CELEBRATING 70 YEARS! : THE DANNY THOMAS HOUR - 'THE DEMON UNDER THE BED' .. NBC .. USA 1967 ..

 

NBC

Presents
A Desilu Production

THE DANNY THOMAS HOUR

Season 1 - Episode 5 

'THE DEMON UNDER THE BED'

Hosted by Danny Thomas

Starring

Bing Crosby as Charlie Castle 

Joan Collins as Myra                                                                                                    

George Maharis as Phil Pearson                                                                                

Mary Frances Crosby as Joan                                                                                  

Bill Zukert as Stanley                                                                                                

Bill Walker as Clancy                                                                                                

Harry Harvey Sr as Mike                                                                                            J

Johnine Lee as Stripper                                                                                            

Charlotte Consindine as Girl                                                                                      

Eddie Firesteone as Assistant Director  

Executive Producer - Aaron Spelling

Directed by  Peter Tewksbury

This dramatic episode of the series sees Bing as a fading musical film star Charlie Castle, who is facing a crisis in his life as he discovers he is losing his voice and needs a operation which may or may not save it. His plight is observed with interest by photographer Phil Pearson who decides to follow Charlie around, so that he might take that one photo that will show his real self. He follows him as he visits his ex-wife Myra (Joan), who he is in the middle of a bitter custody battle over their daughter Joan, played by Bing's real daughter Mary, in her debut.

Review from - "VARIETY"

"Bing Crosby made one of his rare appearances on "Danny Thomas", Monday night. Nothing rare however for the veteran crooner as he sidled through a characterisation of an ageing performer, packing a load of juice, seeking self worth. He is followed by a photographer who hopes to peel off the many masks and find the real Charlie Castle, in a still shot or two. The gambit affords director Peter Tewkesbury oppurtunity to utilize a lot of still photo gimmickry throughout, but it finally seemed a sort of poor man "Blow Up". Joan Collins is attractive as the wife and Mary Frances Crosby, Bing's eight year old daughter preemed in a role that consisted mainly of effusively greeting her old man."

Bing and Mary off set

"The Danny Thomas Hour" was broadcast on NBC for one season ..1967/68 and featured a mixture of drama, comedy and variety. Some episodes like this one featured a drama story with a star cast, while other featured Danny Thomas in situations from his comedy series "Make Room For Daddy", a long running comedy classic. The show is seldom seen these days and I still haven't seen this episode.. It was last screened at The Paley Centre in 2010 for a season of rare screening from Bing Crosby.. I do have Joan's original script  and shooting schedule,
which you can see the cover and a page with Joan's note below..

Summary of The Demon Under The Bed from The Paley Centre ..

Acclaimed actor Charlie Castle is expected at a looping studio to do dubbing on his latest film. However, he is not present and the producers can’t seem to convince him to come. A photographer, Phil Pearson, waits at the studio as well, hoping to give Charlie something left to him by Steiner, a cameraman and old friend of Charlie’s who was killed in Vietnam. Phil walks out of the studio, frustrated that Charlie seems to be deliberately avoiding him. He goes home and receives a phone call from Charlie inviting him to come down to his lavish estate, Castlerock. Phil arrives and finds Charlie playing billiards in a massive chamber by himself. Charlie laments that his home has become a “mausoleum” and asks Phil about Steiner’s death. Phil fulfills Steiner’s request by giving his camera to Charlie, who is saddened by the loss of his friend. He invites Phil to stay with him for a while, and seems randomly agitated and bitter. While outside hitting golf balls, Charlie tells Phil that he has been diagnosed with a condition in his esophagus which could give him an inability to speak, ruining his career. Phil discusses his affinity for Steiner, noting that he was an inspiration to him in his youth and that he wanted to use photography as a form of insightful art like he did. Charlie mocks Steiner as being “not too bright” and gives Phil his camera, feeling he has no use for it. Phil does not appreciate Charlie’s bitterness, but Charlie invites him to a party he is attending that night, believing that it would be interesting to see his outside perspective recorded via photographs and remarking that Steiner never once took a photograph of him.

Charlie and Phil attend the party together; the host is his ex-wife Myra. Phil meets Myra and she offers to show him around. Meanwhile, Charlie parks himself at the bar and starts drinking. While snapping photographs of the party guests, Phil meets Joan, Charlie and Myra’s eight year-old daughter, and starts to befriend her. She still loves her father and hopes that one day she will be able to live with him; she also expresses distaste for her mother, indirectly referring to her as a “demon.” She runs off when she spots Charlie and rushes to embrace him. They run inside and she reminds him that it is his birthday, and gives him a bizarre puppet bearing his own face as a present. She explains that she made it herself and Charlie rather likes it. They put on an impromptu puppet show together, during which Joan expresses her desire to move back with Charlie. They share an emotional moment together before being interrupted by Myra. Joan emerges from the room solemnly crying, and the moment is photographed by Phil. In private, Myra expresses her belief that Joan should live with Charlie as well, believing that her house is not a suitable environment to raise her. However, Charlie does not agree and strikes Myra when she implies that he may not be Joan’s father. He immediately leaves with tears coming down his face, also photographed by Phil.

Curious, Phil goes to see Myra and she bitterly remarks that someday the public will see through Charlie’s façade, although she declines to comment any further. Phil photographs her and suddenly she kisses him. She tells him that Charlie likely went down to the movie studio. Phil finds Joan again and she is saddened that Charlie left suddenly without his birthday present. She asks Phil to give it to him and he agrees. Phil finds Charlie at the studio, talking to himself and performing a disjointed scene made up of bits of poetry and verse from various songs, plays, and writings to no one in particular and messing around with props. Phil takes numerous photographs of him in the middle of his reverie; Charlie becomes more inebriated as time passes and he takes more drinks, either unaware or unconcerned with Phil’s presence. Finally he finishes and addresses Phil, who gives Charlie the puppet that Joan made for him. The two of them head to a seedy bar, where Charlie plays drums while a woman performs a striptease; Phil photographs the whole thing until he eventually leaves, frustrated.

Phil returns to his apartment and develops the many photographs he took of Charlie. In doing so he tries to decipher Charlie’s true persona and intentions. Charlie unexpectedly arrives, quite disheveled, and starts combing through Phil’s record collection. He says that he has just been in a car accident, and during his ramblings he confesses that Steiner was his only real friend. Phil tries to help Charlie by reminding him about his responsibility towards Joan; he admits that he would have taken her to live with him, but felt as though he had nothing to offer her and that her life would be miserable with him. When Phil shows Charlie his photographs from the previous night, Charlie becomes enraged and struggles with him when Phil accuses him of excessive self-pity. Charlie nearly stabs Phil with a shard of broken glass, but Phil restrains him and says that the one emotion that lies beneath his entire life is fear, and reminds him again that despite all his faults he still has a genuine love for his daughter. This causes Charlie to have an epiphany and he promises to change his ways. He goes through with the operation that would permanently remove his voice, and takes Joan to live with him. He emerges from the operation in high spirits and happy to be reunited with Joan.