The Twonky (1953)

[@brandex2011]

You have no idea how many years I have searched for a copy of this. Thank you so much for posting this. (That's one off my bucket list!)

[@aramboodakian9554]

Wow what a flashback! I saw this movie on TV in the late 50s or early 60s I was very young and it left an impression on me. I never saw it again until now (2023)❤

[@redbark]

Very enjoyable. But Conried is always a joy to watch!

[@wcsxwcsx]

You must admit, the Twonky's animation was darn impressive for the time.

[@ollietsb1704]

One of the weirdest and most fun films to watch. Hans Conreid. Perfect. Arch Oboler was pretty famous for his radio work - writing, sound FX, mysteries, spookies - and this is definitely between odd, weird and spooky.

[@donkeyslayer9879]

Henry Kuttner was one of the Grand Masters of Science Fiction.

[@julianhermanubis6800]

Henry Kuttner, who wrote the story the film's based on, was a respected science fiction and horror writer during that era.

[@mikesilva3868]

😊😊😊

[@MrBROTHERFELDER]

I heard the original story was supposed to be just plain horror, no comedy.

[@satanicmicrochipv5656]

You mean... This isn't a documentary?

[@pcno2832]

Well, that was a strange one. I wonder what the people at Admiral thought about a slightly-modified model of theirs being used as an agent of futuristic totalitarianism. By 1952, Orwell's 1984 had already gotten plenty of attention, so they idea was not unheard-of. Nearly 70 years later, with everything from our latest TVs, to our laptops having cameras, and our phones listening to our conversations and popping up items we might want to buy, this seems closer to realty then ever.

[@lc7604]

This quirkiness reminds me of the 5000 Fingers of Dr T which Hans Conried also starred in. Just delightfully whimsical! Thank You!

[@SuziQ.]

I just watched that one (again).

[@-oiiio-3993]

Wonderful flick. Ted Geisel (Seuss) is said to have been very frustrated with the process, however, and very dissatisfied with the result.

[@-oiiio-3993]

@@SuziQ. _Is it atomic?_

[@aadamtx]

Weird and surprisingly funny at times. Love Hans Conried, and I recognize some of the character actors throughout. Also love the house - glad it was finally explained that the wife inherited it, since I couldn't believe a philosophy professor's salary would have bought it! And yes, Gloria Blondell is Joan Blondell's sister. The assistant in the tv shop is Vic Perrin, whose long career doing voicing cartoon and other characters also included being the voice on the original "Outer Limits" tv series ("We control the vertical, we control the horizontal.").

[@SuziQ.]

A University professor makes a decent salary (above the national average). Mine were all published authors, as well. Of course, it was decades after this movie, but I would think that the salaries were decent in the fifties, too.

[@zorpia621]

My microwave is bigger than that TV! 😂 Hans is one-of-a kind actor, with his unique style and voice. Some great video effects for 1953, especially the walking ….!

[@peterking2794]

Aye, but does it walk around? :-)

[@arthurvaisvilas7853]

I remember this movie. I have been looking for it since I was about three or four. I'm 66 now and this is the second time I am watching it. I don't know what it was a bout this T v, set, but to me it was strange and surreal. It seemed to have a mind of it's own, and that was the attraction i suppose. I have never seen television the same since. Happy to have found it after all these years. Thanks!

[@vernalc2449]

Qjuirky and original, with some pretty awesome effects for its time and worth a watch!

[@kathleenking47]

Tv was Rare in 1953. It wasn't until 1955...and people could buy tubes for their televisions if they blew out. And changed them

[@steveforbes7718]

I just viewed this with the wife. She read the book but never even knew of the movie. Now, her life is complete! LOL I'm still laughing which always happens when I see this movie. In the world of today everyone needs a good laugh and it's been way too long since I've seen this classic B movie. Thanks for bringing it back to the world.

[@IvanRodriguez-hl4pg]

I enjoyed this movie very much. I have no complaints about it. Hans Conried was one of my favorite Earthlings. He was great as uncle Tanoose (sp) on The Danny Thomas Show too. My pop couldn't afford a TV until 1955. I'm grateful for the invention of the television set because it forced Hollywood to start making weird horror and science fiction films to keep people from staying away from their local theaters.

