Catching Up

Lately I've been watching old TV that I missed the first time around.  I was only 5 when the series Thriller started up; it's a good thing I discovered it on Netflix, because it had many good episodes.

The Host of Thriller

Most of the plots had supernatural elements.  I've just finished season 1, in which I saw a very young William Shatner in  two episodes; but the fun doesn't stop there!  In The Hungry Glass Shatner played opposite Russell Johnson (a.k.a. the Professor on Gilligan's Island).  In The Grim Reaper Shatner was joined by Natalie Schafer (a.k.a. Eunice 'Lovey' Wentworth Howell on Gilligan's Island).  Small world!  What are the chances of running across two people from the same island?

So my Thriller-watching inspired me to seek out Thriller-host Boris Karloff's lesser-known films.  First I saw The Man Who Changed His Mind (1936), which was a classic mad-scientist story with the familiar theme of mind transplant.  By working really, really hard, Dr. Laurence manages to construct a machine that switches minds into different bodies.  But the scientific world won't even give him a chance to demonstrate his machine; they just walked away scoffing.  Then Laurence thinks of a practical use for his machine when his backer threatens to take away his lab...  Another noteworthy aspect of this flick is its strong female character, the lovely Dr. Clare Wyatt, who ends up saving the day at the end.