This film with the great Hans Conried is based on a sci-fi story by Henry Kuttner. The original story is wonderful about a little man who wakes us disoriented in a TV assembly plant. When the foreman asks what he does, he remembers he makes "twonkies." He does, in the form of a TV and disappears. Without this bit of knowledge, this film makes little sense in the beginning. Bit by bit, the information comes in as the hapless Cary West (Conried) is taken over by the Twonky. This theme of a TV coming into your home and taking over will be repeated years later by Spielberg with Poltergeist. Once you can establish this premise, this story unwinds beautifully. Hans Conried is at his best. Check this out. No great moments, no star-studded cast, just a simple message: TV sucks. No video for watch for it on the late show and check it out.
35 Reviews
A cautionary tale of TV from the future
max von meyerling15 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This may have nothing to do about nothing, but a college film student friend of mine was taking a course in American Studies and had to write a paper on the relationship between the film industry and the establishment of early television. I gave him the run down and when he showed me his paper it was 180 degrees from what I had told him. Then he showed me his text book and damn if the text book wasn't 100% wrong about what had actually happened. The professor of the American Studies class was a South Korean with a PhD. in American Studies from a South Korean University and therefore a certified expert in American Studies.
The textbook author, a Johns Hopkins professor no less, was too young to have experienced the era he was writing about and appeared to have established a hypothesis, and then bent some facts, ignored a lot of other facts, shoehorned non-compatible ideas and reinterpreted events to suit his thesis. His idea was that the film industry had taken control of television from the very beginning. As someone whose had a TV since 1948 and can remember as far back as 1949 with certainty I know that this is completely wrong. Yet this is what's taught in out Universities. It gives one pause to think what about what we accept as history from more remote times?
Famously the film industry was offered (before WW2) Television first. It was thought that films could be distributed electronically from central points saving on prints, projectionists, physically transporting reels of film, etc. The offer was rejected. Television was taken up by the Radio Industry. NBC and CBS along with DuMont and Westinghouse were the first to start up stations. It fit into the radio model pattern, sponsorship, shows of 15, 30 and one-hour lengths. Sponsors bought time for particular shows and became identified with the shows. Often sponsors or their ad agencies produced the shows themselves.
The film industry's response was to go out of its way to ignore television. In 1951 MGM released WALK EAST ON BEACON where the script has to go through back-flips as the FBI use television surveillance but can't mention the word television. In THE NEXT VOICE YOU HEAR the voice of God is heard by families clustered around the family radio. At Warner Brothers, no television set was allowed to be seen in any set shot for the company. Independent producer Sam Goldwyn was more forthcoming, expressing the sense of doom that the other moguls refused to articulate when he predicted that people would stay home to watch bad movies for free instead of going out to pay for bad movies.
Only Universal, owned by the Music Company of America, the major talent agency in Hollywood, went into television with their Revue Productions. This was actually illegal because it was a clear conflict of interest for a company to both represent talent and produce (employ them) but they got an exception because of a deal made by the president of the Screen Actors Guild, Ronald Reagan. Reagan went from 18th vice-president of SAG to president because the other 19 guys quit to go into independent production because of the Consent Decree and being a producer and actor's union official was a Conflict of Interest. The actors like Robert Montgomery, David Niven, Charles Boyer etc. went on to produce TV series. When Ronald Reagan also went into production with Revue it was a secret and illegal if not unethical.
But in 1951 the film industry was basically in ostrich mode. Arch Obler was a radio hot shot, representing absolutely the summit of the mediums achievement. His show LIGHTS OUT was universally admired. LIGHTS OUT was a sort of precursor to the Twilight Zone, heavily weighted as a writer's medium, taking up serious subjects in a fantastical genre.
Obler had already begun writing and producing for TV when he shot THE TWONKY. This was not a film industry production but an independent (yeah, they had them in those days) production. Most of the action takes place in one large house, one might speculate that it was Obler's. The actors, starting with Hans Conried, were all stars from radio. The film can be "listened to" as a radio show. Almost all of the action is shot either in the house or on location, pretty much on the fly. Though listed as a 1953 release (it ran in only three theatres) it has been reported as being filmed in 1952 though from the appearance of Conried's daughter, Trilby, filming must have started in 1951.
This film was like a living example of LIGHTS OUT, a cautionary tale of the one eyed monster taking over everybody's life, controlling consciousness, defining the context of human life all under the aegis of helping mankind. By the end of the decade Rod Serling would have perfected the form and could easily have made The Twonky as a half hour teleplay.
So unlike the official Film Industry, Obler not only recognized and participated in the new medium, but also called out a warning that some interactive TV from the future could dominate all human life on the planet, even the right to be wrong.
A more modern rethink of this prospect can be seen in Sam Peckenpaugh's last film, THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND (1983), which had the advantage of having observed some 35 years of a television saturated society.
The film industry wouldn't begin to pry its way into television until the middle to late 50s. Sponsored programs disappeared in the 70s as TV stations just sold time.
The textbook author, a Johns Hopkins professor no less, was too young to have experienced the era he was writing about and appeared to have established a hypothesis, and then bent some facts, ignored a lot of other facts, shoehorned non-compatible ideas and reinterpreted events to suit his thesis. His idea was that the film industry had taken control of television from the very beginning. As someone whose had a TV since 1948 and can remember as far back as 1949 with certainty I know that this is completely wrong. Yet this is what's taught in out Universities. It gives one pause to think what about what we accept as history from more remote times?
