Classic Horrors Club

Mr. Shim (Herbert Berghof) is being evicted from his home for an urban renewal project… and he doesn’t want to leave. All his friends and neighbors have gone and one is even used by the developers to try to convince him. Most of “And the Bones Came Together” is a drama about the battle of wills between two men: Mr. Shim and Robert (Laurence Luckinbill), the developer in charge of relocations.

The rest of this installment of The Classic Ghosts is, if not a typical ghost story, a supernatural story with curses, hauntings, and possessions. On both counts, the drama and the supernatural, “And the Bones Came Together” attempts too much. It’s at times dull and repetitive, and therefore seems too long. It’s also rooted deep in Jewish mysticism and I’m just not knowledgeable on the subject. I respect it, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it. 

Directed by Henry Kaplan, who directed 293 episodes of Dark Shadows, according to IMDb, the story has its creepy moments. There’s even a musical “stinger” that evokes the music of Bob Cobert. (I don’t know who did the music for The Classic Ghosts, but the series has a lovely theme.) No scene surpasses the first few minutes of the movie, though, when the gravestone of Judith Shim begins bleeding.

Robert’s pregnant wife, Joyce (Robin Strasser), steals much of the show with her reactions to what her husband is experiencing. She’s a believer, unlike Robert’s boss, Roy (Earle Hyman.) The one successful moment combining the drama and supernatural is when Joyce stands at Judith’s grave begging her to leave Robert alone. She weeps for Judith to take her if she wants, but let her husband be a father.

Strasser is soap opera royalty, starting her career in The Secret Storm, then appearing in Somerset, Another World, Passions, All My Children, and the one from which I recognized her, One Life to Live. She ended her career with 20 episodes of Days of Our Lives in 2019. She fits well with the soapy look and feel of “And the Bones Came Together” and The Classic Ghosts in general. I enjoyed watching her more than anything else.

Next week: The Haunting of Rosalind…