The Cheaters
- Episode aired Dec 27, 1960
- 1h
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
330
YOUR RATING
A man invents a pair of glasses that can see the truth in others and oneself. They lead to a series of suicides, murders, and tragedies for the wearers.A man invents a pair of glasses that can see the truth in others and oneself. They lead to a series of suicides, murders, and tragedies for the wearers.A man invents a pair of glasses that can see the truth in others and oneself. They lead to a series of suicides, murders, and tragedies for the wearers.
Photos
Bess Flowers
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsIn the fourth act, Sebastian Grimm claims that the cheaters have caused five deaths. The number is six: Charlie, Mr. and Mrs. Henshaw, Clarence Kramer, Miriam Olcott and Edward Dean, in that order.
Featured review
Among the handful of truly terrifying episodes, the very best the series could offer
After 14 episodes that may charitably be described as less than thrilling, virtually all crime entries with occasional tension but no genuine background in supernatural terrors, enter "The Cheaters" from a 1947 Robert Bloch story published in WEIRD TALES, adapted in superior fashion by Donald S. Sanford and directed with stylish glee by veteran John Brahm. For the first time, viewers experience a greater fear factor than ever before, a gloomy tone immediately set by the Jerry Goldsmith score accompanying our introduction to Henry Daniell as Dirk Van Prinn, renowned 19th century alchemist and creator of a pair of spectacles engraved with the Latin phrase 'Veritas' (meaning 'Truth'), whose mirror reflection after donning them proves so horrifying that he hangs himself before morning. His failure to destroy those lenses means that more people will learn not so much the truth about themselves as what is revealed in the hidden thoughts of those devious charlatans around them, each character arc captured neatly in separate segments primed to close for every commercial break. Paul Newlan's Joe Henshaw is a modern day junkman who finds the glasses inside a secret panel in Van Prinn's decayed lab, mocked for his penniless existence by his wife (Linda Watkins) and young assistant (Ed Nelson), soon to learn that their clandestine affair and lust for riches means an early grave for Joe, beating the lovers to death with a crowbar before a policeman (John Mitchum) guns him down reaching for 'the cheaters.' Top billed Mildred Dunnock is then introduced as Miriam Olcott, the aging aunt to ambitious socialite Edward Dean (Jack Weston), forever despairing over 'Mother Olcott' and her disconcerting bad habits, a seemingly innocent face hiding a dishonest sneak thief. She can only confide her fears to caregiving trustee Clarence Kramer (Dayton Lummis), and after purchasing Van Prinn's spectacles finds that she is to become the victim of an 'accident' perpetrated by Clarence once they're alone in the house. A fitting defense by hat pin precedes the two being engulfed in flames by a careless glass of brandy, allowing the Deans to inherit Miriam's wealth and hopeful status in the eyes of a suspicious community, a costume ball where Edward is dressed as Benjamin Franklin resulting in his trying on the Van Prinn glasses during a game of poker, revealing his most influential guest a card cheat hiding two aces. The resulting scuffle sees unpublished author Sebastian Grimm (Harry Townes) accidentally killing their outraged host, curious about the lenses that Dean had worn which allowed him access to each man's thoughts. Grimm's ambitions get the better of him, financial success outweighing any fears as he plans to visit the rotting Van Prinn house to don the spectacles at the stroke of midnight, seated in the same chair where the previous owner was driven to take his own life. A masterpiece from start to finish, bolstered by a strong cast, Jack Weston's serious turn more convincing than his later incarnation in "Flowers of Evil." Miriam Olcott is the one character who proves to be no paragon of virtue with her predilection for taking things that don't belong to her, for once we can imagine her being wrong and remain absorbed in watching every step of this self awakening. The finale fittingly caps the circular nature of 'what goes around, comes around,' Henry Daniell's facial expressions denoting stark terror without dialogue, to Harry Townes in a nightmare enhancing makeup job from unheralded Jack Barron. The very best THRILLERs offered up deliciously bleak atmosphere and an uncompromising climax denied a happy ending, it all begins right here and continues with the following episode, William Shatner's "The Hungry Glass."
helpful•60
- kevinolzak
- Dec 20, 2021
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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