They soon find out, as they see that the unfinished house across the street has suddenly become occupied. Al sneaks across the street, baseball bat in hand, to investigate, but retreats when he sees a man inside the house destroying a futuristic machine. The next day, the Lewises pay a visit to their new neighbors, the Hellenbecks, who sit strangely in dining room chairs around a pot of water in an unfinished section of the house. Their clothes and manners are strange, and Ted Hellenbeck tells Al that he "vivisects information" on "sociological substructures" and that his wife Ann is a "cataloguer" who is "working on atomic deformities in the rare earths." While the adults chat, Randy steals the pieces of the futuristic machine from the Hellenbecks' garbage.
Randy goes home and rebuilds the gizmo, which proceeds to cause heat-seeking spheres to appear all over the house and burn through anything warm. This leads to some excitement as the Lewises try to avoid the spheres by directing them into the toaster, the oven, and so on, until Ted Hellenbeck rushes over to provide an explanation. He tells the startled Lewises that he and his family are visitors from 400 years in the future, and that they fled after having their son naturally. It seems that, in their time, babies are made scientifically, and their decision to have one the old-fashioned way made them criminals.
A futuristic robot appears at the door, looking like a person wrapped in tinfoil with a cooking pot on his head. Al and Ted are able to subdue and destroy the machine, and the Hellenbecks say goodbye and disappear. Al remarks that they "sure were interesting neighbors."
Unlike the 1955 adaptation of Finney's short story, this version of "Such Interesting Neighbors" is hard to watch. The acting is uniformly awful, the special effects are an embarrassment, and the changes to the storyline make little sense. The wry humor that made the original story so effective has been replaced with forced humor wrung from poorly developed characters. In the short story, the Hellenbecks simply move away, leaving the narrator to wonder just who they were. In the 1955 teleplay, this was apparently too dull an ending, and the neighbors presumably are killed by police from the future. In the 1987 teleplay, the Hellenbecks simply disappear, and it is not clear where they go or why. The entire episode leaves a bad taste in the viewer's mouth and makes one glad that this series did not adapt any other stories by Jack Finney.
The last television adaptation of a Jack Finney story was broadcast on February 1, 1998, when "The Love Letter" premiered on the CBS network as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame series. The Hallmark greeting card company began sponsoring television programs in 1951, and "The Love Letter" was the 317th broadcast of the sporadic series that had been running for 37 years ("Hallmark Hall of Fame — Episode List"). To expand a several-page story to fill a two-hour time slot required considerable fleshing out, and the screenplay, by James Henerson and Pamela Gray, expands the original tale in a manner consistent with Jack Finney's vision.
The program begins in present-day Boston, Massachusetts, where Scott Corrigan and his fiancée, Debra Zabriskie, buy a nineteenth-century desk in an antique shop. Scott is a Civil War buff who discovers a hidden compartment in the desk after he has brought it home and cleaned it. In the compartment is a letter by Elizabeth Whitcomb, dated April 16, 1863. She is a 29-year-old woman who wrote this letter to an imaginary lover and hid it in her desk. Scott does not take the letter seriously at first, writing a reply on his modern word processor and signing it, "Rhett Butler."
At work the next day, Scott thinks about the desk, the letter, and its writer. He telephones the antique dealer from whom he bought it and learns that the dealer had purchased the desk in a town called Willoughby, near the town of Salem.
The writers of "The Love Letter" appear to have known Jack Finney's work well, because this important addition to the original story is also a reference to an episode of the television series, The Twilight Zone, which Stephen King has suggested was influenced by Finney's time travel stories of the 1950s. In "A Stop at Willoughby," written by Rod Serling, a weary businessman escapes from his unhappy modern life by getting off of a commuter train in the town of Willoughby, which exists perpetually in about the year 1900. The town is idyllic and represents all that the man wishes existed in his own life.
