Difference between revisions of "The Twonky (1953 film)"
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* John M. Miller at Turner Classic Movies, ([http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/220918%7C0/The-Twonky.html link]) - "...Overall The Twonky is unsuccessful as a comedy and heavy-handed and clunky as satire. Oboler's little movie, however, is exceedingly strange and contains several images and incidents that are not easily forgotten...." | * John M. Miller at Turner Classic Movies, ([http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/220918%7C0/The-Twonky.html link]) - "...Overall The Twonky is unsuccessful as a comedy and heavy-handed and clunky as satire. Oboler's little movie, however, is exceedingly strange and contains several images and incidents that are not easily forgotten...." | ||
| − | + | * Richard Scheib at The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review ([http://www.moriareviews.com/sciencefiction/twonky-1953.htm link]) (2.5/5 Stars) - "The film gets good mileage out of simply winding this milquetoast individual up and turning every aspect of his existence against him. It all achieves a madcap enjoyability." | |
| + | * Mark David Welsh ([https://markdavidwelsh.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/the-twonky-1953/ link]) - "At the time, the film must have seemed pure paranoid fantasy but looked at now, it appears weirdly prescient. Not just for the way it foretells of our dependence on household technologies but also for the wider debate it raises: free will versus the imposition of rules and restraints ‘for our own good’." | ||
==Synopsis== | ==Synopsis== | ||
Latest revision as of 09:12, 9 December 2020
The Twonky, 1953
Summary
Based on a short story by Henry Kuttner. A philosophy teacher at a university is given a new television by his wife, who goes on a trip, leaving him to set it up and test it out alone, only to discover that it has unexpected powers. The television, nicknamed a "twonky" (or "gadget") is capable of performing an array of tasks -- from vacuuming to producing money -- but is equally adept at mind control and physical violence. Despite efforts from the police and the football team, the twonky begins to take over.
Details
- Release Date: 1953
- Country/Language: US, English
- Genres/Technical: Science Fiction, Horror, Comedy (dark comedy)
- Setting: 1950s (would have probably been considered "near future" at the time)
- Runtime: 1 hr 24 min
- Starring: Hans Conried, William H. Lynn, Gloria Blondell
- Director: Arch Oboler
- Writer: Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore (original story), Arch Oboler (screenplay)
- Producer/Production Co: Arch Oboler Productions
- View Film: (link)
- IMDB: (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: PG (for mild Violence and 1950s Adult Content)
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- s____ (One-Half Tentacle: Not very Lovecraftian, and has no direct connection to Lovecraft's work, more of a curiosity)
Not really particularly Lovecraftian. The original story was written by one of Lovecraft's friends and "mythos" contributor Henry Kuttner, and revolves around an animated tool or toy accidentally delivered to 20th Century Earth by an authoritarian civilization from another time or alternate dimension, leaving the device to wreak havoc on the life of an unimaginative and independent college professor. It's a strange curiosity of a film, a paranoid horror played up for dark laughs. The vaguely malevolent animated walking television can be fairly unsettling....
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- John M. Miller at Turner Classic Movies, (link) - "...Overall The Twonky is unsuccessful as a comedy and heavy-handed and clunky as satire. Oboler's little movie, however, is exceedingly strange and contains several images and incidents that are not easily forgotten...."
- Richard Scheib at The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review (link) (2.5/5 Stars) - "The film gets good mileage out of simply winding this milquetoast individual up and turning every aspect of his existence against him. It all achieves a madcap enjoyability."
- Mark David Welsh (link) - "At the time, the film must have seemed pure paranoid fantasy but looked at now, it appears weirdly prescient. Not just for the way it foretells of our dependence on household technologies but also for the wider debate it raises: free will versus the imposition of rules and restraints ‘for our own good’."
Synopsis
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
A philosophy teacher at a university is given a new television by his wife, who goes on a trip, leaving him to set it up and test it out alone, only to discover that it has unexpected powers. The television, nicknamed a "twonky" (or "gadget") is capable of performing an array of tasks -- from vacuuming to producing money -- but is equally adept at mind control and physical violence. Despite efforts from the police and the football team, the twonky begins to take over.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
Associated Mythos Elements
- Fiction: Henry Kuttner's "The Twonky"
- Race: a "Twonky" (a slang term meaning "gadget"), a tool or toy built by an authoritarian society in another dimension
Keeper Notes
- Kuttner's original story had the "twonky" resemble a radio, this film version presents it at a television. Perhaps the story could be adapted to a Delta Green scenario in which "twonkies" are distributed from a mysterious and sinister alien source, appearing in the form of the latest must-have fad in "smart phones", turning out to be far smarter than they have any right to be; they quickly begin dominating and terrorizing the lives of their "owners" to "improve" those lives by censoring information, forcing people to receive unwanted content downloaded from an alien source, using mind control, and forcing their luckless owners to glumly chase "twonky balls" as part of some bizarre, Orwellian exercise-game....
