The Evil Touch
Encyclopedia
The Evil Touch is an Australian-produced television
series, originally broadcast in Australia in 1973. It was an anthology series where each episode had a self-contained story and a new set of characters. Each episode feature a new cast of guest actors, although several guest stars appeared in more than one episode, playing different characters. Each story is a thriller or horror story of some variety, ranging from tales of the occult and the supernatural, science fiction horror stories, to more standard murder schemes and whodunit
s. Most stories feature a twist ending.
producer Mende Brown
and partly funded by the Nine Network. The show's key feature was an international cast - mostly US television actors - taking lead roles in episodes. They were lured to Australia to participate in the show by also being allowed to direct an episode. Supporting roles would be filled by Australian television stars. Although Australian television was still in black and white in 1973, to aid international marketability this series was shot entirely in colour, and on film.
Each episode was introduced by Anthony Quayle
who appeared in a darkened studio surrounded by unearthly golden smoke imagery, frequently reminding viewers that there "was a touch of evil in all of us". He returned to provide the epilogue to each installment, always wishing viewers "pleasant dreams".
, Vic Morrow
, Darren McGavin
, Julie Harris
, Carol Lynley
, Jack Thompson
, Elaine Lee
, John Morris, June Thody, Tony Bonner
, Neva Carr Glyn
, Janet Kingsbury, Mirren Lee, Reg Evans
. Several actors appeared in multiple episodes as different characters. Morrow and McGavin acted in two and three different episodes respectively, playing different characters, and each directed one of the episodes they acted in.
in the US. In Australia it was repeated in a late-night slot several times up until the mid 1980s.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, originally broadcast in Australia in 1973. It was an anthology series where each episode had a self-contained story and a new set of characters. Each episode feature a new cast of guest actors, although several guest stars appeared in more than one episode, playing different characters. Each story is a thriller or horror story of some variety, ranging from tales of the occult and the supernatural, science fiction horror stories, to more standard murder schemes and whodunit
Whodunit
A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
s. Most stories feature a twist ending.
Overview
The series was produced by AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
producer Mende Brown
Himan Brown
Himan Brown , also known as Hi Brown and Mende Brown, was an American producer of radio programs. Producing for the major radio networks and also for syndication, Brown worked with such actors as Helen Hayes, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Gregory Peck, Frank Sinatra and Orson Welles while creating...
and partly funded by the Nine Network. The show's key feature was an international cast - mostly US television actors - taking lead roles in episodes. They were lured to Australia to participate in the show by also being allowed to direct an episode. Supporting roles would be filled by Australian television stars. Although Australian television was still in black and white in 1973, to aid international marketability this series was shot entirely in colour, and on film.
Each episode was introduced by Anthony Quayle
Anthony Quayle
Sir John Anthony Quayle, CBE was an English actor and director.-Early life:Quayle was born in Ainsdale, Southport, in Lancashire to a Manx family....
who appeared in a darkened studio surrounded by unearthly golden smoke imagery, frequently reminding viewers that there "was a touch of evil in all of us". He returned to provide the epilogue to each installment, always wishing viewers "pleasant dreams".
Cast
Each episode featured a new setting and characters and a different cast. Various US and Australian actors appeared in the series, including Leslie NielsenLeslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
, Vic Morrow
Vic Morrow
Victor "Vic" Morrow was an American actor whose credits include a starring role in the 1960s TV series Combat!, prominent roles in a handful of other television and cinema dramas, and numerous guest roles on television...
, Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
, Julie Harris
Julie Harris
Julia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
, Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...
, Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson (actor)
Jack Thompson, AM is an Australian actor and one of the major figures of Australian cinema. He was educated at University of Queensland, before embarking on his acting career. In 2002, he was made an honorary member of the Australian Cinematographers Society...
, Elaine Lee
Elaine Lee (actor)
Elaine Lee is an Australia-based theatre and television actor best known for her long-running role in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96....
, John Morris, June Thody, Tony Bonner
Tony Bonner
Tony Bonner is an Australian television, film and stage actor and singer. Bonner became famous in the 1960s children's television series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, later moving on to lead roles in the dramas Cop Shop and Skyways.-Early life:Bonner was born in Manly, a northern beach suburb of Sydney...
, Neva Carr Glyn
Neva Carr Glyn
Neva Carr Glyn or Neva Carr Glynn born "Neva Josephine Mary Carr Glyn" was an Australian contralto and actress born in Melbourne to Arthur Benjamin Carr Glyn , a humorous baritone and stage manager born in Ireland, and Marie Carr Glyn , née Marie Dunoon Senior , an actress with the stage...
, Janet Kingsbury, Mirren Lee, Reg Evans
Reg Evans
Reginald "Reg" Evans was a British-born actor active in Australian television, theatre, and cinema from the 1960s....
. Several actors appeared in multiple episodes as different characters. Morrow and McGavin acted in two and three different episodes respectively, playing different characters, and each directed one of the episodes they acted in.
Broadcasts
The series was initially screened in Australia by the Nine Network in a prime time slot. The series was also screened by NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in the US. In Australia it was repeated in a late-night slot several times up until the mid 1980s.
List of episodes
- 1.The Lake
- 2.Heart to Heart
- 3.Dr. McDermitt's New Patients
- 4.The Obituary
- 5.Happy New Year, Aunt Carrie
- 6.A Game of Hearts
- 7.Seeing Is Believing
- 8.The Upper Hand
- 9.Murder Is for the Birds
- 10.Marcie
- 11.George
- 12.Scared to Death
- 13.The Homecoming
- 14.Dear Beloved Monster
- 15.Campaign 20
- 16.Faulkner's Choice
- 17.Dear Cora, I'm Going to Kill You
- 18.The Trial
- 19.The Fans
- 20.Kaidaitcha Country
- 21.Gornak's Prism
- 22.The Voyage
- 23.Death by Dreaming
- 24.Never Fool With a Gypsy Icon
- 25.They
- 26.Wings of Death