Journey to the Unknown
Encyclopedia
Journey To The Unknown was a British
TV anthology series made in 1968, by Hammer Film Productions Ltd. It has a fantasy
, science fiction
and supernatural
theme. It featured both British and American
actors. American actors included Vera Miles
, Barbara Bel Geddes
, Patty Duke
, Carol Lynley
, Joseph Cotten
, Stefanie Powers
, and Brandon De Wilde
, along with familiar British
actors such as Dennis Waterman
, Jane Asher
, Nanette Newman
, Ann Bell
and Tom Adams
. Seventeen episodes in all were made.
Eight episodes were twinned to make four feature length films with added linking material. The New People and Paper Dolls became Journey into Darkness (1968), hosted by Patrick McGoohan
, Poor Butterfly and The Indian Spirit Guide became Journey to Midnight (1968), hosted by Sebastian Cabot
, Matakitas Is Coming and The Last Visitor became Journey to the Unknown (1969), hosted by Joan Crawford
and Do Me a Favour, Kill Me and The Killing Bottle became Journey to Murder (1971), also hosted by Crawford.
The series had a memorably famous whistled theme tune by Hammer's Harry Robinson and title sequence involving a deserted and apparently haunted Battersea fairground.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
TV anthology series made in 1968, by Hammer Film Productions Ltd. It has a fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
theme. It featured both British and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actors. American actors included Vera Miles
Vera Miles
Vera Miles is an American film actress who gained popularity for starring in films such as The Searchers, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Psycho and Psycho II.-Early life:...
, Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes was an American actress, artist and children's author. She is best known for her role in the television drama series Dallas as matriarch Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing. Bel Geddes also starred in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the role of Maggie...
, Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
, Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...
, Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
, Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
, and Brandon De Wilde
Brandon De Wilde
Andre Brandon deWilde was an American theatre and film actor. He was born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. Debuting on Broadway at the age of 7, De Wilde became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding and was considered a child...
, along with familiar British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actors such as Dennis Waterman
Dennis Waterman
Dennis Waterman is a British actor and singer, best known for his tough-guy roles in television series including The Sweeney, Minder and New Tricks.-Early life:...
, Jane Asher
Jane Asher
Jane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
, Nanette Newman
Nanette Newman
-Early life:Newman was born in Northampton, England. She was educated at Sternhold College, the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts stage school and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.-Career:...
, Ann Bell
Ann Bell
Ann Bell is a British actress, best known for playing war internee Marion Jefferson in the BBC World War II drama series Tenko during the early 1980s. She was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, daughter of John Forrest Bell and Marjorie Bell, and educated at Birkenhead High School...
and Tom Adams
Tom Adams (actor)
Tom Adams is an English actor with roles in horror and mystery films, and several TV shows.He starred as Charles Vine in Licensed to Kill and the sequels Where the Bullets Fly and Somebody's Stolen Our Russian Spy .His television credits include General...
. Seventeen episodes in all were made.
Eight episodes were twinned to make four feature length films with added linking material. The New People and Paper Dolls became Journey into Darkness (1968), hosted by Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
, Poor Butterfly and The Indian Spirit Guide became Journey to Midnight (1968), hosted by Sebastian Cabot
Sebastian Cabot (actor)
Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was an English film and television actor, best remembered as the gentleman's gentleman, "Giles French," opposite Brian Keith's character, in the 1960s sitcom Family Affair. He was also known for playing Dr...
, Matakitas Is Coming and The Last Visitor became Journey to the Unknown (1969), hosted by Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
and Do Me a Favour, Kill Me and The Killing Bottle became Journey to Murder (1971), also hosted by Crawford.
The series had a memorably famous whistled theme tune by Hammer's Harry Robinson and title sequence involving a deserted and apparently haunted Battersea fairground.
Episodes
- The New People - A young American couple move to England, where they find their neighbors are a bit too friendly and helpful.
- Somewhere in a Crowd - A television news anchor witnesses several tragic accidents, and notices that the same five people are present on each occasion.
- Matakitas Is Coming - A researcher (Vera MilesVera MilesVera Miles is an American film actress who gained popularity for starring in films such as The Searchers, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Psycho and Psycho II.-Early life:...