Famously the film industry was offered (before WW2) Television first. It was thought that films could be distributed electronically from central points saving on prints, projectionists, physically transporting reels of film, etc. The offer was rejected. Television was taken up by the Radio Industry. NBC and CBS along with DuMont and Westinghouse were the first to start up stations. It fit into the radio model pattern, sponsorship, shows of 15, 30 and one-hour lengths. Sponsors bought time for particular shows and became identified with the shows. Often sponsors or their ad agencies produced the shows themselves.
The film industry's response was to go out of its way to ignore television. In 1951 MGM released WALK EAST ON BEACON where the script has to go through back-flips as the FBI use television surveillance but can't mention the word television. In THE NEXT VOICE YOU HEAR the voice of God is heard by families clustered around the family radio. At Warner Brothers, no television set was allowed to be seen in any set shot for the company. Independent producer Sam Goldwyn was more forthcoming, expressing the sense of doom that the other moguls refused to articulate when he predicted that people would stay home to watch bad movies for free instead of going out to pay for bad movies.
Only Universal, owned by the Music Company of America, the major talent agency in Hollywood, went into television with their Revue Productions. This was actually illegal because it was a clear conflict of interest for a company to both represent talent and produce (employ them) but they got an exception because of a deal made by the president of the Screen Actors Guild, Ronald Reagan. Reagan went from 18th vice-president of SAG to president because the other 19 guys quit to go into independent production because of the Consent Decree and being a producer and actor's union official was a Conflict of Interest. The actors like Robert Montgomery, David Niven, Charles Boyer etc. went on to produce TV series. When Ronald Reagan also went into production with Revue it was a secret and illegal if not unethical.
But in 1951 the film industry was basically in ostrich mode. Arch Obler was a radio hot shot, representing absolutely the summit of the mediums achievement. His show LIGHTS OUT was universally admired. LIGHTS OUT was a sort of precursor to the Twilight Zone, heavily weighted as a writer's medium, taking up serious subjects in a fantastical genre.
Obler had already begun writing and producing for TV when he shot THE TWONKY. This was not a film industry production but an independent (yeah, they had them in those days) production. Most of the action takes place in one large house, one might speculate that it was Obler's. The actors, starting with Hans Conried, were all stars from radio. The film can be "listened to" as a radio show. Almost all of the action is shot either in the house or on location, pretty much on the fly. Though listed as a 1953 release (it ran in only three theatres) it has been reported as being filmed in 1952 though from the appearance of Conried's daughter, Trilby, filming must have started in 1951.
This film was like a living example of LIGHTS OUT, a cautionary tale of the one eyed monster taking over everybody's life, controlling consciousness, defining the context of human life all under the aegis of helping mankind. By the end of the decade Rod Serling would have perfected the form and could easily have made The Twonky as a half hour teleplay.
So unlike the official Film Industry, Obler not only recognized and participated in the new medium, but also called out a warning that some interactive TV from the future could dominate all human life on the planet, even the right to be wrong.
A more modern rethink of this prospect can be seen in Sam Peckenpaugh's last film, THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND (1983), which had the advantage of having observed some 35 years of a television saturated society.
The film industry wouldn't begin to pry its way into television until the middle to late 50s. Sponsored programs disappeared in the 70s as TV stations just sold time.
This film scared me to death when I was a kid.
lacohen8 August 2001
This film scared me to death when I was a kid. I remember watching it on some Saturday morning scary feature show, on our old black and white TV, you know the ones... big rounded-corner screen, two knobs below. If you see the movie, that's what the alien/future thing looks like. And of course, I started seeing the "face" that was formed from that particular configuration of knobs and screen. To see it reviewed as a comedy is so far removed from my memories of this film, that it makes me want to see it again. I've always believed that my brother and I are the only two people who ever saw this film, or at least remembered it.
The attack of the T.V. antenna.
mark.waltz3 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
If it wasn't for "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.", comical character actor Hans Conreid may never have slipped out of the small, forgettable character roles he had been getting for well over a decade before he wore a coat of many gay colors (and apparently many different animals) in that Dr. Seuss cult classic. His career on screen, stage and T.V. lasted far longer than I had thought and included many different characters. Here, he's a milquetoast husband who is addicted to that new fangled invention called television, and ultimately finds his life taken over by what brings him reception. They aren't quite rabbit ears, closer to Robbie the Robot, and he finds himself doing the oddest things at its bequest. In exchange, the Twonky does all sorts of favors for him, too, even removing his very unnoticeable beard when he mentions that he needs a shave.
"Who the devil outside of Hollywood is making mechanical men?", Conreid's pal asks him, not believing him. The film features a mostly unknown cast, with Gloria Blondell (Joan's sister) as perhaps the most known actor outside of Conreid. There's fun supporting performances by Bennie Washington as the spunky landlady boasting that her T.V. is better than Conreid's; Edwin Max as the T.V. repairman, and Billy Lynn (who reminded me of Leon Errol) as a college football coach. When the robot begins to speak, pandemonium ensues, especially when it calls the telephone company to request female companionship for Conreid. This leads to a delightfully silly conclusion, and Conreid is a delight through out, as is the voice of the Twonky itself. A little sleeper which flopped badly in its time, it is perhaps a bit ahead of its time, and for those who have become addicted to the boob tube, idiot box or whatever you want to call it, the film is rather insightful as to its look into the future.
