"The Hungry Glass" is a good example of just how creepy and intense the "Thriller" program from the early 1960s could be. It is a fairly standard haunted house story, but is presented with suspense and even a little wit. Of particular interest to old TV buffs is the fact that the episode features three 1960s television icons in one episode: William Shatner, Russell Johnson and Donna Douglas. Shatner's role as a young married photographer who moves into a "dream house" is practically a dry run for his turn a few years later in the classic "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" episode of "The Twilight Zone," in that his character has had mental breakdown issues in the past, so he does not know if he is really seeing the apparitions or imagining them. Johnson's character, meanwhile, is the rational anchor to the goings-on...again, not unlike his function as the Professor on "Gilligan's Island." As for Douglas, she's just there for eye-candy. She should, however, had played the role of Shatner's wife, since the single biggest problem with this episode is the performance of the actress who did, Joanna Heyes. Heyes is incredibly shrill, clumsy, and amateurish, and the frequent references to her beauty is...well...kind. How, then, did she get the lead? Could the fact that this actress only appeared in TV episodes directed by one Douglas Heyes have something to do with it? If you can get past her, this is an outstanding episode.
16 Reviews
A young couple buys a house with a haunted history. How the house effects them and the real estate agent who sold the house to them is truly terrifying
snicewanger30 April 2014
This was the most frightening television episode I viewed as a child. It was broadcast Thanksgiving night 1960. Thriller was shown on NBC TV Thursday nights at 10 PM so normally I wasn't allowed to stay up and view the program because of school but since it was the holiday I was able to stay up and watch it.
The teleplay was based on horror master Robert Bloch's story "The Hungry Mirrors". Stars William Shatner, Russell Johnson, and Donna Douglas would go on to much bigger things but they give chilling performances in this story. Ottola Nesmith gives another one of her creepy old hag turns wearing virtually the same makeup she wears in her two other Thriller appearances.I always wondered if she and Jeanette Noland had some kind of agreement for Thriller as they both played the same kind of roles usually alternately. Ms Noland always had more dialog, however.But I digress.
The real star of this episode is the house with all its reflections that seem to lead to another more terrifying world. As I said,this episode scared the bejezzuz out of me when I first saw it and it still gives me goose bumps. I have a copy and it always is shown at our Halloween parties. The FX is quite effective and the ending will send chills up and down your spine. Shatner is his usual hammy self with his grim stares and pronouncing each line as though his life depended on it, but for this role it's called. I give it a "9" because the memory of the goosebumps it gave me still makes me smile with pleasure 53 years later.
The teleplay was based on horror master Robert Bloch's story "The Hungry Mirrors". Stars William Shatner, Russell Johnson, and Donna Douglas would go on to much bigger things but they give chilling performances in this story. Ottola Nesmith gives another one of her creepy old hag turns wearing virtually the same makeup she wears in her two other Thriller appearances.I always wondered if she and Jeanette Noland had some kind of agreement for Thriller as they both played the same kind of roles usually alternately. Ms Noland always had more dialog, however.But I digress.
The real star of this episode is the house with all its reflections that seem to lead to another more terrifying world. As I said,this episode scared the bejezzuz out of me when I first saw it and it still gives me goose bumps. I have a copy and it always is shown at our Halloween parties. The FX is quite effective and the ending will send chills up and down your spine. Shatner is his usual hammy self with his grim stares and pronouncing each line as though his life depended on it, but for this role it's called. I give it a "9" because the memory of the goosebumps it gave me still makes me smile with pleasure 53 years later.
"Leave me alone,... with my mirrors."
classicsoncall24 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Well who could have guessed back in the day that "The Hungry Glass" would have been a warm up for William Shatner's role in one of the better known episodes of The Twilight Zone - 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet'? As another reviewer here has mentioned, his portrayal of a man with a past history of mental illness is one of the landmark episodes of not only one, but two classic series from the early days of TV. I never watched Thriller as a kid; it must have been on at a time where I couldn't stay up that late, but I never missed a chance to catch Rod Serling's show.
