The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The movie is surprisingly subdued in its pacing, its characterizations, and its go-for-broke sensibilities.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Adolph Menjou was the series host, not simply the narrator. If memory serves correctly, he was introduced in the standard opening as: "And now, here's your host. Raconteur, gourmet, and man about town... Adolph Menjou."It impressed me as a boy. I didn't know, at the time, that he named names at HUAC.The series was one in early syndication, and presented a rather literate adaptation of dramatized short stories. Menjou gave it all a nice touch of class.Arye Michael Bender -