"Who the devil outside of Hollywood is making mechanical men?", Conreid's pal asks him, not believing him. The film features a mostly unknown cast, with Gloria Blondell (Joan's sister) as perhaps the most known actor outside of Conreid. There's fun supporting performances by Bennie Washington as the spunky landlady boasting that her T.V. is better than Conreid's; Edwin Max as the T.V. repairman, and Billy Lynn (who reminded me of Leon Errol) as a college football coach. When the robot begins to speak, pandemonium ensues, especially when it calls the telephone company to request female companionship for Conreid. This leads to a delightfully silly conclusion, and Conreid is a delight through out, as is the voice of the Twonky itself. A little sleeper which flopped badly in its time, it is perhaps a bit ahead of its time, and for those who have become addicted to the boob tube, idiot box or whatever you want to call it, the film is rather insightful as to its look into the future.
An intriguing time capsule despite its frivolity
soulexpress24 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"A twonky is something that you don't know what it is."
So says college football coach Trout (Billy Lynn) to his colleague, Professor Kerry West (Hans Conried), whose wife is away and bought a TV set to keep her husband company. There's just one problem: the set is ambulatory, has a mind of its own, and is hellbent on micromanaging every aspect of Kerry's life. It lights his cigarettes, empties the dishwasher, answers the phone, removes the cap from his Coke bottle, does the vacuuming, and prevents any harm from coming to Kerry—even if it means emptying the minds of police officers, U.S. Treasury agents, a TV repairman, and Coach Trout himself.
There's also a female bill collector who refuses to leave Kerry's house until he pays her. The Twonky zaps the woman with a laser that burns her clothes off, causing her to run screaming into the streets naked. It also has a powerful self-preservation impulse, as a college football team learns when they try to destroy the set with axes, hammers and crowbars.
Some three decades before "Poltergeist," this film attempted to make a TV set look intimidating. Given the limited special-effects technology available at the time, it failed to accomplish that goal. Instead, it looks quite silly when this 1951 Admiral walks across Kerry's living room, climbs the stairs, and gets into the front seat of Kerry's car.
For the most part, "The Twonky" is a comedy—though the humor is dated and corny. There is, however, a ten-minute segment near the end when the film takes a dark turn. Alas, it quickly abandons the darkness and reverts to cornball humor. That said, Hans Conried rises above the dippy screeenplay. Already a seasoned professional, he delivers a credible portrait of a man whose electronic slavemaster takes a toll on his mental state.
From the beginning, some people worried that TV would isolate us all and lower our collective IQ. Despite its frivolity, "The Twonky" is an intriguing time capsule of that period.
So says college football coach Trout (Billy Lynn) to his colleague, Professor Kerry West (Hans Conried), whose wife is away and bought a TV set to keep her husband company. There's just one problem: the set is ambulatory, has a mind of its own, and is hellbent on micromanaging every aspect of Kerry's life. It lights his cigarettes, empties the dishwasher, answers the phone, removes the cap from his Coke bottle, does the vacuuming, and prevents any harm from coming to Kerry—even if it means emptying the minds of police officers, U.S. Treasury agents, a TV repairman, and Coach Trout himself.
There's also a female bill collector who refuses to leave Kerry's house until he pays her. The Twonky zaps the woman with a laser that burns her clothes off, causing her to run screaming into the streets naked. It also has a powerful self-preservation impulse, as a college football team learns when they try to destroy the set with axes, hammers and crowbars.
Some three decades before "Poltergeist," this film attempted to make a TV set look intimidating. Given the limited special-effects technology available at the time, it failed to accomplish that goal. Instead, it looks quite silly when this 1951 Admiral walks across Kerry's living room, climbs the stairs, and gets into the front seat of Kerry's car.
For the most part, "The Twonky" is a comedy—though the humor is dated and corny. There is, however, a ten-minute segment near the end when the film takes a dark turn. Alas, it quickly abandons the darkness and reverts to cornball humor. That said, Hans Conried rises above the dippy screeenplay. Already a seasoned professional, he delivers a credible portrait of a man whose electronic slavemaster takes a toll on his mental state.
From the beginning, some people worried that TV would isolate us all and lower our collective IQ. Despite its frivolity, "The Twonky" is an intriguing time capsule of that period.
Botching of a Fascinating Concept
RJV15 December 2001
Warning: Spoilers
(POSSIBLE SPOILER) In this film, Carolyn West (Janet Warren) tells her husband Cary (Hans Conried) she's going away to look after her pregnant sister. She buys him a television set to keep him occupied. But this is no ordinary set. It lights cigarettes, produces money and moves around the house. What is truly disturbing is that the set seems to have a mind of its own. It tries to dominate Cary by playing records he doesn't like, making weird phone calls, etc. It turns out the set is possessed by a spirit from the future called a "Twonky."
The concept of a TV set that attempts to run an individual's life has great satirical potential. Certainly it was quite fresh in 1953 when television was a relatively new phenomenon. Unfortunately, writer/director Arch Oboler doesn't examine how the SHOWS on television numb the mind. In fact, the TV set remains blank so any opportunities for jabs at TV staples like soap operas and commercials are thrown out the window.
