pressuring her wimpy husband to learn computer programing. You have to remember, that was a pretty new field when this TV show was aired, so computers seemed like a tough way to make a living, especially when you're just a poor blue-collar working stiff like Harvey. But his wife is demanding he learn the trade so he can make a lot more money and she can spend it. The pressure to learn the tough subject is giving Harvey horrible backaches.
Harvey's doctor, "Dr. Roebuck" knows exactly what the problem is, and he guarantees the pain will be gone, Harvey is elated.....until he finds out what must be done to stop the pain. Granger is great in a low-key role.
This is a very funny episode with exaggerated performances, especially by Jacobi, who is a real hoot. Good camera-work provides a number of facial closeups of Jacobi, who gives us some funny expressions.
Could have been a fun story, despite a moderately enjoyable twist.
b_kite7 July 2019
A man suffers from both back pain and his nagging wife. His doctor finds nothing physically wrong, concludes that the problem is caused by latent anger towards his spouse, & suggests uxoricide to kill ALL his pain. This one could have been a fun one, but, sadly it creeps along at a dull as hel pace. Peggy Cass is effectively annoying, so it sucks when you don't get to see her actual death do to budget restraints from this really cheap series. A decent twist sorta saves it, but, its just OK.
Neat comic episode
Woodyanders25 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Harvey Turman (a fine and likable performance by Lou Jacobi) is suffering from severe back pain. His nagging wife Nadine (a delightfully shrewish turn by Peggy Cass) only makes things worse. Fortunately, physician Dr. Roebuck (an excellent portrayal by Farley Granger) comes up with an effective cure. However, the full price for said cure proves to be much more than Harvey bargained for. Director Armand Mastroianni, working from a witty script by Haskell Barkin, relates the enjoyable story at a steady pace and ably mines a nice line in inspired offbeat humor. Jacobi and Cass play off each other quite well; their constant back and forth bickering is a total riot to behold. Fay Sappington has a cute bit as sweet little old lady Mrs. Anne Tracey. The surprise ending is a beaut. A very funny show.
To conquer pain of others kill their nagging relatives!
blanbrn22 February 2009
This "TFTD" episode "Pain Killer" is one of the better ones as far a theme concept of being neat and clever. The plot centers around a man who's an auto worker and handy man type who aspires to become a computer programmer. Yet each day and night his wife is a bother, then all of a sudden the episode takes a twist his back goes out. Yet from doctor care ranging from rest and medication after medication nothing seems to be a fix, then finally strangely the doctor suggest that the man kill his wife as she is the cause! Well strangely she dies, though he thinks it's an accident that happened when an old lady hit her. Only the doc tells him that she was a hired hand. And you guessed it's time to payback as the doc wants this man to take up the killing business to help others get out of their respective pain. At first he has doubts then the back pain reappears, now talk about a decision either live with pain or kill others! Good episode even though the plot theme is showing that the only way to escape pain is to kill others still the idea was neat and clever.
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