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Director James Goldstone's, THE SIXTH FINGER, is
an atypical, yet intriguing, "Outer Limits" Sci-Fi tale.
David McCallum, ("The Man From U.N.C.L.E."), is quite impressive.
Under Goldstone's masterful direction, and aided by better than usual
makeup, (courtesy of Makeup Supervisor, Fred B. Phillips), McCallum
makes a convincing transition from being the brightest man in his coal
mining village, to the smartest man of all time.
Edward Mulhare, ("Knight Rider" and "The Ghost and Mrs.
Muir"), gives a solid performance as the scientist, obsessed with
quick-evolving man to his full potential. So far he has succeeded in
making an ape almost as smart as a man, but he hasn't tried his instant
evolution gizmo on a human yet. When a village girl asks him, "Could
you make ME halfway smart?", Mulhare looks at her with open mouthed
awe and anticipation, like a small child peering into a candy store
window. It's an amazing expression.
The script, written by Ellis St. Joseph, is sharp and literate. When
McCallum is evolved into the man of 20,000 years into the future, his
I.Q. is too high to measure. But, McCallum's character is frustrated,
exclaiming, "What good is intelligence without knowledge. I'm hungry
to know things. Learn everything."
My favorite scene is when McCallum is regressed from a big headed future
man, all the way back to a cave man, and then forward to his normal
self again. While the FX here, courtesy of Ray Mercer and Company, are
only adequate, it's fun to see evolution reverse itself, then go forward
again. Charles Darwin himself might have dug this scene.
Director of Photography, John M. Nickolaus, Jr., does some creative
work here. Extremely effective is a shot of McCallum, now clean and
dressed in white, as he pushes the shutters back of his second floor
room and looks out at the village below
The music, by Dominic Frontiere, involves both gentle harp music as
well as mysterious, tension building tones. We've heard it too many
times before.
THE SIXTH FINGER should be rather watchable for most Sci-Fi viewers.
David McCallum fans will have a field day. BACK
TO: EPISODE
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