User Reviews

Clever Robert Bloch story about a pair of spectacles (hence the title) that lets the wearer see the truth about oneself and others. The spectacles' inventor hangs himself after trying them on, and they turn up years later in an estate sale. Each subsequent wearer meets a ghastly fate. Mildred Dunnock, Jack Weston and Harry Townes lend this creepy episode plenty of class and suspense. The episode is one of the supernatural ones, which I always preferred to the standard crime episodes, which often felt like old-fashioned stage plays. Even though we know where this episode is headed, it is full of shocks and surprises, right to the bitter end. Highly recommended.

Classic episode of the series was well-remembered by fans. An inventor(played by Henry Daniell) creates a unique pair of eyeglasses that enable the wearer to see the truth in themselves and others. This sight drives the inventor to suicide, and decades later, when his house is being searched for treasures, is found by junk dealer Joe Henshaw(played by Paul Newlan) whose life is ruined when he tries them on. The glasses then come into the possession of an old woman(played by Mildred Dunnock), her son-in-law(played by Jack Weston), and finally author Sebastian Grimm(played by Harry Townes), all of whom can't handle the truth either... Most effective horror story is among the best, with a memorable closing scene.

With this episode, the bar had been set VERY high indeed for "Thriller". It's amazing to see how a series which had until recently been churning out "Big Blackout" and "Man in the Middle" could turn around and unleash this one on an unsuspecting public.

I love Karloff's entrance onscreen, as the camera pans away from Henry Daniell's horror-stricken face, with Boris then appearing as if walking through a field of blackness. Wonderful structure to the teleplay and an excellent production in every way.

I am always intrigued by the actual HOUSE that was selected for the Van Prynn residence; it's hardly a typical haunted mansion, and one wonders how the Act 4 action could have taken place in such a small-ish, mundane looking structure. But that's perhaps part of the mystique of the show.

Harry Townes does an excellent job in a pivotal role. Townes could chew the scenery with the best of 'em, but here he stops just short, creating a portrait of an eccentric, pompous and very driven man. And let's not forget the always impressive Dayton Lummis as Clarence, who does a nice job of taking a gigantic knitting needle through the heart. Ouch! And, of course, the great Henry Daniell makes the first of his five appearances in the series; what a stroke of brilliance to hire this greatest (and my favorite) of old-time Hollywood villains.

A terrific introduction to "Thriller" for the uninitiated; it really typifies what this show could accomplish when everything and everyone was functioning at peak level, starting with Robert Bloch's deliciously wicked script.

The true glory period of "Thriller" still lay some months ahead, but "The Cheaters" set the standard. A true classic. LR

"The Cheaters" is one of the better episodes of "Thriller" and it was written by Robert Bloch...the same guy who wrote the screenplay for "Psycho". It's filled with weird supernatural stuff....and most "Thriller" episodes with these elements were among the better ones.

The show begins with a man (Henry Daniell) inventing glasses which immediately drove him to suicide. Then, years pass until they come into the possession of a junk dealer....and ultimately wearing the glasses led to murder and early death. And, this same pattern continues...with folks putting on the glasses and the glasses ruining them. I could bore you with more details...but it's best you just see it yourself.

In many ways, this is like the "Twilight Zone" episode with a camera that predicts the future....and it about equally enjoyable and well written.

Directed by John Brahm from a story by Robert Bloch, host Boris Karloff. Recluse Dierke Van Prinn (Henry Daniell) tries on his latest invention, a pair of yellow-tinted spectacles, before a mirror and soon hangs himself. Centuries later, the glasses are unearthed during an estate sale and a trail of murder and suicide follow as "the cheaters" are passed from wearer to wearer showing things as they really are. Guest star Mildred Dunnock. John Brahm had directed the atmospheric Period Noirs THE LODGER (1944) and HANGOVER SQUARE (1945).

Boris Karloff's THRILLER (NBC 1960-1962) anthology series lasted only two seasons because it couldn't make up its mind as to just what a "thriller" was. The episodes alternated between noir-like crime stories and supernatural horror tales which left the show without a central target audience. As a Horror/Noir enthusiast, this series has lingered long in my memory -and not just for sentimental reasons going back to childhood. Episodes vary but, overall, its a rewarding experience for anyone interested.

