We now seem to bring you a change in your regularly scheduled programming. If something feels a little off abd decidedly un-Crypt like for the season finale of season three, I’d like to assure you that it’s not just you. In fact, Robert Zemekis’ “Yellow” wasn’t originally planned to be a tale from the crypt at all, but instead part of a trilogy of stories that would go on to form the season premiere of a spin off show called Two-Fisted Tales. While the Crypt covered all those horror stories that EC Comics churned out in their heyday, Fisted would give that ironic twist to stories more geared toward the war, western and thriller based adventures. Needless to say, the pilot (directed by Zemekis, Richard Donner and Tom Holland) didn’t do so well and as a result the stories were folded into the Crypt Keeper’s roster of tall tales that started here and continued into season 4. But as I’ve recently started getting tired of episodes that go easy on the horror, can Robert Zemekis change my mind with an offering that takes place during World War I?
The year is 1918 and the forces of General Calthrob are getting hammered somewhere in France as they try to take a hill from the really determined Germans. While the hill itself doesn’t that much of a tactical advantage, the attack would divert the enemy forces enough to allow forces in the rear time to reposition, but the plan is ultimately scuppered by an unseen problem: Lieutenant Martin Calthrob. While Martin’s father is every inch the iron-nerved military man, his son suffers from cowardice that simply just won’t away and while his men are valiantly fighting and dying for the greater good, the constant mortar barrage and whizzing bullets causes him to break and order a premature retreat.
When the Genral learns from his men that his son is Yellow, he offers Martin a chance to redeem his honor and go out into no-man’s land with a small team to fix a broken communication wire.
However, once again that yellow streak kicks in and in his gibbering fear, Martin is too terrified to even warn his fellow troops about advancing troops and as a result they are killed and he escapes to spin a tale of tragic heroism. But when it turns out that there was another (temporary) survivor who outs Martin’s cowardice with his dying breath and leaves the General with no alternative but to severely punish his son and sentence him to death by firing squad. While Martin pleads with his father to spare his life, Calthrob assures his son that he’d never murder his flesh and blood and reveals a plan that will spare his life.
Revealing that the rifleman will all have unknowingly have blanks loaded in their weapons, all Martin has to do is stand fast and be brave in the face of his death and then he can play dead and collect a bag of supplies left in the grave behind him. However, during his big moment, believing himself to be safe, Martin does indeed face his (fake) execution with bravery, but too late he realises that he’s been tricked to restore honor to the tarnished Calthrob name.
To be honest with you, before watching Yellow I was 50/50 about whether I would actually accept it as a genuine Crypt. In the plus column it’s directed by one of Tales’ big three, Robert Zemekis, who has been conspicuous by his Crypt absence since the superlative “And All Though The House” back at the start of season one. However, on the con side, not only was it never supposed to be an official episode, but the WWI setting suggests that the usual recipe of creeps and chuckles may be in short supply and further worrying me is the last time one of the big three directed an episode, it resulted in Walter Hill’s rather leaden “Deadline” which showed a distinct drop in quality from his previous attempts.
However, despite all these things counting against it, Yellow proves to something of a incredibly pleasant surprise that not only sees Zemekis returning to the show with style, but giving it an expanded canvas that it’s never enjoyed before. This is an episode that still may be introduced by a Crypt Keeper in full WWI uniform cracking jokes about getting shot, but it also has full on battle sequences that give the show a sense of scale hither to unheard of as Zemekis shoots them in sweeping long takes that sees dialogue and plot merge with stunt men flying across the screen. It may not be Saving Private Ryan, or even Band Of Brothers, but for an episode of Tales From The Crypt, it isn’t that far behind. Also adding to that scale is the cast and while the Crypt has seen its fair share of familiar faces, seeing Kirk fuckin’ Douglas show up still feels like something of a massive get. What makes it cooler is that the episode is plainly riffing on Stanley Kubrick’s Paths Of Glory, which starred Douglas as a French officer also accused of cowardice and the actor also gets to perform opposite his actual son (no, not Michael – the other one, Eric) which adds extra tension to the scene even if Eric isn’t quite as talented as his old man.
In addition to this, we also get Dan Ackroyd and a returning Lance Henriksen (from Walter Hill’s magnificent “Cutting Cards”) to round things out, so it’s impossible not to feel spoiled with such Hollywood heavyweights getting stuck in.
However, the biggest surprise is that despite the starry cast, the more dramatic plot and an extended run time, Yellow isn’t afraid to stick to that old EC Comics tone and dally with the macabre when it gets the chance. There’s no real reason for a wounded Henriksen to suddenly reveal that he’s missing a stomach and he’s been using his helmet to hold his guts in, but Zemekis makes it happen in order to deliver an amusing shock of gore. Better yet, the twist ending is actually something of a belter that not only gives more of an emotional punch than your average Crypt, but still manages to retain that darkly amusing cruelty the show had become well known for. After detailing a complex plan to his son that will apparently save his life, we realise at the last moment that Calthrob has concocted a harsh counter plan to fool his jittery son into standing strong and proud in the face of death and no such salvation was ever going to take place. Worse yet (and by worse, I mean better) there’s a split second of realisation from Martin when he sees his father turn away when the order to fire is given, which means that an episode that wasn’t even meant to be an official Tales From The Crypt entry ends up being objectively better that more than half of the actual episodes. My confidence may have wavered in the big three as of late, but Zemekis brings it back with style.
What could have been a cheap attempt to salvage a failed pilot ends up giving Tales From The Crypt’s third season the big finish it so richly needed. While other episodes from Two-Fisted Tales would show up further down the line, Yellow is rousing proof that sometimes it’s hood not to be afraid of a little tinkering.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
We Have Issues 