Episode 14, "Death and the Other Monkey" opens with biologist Guy Wallingford (Richard Burrell) insisting that his test monkey has not only been stolen, but also replaced, while his two associates, Nell Lawrence (Gudrun Ure) and Clarence Bartow (Victor Platt), both deny that the animal was ever taken. All three are conducting cancer research for the acclaimed Sir George Watkins (Percy Marmont, whose daughter Patricia appeared in the future episode "Error at Daybreak"), the former boy wonder who achieved his initial success over 30 years before (shades of Dr. Richard Daystrom in STAR TREK's "The Ultimate Computer"). Nell is now engaged to Clarence, which doesn't sit well with the love-stricken Guy, who is later found dead in his apartment, suffocated by gas while he slept. Inspector Ames (Ewan Roberts) is convinced it was suicide, but Colonel March believes otherwise, and the solution brings to mind the plot of an 1878 novel called "The Leavenworth Case," which inspired two Hollywood versions, one in 1923, the other in 1936. Future director John Schlesinger, who did the 1969 Academy Award-winning "Midnight Cowboy," was an actor until 1963, and his appearance as the dutch cook Thornbull is the final link to the chain of events that lead to the killer's identity. Karloff really enjoys playing this sophisticated investigator, who displays many of the actor's own quirky characteristics and humor.
Review of Death and the Other Monkey
