kevin olzak
This 11-minute black & white short was produced in 1972 by the American Film Institute and, to the best of my knowledge, was last screened on cable's A&E channel in January 1988. Joanna Phillips plays the domineering wife who convinces her spineless husband (John Fiedler) to push his wealthy uncle off of a cliff so they can begin searching for traces of the old man's hidden treasure in his dark and foreboding mansion. A surprise awaits them when they find it, due to the fact that the late uncle (the great John Carradine) also happened to dabble in the occult. Beautifully shot and well designed by famed comic artist Jim Steranko (billed only as Steranko). Actor John Fiedler enjoyed the experience although it took several months of on-again, off-again shooting, adding that Carradine was quite probably in his cups. Director Ken Dixon would work with Carradine again on the 1981 video compilation "The Best of Sex and Violence." The actor was listed as "Special Host," narrating the inserts between a series of exploitation trailers from the 1970's. Apart from the nostalgia factor for drive-in buffs, this rarity also featured a hilarious off the cuff and unrehearsed pair of cameos from John's sons David and Keith just before the very last trailer. John would make one final short in 1982, "A Rose for Emily," opposite Anjelica Huston.
