The Twonky.

Review #1113: The Twonky.

Cast: 
Hans Conried (Kerry West), Janet Warren (Carolyn West), Billy Lynn (Coach Trout), Edwin Max (Television Deliveryman), Gloria Blondell (Bill Collector), Evelyn Beresford (Old Lady Motorist), Bob Jellison (TV Shop Owner), and Norman Field (Doctor) Directed by Arch Oboler.

Review: 
With a title like The Twonky, what can you really expect? For me, I expected nothing. The movie is based off a 1942 short story of the same name from Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, a science fiction writing couple that used the joint pseudonym Lewis Padgett. I imagine that this worked best as a short story in part because there probably wasn't as much ineffective humor and clunky satire. The latter category comes off as a surprise to me, seeing as I assumed that it would be a silly sci-fi comedy. However, the result is a mess of a movie that is never too funny or interesting to look at, minus the times involving the television "walking" around. I wonder if this would've fit for television, but the real question is why a movie that only lasts 84 minutes feels so long. Conried, who had previously had minor roles in films for years before having a starring role here, seems okay, but he can't make this sitcom material feel anything other than plodding. Nothing says exposition like having it being delivered by a football coach character played by a plain Lynn - take that for what you will. He even explains what a "twonky" is - "something that you don't know what it is". Gee, I wish I could make a story with such a random word like this and come up with a justification like that, like..."Lynzer" or something. Despite the billing, Warren doesn't have too much time on screen, aside from the climax (and some brief segments), and she doesn't leave too much impression. None of the actors are particularly energetic to make this material feel anything other than fluff. The movie likes to use gags involving the television zapping things, which gets old pretty quickly, with the lowest gag involving Conried's character saying nonsense during a lecture under the control of the "twonky" thing. I feel that more emphasis on the device and the implications of what it really is beyond minor splotches, or if this was anything other than a light fantasy. This is a film that was shot in 1951 but not released for two years, and it's not too hard to see why. It is a hunk of junk that will will bore people trying to patient with it and irritate ones wanting something more than the rotten cotton candy that this film turns out to be. The only thing that is amusing from this movie is a production story told by Conried, where he expressed worry to Oboler (who also served as writer of the screenplay and producer) about the film possibly not being successful at the box office (which proved correct), and Oboler said to Conried with this reply: "That's all right. I need a tax write-off this year anyway." Skipping this would be helpful, unless you have a fondness for movies that are light on plot but also light on fun.

Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.