Viewers of "The Love Letter" who are familiar with the work of both Finney and Serling will appreciate this choice of name for a town where the Civil War sweetheart of Scott Corrigan's imagination used to live. Scott drives to Willoughby and visits the house from whence the desk had come; it is located at 3 Mill Plain Road, perhaps another reference to Finney, who lived for much of his career in Mill Valley, California. Scott is prevented from entering, though, by an old black woman who guards the elderly resident of the home from her relatives, who want to put her in a nursing home. In essence, Scott is not serious enough about Whitcomb's letter yet, so he is not allowed to enter the past in any way.
Scott's interest in the letter is encouraged by his eccentric mother, who speaks to him about time travel. His fiancee Deb, on the other hand, reads the letter but shows no interest nor support. Scott's mother's encouragement continues as she gives him a one cent stamp from 1863 and a vintage bottle of ink. She tells him, "it's got to be perfect or we don't have a prayer of erasing the barrier." This remark, and the actions that follow, suggest that the authors of the screenplay were familiar with Finney's time travel work, especially "Second Chance," where an antique car is able to take its driver back in time when the conditions are right, and, most of all, Time and Again, where the method of time travel is based on the creation of accurate conditions.
Scott's mother locates a post office that was built in 1857. She says that it is the only pre-Civil War post office in existence and prods her son to go there to mail his letter to Elizabeth Whitcomb. After some restless attempts at sleep, Scott writes a letter to Elizabeth using the old pen and ink. No longer sarcastic, he signs it, "A friend," and mails it at night at the old post office.
The scene then switches to 1863, as we meet Elizabeth Whitcomb, a pretty young woman who is more interested in composing a poem in her garden than she is in responding to the advances of a dull suitor. Her father is pressuring her to marry but she is stunned when she receives and reads Scott's letter. She looks in the secret compartment of her desk and confirms that her own letter is gone. Elizabeth and Scott then begin an exchange of letters; she leaves hers in the desk's secret compartment and they disappear; he mails his at the old post office. He writes that "the connection between us is so strong that we're able to talk to each other across the chasm of time."
We learn that Elizabeth is a poet who has sent her verses to Ralph Waldo Emerson and others in an attempt to get them published. Her relationship with Scott deepens with each letter. However, his relationship with Debra, his fiancee in the present, begins to suffer as his mind and heart are drawn toward the past. This leads Scott to stop writing to Elizabeth and to take another trip to the house in Willoughby. This time, having demonstrated his resolve and having established a relationship with Elizabeth, he is allowed to enter and explore the house, where he meets Clarice, an elderly woman. She is the niece of Elizabeth Whitcomb, but she does not answer Scott when he asks if her aunt ever married. While in the house, Scott feels a connection with Lizzie, one that she also appears to feel in 1863. His visit to Willoughby leads him to resume his correspondence, and he promises not to be silent again. Elizabeth sends Scott a photograph of herself, as well as her final poem — criticism from her suitor has led her to give up poetry writing.
Scott sends Elizabeth a photo of himself and encourages her to keep writing poetry. His encouragement does not extend to his present fiancee, however, and their relationship grows increasingly strained.
The plot takes a surprising twist at this point, wholly invented for the television adaptation. Scott is injured in a bicycle race and lies comatose for a long period. In 1863, Lizzie meets Colonel Caleb Denby, who looks exactly like Scott, and they fall in love. Their romance is interrupted by Denby's need to return to the battlefield
, and we learn that he is heading for Gettysburg. In the meantime, Scott awakens from his coma and reads Elizabeth's letters about Denby. Research reveals that Denby died at Gettysburg, and Scott rushes a letter to Elizabeth to try to save her lover. He is able to mail the letter at the old post office, which is burning down in a fire as he does so. This scene is reminiscent of the fire at The World building in Finney's novel, Time and Again.