If there are any attempts to explore television's heinous effects, they are ultimately muddled. At one point, Cary complains that the Twonky is denying him his "God given right to be wrong." What is that supposed to mean? Oboler never clarifies this statement. And in terms of execution of the scenario, THE TWONKY ultimately winds up not an allegorical struggle to maintain one's individuality but a standard sci fi man vs. robot battle.
It's a shame that Hans Conried's only opportunity for a starring film role was in this misbegotten movie. He does his best, but he is ultimately defeated by the material. If he had been given a better vehicle, he might have become a star instead of remaining a character actor.
The concept of a TV set that attempts to run an individual's life has great satirical potential. Certainly it was quite fresh in 1953 when television was a relatively new phenomenon. Unfortunately, writer/director Arch Oboler doesn't examine how the SHOWS on television numb the mind. In fact, the TV set remains blank so any opportunities for jabs at TV staples like soap operas and commercials are thrown out the window.
If there are any attempts to explore television's heinous effects, they are ultimately muddled. At one point, Cary complains that the Twonky is denying him his "God given right to be wrong." What is that supposed to mean? Oboler never clarifies this statement. And in terms of execution of the scenario, THE TWONKY ultimately winds up not an allegorical struggle to maintain one's individuality but a standard sci fi man vs. robot battle.
It's a shame that Hans Conried's only opportunity for a starring film role was in this misbegotten movie. He does his best, but he is ultimately defeated by the material. If he had been given a better vehicle, he might have become a star instead of remaining a character actor.
Not Citizen Kane, but a fun quirky little movie
allegra115 November 2005
I guess you either love or hate "The Twonky". Considering the kinds of big studio made films that were coming out of Hollywood at the time this film was made, I find the Twonky rather refreshing. It's odd and quirky, and expresses many people's fears and concerns over the early days of television and what it might do to our culture. The film is not without it's faults, but I can overlook them, one reason being the film's star, Hans Conried, who brings something more to the cheap little film than another lesser performer might have. I have NOT read the original story, so I can't compare the two, but usually the original story is superior to any film adaption. However despite the films shortcomings, I find it a unique item from it's time. Mike Walters
Dreary, smirky disaster
Erewhon24 October 2003
Henry Kuttner's short story was terrific, and could have made for a very good movie -- but not as in the hands of Arch Oboler. He overstates everything, drags out the compact story, and insists on inserting a MESSAGE into a story that doesn't require one. It's a shame that the great Hans Conried's only solo starring movie is one as bad as this.
Incidentally, this film is a prime example of why the IMDb rating system is faulty. It's inconceivable that 25 people would consider this trifle to be one of the greatest movies ever made -- but that's how they voted. 25 people gave this a 10. What a foolish thing to do.
Incidentally, this film is a prime example of why the IMDb rating system is faulty. It's inconceivable that 25 people would consider this trifle to be one of the greatest movies ever made -- but that's how they voted. 25 people gave this a 10. What a foolish thing to do.
Stranger Than Strange
telegonus10 April 2001
The Twonky is stranger than strange. A comedy-science fiction movie written by novelist Henry Kuttner and directed by one-time radio tyro Arch Oboler, it features Hans Conried as a college professor whose life is turned upside down by a television set that has developed a personality of its own, and seems determined to take over Conried's as well. Part of the fun is watching the star grapple (this may not be quite the right word) with his material in what may well be his only starring film role. I loved Hans Conried when I was growing up. He was a one of a kind performer who never got really well cast in movies or on television, though he had a successful stage and radio career. Conried was at once child-like and supercilious, and he had a vaguely European demeanor and sensibility, though he was in fact American-born. There was a refined, aristocratic quality to him, and he had impeccable timing. He was hammy and ironic at the same time, and he had a way of letting you knew that he knew that you got it. As an actor he was like a cross between Vincent Price and Joseph Schildkraut. Style was everything with him. What the hell he was doing in this bizarre-sub B movie is anyone's guess. He is well-cast in this film, but the movie is like a Saturday Night Live send-up of Ed Wood. As such it is enjoyable. Seldom has so much talent screwed up so regally as in The Twonky. I'm surprised it's not a cult classic.
William Castle, where art thou?
moonspinner5517 September 2006
Oddball fantasy without the proper budget to expand on its theme. Hans Conried plays your typical milquetoast whose humdrum life is suddenly taken over...by his television set! No, he didn't trade in his cable-box for a satellite dish, it turns out the TV set has a mind of its own. Though certainly a bizarre curiosity item from the 1950s, "The Twonky" is a slimly-plotted and exceptionally silly quasi-comedy which could use a few gimmicks (where's William Castle when you need him?). Filmed very cheaply in black-and-white, the movie holds absolutely no resonance today, despite its theme (television vs. 'real life'). It may be good for a peek, but there aren't many intentional laughs, and character-actor Conried is fussy and annoying. *1/2 from ****
Surprisingly good, considering
smokehill retrievers15 April 2009
Keeping in mind that the entire budget was probably more than Spielberg spends for lunch, this was not bad, especially for '52-53.
Somewhat different from Henry Kuttner's original story (where the twonky was a console radio set), I still really liked it. We just need to keep in mind the time it was made.
I've always liked Hans Conreid & thought he was a good pick for this role. It wouldn't have worked as a drama, but as a comedy -- great! As a long-time sci-fi & horror fan, I'm amazed that I had no idea this film existed until I stumbled across it on Turner Classic today.