The great thing about this episode is the way it builds it's suspense, using the power of suggestion to plant an apprehension in Gil Thrasher (Shatner) as well as the viewer. How many times have we imagined ourselves into a frenzy by the mere effort of our own imagination? For me, there was this somber chiming clock at the top of the attic stairs when I was about eight years old. That thing would send me flying down the stairs until next time, until I finally got old enough to reason my way through it. At that point, I had to deal with the gorilla in the closet.
Anyway, 'The Hungry Glass' is just the right name for this episode, as the mirrors and windows of the story draw in their victims with a mesmerizing effect. This and the prior Thriller story - 'The Cheaters' - both relied on a glass theme to chilling effect, and without the benefit of having seen any others up to this point, they stand as the best back to back episodes in the series up to this point. Also, as a big fan of Twilight Zone, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the appearance of Donna Douglas in this one, who also popped up in one of the most memorable shows of that series - 'Eye of the Beholder'.
The great thing about this episode is the way it builds it's suspense, using the power of suggestion to plant an apprehension in Gil Thrasher (Shatner) as well as the viewer. How many times have we imagined ourselves into a frenzy by the mere effort of our own imagination? For me, there was this somber chiming clock at the top of the attic stairs when I was about eight years old. That thing would send me flying down the stairs until next time, until I finally got old enough to reason my way through it. At that point, I had to deal with the gorilla in the closet.
Anyway, 'The Hungry Glass' is just the right name for this episode, as the mirrors and windows of the story draw in their victims with a mesmerizing effect. This and the prior Thriller story - 'The Cheaters' - both relied on a glass theme to chilling effect, and without the benefit of having seen any others up to this point, they stand as the best back to back episodes in the series up to this point. Also, as a big fan of Twilight Zone, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the appearance of Donna Douglas in this one, who also popped up in one of the most memorable shows of that series - 'Eye of the Beholder'.
The Hungry Mirror Lives On,,,and Still Rocks!
brucepantages-15 August 2007
I first saw this episode the night it first ran and, like so many other contributors, I never forgot it. I was 13 years of age and it would be 47 years before I would see it again...and that was only after I had tracked down an old 16mm television print of it on e-Bay. I was almost afraid to watch it for fear that it would not live up to my recollections, but my fears were baseless. This is story telling of the old school, and builds the suspense and chills to a wild and horrifying conclusion. I look forward to springing it on my relatives this coming Halloween. For quite a while this episode was available to watch at videogoogle.com, however I tried to locate it recently and can no longer find it at that site. It is well worth the effort to track it down - and there are quite a few sellers who have decent DVD sets of the old Thriller series for sale.
Most excellent and memorable.
somaoe8 January 2007
Of all the "Thriller" episodes, this is the definitive one. I saw the first broadcast of this in the early sixties. I was twelve years old. I was never so frightened, by any other television show, as I was by "The Hungry Glass". I have never been so frightened by one to this day. The "headless ghost" episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was scary...REALLY scary...but not like this. I recall my mom telling me, the next morning, that she read in the newspaper, that a number of children, nationwide, had to be taken to hospitals, for calming, after watching it. This was at a time when "Psycho" and the Barbara Steele film, "Black Sunday", were new. Like this, they were in black and white...but, that didn't matter in the least. That didn't stop them from being scary. Horror movies weren't dependent upon gore and graphic violence to scare the wits out of an audience back then. The build-up, artistic cinematography, and psychology of the tale were enough to do it. The genre seems lost, however, and there is nothing, nowadays, to compare. I don't use spoilers, myself, but I will say that the whole of the story is engrossing. It builds to one of the most effective climaxes that I have ever witnessed on film. If you watch this one, be sure that you don't get pulled in.
Mirrors
AaronCapenBanner30 October 2014
William Shatner & Joanna Heyes play a young married couple named Gil and Marcia, who have just bought a seaside mansion that is reputedly haunted by the ghost of original inhabitant Laura Bellman(played by Donna Douglas) who spent her whole life staring at her reflection in her mirrors, until she grew old and died there. Russell Johnson & Elizabeth Allen play Adam & Liz Talmadge, recent friends. Adam in fact sold Gil the mansion, but now has second thoughts when they find out that ghosts have been seen, and that the attic filled with mirrors may mean their doom... Wonderfully realized episode is a superbly atmospheric ghost story, with fine direction, script, and performances. A true highlight of the series, with a most haunting closing scene...