The letter reaches Elizabeth, who races to Gettysburg, only to find Denby on his deathbed. In a touching scene, she recites her poem to him as he dies. Back in the present, Scott finally shows Debra the letters from Elizabeth, and he confesses his love for the dead woman. They break off the engagement, and Scott visits the old Whit-comb house in Willoughby one last time. Clarice has died, leaving the house to her caretaker. Scott again has the sensation that Lizzie is in the room with him, and Lizzie feels the same thing in her era. The old caretaker gives Scott a box of Elizabeth Whitcomb's letters, poems, and journals, and in it he finds the photograph of himself that he had sent to her.
The teleplay ends as Scott visits an old churchyard and finds Elizabeth's grave. On her headstone is carved the phrase, "I never forgot." The story has one more twist, however, as Scott meets a woman who is Elizabeth's double and they go off together to have coffee. She tells him that her name is Beth. As the credits roll, the camera focuses in on a bookstore window, where the newly published volume of Elizabeth Whitcomb's poetry — edited by Scott — is displayed.
"The Love Letter" is a wonderful adaptation of Jack Finney's short story. The acting is outstanding, especially by Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh in the two lead roles. The writers have done an excellent job of expanding the short story to fill a two-hour time slot, using plot devices and ideas that are in keeping with Jack Finney's other time travel tales. No other television programs based on Finney's work have appeared since 1998, but "The Love Letter" stands as a fine example of what can be done with this source material and a creative approach.
NINETEEN
Jack Finney on Film
In May 1955, the first film to be adapted from a Jack Finney novel was released: 5 Against the House was a Columbia Pictures production, directed by Phil Karlson and adapted by Stirling Silliphant, William Bowers, and John Barnwell. The credits state that it was based on the Good Housekeeping story by Jack Finney. This may be because the story was sold to the studio before the novel was written or published, or it may be that the producers thought that the name of the popular magazine might carry some weight with the public.
The film stars Guy Madison as Al Mercer and Kim Novak as Kay Greyleg (Tina in the book). Brick is played by Brian Keith. Jerry Weiner and Guy Cruikshank in the book become Ronnie and Roy, played by Kerwin Mathews and Alvy Moore, respectively. The only other character worth noting is Eric Berg, the man who pushes the money cart at Harold's Club and who is held up by Brick and his friends. Berg is played in the film by William Conrad, whose career spanned many years in radio and television.
The film version of 5 Against the House is in black and white, and it is very different from the novel. The story and characters are established in the film's first section, which takes place in Reno, Nevada. Al and his three friends drive to the gambling mecca from their Midwestern university to visit Harold's Club, have fun, and gamble. Each of the four young men is introduced in scenes that provide quick snapshots of their characters. Al Mercer is serious, carefully watching the time as they spend their planned hour in the casino. Ronnie is from a wealthy family and wears an ascot around his neck; he has a system that does not seem to result in much winning. Roy is the comedian of the group, and Brick is the somewhat more mature ladies' man. The unusual casino parking lot is shown, where cars are lifted to upper levels by means of a mechanical lift. We also see an attempted robbery in the casino, as well as the heavy security there that prevents it from succeeding. A policeman who almost arrests two of the foursome tells them that it's "easier to knock off Fort Knox."
On the drive back to Midwestern University, Al begins to consider the challenge of robbing Harold's Club. Back at college, hijinks abound and we learn that Al and Brick served in Korea together. Brick saved Al's life, and Al feels a bond to the obviously shell-shocked veteran. Al's girlfriend Kay is introduced as a former department store worker who has metamorphosed over the summer into a sultry nightclub chanteuse. In between comedy relief involving college boys, scenes depicting the trouble that Al and Kay are having over the decision to get married, and Brick's hair-trigger state of mental health, Ronny works out a plan to rob Harold's Club. To him, it is an intellectual puzzle, since he clearly does not need the money. To Brick, however, it represents the promise of financial freedom and escape from the tensions of school and career preparation that threaten to push him over the edge of sanity.
Ronny, Brick, and Roy prepare for the heist and bring Al in at the last minute, tricking him into joining them on a trip to Reno but not telling him their plan. Kay decides to accompany them in order to take advantage of the laws in Nevada that allow for quick marriage.
