'The Return of the Sorcerer'. The first single-segment episode of the series, this was scripted by Halsted Welles, based on a story by Clark Ashton Smith, and directed by extremely prolific 'Night Gallery' director Jeannot Szwarc. Vincent Price stars as John Carnby, a sorcerer who hires young Noel Evans (Bill Bixby) to translate some ancient Arabic texts for him. Noel learns that the two translators before him quit, and for good reason: uttering a particular passage (involving hot coals and dismemberment) will leave a curse on the person doing the reading.
Price is a delight as always, and he IS in his element: a theatrical role in a wonderfully macabre genre tale. Price lends all the needed gravitas that the tale needs, although the sexy Tisha Sterling is equally delightful as a devious young woman living in Prices' abode. Bixby is an excellent "straight man" as a character with no particular love or affinity for the occult, just an appreciation for the Arabic language. He's understandably hesitant at taking the assignment, and his uneasiness naturally proves to be totally warranted, during a genuinely weird second half. This involves Sterling kissing a toad, and a black goat seated at a dinner table! Carnby, who is haunted by repeated scraping sounds, has a nasty history with his late brother, and this is paid off fairly well, although this viewer wouldn't blame others if they didn't feel a complete sense of satisfaction with the ending. After all, the episode is left fairly open-ended.
Director Szwarc DOES have a good flair for the macabre with the way he is able to keep the tension increasing, and the set decoration is 100% effective. Good atmosphere, too: the halls and rooms of this house often fill up with smoke. Bixby, Sterling, and genre icon Price keep things moving along quite nicely. Oddly enough, this episode only runs a half hour, unlike most in the series' run.
Seven out of 10.