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Ecarle, I suspect the going rate for short stories in the 50s was a lot less than $500. Getting short fiction published was and still is one of the best ways for aspiring writers to get attention, and many publications today pay a nominal $25 for the privilege.
Walking Distance exhibited Serling's most common and heartfelt theme, how the heartless corporate world grinds men down and makes them nostalgic for a simpler time. This cropped up pre-TZ in the TV and movie versions of Patterns, and would recur in a number of other TZ episodes, the one with WIlloughly and one where an actor escapes his horrible life by becoming the character he plays on TV.
As I recall, the previous tenant was being punished for threatiening to leave the coven. The girl living with the Castevets was the first candidate for carrying Satan's child but ROman told her in advance and she committed suicide.
I saw Foster in 1991 in a play in London and can attest that he aged better than Perkins.
Hutch's coma could easily have a realistic explanation. He's an older, overweight man with an appetite for leg of lamb and could be a candidate for sudden stroke. It's the timing that's a coincidence.
BTw, we need to be careful about claiming that RB does not have overt violence. Certainly, the #metoo movement would rightfully claim that being sexually assaulted by Satan is an act of extreme violence, and even Guy's rational explanation that he didn't want to pass up "baby night" and had his way with a comatose Rosemary would qualify as a sexual assault.
Wonderful how all the plot points in RB connect so beautifully: for example, it's first established that Minnie is a rotton cook so she was unable to make a palatable drugged chocolate mousse so ROsemary doesn't eat most of it leaving her half awake during the assault.
One reason that Hitchcock would pass on RB is that he did not like to do adaptations of well known books which would require faithfulness (as Polanski certainly was).
Wait Until Dark? Possibly, since Hitchcock had earlier faithfully adapted a play (Dial M for Murder)
And on the subject of Hithchcock preferring suspense to shock, it's interesting how often he broke this rule while presenting a stabbing murder, besides Psycho, this happens in at least The 39 Steps, Dial M for Murder, Man Who Knew TOo Much and North by Northwest.
As proof that IMDB isn't totally worthless these days, check out Bradbury's writing credits, 5 for AHP and 2 for AHH, most memorably The Jar. As opposed to a single TZ credit for I SIng the Body Electric.
As you noted, EC, the HItchcock show depended a lot more on adaptations than TZ as is the case with Bradbury.
RB is one of those rare supernatural films where it's possible to be a supernatural denier and view the last scene as an hysterical post-pregnancy delusion on ROsemary's part. Hiowever, you have to buy an awful lot of coincidencee for that interpretation to work.
One of my favorite films in this category is the original 1940s version of The Cat People where the "nothing supernatural happens" interpretation is easier to swallow.
One reason Hitchcock was able to "pop out hundreds of good ones" is that unlike, for example, Tarantino, who's inspiration is froma lifetime of watching movies, Hitchcock was also a compulsive reader throughout his life, so he came to TV with a lifetime of stories in his head.
As an example of how far back he went, Hemingway's classic novel The Sun Also Rises includes a recounting by the narrator of a short story about a woman whose fiancee falls into a glacier and she spends many years waiting for the glacier to reappear just so she can get another glimps of him. Which is the story that Hitchcock adapted as The Crystal Trench. I'm sure Hitchcock had read either the Hemingway (published in 1926) or the original story, or possibly both, and filed it away as something that would make a nifty short film.
There was an episode of AHP where a man confronts a burglar during the night, develops a rapport and ends up hiring the guy to kill his wife who's asleep upstairs. The burglar starts talking about different ways to kill someone (finally deciding on smothering her with a pillow) and at one point considers stabbing but rejects it saying "knives are too messy". I won't reveal the ending because i's a treat.
The MP sequel takes place many years after the original, and Van Dyke actually plays the son of the old banker he played in the original. In fact, the old banker died right after his laughing fit brought on by the wooden leg joke in the original. Still, should be fun to see him play the role without the makeup this time.
Dumbo must have been considered second tier by Walt back in the day since he allowed it to be shown on TV (ditto Alice in WOnderland) but IMO they're up there with the classics that were revived successfully in theaters every few years.
Star is Born I don't have a good feeling about. SIB 2 in 1954 followed pretty much the story of the 1930s original, and SIB 4 seems to be following 3 from 1976, which moved from Hollywood to the music scene and was inferior to the first two in large part to the shift. But 4 does seem to have a lot of buzz.
Interesting how TCM On Demand has altered my perspective on watching films there. If I watch what's on the schedule, I can imagine that there might be at least thousands of others watching along at the same time. On Demand is more of a vacuum, for a fairly obsuce film, I might be the only one in the world watching at that time, not quite the same.
AAOL was a hit Broadway play in the 50s and a staple for high school drama clubs in the 50s and 60s, not at all what I would call a risky project.
On stage, the Raymond Massey role was actually originated by the real Boris Karloff, whichlikely made the running joke about people trying to place his face all the funnier.
The new Coen Bros is slated for the New York FIlm Festival, but get this, it's not a theatrical film, it's a TV miniseries!
THat sure blurs (or completely eliminates) the line between theater/home viewing!
I think that episode was actually called The Little Black Bag and based on a classic SF short story. I remember thinking the dynamics between Meredith and WIlls was very similar to that between Meredith and Lon Chaney in Of Mice and Men.
One of the best episodes of the series.
Ironic that the female star of Hitchcock's last film is gone but seven remain:
Shirley McLaine
Doris Day
Vera Miles
Kim Novak
Eva Marie Saint
TIppi Hedren
Julie Andrews
Of the males who played opposite, only Sean Connery remains.
I haven'tbeen following this project closely, but does anyone know if the invasion of the Labianca home will also be shown in the film?
I've always had tremendous empathy for that couple: they weren't famous like Tate, and chillingly, they probably knew what their fate was as soon as the Manson gang invaded their house, having heard news reports of the Tate murders the precvious night.
One theme which was very dark and disturbing was the power of nightmares to dominate one's life. Perchance to Dream and SHoadow Play.
I recall in the theater where I saw WUD O'Neal's line couldn't be heard the audience was still laughing so hard.
Excellent point about the Hudson/Randall comparison. Remainds me of the ALl in the Family episode where the football player with the granite like chin was gay and the fey photographer was straight.
ecarle, I'm sure you remember an annual TV show called Your CHoice for the Oscars which cited beforehand who the winners would be if picked by the public. I recall the period 1970-74: in 71 and 72 the public agreed with the Academy, but in 1970 chose Love Story over Patton, in 73 Exorcist over Sting, and in 74 Towering Inferno over Godfather 2. Note in all 3 years, the actual Oscar winners were not exactly unpopular films.