I love TV anthology shows--especially the ones from the 1950s and 60s. I have watched quite a few of these lately--all either from DVDs from Netflix or from archive.org. However, after seeing disc one of "Thriller", I am apprehensive to get another. While you MIGHT think the shows are about the supernatural and are very similar to "The Twilight Zone", they are nothing like that--at least in the early episodes. I've read from one reviewer that the show DID later become like that--but I am not sure I have the patience to wade through any more mediocre shows like I just watched on disc one.
Mary Astor plays a faded star and alcoholic. However, out of the blue, she gets a job--but is rather cryptic about it. Weirdly, only a short time later, she's discovered dead--and no where near a film studio or playhouse. So, her ex-alcohol counselor and one of her ex-husbands decide to investigate on their own.
As I sat and watched "Rose's Last Summer", I couldn't help but wonder why Mary Astor agreed to star in this bad episode. Could it be she needed the money that badly?! The bottom line is that the 'surprise twist' is about as unsurprising as possible...and the show has a lot of plot holes. First, why would an alcohol counselor fly across the country and investigate a crime like a private detective. It was hard enough believing that ex-husband would do this. Second, why would the conspirators toss a body on their own property? Why didn't they toss the corpse elsewhere to divert suspicion from themselves. And, when folks came to talk to them, why would they behave so defensively?! Third, to buy any of this stupid story, you need to accept the old cliché of identical strangers. AND, no one seems to realize this until very late in the story--presumably because everyone was stupid. Fourth,...well, I won't bother going on...but I just found it all to be a predictable mess of a show.
