October the 31st (The Fall Guy)

Last updated April 28, 2019

"October the 31st" is an episode of the American television series The Fall Guy , starring Lee Majors. This episode first appeared on October 31, 1984. The episode features two guest stars: veteran horror movie actor John Carradine and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.^[1] Carradine's sons Keith, Robert, and David Carradine ^[1] make a cameo appearance in a scene with their father.

<i>The Fall Guy</i> TV series on ABC between 1981‒1986

The Fall Guy was an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who moonlight as bounty hunters.

Lee Majors is an American film, television and voice actor. Majors is best known for portraying the characters of Heath Barkley in the American television Western series The Big Valley (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin in the American television science fiction action series The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978), and Colt Seavers in American television action series The Fall Guy (1981–1986).

John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films, Westerns, and Shakespearean theatre. A member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history. He was married four times, had five children, and was the patriarch of the Carradine family, including four of his sons and four of his grandchildren who are or were also actors.

Synopisis

In this episode, Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) is preparing to guest star in a Halloween television special with stunt man Colt Seavers (Lee Majors). The cast and crew of the special become aware that the producers have arranged to film the project in a mansion that is supposedly haunted. The crew arrive at the mansion and beginning setting up their equipment, when it becomes apparent that the owner of the mansion, Preston Deauville (John Carradine), is outraged that his wife Katherine (Signe Hasso) arranged for the filming to occur there without his knowledge. As Deauville opposes the arrangement, he is so vexed that he fires his staff which include a chef, a gardener, and a caretaker (played by John Carradine's sons Keith, Robert, and David Carradine, respectively). The staff plead with the old man to reconsider. At one point, David's character blurts out "You're insane!" The elder Carradine's character responds, "And with a little diligence, the same can be said of you!"

Cassandra Peterson is an American actress best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV wearing a revealing, black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown as host of Elvira's Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation. Her wickedly vampish appearance is offset by her comical character, quirky and quick-witted personality, and Valley girl-type speech.

Halloween or Hallowe'en, also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in several countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

A television special is a stand-alone television show which temporarily interrupts episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Specials have been produced which provide a full range of entertainment and informational value available via the television medium, in various formats, and in any viewing lengths.

As the episode progresses, Preston Deauville dies of an apparent heart attack and is buried in the backyard. However, Deauville remains present in the house, menacing the actors and crew who are trying to film their show. It is eventually discovered that Deauville was murdered by his evil twin brother (also played by John Carradine) in a plot with his wife.

The evil twin is an antagonist found in many different fictional genres. They are physical copies of protagonists, but with radically inverted moralities. In filmed entertainment, they can have obvious physical differences with the protagonist—such as facial hair, eyepatches, scars or distinctive clothing—that make it easy for the audience to visually identify the two characters. Sometimes, however, the physical differences between the characters will be minimized, so as to confuse the audience. Both roles are almost always played by either the same actor or the actor's actual twin.

Reaction

The episode aired the same night that Elvira's six-hour Halloween special aired on MTV as well as an appearance by her on The Tonight Show .^[2] John Carradine also appeared on her special that evening.^[2]

MTV is an American pay television channel owned by Viacom Media Networks and headquartered in New York City. The channel was launched on August 1, 1981, and originally aired music videos as guided by television personalities known as "video jockeys"(VJs). At first, MTV's main target demographic was young adults, but today it is primarily teenagers, particularly high school and college students.

The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show currently broadcast from the NBC Studios in Rockefeller Center in New York City, the show's original location and airing on NBC since 1954. The series has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and Jimmy Fallon, and had several recurring guest hosts including Ernie Kovacs during the Steve Allen era and Joan Rivers, Garry Shandling and Jay Leno during Johnny Carson's stewardship, although the practice has been abandoned since Carson's departure, with hosts preferring reruns to showcasing potential rivals. The Tonight Show is the world's longest-running talk show, and the longest-running, regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States. It is the third-longest-running show on NBC, after the news-and-talk shows Today and Meet the Press.

The episode was built around the Elvira character.^[3] The actress said she was very pleased with The Fall Guy script. "You know, when I was on CHiPs , they toned my character down for network TV. That's why I was so happy with the script for The Fall Guy, where they not only wrote the whole story around me, but they kept my risque humor. I think it came out really cute."^[2]

CHiPs is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977 to May 1, 1983. It followed the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The series ran for 139 episodes over six seasons, plus one reunion TV movie in October 1998.

While filming the episode on location at a convent, Elvira was actually "mobbed" by a group of nuns clamoring for her autograph.^[4]

A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, monks or nuns; or the building used by the community, particularly in the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, and the Anglican Communion.

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References

1 2 "Best Bets", Milwaukee Journal , 31 October 1984, p. 8.
1 2 3 Cuthbert, David. "Elvira: The New Mistress of Halloween Night", Spokane Chronicle , 31 October 1984, p. 17.
↑ Watson, Elena M. Television Horror Movie Hosts: 68 Vampires, Mad Scientists, and Other Denizens of the Late-Night Airwaves Examined and Interviewed, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1991, p. 168.
↑ Newsmakers 88, Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research, 1989, p. 56.

External links

"October the 31st" at the Internet Movie Database

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[Best-1] 1 2 "Best Bets", Milwaukee Journal , 31 October 1984, p. 8.

[Cuthbert-2] 1 2 3 Cuthbert, David. "Elvira: The New Mistress of Halloween Night", Spokane Chronicle , 31 October 1984, p. 17.

[3] Watson, Elena M. Television Horror Movie Hosts: 68 Vampires, Mad Scientists, and Other Denizens of the Late-Night Airwaves Examined and Interviewed, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1991, p. 168.

[4] Newsmakers 88, Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research, 1989, p. 56.