Finally a show worth its salt. Written by Robert Bloch, who wrote for Twilight Zone and was the author of the book Hitchcock used for "Psycho," penned this screenplay. It involves a pair of "cheaters," those cheap glasses we buy when we are older and just need a mild correction (i.e. reading glasses). In early America, a man invents spectacles that allow one to see the thoughts of others. He goes mad when he tries them on and hangs himself. The story now follows the life of the glasses as the wearers experience a series of disastrous events. The fun come in the seamless way they find their way from person to person. Unlike most of the other offerings in this anthology, this is not the hackneyed, fill-in-the-blank plot that most of them have. By far the best of all the episodes to date.

After 14 episodes that may charitably be described as less than thrilling, virtually all crime entries with occasional tension but no genuine background in supernatural terrors, enter "The Cheaters" from a 1947 Robert Bloch story published in WEIRD TALES, adapted in superior fashion by Donald S. Sanford and directed with stylish glee by veteran John Brahm. For the first time, viewers experience a greater fear factor than ever before, a gloomy tone immediately set by the Jerry Goldsmith score accompanying our introduction to Henry Daniell as Dirk Van Prinn, renowned 19th century alchemist and creator of a pair of spectacles engraved with the Latin phrase 'Veritas' (meaning 'Truth'), whose mirror reflection after donning them proves so horrifying that he hangs himself before morning. His failure to destroy those lenses means that more people will learn not so much the truth about themselves as what is revealed in the hidden thoughts of those devious charlatans around them, each character arc captured neatly in separate segments primed to close for every commercial break. Paul Newlan's Joe Henshaw is a modern day junkman who finds the glasses inside a secret panel in Van Prinn's decayed lab, mocked for his penniless existence by his wife (Linda Watkins) and young assistant (Ed Nelson), soon to learn that their clandestine affair and lust for riches means an early grave for Joe, beating the lovers to death with a crowbar before a policeman (John Mitchum) guns him down reaching for 'the cheaters.' Top billed Mildred Dunnock is then introduced as Miriam Olcott, the aging aunt to ambitious socialite Edward Dean (Jack Weston), forever despairing over 'Mother Olcott' and her disconcerting bad habits, a seemingly innocent face hiding a dishonest sneak thief. She can only confide her fears to caregiving trustee Clarence Kramer (Dayton Lummis), and after purchasing Van Prinn's spectacles finds that she is to become the victim of an 'accident' perpetrated by Clarence once they're alone in the house. A fitting defense by hat pin precedes the two being engulfed in flames by a careless glass of brandy, allowing the Deans to inherit Miriam's wealth and hopeful status in the eyes of a suspicious community, a costume ball where Edward is dressed as Benjamin Franklin resulting in his trying on the Van Prinn glasses during a game of poker, revealing his most influential guest a card cheat hiding two aces. The resulting scuffle sees unpublished author Sebastian Grimm (Harry Townes) accidentally killing their outraged host, curious about the lenses that Dean had worn which allowed him access to each man's thoughts. Grimm's ambitions get the better of him, financial success outweighing any fears as he plans to visit the rotting Van Prinn house to don the spectacles at the stroke of midnight, seated in the same chair where the previous owner was driven to take his own life. A masterpiece from start to finish, bolstered by a strong cast, Jack Weston's serious turn more convincing than his later incarnation in "Flowers of Evil." Miriam Olcott is the one character who proves to be no paragon of virtue with her predilection for taking things that don't belong to her, for once we can imagine her being wrong and remain absorbed in watching every step of this self awakening. The finale fittingly caps the circular nature of 'what goes around, comes around,' Henry Daniell's facial expressions denoting stark terror without dialogue, to Harry Townes in a nightmare enhancing makeup job from unheralded Jack Barron. The very best THRILLERs offered up deliciously bleak atmosphere and an uncompromising climax denied a happy ending, it all begins right here and continues with the following episode, William Shatner's "The Hungry Glass."