The Spooky Old house Bit
tigereyes35 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this show on TV when I was about 9 years old. It scared the living hell out of me! When I saw it again, many years later as an adult, it had the same effect! I think what scared me the most, was the thought of the young child playing near that old house, being drawn into it and killed. The scene where her ghostly image was photographed by the William Shatner character, to this day still haunts me. The idea of something lurking in an old house, waiting for new victims is not new but this was so very well done, it is still the stuff of nightmares. I agree that many of the Thriller episodes were not all the good. However there were some real gems. "The Cheaters" and "The Pigions From Hell" to name a few of my favorites. What a shame this series is not out on DVD yet.
Don't look in or walk on the glass
sol-kay1 May 2013
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** It's when the Thashers Gil & Marcia, William Shatner & Joanna Heyes, moved into the old Bellman House that things started popping for them in everything made of glass in the place. As it turned out the person who live there in the 1800's beautiful Laura Bellman, Donna Douglas, was so obsessed with her beauty that she in her admiring herself in the mirrors in the house became inserted in or part of them. Refusing to leave the house in order to get help Laura was killed crashing through a glass door when her nephew and doctor tried to get her out of the place.Now it's the Thrashers turn to get spooked by the glass and mirrors in the house that the long departed Laura has become an intricate part of.
Both Gil & Marcia should have known better then to buy the Bellman House with all the stories that they heard about it. That's even from their good friend and real estate agent Adam Talmadge, Russell Johnson, who reluctantly sold them the place. It didn't take long for both Gil & Marcia to realize their mistake but by then it was too late. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place and like a nutcracker it was closing in on them from both sides!
****SPOILERS**** It's when Marcia discovered in the attic a slew of hidden of mirrors that was put there for safe keeping by the late Laura Bellman's relatives that the proverbial cat was now out of the bag. The mirrors released all that was hidden in the haunted house and drove both her an Gil insane. Gil to the point where like in the movie "Lady from Shanghai" he smashed all the mirrors in the attic with an iron rod only ending up smashing his wife Marcia's skull in instead. Broken and suffering from a case of borderline insanity Gil took the final plunge when he thought he saw his dead wife Marcia materialize in a full length house window overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's then that he completely flipped out and joined her, as well as Laura Bellman, forever in the world beyond.
Both Gil & Marcia should have known better then to buy the Bellman House with all the stories that they heard about it. That's even from their good friend and real estate agent Adam Talmadge, Russell Johnson, who reluctantly sold them the place. It didn't take long for both Gil & Marcia to realize their mistake but by then it was too late. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place and like a nutcracker it was closing in on them from both sides!
****SPOILERS**** It's when Marcia discovered in the attic a slew of hidden of mirrors that was put there for safe keeping by the late Laura Bellman's relatives that the proverbial cat was now out of the bag. The mirrors released all that was hidden in the haunted house and drove both her an Gil insane. Gil to the point where like in the movie "Lady from Shanghai" he smashed all the mirrors in the attic with an iron rod only ending up smashing his wife Marcia's skull in instead. Broken and suffering from a case of borderline insanity Gil took the final plunge when he thought he saw his dead wife Marcia materialize in a full length house window overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's then that he completely flipped out and joined her, as well as Laura Bellman, forever in the world beyond.
The Best "Thriller" Episode?
justinlauro14 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Like several other reviewers before me, I first saw "The Hungry Glass" when I was a youngster. It was probably one of the scariest TV shows that I have ever seen.
Fifty-five years later, my opinion hasn't changed. For me, about the only TV show that compares with it is Alfried Hitchcock's "The Opened Window.
William Shatner is perfectly cast as a young married man with a history of mental illness who with his wife (Joanna Heyes) purchases what , unknown to them, is a haunted house. Even though you know that nothing good can come of living there, the viewer is drawn to this episode like the proverbial moth to the flame.