[@ottobaron6392]

I've liked Hans Conreid in everything I've seem him.

[@jsl151850b]

Then you must have loved 'The 5,000 Fingers of Dr T'.

[@andrewcao6111]

Another cup of coffee

[@-oiiio-3993]

@@jsl151850b Is it atomic?

[@natomblin]

Fractured Flickers

[@thisisme3238]

Very unusual, but kept my interest...all the way through the movie. 😮

[@gregmonks]

Saw this the year after we got our first car- a '52 Dodge Meadowbrook. As a kid that tv scared the poo out of me.

[@thewkovacs316]

hans conreid may have been one of the most underrated actors in history

[@matthewhedrichjr.5445]

He sure is so underrated and knows to play his character perfectly well

[@emwa3600]

An excellent nominee for Weirdest, Wackiest & Most Fun films to watch.

[@jsl151850b]

*Thanks! Up until now I only had a poor copy.* Thanks also for keeping the proper aspect ratio.

[@markwitte303]

loved hans voice in cartoons in the 1970s

[@nokomarie1963]

Yay, I have been looking for this since reading the short story as a kid.

[@brianedwards7142]

Well, that was fun. I have a thing for character actors and Hans Conried was one of the best. RIP Snidely Whiplash. ❤

[@alanfite333]

Hans Conried has always been a favorite character actor of mine. He was always entertaining and in perfect character when acting.

[@michaelterrell]

That TV antenna was know as a 'Double Lazy X'. and they sold well until the early '60s. I installed more than I care to think about!

[@Enshohma]

Thank you for identifying the antenna as it is a unique design but, yeah, I can see how mind-numbing it could have been installing them in mass.

[@michaelterrell]

@@Enshohma Most were strapped to a chiminey , which were the worst lace to put them. The corrosive exhaust fumes pited the thin aluminum tubing and caused oxide buildup where the stainless steel rivits held the toogeter.95% of the custoers wouldn't sped the extra $15 to $20 for a stainless steel wal mount that would still be usable today, That's 60 years.

[@UQRXD]

A SMART TV

[@EdMorbius46]

Thanks. This has been on my bucket list since its honorable mention as a chapter title in John Varley's excellent SF novel 'Millennium '.

[@MK-hh1vo]

That's who brought me here! John Varley!

[@michaelmiller2397]

great movie to start the day off with.

[@slimshady3374]

The coach was an absolute riot. LMAO

[@RussellBauwens]

Cute movie! I've never seen this one before, it's good to see the old brand-names and styles again. Pretty imaginative for the day and good special-effects, too, I'd say! Fun to watch, thanks for sharing this. :^)

[@jeffwilliams936]

Wow , I last saw this movie in the 1960's !

[@emmayoungblood5131]

Thanks for uploading this, I'm on a Hans Conried kick right now

[@josephpetrino1741]

I've been a cinephile my entire life and had not seen this. Thanks but there is a very good reason why it has been forgotten.

[@Littlealan1959]

very funny fun movie to watch they dont make true classic movies now like this Gem of a movie

[@MrBROTHERFELDER]

Drove me half crazy as to where I heard Hans Conrad’s voice before. He was the voice of Snidley Whiplash!

[@autophyte]

And Captain Hook in Peter Pan, and the Magic Mirror in Snow White. And the fisherman in The Fisherman and His Wife. His voice was so distinctive.kzbin.info/www/bejne/qn3TpaCEnp6qsNE

[@matthewhedrichjr.5445]

@@autophyteand as the model (NOT final voice, but demo voice) for King Stefan in Sleeping Beauty as well

[@markschildberg1667]

Hans was a veteran character actor, always working on radio, TV, film, animation and the stage. Comedy was his strength.

[@-oiiio-3993]

Emcee of Fractured Flickers... .

[@tubespring]

Very enjoyable!

[@thewonderchildblog]

Thank you for posting this :)

[@darkstardavros]

Came across this little gem quite by accident. Interesting comedy horror. With pretty good special effects for it's time. Doubtful that anything like this would be made today though. Different times i guess.