Henry Kuttner, the short story author, also wrote the short story ("Mimsy Were the Borogoves") that was turned into the feeble "The Last Mimzy." For anyone who appreciates sci-fi from The Golden Age, it's well worth tracking down both of these. Kuttner died in his 30s of a heart attack, cheating us out of what should have been some great work.
Somewhat different from Henry Kuttner's original story (where the twonky was a console radio set), I still really liked it. We just need to keep in mind the time it was made.
I've always liked Hans Conreid & thought he was a good pick for this role. It wouldn't have worked as a drama, but as a comedy -- great! As a long-time sci-fi & horror fan, I'm amazed that I had no idea this film existed until I stumbled across it on Turner Classic today.
Henry Kuttner, the short story author, also wrote the short story ("Mimsy Were the Borogoves") that was turned into the feeble "The Last Mimzy." For anyone who appreciates sci-fi from The Golden Age, it's well worth tracking down both of these. Kuttner died in his 30s of a heart attack, cheating us out of what should have been some great work.
smart, breezy small-budget satire
myriamlenys28 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Now that he is home alone for a few days, a married man is firmly determined to enjoy his new television set. Strangely enough, the television set seems to have far more assets and attributes than advertised. It is also strangely mobile, moving around easily on its little four-legged table...
Weirdly prescient satire, part comedy part science-fiction, about the way in which television takes over daily life in a household. In "The Twonky", the television pursues its owners, interferes with domestic routines, plays havoc with social and religious obligations, and suppresses any deep and scholarly thought. It also preaches a single oppressive Way of Life. One cannot accuse the various makers of "The Twonky" of inaccuracy...
The special effects aren't anything to write home about, but apart from that it's a clever, likeable little satire that doesn't take itself too seriously. It contains a lot of funny scenes, such as the scene where our hero, a university professor, tells an acquaintance about his troubles. The acquaintance promises to help, before telling him about his own life problems and falling asleep on the sofa, drunk on home-made wine.
Sadly enough the image quality was badly deteriorated - at least in the version I watched. At times the black-and-white seemed to dissolve like a sand castle attacked by a wave.
Weirdly prescient satire, part comedy part science-fiction, about the way in which television takes over daily life in a household. In "The Twonky", the television pursues its owners, interferes with domestic routines, plays havoc with social and religious obligations, and suppresses any deep and scholarly thought. It also preaches a single oppressive Way of Life. One cannot accuse the various makers of "The Twonky" of inaccuracy...
The special effects aren't anything to write home about, but apart from that it's a clever, likeable little satire that doesn't take itself too seriously. It contains a lot of funny scenes, such as the scene where our hero, a university professor, tells an acquaintance about his troubles. The acquaintance promises to help, before telling him about his own life problems and falling asleep on the sofa, drunk on home-made wine.
Sadly enough the image quality was badly deteriorated - at least in the version I watched. At times the black-and-white seemed to dissolve like a sand castle attacked by a wave.
The Twonky: A little-known quirky comedy from 53'
Idiot-Deluxe16 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
" Ultra-Obscure Super-Shi**y Cinema " presents: The Twonky
The Twonky is an extremely dated and obscure sci-fi/comedy from the early 50's, it's also rather distinctive, because I can't think of any other movie quite like it. I think my favorite thing about it is just how dated every single aspect about it is - especially the music, it's special effects and of course the vintage "television sets" some of which have four leg's and are in the habit of walking around the house.
"The Twonky" (WTF's a Twonky?) the title alone is what first made me look into this movie, certainly an eyebrow raiser, anyways the basic plot of it is this: A professor's wife leaves town for a visit to her sisters, and to keep her husband company while she's gone, she goes and buys one of those new-fangled electronic contraptions known as a television, only this ones very different from any other television. It's basically a robot and "It's Alive!" as it pretty much walks and talks and (obnoxiously, even violently at times) serves it's master by emitting rays of light from it's screen. It has the ability to: light cigarette's, explode coffee mugs, counterfeit 5 dollar bills, shave beards, polish shoes, tie bow-ties, paralyze legs and brainwash people - "Passion Through The Ages" why it even has kinky reading habits. Throughout the film an assemblage of characters manage to wander into the professors house, most of which cross paths with The Twonky, why all the while it's master is plotting on how to get rid of it.
If you don't follow me, just keep in mind that "The Twonky" IS the television set - as that will be obvious when watching the movie.
The Twonky strikes me as a very unique cornball comedy, though, however NOT a particularly good one. I think my favorite character is that very dopey and dull-witted TV serviceman - now that's some funny acting, that guy was born to play a dullard in the movies. I find that there's definitely some similarities between this movie and Harvey (1950) having seen both several times it's pretty obvious, why even one of the actors from Harvey is in this movie; but you'll need someone else to examine that and explain it. When comparing The Twonky to Harvey well.... this much is certain, both are quirky comedies from the early-50's, one is very well-known while the other is virtually unknown, one is brilliant, thee other is mediocre.
Charmingly, when I was watching this remarkably dated movie, I felt as if I were trapped in a time-warp of sorts and was being transported back to the early 1950's. Like I said it's VERY dated.