The acting, the writing, the setting, all contribute to the dramatic success of this episode which, in my opinion, is probably the best of the Thriller episodes. The title says it all.
Fifty-five years later, my opinion hasn't changed. For me, about the only TV show that compares with it is Alfried Hitchcock's "The Opened Window.
William Shatner is perfectly cast as a young married man with a history of mental illness who with his wife (Joanna Heyes) purchases what , unknown to them, is a haunted house. Even though you know that nothing good can come of living there, the viewer is drawn to this episode like the proverbial moth to the flame.
The acting, the writing, the setting, all contribute to the dramatic success of this episode which, in my opinion, is probably the best of the Thriller episodes. The title says it all.
Through the looking glass darkly
kevinolzak26 January 2022
"The Hungry Glass" was Douglas Heyes' second episode as both writer and director, an improvement on "The Purple Room," on par with his third, "The Premature Burial." Like "The Cheaters" it was adapted from the Robert Bloch short story "The Hungry House," the first time that the series dealt with actual ghosts rather than faux phantoms, deliberately building the pace to keep the atmosphere grim and the small cast of actors front and center. William Shatner stars as professional photographer Gil Thrasher, joined by wife Marcia (Joanna Heyes) in their recently purchased New England mansion by the sea, with an impressive front window view that truly sold the property to them from out of town realtor Adam Talmadge (Russell Johnson). The price was deemed far lower than usual due to its reputation for being cursed by its original owner, a young beauty named Laura Bellman (Donna Douglas), so enamored by her mirror reflection that she never truly loved the heartbroken husband who built the house in 1860, prancing at her unchanging features well into old age until she danced right into the hungry glass to her death. Her nephew then perished when a mirror fell on top of him, other accidents following that all involved shattered glass. Adam's wife Liz (Elizabeth Allen) joins in for a homecoming celebration with champagne, but screams when she spies the figure of the Bellman nephew in the front window, a hook in place of his hand. Gil also sees a spectral figure during a clinch with Marcia, bringing back grim memories of his stint in the Korean War that continue to make him question his sanity. Marcia's weakness is the same type of vanity that Laura Bellman suffered, the need for more mirrors around the place leading her to the attic and every hidden glass stored behind a locked door, a dozen reflections greeting her in a startling flourish as Gil establishes his equipment in the cellar, and the photograph of a little girl whose body was never recovered after a fall upon the rocks. Adam is finally coaxed into revealing the tragic background of the house, even as Marcia finds herself unable to resist the grip of the reflected ghosts. Weak performances from the female leads are offset by believable turns from Shatner and Johnson, the new tenants lasting barely 24 hours in their new home before joining the specters permanently. Ottola Nesmith's brief appearance as the elderly Laura would be surpassed by another in the celebrated "Pigeons from Hell," while Russell Johnson recalled this performance with a special fondness, like Shatner an actor whose dramatic capabilities would be overshadowed by one particular TV series. Director Heyes would also be responsible for a later Shatner series, BARBARY COAST lasting but one season in 1975, the actor reteamed with Elizabeth Allen for June's season finale "The Grim Reaper," joined by yet another GILLIGAN'S ISLAND cast member, Natalie Schafer.
Bloch Does It Again
Hitchcoc14 November 2016
This is an excellent ghost story. It is atmospheric and has a great gimmick. It involves a young couple who buy a house, unseen, overlooking a cliff. The local residents, like in any good story, know that something is wrong in the house. As is always the case, the young people and their realtor, who knows some of the history, laugh about it. We find out that there is something about mirrors in the house having been responsible for deaths that has the locals spooked. The young man, played by William Shatner, has a history. He had a rough time in Korea and is rather fragile. When it comes to a fainting scene, he's the one who faints. Of course, we've been set up for the mirrors from the opening scene. The plot is developed slowly and the young couple try their best to avoid some awful truths. The realtor begins to realize that he has made a mistake in selling the house. The special effects are quite good. The key thing, however, is that this is again based on one of Robert Bloch's stories. He is one of our very best writers of supernatural and horror fiction (e.g. "Psycho"). I think this is a real achievement for a series I was ready to give up on.
