User Reviews

I had previously seen the first five episodes of the early 60s TV-show "Thriller" (aka. "Boris Karloff's Thriller") hosted by Horror-deity Boris Karloff, and wasn't very impressed, as they were (rather un-mysterious) crime/mystery stories instead of the genuine Horror tales that I had hoped for. Since I had read that the series switched from mystery/crime to tales of Gothic Horror tales in the later episodes, I decided to switch to one of the later episodes, "Well of Doom" (Season 1, Episode 23, 1961), which surpassed my expectations. "Well of Doom" is a highly atmospheric and genuinely creepy little Gothic tale that delivers everything one could ask for in a Horror anthology TV-series.

On the eve of his wedding, the wealthy Robert Penrose (Ronald Howard) is on his way to a bachelor party near his estate in the English countryside, accompanied by his driver and his Scottish butler Teal (Torin Thatcher). In a remote foggy moorland area, the car is stopped by two fiendish creatures, Moloch (Henry Daniell) and Styx (Richard Kiel), who have ghastly things in mind...

The episode is a great example of eerie Gothic imagery and atmosphere. The black and white cinematography, foggy moorland and and decaying vaults in which the film is set make an exquisitely eerie wholesome of purely Gothic mood. The fiendish creatures, especially Molloch played by Henry Daniell are truly uncanny; Daniell looks incredibly creepy and is just brilliantly ghoulish in his role. The huge Richard Kiel (who is maybe best known for the eponymous role in one of the most hilariously awful films ever made, "Eeegah" of 1962), makes an excellent fiendish sidekick as Styx. The rest of the performances are also good, Ronald Howard is a good lead, Torin Thatcher is great as the grumpy Scotsman, and Irish actress Fintan Meyler is nice as the protagonist's beautiful fiancée. The story is intelligent and original enough; overall, one would have to invent complaints in order to say something negative about this episode. "Well of Doom" is a creepy, highly atmospheric and incredibly entertaining episode that is a grace to the series and should be enjoyed by every Horror fan. Highly recommended!

Ronald Howard plays Robert Penrose, who is a bridegroom and heir to an English estate who finds himself abducted from his car late one foggy night by two fiends; Squire Moloch(played by Henry Daniell) and his giant henchman Master Styx(played by Richard Kiel). Both bring Penrose to their Gothic lair to force him to sign over his inheritance to them, or face not only death, but a fate worse than that for his lovely fiancée(played by Fintan Meyler)... Moody and heavily atmospheric episode only suffers from an ending that may come as a trite letdown, but this still works quite well in spite of that, with fine performances by all.

THRILLER was, of course, one of the very best, if not the best, horror anthology series ever to hit television. The good news is that, at long last, this venerable series will see a 2010 DVD release from Universal. And high time.

THE WELL OF DOOM is one of those brilliantly moody episodes - a mood that only rich black and white photography can give (it is impossible for color photography to achieve this) - that curdles your blood, something that this series excelled at. The atmosphere is just sensational: you can literally smell the mould and feel the damp.

Among the striking aspects of this fine episode is the superb makeup on actor Henry Daniell; it is truly, genuinely frightening. And when coupled with that wonderfully rich voice of his you have a character that seems to have crawled out of the depths of Hell. He's that good (and, of course, Daniell is always good, no matter what the role).

Donald S Sanford wrote an excellent script, one of many well-constructed ones he contributed to this series. He was quite at home in the horror genre because every one of his scripts for THRILLER really caught the true essence of fine Gothic literature. The episode was very well directed by John Brahm, a German director who started in silent films and had a notable if not distinguished career behind the camera.

Dear old Torin Thatcher is always nice to see in anything and here again he doesn't fail us. And I was pleasantly surprised by Ronald Howard's strong performance since that actor was often, I think wrongly, given weakling parts to play. In this role he excelled.

This is one of the best episodes from that superb series which we anxiously await for a release this year. Let's hope that Universal doesn't wait around too long before releasing it.

Here is an episode that is wildly atmospheric ! Great cast members and a clever tale of deception and keeping one off balanced most of the way.

Fun cast headed up with the one and only Henry Daniell and a suave Ronald Howard whose father is the famed Leslie Howard of GWTW.

The mood is heavy but delightfully Gothic and reminds one of a good old fashioned ghost story.

Significant are the presence of Richard Kiel who would later play "Jaws" in 2 James Bond movies and the likable Torin Thatcher who has two turns at wizardry in "7th Voyage of Sinbad" & "Jack the Giant Killer" both starring vehicles for the dashing Kerwin Mathews.

"Well of Doom" is pure hokum but fun nevertheless and IMO ranks in the top tier of one of the great episodes of this under rated series which broke new ground in Horror\Terror television "back there" some 48 years ago ! -mby

This episode involves a rich man, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, who is on his way to a bachelor party. Alongside him are his guests and his long suffering butler. As they drive through a storm, they are accosted by hellish characters, claiming to be the devil incarnate. One of them is the hideous Richard Kiel, Jaws from one of the Bond movies. They also kidnap his bride to be. They lead us to believe that they are actually looking for revenge from the man's father who did them wrong sometime. This is truly atmospheric, with the old castle grounds and the fog. The makeup of the characters is startling. They are able to do impressive tricks. They want the young man to turn over his fortune and his property, but they have an ulterior motive as well. And then there is the well. Yes, the well.