I know I haven't been exactly flattering of it in my review, however The Twonky DOES have it's qualities and is certainly worth seeing at least once. I must confess it's a better movie than I remember, I was going to rate it at 2 or 3 stars, but I recently saw it again and was left with a higher opinion of it. So sit back and admire the sheer strangeness of it all, as it certainly is an oddity and an obscure rarely seen one at that.
If you're ever wanting to see this obscure fossil of a movie try catching it on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) they have what is surely the best looking copy available; as most prints of The Twonky are terribly washed out and fuzzy and are just plain awful looking. But not so on TCM.
The Twonky is an extremely dated and obscure sci-fi/comedy from the early 50's, it's also rather distinctive, because I can't think of any other movie quite like it. I think my favorite thing about it is just how dated every single aspect about it is - especially the music, it's special effects and of course the vintage "television sets" some of which have four leg's and are in the habit of walking around the house.
"The Twonky" (WTF's a Twonky?) the title alone is what first made me look into this movie, certainly an eyebrow raiser, anyways the basic plot of it is this: A professor's wife leaves town for a visit to her sisters, and to keep her husband company while she's gone, she goes and buys one of those new-fangled electronic contraptions known as a television, only this ones very different from any other television. It's basically a robot and "It's Alive!" as it pretty much walks and talks and (obnoxiously, even violently at times) serves it's master by emitting rays of light from it's screen. It has the ability to: light cigarette's, explode coffee mugs, counterfeit 5 dollar bills, shave beards, polish shoes, tie bow-ties, paralyze legs and brainwash people - "Passion Through The Ages" why it even has kinky reading habits. Throughout the film an assemblage of characters manage to wander into the professors house, most of which cross paths with The Twonky, why all the while it's master is plotting on how to get rid of it.
If you don't follow me, just keep in mind that "The Twonky" IS the television set - as that will be obvious when watching the movie.
The Twonky strikes me as a very unique cornball comedy, though, however NOT a particularly good one. I think my favorite character is that very dopey and dull-witted TV serviceman - now that's some funny acting, that guy was born to play a dullard in the movies. I find that there's definitely some similarities between this movie and Harvey (1950) having seen both several times it's pretty obvious, why even one of the actors from Harvey is in this movie; but you'll need someone else to examine that and explain it. When comparing The Twonky to Harvey well.... this much is certain, both are quirky comedies from the early-50's, one is very well-known while the other is virtually unknown, one is brilliant, thee other is mediocre.
Charmingly, when I was watching this remarkably dated movie, I felt as if I were trapped in a time-warp of sorts and was being transported back to the early 1950's. Like I said it's VERY dated.
I know I haven't been exactly flattering of it in my review, however The Twonky DOES have it's qualities and is certainly worth seeing at least once. I must confess it's a better movie than I remember, I was going to rate it at 2 or 3 stars, but I recently saw it again and was left with a higher opinion of it. So sit back and admire the sheer strangeness of it all, as it certainly is an oddity and an obscure rarely seen one at that.
If you're ever wanting to see this obscure fossil of a movie try catching it on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) they have what is surely the best looking copy available; as most prints of The Twonky are terribly washed out and fuzzy and are just plain awful looking. But not so on TCM.
I agree with Lynne Cohen
lgrant8 June 2004
I agree, this movie scared me half to death when I saw it as a kid (probably around 8 or so).
I was surprised when I ran into it much later on IMDb, and it was billed as a comedy. Looking back through adult eyes, it was probably pretty funny, and I hope to see it again someday. But back then, the idea that a TV that looked just like our TV could be alive, was really scary, particularly since I was already having nightmares about the big speaker from my dad's hi-fi system chasing me around the room.
Maybe it will come out on DVD or VCD some day, and I can see it again.
I was surprised when I ran into it much later on IMDb, and it was billed as a comedy. Looking back through adult eyes, it was probably pretty funny, and I hope to see it again someday. But back then, the idea that a TV that looked just like our TV could be alive, was really scary, particularly since I was already having nightmares about the big speaker from my dad's hi-fi system chasing me around the room.
Maybe it will come out on DVD or VCD some day, and I can see it again.
It predicts the future.
brian34513 July 2018
Stupid...but enjoyable.
planktonrules2 July 2018
This film was made two years prior and then it was shelved until 1953. When it debuted, finally, it appeared in only three theaters and apparently a lot of folks walked out of the screening!
"The Twonky" is a strange sci-fi comedy...complete with a completely ridiculous 'monster'. And, the monster is a TV set that seems possessed!! It can walk, it can talk, it can use mind control AND it can make or destroy things. Because of that, although Professor West (Hans Conried) is scared of it, the robotic TV keeps out-thinking him and seems indestructible! No matter what he does, the TV survives and thrives...and in the process the Professor seems ready to lose his mind!
The movie is dumb...that goes without saying. But unlike some dumb monster films of the 1950s, this one doesn't take itself seriously...which is why I think it's worth seeing provided your expectations aren't high! Ultra-silly, that's for sure!
"The Twonky" is a strange sci-fi comedy...complete with a completely ridiculous 'monster'. And, the monster is a TV set that seems possessed!! It can walk, it can talk, it can use mind control AND it can make or destroy things. Because of that, although Professor West (Hans Conried) is scared of it, the robotic TV keeps out-thinking him and seems indestructible! No matter what he does, the TV survives and thrives...and in the process the Professor seems ready to lose his mind!