When the professor met the captain.
mark.waltz8 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Long before Russell Johnson played Professor Jonathan Hinckley on Gilligan's island and William shatner played Captain Kirk, they work together in this unintentionally funny episode of "Thriller". There's also Donna Douglas from "The Beverly Hillbillies" as a long dead woman whose narcissistic personality made her a recluse, surrounded only by her mirrors which made her look young as she aged to looking like Baby Jane Hudson's long lost twin.
This gothic tale set in an abandoned house is a ghostly tale of a cursed mansion where the ghosts still possess the mansion and want to possess the first beautiful young lady who moves in. It's a great set-up, but in spite of all of that, I found myself laughing in scenes where I should have been either sympathetic or frightened. Shatner and Johnson are quite good and the general themes quite touching. The ending, however, is truly chilling, and immediately dissolved my laughter into shock.
This gothic tale set in an abandoned house is a ghostly tale of a cursed mansion where the ghosts still possess the mansion and want to possess the first beautiful young lady who moves in. It's a great set-up, but in spite of all of that, I found myself laughing in scenes where I should have been either sympathetic or frightened. Shatner and Johnson are quite good and the general themes quite touching. The ending, however, is truly chilling, and immediately dissolved my laughter into shock.
Not exactly subtle!
planktonrules24 October 2018
In many ways, "The Hungry Glass" reminds me of the famous William Shatner "Twilight Zone" episode with the monster climbing on the wing of the airplane ("Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"). Both feature him obsessed about some terror that others cannot see and both feature him acting very broadly. The "Twilight Zone" episode worked very well...whereas "The Hungry Glass" didn't. I think much of it was because the episode would have worked better had his acting been more subtle. While I really like Shatner normally, here the director should have asked for LESS.
The episode finds a young couple buying an old house on a cliff. When they discover tons of old furnishings in the attic, they think it's their lucky day. Little did they know that their mirrors were evil and cursed!
The ending, to me, seemed really over-the-top and silly. A much better "Thriller" episode about mirrors is "The Prisoner in the Mirror"...."The Hungry Glass" is, in contrast, barely worth it as a time-passer.
The episode finds a young couple buying an old house on a cliff. When they discover tons of old furnishings in the attic, they think it's their lucky day. Little did they know that their mirrors were evil and cursed!
The ending, to me, seemed really over-the-top and silly. A much better "Thriller" episode about mirrors is "The Prisoner in the Mirror"...."The Hungry Glass" is, in contrast, barely worth it as a time-passer.
The Hungry Glass (Thriller TV series 1960)
trimbolicelia28 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This and The Grim Reaper are, in my opinion, the best installments from the Thriller TV show from 1960 introduced by Boris Karloff. Both episodes star William Shatner and Elizabeth Allen. A couple buy a long uninhabited house on the New England coast, reputed to be haunted. Its reputation is deserved. Any deaths in or around the house involve mirrors or reflective glass. Once dead these poor souls are trapped in said mirrors and await further victims to drag in to the other side. The episode has creepy situations and images. Perfect to view on Halloween. Highly recommended.
Absolute gem
patcadle8 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Along with "Pigeons From Hell", this episode is one of the two best remembered and widely respected episodes of the series. I tend to agree With many who say that "Pigeons" is the better overall horror story of the two, but it's a Gothic horror episode, not strictly a "ghost story". The Hungry Glass is very much a ghost story, in the most straightforward way. Therefore I am going out on a limb and say The Hungry Glass is the best American television series episode adaptation of a ghost story that I've ever seen. It even ranks up there with some of the best British television ghost stories, the "Ghost Story For Christmas episodes.
William Shatner puts in a terrific performance, similar to his classic Twilight Zone role - his character is a young husband, a Korean War veteran, who suffered some sort of hallucinatory fever while he was in the war, malaria or perhaps the horrible "hemorrhagic fever" that was such a serious medical problem for troops in that war. He is still prone to flashbacks and recurrences, and therefore he is prone to doubt his own perceptions when the ghostly events start happening. Joanna Hayes plays his wife, whose character is bit less defined, or at least a bit more commonplace, she is portrayed as a typical young married woman of her time period, intelligent and strong minded and not given to hysterics, but her background is not gone into as much as her husband's.