Near the end of the long drive to Reno, Al learns of the plan to rob the casino and does not want to be involved. Brick threatens him with a gun and forces Al to drive the rest of the way at gunpoint.
Arriving in Reno, the four young men enter the club and carry out their plan. Things go awry and Brick runs off with the stolen money, hiding in the upper level of the Harold's Club parking deck that had been shown early in the movie. Al finds Brick and talks him into giving up; as the film ends, Brick is taken away by the police as Al and Kay are driven off in another police car. It is a curiously calm and happy ending, where Al and Kay are relieved by the knowledge that Brick will finally be treated for his mental problems that stem from his war experience.
5 Against the House is a minor film that takes a very different approach from the novel that was its source. First of all, the male members of the film's cast are much too old to be playing college boys. While Al Mercer is nineteen years old in the novel, actor Guy Madison was in his early thirties when the film was made. Brian Keith and Alvy Moore were each a year older than Madison. Kerwin Mathews was a "boyish" 29. Only Kim Novak, at 22, was about the right age for her part, carrying on the Hollywood tradition of pairing older men with younger women.
The novel's focus is on the caper itself and on Al's attempt to justify robbery as a moral choice. The film puts the caper aspects of the story on the back burner and concentrates on two major plot threads: the relationship between Al and Kay, and the relationship between Al and Brick. Al and Kay's relationship is superficial in the film, and the waitress of the novel has become a glamorous lounge singer in order to give Kim Novak a chance to sing and look seductive. One sequence in particular, where Novak sings to Madison as he drives to Reno, is quite awkward.
The other relationship, between Al and Brick, is the central issue in the film and one that was absent from the book, at least in the way the film portrays it. The film's creators decided to make Al and Brick veterans of the Korean War, and Brick's experience left him shell-shocked. This is used to explain all of Brick's unorthodox behavior, and the crazed look in actor Brian Keith's eyes when he starts to be "possessed" by the memory of Korea borders on the humorous.
5 Against the House is a mediocre and forgotten novel today; the film has also been justly forgotten.
The second film to be adapted from Jack Finney's work was Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a film that has been far from forgotten. Released in 1956 by Allied Artists, the film sticks closely to its source and is considered a classic. It begins with the well-known framing sequence, which was added at the studio's insistence to tone down the film's level of terror. Kevin McCarthy plays Miles Bennell, a small town doctor, who is brought by police to see a psychiatrist at a hospital. He insists he is not insane, and tells the story of the film in flashback — "it started last Thursday," he remarks, adding that "something evil had taken possession of the town."
As the tale
begins, we see Dr. Bennell return by train from a conference that has kept him away from the small California town of Santa Mira for two weeks. Patients were lining up to see him while he was gone, refusing to see anyone else. As Miles drives back to his office, he sees Jimmy Grimaldi, a small boy he knows, run into the street in terror, and he notices that the Grimaldi family's formerly prosperous vegetable stand has fallen into disrepair.
Back at his office, Miles is greeted by the lovely Becky Driscoll, who is back in town after a five-year absence. She and Miles had been sweethearts before they had each married other people; both are now divorced, and it takes little time for the romance to begin again. Like author Jack Finney and his first wife, Miles and Becky have both recently been divorced in Reno, Nevada.
A sense of uneasiness begins to set in as Miles meets patients who insist that their family members are not who they seem. Jimmy Grimaldi, the boy who had run down the street in terror, claims his mother is not his mother. Becky's cousin Wilma insists that her Uncle Ira is not her Uncle Ira. Throughout the first part of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the sense of dread and unease grows slowly. The film has been hailed as a classic of science fiction cinema, but its success lies more in its film noir qualities. Miles's voiceover narration recalls similar narration by Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep and other classic private eye films; the movie is shot in black and white and shadows are used to suggest horrors not yet revealed.
Stealing Through Time: On the Writings of Jack Finney Page 20