The movie is dumb...that goes without saying. But unlike some dumb monster films of the 1950s, this one doesn't take itself seriously...which is why I think it's worth seeing provided your expectations aren't high! Ultra-silly, that's for sure!
Lights out...
poe42618 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Arch Oboler's LIGHTS OUT is one of the handful of radio shows I've listened to over the years that was genuinely worth listening to. (One of my all-time favorite writers, Harlan Ellison, mentioned Oboler's show somewhere along the line, and that's how I came to it. In DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND, one of Ellison's two episodes of the original black and white series THE OUTER LIMITS, one of the characters is called "Arch." I'm guessing he was named after Oboler.) Likewise, his end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it feature, FIVE, was watchable. THE TWONKY, while maybe not as watchable as FIVE, is nonetheless not bad for what it is (or isn't). As pointed out elsewhere, it could've fit right in with the rest of the episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE. Once the one-eyed monster gets its hooks in you, you're as good as finished. (Just look around you.) Both NETWORK and VIDEODROME would go still further in their depictions of a medium gone mad, but Henry Kuttner and Arch Oboler were there first. And funniest.
May Frighten Young Children
john-618918 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This one might be a little too frightening for young children, perhaps under about age 8. There seems to be an "urban legend" about this movie, in fact, where a small child who saw this on some B-movie TV show develops an intense fear of household appliances and electricity after being slightly injured by the family's TV set when he/she tries to "protect the family" by opening up the set and pulling out some tubes. The trouble is, tubes get pretty hot while operating and TV sets of the conventional (direct-view CRT) type can store enough of a charge in certain parts for hours or days after being turned off and/or unplugged to deliver a nasty jolt. Although the residual charge is rarely enough to cause permanent injury or death, it can give a painful and frightening shock (Been shocked enough times myself, I ought to know.). In the old days, hot tubes burned many tiny fingers (I've had THAT experience myself, too.). There can be "hot spots" inside transistorized TV sets, too, especially in the Power Supply area. Obviously, I wasn't traumatized too badly from minor mishaps in my youth with electricity. Minor mishaps sparked scientific curiosity for me. I now restore Vintage TV sets professionally for Collectors and/or Museums and have worked as a TV Repairman for many years. The urban legend I heard, while not necessarily true, is certainly quite plausible. If showing this one to a child under age 8, make sure to hide Dad's toolbox well out of Junior's reach for a few days afterward.
A Radio Guy Writes a MOVIE about a Possessed TV
jwpeel-115 April 2009
Hans Conreid is one of my favorite character actors of all time, and here he is put to the test as a man whose wife has bought him a television to entertain him while she is away So many people don't get the point of this movie, and it really is quite simple considering the history of the time. This is in the infancy of television and the motion picture industry was suffering at the time because people found it was cheaper to stay at home for their entertainment. So what does the industry do? They hire Arch Oboler of radio fame to write a screenplay about an almost despotic TV set. It's pretty basic, and makes for a surreal and entertaining time. Think of "The Twilight Zone" with a sense of humor and you get "The Twonky Zone" basically. Just sit back and enjoy, and if smoke 'em if you got 'em. The Twonky will light it for you.
Crass wacky satire with Kubrickian overtones.
st-shot24 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Twenty five years before Hal there was Twonky. Disguised in a TV set Twonky has the same my way or the highway attitude the soothing voice computer had towards mankind in 2001. Purchased by a college professor and his wife it begins to wreak havoc at home and in the classroom driving the prof to a state of insanity. Eventually the football coach using a paper plate and applying Einstein solves the mystery of the stair climbing pre laser throwing control freak set. Pondering what Knute Rockne would do he sets his backfield on the embedded robot but they are subdued instead. It is left up to professor West (Hans Conreid) to outsmart the determined invader.
Made during the era in which television was transforming the American way of life and heeding Philo Farnsworth's grim prediction about his own invention Twonky is a sloppy slapstick satire that makes a strong point in its own goofy way about the mind numbing possibilities of the tube.
Director Arch Oboler is not out to make Network but he does get his digs in about society while maintaining the films low brow humor with a bevy of kookie characters in brief roles and situations. The introspective football coach (Billy Lynn) bedridden after being injured by Twonky, holds court from his room, his headboard covered in soft porn. The TV salesmen are comically oily and Evelyn Beresford as a tire changing English dowager insists on driving on the left side of the road since the US was once a colony of Great Britain. Suffering them all with exasperating befuddlement Hans Conreid handles the only leading role of his career with comic energy.
The Twonky may be disheveled and lame much of the time but it remains one of the first in line to satirize an object that is in nearly every home and still held up to ridicule (for good reason) over a half century later. It's a goofy trend setter.
Made during the era in which television was transforming the American way of life and heeding Philo Farnsworth's grim prediction about his own invention Twonky is a sloppy slapstick satire that makes a strong point in its own goofy way about the mind numbing possibilities of the tube.
Director Arch Oboler is not out to make Network but he does get his digs in about society while maintaining the films low brow humor with a bevy of kookie characters in brief roles and situations. The introspective football coach (Billy Lynn) bedridden after being injured by Twonky, holds court from his room, his headboard covered in soft porn. The TV salesmen are comically oily and Evelyn Beresford as a tire changing English dowager insists on driving on the left side of the road since the US was once a colony of Great Britain. Suffering them all with exasperating befuddlement Hans Conreid handles the only leading role of his career with comic energy.