What a welcome SHOCK! From here on, producer William Frye was grooved in and would regularly turn out masterful, moody and compelling small screen horror. Except that "Well of Doom" is a horror episode that's really a CRIME episode...but that's not important.

Henry Daniell's Grand Guignol portrayal of Mollock---hissing, cackling, sneering, sadistic, imperious, malevolent---is a tour-de-force beyond anything than one would ever have imagined coming from a weekly TV series, no matter how "thrilling" it claimed to be. It's WAY off the chart!; the man was simply an incredible performer. And how fascinating to see him "au naturel" in the final scenes, so hellishly believable had he been throughout the show.

Team him up with his countryman Torin Thatcher (who had just finished menacing Kerwin Matthews in "Jack the Giant Killer", filmed in July of 1960), add another fine Brit in Ronald Howard...and you've got yourself one heck of a dramatic ensemble. A solid script, amazingly atmospheric camerawork, excellent direction (it seems clear that the three major actors and John Brahm got along very well on this one) and incredibly spooky settings all contribute to the power of this episode. We all know that the tension-filled walk from the car through the moors to the castle was filmed on a soundstage, but Penrose and Teal seem to be literally ON THEIR WAY DOWN TO HELL, as they desperately try to escape. Really chilling, terrifying stuff.

So effective is this show that one easily overlooks the obvious mummy/dummy that's used for Penrose being tossed down the well at the close of Act 3, and Richard Kiel's good-old college try at line readings in the final scene, which, I'll admit, strains credulity in a number of ways.

Composer Jerry Goldsmith does it again, this time with low brass, rumbling bass drum, and a writhing, serpentine theme played by low trumpets in unison, a bold and almost nauseating sound that ramps up the thrills and chills of this first-rate episode. LR

"Well of Doom" is one of the stranger episodes from "Thriller"....if not among the strangest. On his way to a bachelor party, a rich man's limo is commandeered by a creepy man who calls himself 'Moloch' (Henry Daniell) and his HUGE assistant, Styx (Richard Kiel). The pair appear to be rather demonic and kidnap the groom to be and his friend...forcing them to march across the moors to a creepy old castle. There, the friend is murdered and the rich guy subjected to threats of being tossed into a well to his death. Surely this cannot be true...and the devilish kidnappers must have some hidden agenda...but what and why??

In many ways, this one seems a bit like a Universal horror film and is very other-worldly. My only major complaint is the pacing...and the show would have been better had it been shorter. Otherwise, an interesting experiment in strangeness.

Robert Penrose (Ronald Howard) and friend Jeremy Teal (Torin Thatcher) are being driven through a misty moors to Robert's bachelor party. They're kidnapped by evil Squire Moloch (Henry Daniell) and his helper--the giant muscular Master Styx (Richard Kiel). Moloch and Styx proceed to torture the two men for their own reason.

It's dripping with atmosphere and a strong sense of dread. The acting is good especially by Daniell who chews the scenery. However it's slow in spots and the ending I thought was a huge let down (and highly unlikely). Still 2/3rds of it was great but that ending really hurts. Because of that I can only give it a 6.

"Well of Doom" offers series veteran Henry Daniell (his second appearance, after "The Cheaters") some fine scenery chewing in a stunning makeup job designed after Lon Chaney's vampire in 1927's still lost "London After Midnight," his Squire Moloch aided by Richard Kiel's Master Styx in a fiendish scheme to wear down any resistance from Ronald Howard's wealthy Robert Penrose as he's about to wed pretty Laura Dunning (Fintan Meyler). Accompanied by longtime valet Jeremy Teal (Torin Thatcher), Penrose is en route to a stag party when his car is stopped by the giant Styx, looming out of the darkness to seemingly crush the life out of the chauffeur (Billy Beck), after which a demonic character calling himself Squire Moloch forces his two prisoners at gunpoint to get back in their car and drive deeper across the moors. Moloch is a devilish fellow, evil grimace with one tooth missing, long, unkempt white hair beneath top hat, and the ability to light the torches or kill Teal with barely a snap of his fingers. While poor Laura remains gagged and helpless nearby, Penrose finds himself locked in a cell containing a well, inside an abandoned old ruin on his own property, where Moloch claims he was murdered by Robert's father to gain possession of the entire estate, only now returning from the grave to avenge himself upon the son. The finale may prove disappointing on a first time viewing (itself a remake of Tod Browning's "Mark of the Vampire"), but Daniell's magnetic presence papers over the holes in the plot, easily his finest hour on the show (still to come are "Prisoner in the Mirror," "The Grim Reaper," and "God Grante that She Lye Stille"). This was only Richard Kiel's second acting role on television, and though still a novice he acquits himself well delivering his few lines, shortly before his starring debut in the title role of "Eegah."