) is transported back in time, and apparently trapped with a librarian (Gay HamiltonGay HamiltonGay Hamilton is a Scottish actress. Her filmography notably includes Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon and Ridley Scott's The Duellists. In the late 1960s/early 1970s, she was love interest and later wife of Detective Chief Superintendent John Watt in the TV series Softly, Softly and its Taskforce...
) inside a deserted library with a mad serial killer, Andros Matakitas (Leon LissekLeon LissekLeon Lissek is an actor originated from Australia who primarily does work in England. He has appeared in over 80 films in his career, which started with Marat/Sade...
). - Jane Brown's Body - A woman (Stefanie PowersStefanie PowersStefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
) attempts suicide, but is rescued; she has amnesia, and has to recall everything gradually. - Do Me a Favour, Kill Me - A down-on-his luck actor (Joseph CottonJoseph CottonJoseph Cotton aka Jah Walton is a reggae deejay active since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
) asks a friend to kill him so his family can have the insurance money. The murder will happen randomly, with the actor not knowing when or where, and his friend will not respond to any attempt to contact him. Now, the actor decides he doesn't want to die but how can he call it off? - Poor Butterfly - Invited to a costume party at a wealthy mansion, our hero (Chad EverettChad EverettChad Everett is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and television series but is probably best known for his role as Dr. Joe Gannon in the 1970s television drama Medical Center.-Early life:...
) finds that everything looks as it did in the 1920s. Then he meets a girl who keeps saying she needs to leave.... - The Madison Equation - A detective investigates the electrocution of a computer technician and discovers it's no accident.
- The Girl Of My Dreams - A waitress (Zena WalkerZena WalkerZena Walker was an English actress in film, theatre, and television.Walker was born in Birmingham, the daughter of George Walker, a grocer, and his wife Elizabeth Louise . She attended St. Martin's School in 1960 and then went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She starred in an...
) can foretell the future and knows when people are going to die. An unscrupulous man finds out about it and exploits her. - The Last Visitor - On vacation at a resort, a young woman (Patty DukePatty DukeAnna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
) is plagued by a mysterious visitor who tears up her clothes. - Eve - A shy sales clerk (Dennis WatermanDennis WatermanDennis Waterman is a British actor and singer, best known for his tough-guy roles in television series including The Sweeney, Minder and New Tricks.-Early life:...
) falls in love with a mannequin (Carol LynleyCarol LynleyCarol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...
) in his department store. - The Indian Spirit Guide - A widow (Julie HarrisJulie HarrisJulia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
) hopes to get in touch with her dead husband, but knows most people claiming to be spiritualistSpiritualismSpiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
mediums are fakes; she hires a detective to help her weed out the phonies. He sets up some scenarios to appear that he's identifying fakes so that she'll keep paying him. - The Killing Bottle - In order to get his hands on the family inheritance, a man must have his brother declared insane. The brother hates anyone who does harm to living creatures, so they show him a butterfly killing bottle, hoping he will go mad and assault the owner. Based on a story by L.P. Hartley, author of The Go-BetweenThe Go-BetweenThe Go-Between is a romantic novel by L. P. Hartley , published in London in 1953. The novel begins with the famous line "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."-Plot summary:...
. - Stranger in the Family - A boy can control people, sometimes leading to their death. Both a scientist and a carnival act would like to get their hands on him.
- The Beckoning Fair One - A young man recovering from a nervous breakdown moves into a haunted house. The ghost is a beautiful girl, and he falls in love with her, overlooking his living fiancee.
- One on an Island - Shipwrecked on a desert island, a man (Brandon De WildeBrandon De WildeAndre Brandon deWilde was an American theatre and film actor. He was born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. Debuting on Broadway at the age of 7, De Wilde became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding and was considered a child...
) is soon joined by two companions, but jealousy overwhelms him. - Paper Dolls - Based on the award-winning novel by L.P. Davies. A set of quadruplets are telepathically connected. They feel one another's pain and share skills and talents.
- Miss Belle - An embittered spinster (Barbara JeffordBarbara JeffordBarbara Jefford, OBE is a British Shakespearean actress best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre, and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 film of James Joyce's Ulysses.-Early life:Jefford was born Mary Barbara Jefford in...
) has turned against all men and is raising her niece Roberta as a proper young lady -- in spite of the fact that Roberta is actually Robert, a boy.