[@raymondkb2nzo788]

Man how cool is that

[@alanr4447a]

This is the film industry lashing out at the looming threat of competition from television!

[@-oiiio-3993]

I have no complaints.

[@jeffthekillercriticremixer5968]

This movie creeped me out when I saw it, the creepiest part was the way the TV walks around and it's laser beam. I can see a remake of this movie with Kevin Hart in the lead role and the TV able to create 3d projections and use the internet as well as its other talents, like hypnosis and eventually murder, the movie Poltergiest stole the ending as well, about the freeman family freaking out about the hotel tv and throwing it out of the room after their horrifying night.

[@daphnewilson7966]

Kevin Hart! Fun!

[@fazbell]

We did not have a TV until 1955. I was born in 1950.

[@kevocaudillo4564]

Just the first minute had me cracking up!!! Best movie intro ever!!! Now I am hooked!!! Poppin some corn and setteling in for a unique fynny as hell movie!!! Who thinks this stuff up!????😂❤

[@gandfgandf5826]

4.50 ish "Pantomime Win A Ham Quiz". 😂 I'd like to see a re boot of that.

[@marcelomanzanoplaza3262]

No la había visto nunca antes pero es genial....

[@johncipolletti5611]

I just wish one of my 9 robots was this flexible!

[@ivettea6358]

..." in this very house I crush the grapes with my own feet"... :) Hilarious, Thank your for this!

[@lesizmor9079]

Pretty tough to keep watching, but overall worth it. I hope ya'll notice that even though this was fantasy when it was made, ALL of it is now reality. TV dialing your phone? Check. In fact, let's notice what else can dial your phone--- your car, someone named Alexa, the NSA, several people in Russia & India, someone named Siri, etc.

[@WaverBoy]

Not all of it - a television set can’t light your cigarette or your pipe from across the room, unless I’ve missed something…

[@yestermendarkly5699]

Oboler’s horror is the best. However, his commentary on the furtive and satirical look at “modern” society is second to none.

[@minhthunguyendang9900]

Read his horror novel “House On Fire”(1969) a real masterpiece

[@johnpritchard5410]

a little whimsy goes a real long way....

[@SMunro]

I cant say I have ever seen that kind of behaviour in an appliance. Most peculiar.

[@lesizmor9079]

You mean like a TV dialing your phone? We're already there. Controlling our thoughts? Already there.

[@crosseyedone7960]

"It's my God given right to be wrong". Wonderful!

[@mattiasohlin6339]

Great movie 😂!

[@thoughtsurferzone5012]

Never heard of this. Atompunk humor.

[@xrisku]

This was, I don't even know how to describe... Twonky. 😂😂😂

[@SMunro]

Coach's Beer recipie: Yoghurt Black strap molasses. Crushed grapes (juice or grapemash?) Tabasco sauce Benzine

[@flyingo]

I’ll never forget Hans Conreid in “5000 Fingers of Dr. T”. - Bizzare!

[@SuziQ.]

It’s on KZbin movies for free. I just watched it. It is bizarre. I know it’s supposed to be the kid’s nightmare, but some of the scenes were disturbing. Dr. Seuss wrote that one.

[@richardbaker5223]

I read the story many years ago, I never knew there was a film based on it.

[@rezzer7918]

Twonky!!!

[@douginorlando6260]

Released at an age when TVs that looked like the Twonky were showing up in living rooms across America. And then began programming the masses. Nowadays we accept the programming as news, entertainment and ads. But the TV still demands our attention more than we interact with anyone else.

[@kathleenking47]

Or SMARTPHONES📲

[@amberola1b]

I would`nt call this a "B" movie, I call it a "Z" movie. So bad, it`s good. Saw it when I was a kid in the early 70s and I loved it way back then.

[@johnstevenson9956]

Weird, bizarre, spooky, a little scary...I got no complaints.

[@garohagopian2253]

Great to see Conreid in a lead film role, if not an "A" picture, but Oboler put Conreid's talents to much better use on radio in "Lights Out" and other programs a decade or more before.

