One of the most faithfully-adapted of Serling's teleplays for this series, "Camera Obscura" follows Basil Copper's creepy short story very closely. The dialogue is very well-written, and the casting is interesting. Rene Auberjunois plays the hard-hearted financier Mr. Sharsted very much in the style of his character on "Benson" (rather than as the gruff security chief on "Star Trek: DS9" -- makes you wonder which is his real voice!), and Ross Martin plays the mysterious and otherworldly Mr. Gingold very differently than most of his other TV characterizations (unless it was as Artemis Gordon in one of his disguises). The Mark Twain-lookalike makeup on Martin is a little discordant, but otherwise his performance is very fine. The set designs are superb, from Gingold's gloomy (and apparently haunted) house to the preternaturally grew environment that Sharsted finds himself after leaving the comparative safety of the house. The soundtrack is also nicely done, with an alternately intense or warbling melody that sets the tone well for the vaguely sorcerous theme of the episode.
The interaction between Martin/Gingold and his "Victorian toy," the titular camera obscura, is particularly fascinating, and there are a couple of fine moments of foreshadowing when the viewer begins to understand the underlying sinister nature behind Gingold's otherwise obliging exterior. For example, when Gingold offers to show Sharsted his other, truly unique camera obscura in another part of the house, he opens the door to the passageway and offers, "It's through here, Mr. Sharsted," in a voice that is soft and yet subtly menacing that causes Sharsted to stutter and hesitate. Also, the expression on Gingold's face while they're watching visions from both the past and the future on the remarkable device seems somber and almost melancholy, very different from Sharsted's open-mouthed astonishment. But it's his, "And I bid you good-bye, Mr. Sharsted," that really seals the deal.
Having seen one of these very interesting devices in operation once in Edinburgh, it's all the more fun to watch this episode again. Thank heavens the one I saw didn't have the extraordinary powers of Gingold's!
The interaction between Martin/Gingold and his "Victorian toy," the titular camera obscura, is particularly fascinating, and there are a couple of fine moments of foreshadowing when the viewer begins to understand the underlying sinister nature behind Gingold's otherwise obliging exterior. For example, when Gingold offers to show Sharsted his other, truly unique camera obscura in another part of the house, he opens the door to the passageway and offers, "It's through here, Mr. Sharsted," in a voice that is soft and yet subtly menacing that causes Sharsted to stutter and hesitate. Also, the expression on Gingold's face while they're watching visions from both the past and the future on the remarkable device seems somber and almost melancholy, very different from Sharsted's open-mouthed astonishment. But it's his, "And I bid you good-bye, Mr. Sharsted," that really seals the deal.
Having seen one of these very interesting devices in operation once in Edinburgh, it's all the more fun to watch this episode again. Thank heavens the one I saw didn't have the extraordinary powers of Gingold's!