Returning to the Night Gallery this Saturday...

...I had a thought about going the distance, making an afternoon of it.

Among the many tales of mystery and horror that were produced by Night Gallery, perhaps “The Return of the Sorcerer” is among the most remembered. And why not when you have Vincent Price—coming out of a very successful 60s, soon to be downsizing his workload as the 70s continued—as the lead along with a young Bill Bixby, not to mention, an alluring, sensual Tisha Sterling in the cast? Sterling, in particular, stands out as the enigmatic Fern, seemingly the protégé and companion of Price’s John Carnby, soon to be revealed as so much more…powerful. Bixby, as the naïve [and easily manipulated and seduced] authority in translating Arabic to Latin (or English), Noel, gets in quite over his head but can’t seem to leave when the going’s good. I have written about this in the past, of course, as it definitely captivates if just because of Price’s facial expressions of anxiety and terror, but this performance is very much in league to those who followed his work in the 60s when donning his various Poe adaptation character disguises. That panicky and nervy Price remains a constant as he hears shuffling and shambling noises across hard surface, later to be determined as body parts of his twin brother! Bixby has every reason to get the hell out of there but seems too caught in Fern’s web to just give them the slip. And when he reads a Preamble from the Necronomicon that seals his own fate, later still, despite actually seeing a severed hand and foot moving on a floor towards the worship room in the mansion, won’t get out of the mansion. He and Fern embrace in a kiss and she never assures him in response to a query about suffering for actually reading the accursed passage about the translator of the Arabic text calling to light a revenge that is possible, a victim dismembered and hewn apart returning to get even with his murderer. Whatever the case Price “going quiet”, as if frozen in place by the passage, now understanding his brother would return to bring about a similar fate to him in kind, is quite a hoot. I know some were critical of Price for his “overacting” or expressive acting, using his entire body at times to get a point across—scared shitless or wrought with fear—but I just love seeing him work. And this episode has all the Satanic iconography that might be of interest to those who enjoy that kind of art design and decorum…the house, its many walls and floors, the lit candles, and all its furnishings fit the aesthetic. Going through the third season of Night Gallery, I figure few will feature, at least in its dialogue and what is asserted, carefully avoiding any gore but describing it in detail, painting a picture without showing it, will match this episode in terms of pure horror and touches of black humor. Sterling is the one who gets the naughtier, darker side of the overall story across, never necessarily bluntly doing so but with a wink and a grin. And she uses her seductive edge to win over Noel so he will do her bidding and remove the sorcerer(s) from the equation. She wants and achieves to secure total power. And the inclusion of the black goat—Price refers to as “father”—at the dinner table and later sitting where Carnby once did (as well as Noel when he was translating the forbidden text out loud) is a nice touch. 4/5