The Twonky (1953) 84m
Curio from the 50s will be of interest to aficionados of SF fantasy. Teacher Hans Conried is given a television set by his wife to entertain him while she is out of town. As he and friend Billy Lynn rightly guess, it is a television in appearance only - it may actually be technology from another time. Part of the intrigue of Arch Oboler's film is that for most of it we are unsure of the purpose of the 'twonky', as it is christened. Is it benign or harmful? The silly appearance of the twonky (not to mention its name), the comical aspect of several of the characters, and the whimsical, twittering woodwind score establish the film as a comedy from the opening scenes (Lynn's foggy football coach would be right at home behind the bar in CHEERS). but the same script, verbatim, could have been turned into a more sinister film if handled by a different director.
At first, THE TWONKY is a satirical swipe at television, the 'new' entertainment medium which became a significant threat to cinema in the 50s: Conried flicks through a TV guide that contains only pap; the twonky/television controls his life; he becomes housebound; his tastes are directed from 'high' art to the mediocre; and thoughts of individual expression are discouraged. And not only is television regarded as a poor substitute for cinema, it is also inferred to be an unworthy successor of radio. Read between the lines: Writer-director Oboler was a prominent radio producer before switching to film, and it was he who changed the twonky (as it appeared in Henry Kuttner's short story ten years earlier) from a radiogram to a television set. Oboler develops the Kuttner story satisfactorily, although the pace flags in places, and the anti-television theme loses its way. The final scenes, however, are among the most enjoyable. Special effects are unfortunately primitive, but given their simple requirements you'd think the studio would have ponied up some extra cash to make them a little better. Ironically, THE TWONKY has a made-for-TV feel to it. With a little cropping it would have made an ideal hour-long episode for Rod Serling's TWILIGHT ZONE, and the domestic setting, comings-and-goings of peripheral characters, and gag ending follow standard sitcom conventions. Dismissed with their usual smirking by the Medved Brothers in the Golden Turkey books - maybe they were running short of material.
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