User Reviews

After appearing in a Night Gallery episode of his own ('She'll Be Company For You'), Leonard Nimoy returns to direct this segment titled 'Death on a Barge'. You know, I'm constantly amazed whenever I watch a vampire story because almost every one I see manages to add a new facet to the history of vampire lore. In this one, it's the idea that a vampire is unable to traverse across flowing water. So the vampire in question, the alluring Hyacinth (Lesley Ann Warren), patiently awaits as the lagoon in which her father's barge is moored undergoes a draining operation.

This can't happen quick enough for seafood clerk Ron (Robert Pratt) who spies Hyacinth one evening and becomes infatuated with her and her dilemma. Neglecting his girlfriend Phyllis (Brooke Bundy), Ron makes plans to be with Hyacinth as soon as possible, even while he tries to process information that the woman he desires may be from the realm of the undead.

The thing that didn't make sense to me was how Hyacinth came by having a human father who was more than willing to wield the oak stake that eventually put her out of her misery. I guess one could rationalize that she became a vampire by virtue of being bitten by one in turn. I had to scratch my head though, instead of driving the stake through her heart as is customary, the father (Jim Boles) missed it by at least a foot.

But the thing that really got me here was the line Hyacinth uttered when she thought Ron was going to follow through with the oak stake himself. Had this been during the era of the Production Code, I don't think the remark would have passed muster, because upon hearing it I just had to roar - "As you plunge it in, cry out that you love me!"

Forlorn young lass Hyacinth (an excellent and enchanting performance by the ravishing Lesley Ann Warren) lives by herself on a barge anchored in a canal and suffers from a fear of crossing over running water. Local Ron (a solid and likeable portrayal by Robert Pratt) becomes smitten with her.

Director Leonard Nimoy relates the engrossing story at a constant pace as well as adroitly crafts an eerie misty atmosphere. Pratt and especially Warren both do sterling work with their roles; they receive sound support from Brooke Bundy as the concerned Phyllis and Lou Antonio as the jerky Jake. Hyacinth's lonely plight and the overall melancholy mood give this episode an extra haunting poignancy. Moreover, this particular show earns additional praise for concluding on an inevitable, yet still effective tragic note.

Lesley Ann Warren ("Victor / Victoria") and Robert Pratt ("The Hired Hand") are Hyacinth and Ron, two souls smitten with each other. She's an enigmatic beauty who lives her whole life stuck on a barge that's anchored in a canal. As she tells him, she cannot cross running water. Although he comes to suspect the horrible truth about her, he just can't stay away.

Marking an assured directing debut for actor Leonard Nimoy, who'd headlined a previous season three episode ('She'll Be Company for You'), 'Death on a Barge' works largely because of its hook of a doomed romance. Warren and Pratt are so sincere that they really sell the idea of two characters inexorably drawn to each other. They receive able support from Lou Antonio ("Cool Hand Luke") as Rons' smarmy co-worker Jake and Brooke Bundy ("A Nightmare on Elm Street" parts three and four) as Rons' concerned female friend Phyllis. The atmosphere is strong (despite obvious "day for night" shots), and the music by Eddie Sauter is mostly effective. Scripted by Halsted Welles from a short story by Everil Worrell, 'Death on a Barge' holds no real surprises, but that is actually not such a bad thing: there is a grim inevitability to this sad and poignant tale.

Although you may have figured out Hyacinths' big secret on your own, this viewer will refrain from saying anything about it here.

Definitely one of the stronger season three episodes.

Seven out of 10.

Ron (Robert Pratt) and Jake (Lou Antonio) sell fish on the pier during the day and at night, Ron visits Hyacinth (Lesly Anne Warren), a woman who refuses to see him when the sun is up. She also fears crossing running water, but as the barge she lives on is in a slowly draining canal, she promises to visit soon. Ron already has a girlfriend, Phyllis (Brooke Bundy), who goes into the barge and watches her competition go to sleep in a coffin. She barely escapes with her life. Jake, however, soon falls for her and both men are willing to give their lives to this gorgeous supernatural being.

"Death On a Barge" was directed by Leonard Nimoy and was one of his first directing jobs, as he had a one-year contract with Universal to act and direct whatever he could find. Working in the low budget of Night Gallery, he had to shoot a story that's set at night - literally on the show Night Gallery - day-for-night. He also had to deal with the Universal tour constantly driving by and the drivers yelling while he was trying to film.

This episode was written by Halsted Welles and is based on the short story "The Cana;" by Everil Worrell. Worrell spent most of her life working for the U. S. Department of Treasury and wrote for pulps like Weird Tales.