The Twonky may be disheveled and lame much of the time but it remains one of the first in line to satirize an object that is in nearly every home and still held up to ridicule (for good reason) over a half century later. It's a goofy trend setter.
a frightening movie
oscar-3521 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
*Spoiler/plot- 1952, The Twonky, A man receives a TV set from his loving wife to keep him happy while she is out of the house. The TV set is really am alien from another planet and future time who is studying the human race's passions and problems. At first, it's fun. The man calls it, "A twonky". His name for a unexplainable, all powerful manipulator in his household life. The Twonky becomes more and more protective and restrictive for the man's likes and dislikes. But sadly, the twonky wins out in the end.
*Special Stars- Han Conreid as the husband. Arch Oboler as this satire's producer, writer, and director.
*Theme- The idiot tube will rob you of your individual life.
*Based on- The Golem tale.
*Trivia/location/goofs- This satire film was the ironic basis of many TV shows to follow like Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, Karloff's The Veil, and Outer Limits. This interesting film was aired on Conried's birthday on TCM many years ago. Am interesting satire like Hans Conried's film, "The 5000 Fingers of Dr T".
*Emotion- This was a frightening movie for your TV watchers to see and think about. 50's TV watcher's parents had voiced opposition to over watching so much TV, voiced in that new TV centric era. Some director decided to take those parental views and mix it into the scifi high suspense and drama of 'The Twonky'. The film makes some good points about human behavior and the use of TV in our society. Very interesting and maybe a screening today would be of particular note.
*Special Stars- Han Conreid as the husband. Arch Oboler as this satire's producer, writer, and director.
*Theme- The idiot tube will rob you of your individual life.
*Based on- The Golem tale.
*Trivia/location/goofs- This satire film was the ironic basis of many TV shows to follow like Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, Karloff's The Veil, and Outer Limits. This interesting film was aired on Conried's birthday on TCM many years ago. Am interesting satire like Hans Conried's film, "The 5000 Fingers of Dr T".
*Emotion- This was a frightening movie for your TV watchers to see and think about. 50's TV watcher's parents had voiced opposition to over watching so much TV, voiced in that new TV centric era. Some director decided to take those parental views and mix it into the scifi high suspense and drama of 'The Twonky'. The film makes some good points about human behavior and the use of TV in our society. Very interesting and maybe a screening today would be of particular note.
I always thought those things are possessed!
dstillman-8938317 April 2019
A television set takes on an intelligence and a will of its own and terrorizes its owner. It is an interesting and amusing story but is slow moving and has a very limited plot. There is not enough explanation of what the Twonky is, how it came to possess the man's tv and what its purpose is-besides driving its owner crazy.
Accidentally Predicted the Iphone
flapdoodle6414 March 2013
This film is a pleasant waste of time, with a reasonably clever script and good performances by Hans Conried and the slightly drunken guy who played the coach. There are a few surprising double-entendres that I did not expect, which contribute to an understated subversive message to this film.
For those that watch scifi movies expecting rocketships, monsters, FX, and explosions, this film will be a disappointment. As far as spectacle goes, this could easily be a radio or television play. As far as scifi-satire, this is pretty decent stuff and certainly one of the first cinematic examples of it. It's interesting to note that this film premiered in 1953, the same year as Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451,' which also satirized TV.
There is a walking TV set in this film, which is named 'the Twonky,' by the drunken coach, and this special effect is achieved by a primitive puppet of some sort...surprisingly, this effect works well from both a story-telling and mood point of view.
The basic concept here is that a piece of entertainment technology, in the name of being helpful, comes to take over and tyrannize the life of Hans Conried. My reaction, seeing this film for the first time in the year 2012, is that the writer essentially prophesied the Iphone and 'Android', and every similar 'personal electronic device' which now seems indispensable to us.
For those that watch scifi movies expecting rocketships, monsters, FX, and explosions, this film will be a disappointment. As far as spectacle goes, this could easily be a radio or television play. As far as scifi-satire, this is pretty decent stuff and certainly one of the first cinematic examples of it. It's interesting to note that this film premiered in 1953, the same year as Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451,' which also satirized TV.
There is a walking TV set in this film, which is named 'the Twonky,' by the drunken coach, and this special effect is achieved by a primitive puppet of some sort...surprisingly, this effect works well from both a story-telling and mood point of view.
The basic concept here is that a piece of entertainment technology, in the name of being helpful, comes to take over and tyrannize the life of Hans Conried. My reaction, seeing this film for the first time in the year 2012, is that the writer essentially prophesied the Iphone and 'Android', and every similar 'personal electronic device' which now seems indispensable to us.
Creepy TV
stuartlawyer5 February 2007
I remember watching this on the afternoon movie when I was around 11 or 12. That would have put it around '71 or '72. It was a really old movie then, but geez it was creepy. It did have some funny parts, but that TV walking around zapping people was just plain weird. Later in life the creepy TV was replaced by that Zuni fetish doll from Trilogy of Terror with Karen Black as the thing that scared the poop out of me, but up until that, the walking TV was at the top of the "creep scale". At this point in life I figure the creature from "Alien" has taken over the "things I don't want to find in the closet" category. Though I can't imagine it selling well, I'd love to see an "Alien vs. Twonky" feature film come out. It probably doesn't help the odds that no one I've ever talked to has even heard of the Twonky. Wonder what the odds are of finding a copy on e-bay or something?
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