Classic Horrors Club

Before becoming a scapegoat for the demise of once-popular television shows (Star Trek, Space: 1999, and The Six Million Dollar Man), Fred Freiberger was a prolific writer of television westerns who had a couple of big-screen genre credits. He co-wrote The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) and Beginning of the End (1957.) He also wrote one episode of World of Giants (WOG), ‘The Smugglers.’

However, I’ve been promising to profile the director of this and three other episodes, Nathan Juran, and since this is the last one, I want to note his contributions to genre film (and film in general.) Born on September 1, 1907, in what is now Romania, Naftuli Hertz Juran was a professional architect who became an art director in 1937. He won an Oscar (with Richard Day and Thomas Little) for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White for How Green Was My Valley (1941) and was nominated for the same award five years later for The Razor’s Edge (1946.)

After World War II, he became a director of movies, beginning with The Black Castle (1952), featuring Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr.  After a few westerns, he hit his sweet spot (well, our sweet spot) five years later with The Deadly Mantis (1957.) He directed other films ranging from the low end (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, 1958) to the high end (The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad, 1958), including 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) and The Brain from Planet Arous (1957.) 

World of Giants (WOG) was his first foray into television and he continued to direct episodes of sci-fi favorites Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (3), The Time Tunnel (4). Lost in Space (13). and, appropriately, Land of the Giants (5.) His final film was The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973), after which he retired from the movie and TV business. He died of natural causes on October 23, 2002, in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

‘The Smugglers’ is a solid effort, a much-needed improvement following ‘Rainbow of Fire.’ It’s also the second episode to take Mel (Marshall Thompson) and Bill (Arthur Franz) out of the country. Here, they go to Hong Kong to put an end to a smuggling ring that the Chinese government believes is run by the United States government. The situation is blocking release of seven airmen, as the headlines of the Washington Tribune tell us in the very first scene.

My favorite aspect of this episode is an excellent recurring shot where Mel’s briefcase sits on the dresser in a Hong Kong hotel. In the foreground is a cup, oversized due to the perspective. In the background is Bill, going about his business. In the middle is Mel, who then steps toward us and his size becomes evident when he crouches beside the cup. Nearly as well achieved is the effect of Mel going inside a radio on the smuggler’s boat to send a signal to the calvary.

If you enjoy her, Dorothy Brown (Marcia Henderson) is noticeably absent in the episode. I do… sometimes. Here, though, I was distracted by the familiar faces of several others: Walter Reed from How to Make a Monster (1958) and Roy Gordon from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) and The Wasp Woman (1959.) And for my friend, Richard, a Star Trek reference! One of the “Hoods” was played by Harry Landers, who played Dr. Coleman in the season three episode, Turnabout Intruder, produced by… Fred Freiberger.