[@julieisthatart]

AI vs humanity, 1953 style, thanks, very funny.

[@kelvintorrence5994]

Wait till 2023/2024 comes around

[@yestermendarkly5699]

I love me some Arch Oboler.

[@mikesilva3868]

😊fun movie

[@raystaar]

Ii'm an inveterate reader of movie credits. This picture is remarkable in that, to the best of my knowledg,except for Hans Conried, I have never seen any these names before; not the director, not the writers, not even the boom operator. Still, it's a delightful little romp. Very likely, none of those people I mentioned previously have ever heard of me either.

[@daphnewilson7966]

What was the game show? Conried hosted maybe a decade later? I adored him as a kid! One of the GOATS. Ernie Kovaks. Walter Matthau.

[@SuziQ.]

I checked his IMDB page. He was a panelist on Match Game, and on To Tell The Truth. Check his page under “self” for other game shows. TTTT was way before my time. The guy worked a lot (295 titles, including “self,” “voice,” “actor,” and more.

[@webwillie1]

Acting was award winning..!

[@artmoss6889]

Come out of there, Eric Cartman, I know it's you!

[@goodmaro]

Ah, so that's where that Robo Rally game figure came from.

[@alteredbeast1974]

Basically a pre-cursor to the Terminator......

[@SuziQ.]

Alexa

[@bobp6742]

How many ariels did you need back then, one great big monster on the roof and a back up on the TV

[@fueledbylove]

in the end. Twonky couldnt keep his Hans to himself

[@CamhiRichard]

Wonderful discovery! Weird, intelligent, funny, and somehow prescient. Global Reset, anyone?

[@Callidus5949]

Ah....And here I thought the Twonky was a predecessor of the Twinky.

[@alanr4447a]

2:00 Why would there be a lot of people on their way to work on a SATURDAY morning??

[@kscape100]

It was very common after World War II and up through to the end of the 1960s that people would go to work at least 1/2 day on a Saturday.

[@Lampshade51]

What happened to the woman in the car when it crashed?

[@flossygalloway5967]

Dam we were smart back then what happened . we've been warned.

[@jayytee8062]

Too much benzene is what happened.

[@michaelmiller2397]

Polaroid instamatic 1953 vn....drop kick !

[@bradb.4682]

I love it that the offensively anodyne professorial propaganda “Individualism is the basis of all great art,” is struck out in favor of the arguably much truer “Freedom of self-expression is…” Genius!

[@flapjackfae]

This was totally silly and without intellectualism l intellectual value. Thank you!

[@DavidRice111]

Check his teeth while he speaks~ the "coach" is a dental nightmare! Wow! Gloria is SO like her big sister, Joan!

[@steveforbes7718]

The copywrite says 1950. Not 1953. Still as much fun as it was back then and, just as prolific and foreshadowing. Big Brother was the hidden premise and now, Big Brother is here!!

[@tj7870]

fractured flickers!

[@coffman06]

This is a precursor to AI coming in our appliances a movie way ahead of it’s time.

[@michaelmiller2397]

The Super State !!!

[@nicholasforrester8587]

Does anyone know who played the wife?

[@wcsxwcsx]

Janet Warren was his wife. Gloria Blondell was the bill collector.

[@minhthunguyendang9900]

32:01 he looks like Danny Kaye the man in the middle

[@thomaswashburn3513]

I think this film was an early attempt at subliminal messages… After watching it, they hoped (emphasis on ‘hoped’) the audience could only report “no complaints.” Lol

[@johnmichaelrichards]

Ah, the dangers of AI in 1953.🤣

[@jsEMCsquared]

Was he in "the five thousand fingers of dr T?"

[@SuziQ.]

Yes.

[@miked4377]

he was greatbon hogans hereos

[@aj-2savage896]

Joan Blondell's younger sister.

[@donvasquez1791]

The dangers of AI

[@nedludd7622]

Well we know that this is supposed to be funny because the intro music told us so for 10 minutes and doesn't let us forget it. Then it comes back to be sure. The worst score for a movie I have ever heard.

[@stephengroce2125]

Sid Caesar?

[@turkeybowlwinkle4440]

I have no complaints.