They buy a house on a rocky cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, in New England, probably Maine. The locals at the general store seem to know something bad about the house, but don't say anything beyond vague hints that the house isn't right.
Their real estate agent and his own own wife (Elizabeth Allen) arrive to accompany them to the house. Played by Russell Johnson, of Gilligan's Island fame, the agent has quickly become friends with the young couple and he is glad to have them moving in and living nearby. He does however acknowledge that there are local legends about the house, but it's an old big house that has been empty for a couple decades, all such houses get rumors attached to them, and he thinks nothing of it. He drops them off, helps them put in a few things, and leaves, promising to come back the next day with his wife for a housewarming party. The electric power won't be on for a few days, so they'll make do with picnic style food.
It's odd that there are no mirrors anywhere around the house. And the agents wife thinks she sees something in the window which makers her scream before they go.
The next morning the ghostly events start happening. When the real estate agent and his wife arrive, Shatner and his wife have found where all the mirrors are, Shatner, who is a professional photographer has captured the image of a young girl on a phot of the cliff where nobody was when he took the photo, and prevails upon Russell Johnson to tell hm the full story of the house.
I won't spoil the rest of the story, but it's one of the most atmospheric television ghost stories I've seen, and while the ending may be predictable, the gradual buildup in that direction is what is so well done and enjoyable from a goose bump perspective.
Just great tv from the classic era of anthology television.
William Shatner puts in a terrific performance, similar to his classic Twilight Zone role - his character is a young husband, a Korean War veteran, who suffered some sort of hallucinatory fever while he was in the war, malaria or perhaps the horrible "hemorrhagic fever" that was such a serious medical problem for troops in that war. He is still prone to flashbacks and recurrences, and therefore he is prone to doubt his own perceptions when the ghostly events start happening. Joanna Hayes plays his wife, whose character is bit less defined, or at least a bit more commonplace, she is portrayed as a typical young married woman of her time period, intelligent and strong minded and not given to hysterics, but her background is not gone into as much as her husband's.
They buy a house on a rocky cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, in New England, probably Maine. The locals at the general store seem to know something bad about the house, but don't say anything beyond vague hints that the house isn't right.
Their real estate agent and his own own wife (Elizabeth Allen) arrive to accompany them to the house. Played by Russell Johnson, of Gilligan's Island fame, the agent has quickly become friends with the young couple and he is glad to have them moving in and living nearby. He does however acknowledge that there are local legends about the house, but it's an old big house that has been empty for a couple decades, all such houses get rumors attached to them, and he thinks nothing of it. He drops them off, helps them put in a few things, and leaves, promising to come back the next day with his wife for a housewarming party. The electric power won't be on for a few days, so they'll make do with picnic style food.
It's odd that there are no mirrors anywhere around the house. And the agents wife thinks she sees something in the window which makers her scream before they go.
The next morning the ghostly events start happening. When the real estate agent and his wife arrive, Shatner and his wife have found where all the mirrors are, Shatner, who is a professional photographer has captured the image of a young girl on a phot of the cliff where nobody was when he took the photo, and prevails upon Russell Johnson to tell hm the full story of the house.
I won't spoil the rest of the story, but it's one of the most atmospheric television ghost stories I've seen, and while the ending may be predictable, the gradual buildup in that direction is what is so well done and enjoyable from a goose bump perspective.
Just great tv from the classic era of anthology television.
Not bad but kind of slow
preppy-330 September 2017
Gil and Margaret Thrasher (William Shatner, Joanna Heyes) buy this creepy old house from friend Adam Talmadge (Russell Johnson). However the house has no mirrors. It seems that their friend neglected to tell them about a number of deaths that happened in the house...and they all seem to be tied into mirrors. But it's just a superstition...or is it? It has a great opening on a dark and stormy night but quickly quiets down and starts to move at a snails pace. It's pretty obvious from the beginning what's happening so there's not much suspense. However the ending is impressive and its great seeing future TV stars Shatner, Johnson and Donna Douglas so early in their careers. A pretty good entry in the "Thriller" TV series.
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