Barbara Baxley stars as Miss Morrison, who teaches English in a night class to adult immigrants hoping to become citizens. One of her students named Mr. Tomachek(played by Robert Ellenstein) is smitten by her, and gives her a cameo brooch to show his affection. She reluctantly accepts, but then strangely finds herself writing a language on the chalkboard she never learned, though Tomachek recognizes as his own language, as it seems a deceased woman named Clara is desperately trying to communicate to her through the brooch, and to warn of imminent danger... Good episode contains interesting story turns and performances.
7 Reviews
A massage from beyond the grave
sol-kay10 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
**SPOILERS** It's when English teacher Lois Morrison, Barbara Baxley, accepts a charm form her grateful student Mr. Tomachek, Robert Ellenstein, who attends her class for non-English speaking immigrants that something strange happened to her. As Lois started writing English on her school room blackboard It came out in an entirely different language! A language that Lois didn't know or couldn't read! It was a shocked down to his socks Mr. Tomachek who realized what Lois was writing and that made him make a hasty retreat from her school room. It's as if Mr. Tomachek saw a ghost from the past in what Lois unknowingly wrote! The ghost of Clara the woman whom Mr. Tomachek was madly in love with back in the old country who died five years ago!
It becomes apparent to Lois that she somehow tapped into the world beyond and was contacted by Clara through Mr. Tomachek's charm but what exactly did Clara want so desperately to tell her? Was it a massage that she wanted her to relay to her lover Mr. Tomachek of was it in fact a massage to Lois herself! The fact that Mr. Tomachek is so secretive about what his dead lover Clara is trying to say makes you wounder if it has something to do with Mr. Tomachek himself! Something he does't want anyone to know about!
***SPOILER*** Based according to host John Newland on a true story in the mystery of automatic writing Clara did in fact want to get a message through to Lois. Not realizing what the massage was Lois took for granted that it had something to do with Clara's lover Mr. Tomachek. Lois was in fact half right! The massage to her was about ,not for, Mr. Tomachek! It was about his past and why he was so desperate in hiding it! And what was the real reason behind Clara's death which Mr. Tomachek was so determined to keep Lois from finding out!
It becomes apparent to Lois that she somehow tapped into the world beyond and was contacted by Clara through Mr. Tomachek's charm but what exactly did Clara want so desperately to tell her? Was it a massage that she wanted her to relay to her lover Mr. Tomachek of was it in fact a massage to Lois herself! The fact that Mr. Tomachek is so secretive about what his dead lover Clara is trying to say makes you wounder if it has something to do with Mr. Tomachek himself! Something he does't want anyone to know about!
***SPOILER*** Based according to host John Newland on a true story in the mystery of automatic writing Clara did in fact want to get a message through to Lois. Not realizing what the massage was Lois took for granted that it had something to do with Clara's lover Mr. Tomachek. Lois was in fact half right! The massage to her was about ,not for, Mr. Tomachek! It was about his past and why he was so desperate in hiding it! And what was the real reason behind Clara's death which Mr. Tomachek was so determined to keep Lois from finding out!
"You should have listened to Klara."
classicsoncall1 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I write Klara's name with a 'K' in my summary line because that's the way she signed her picture. This is another episode of "One Step Beyond" in which the participants and the viewer receive a message from the other side as it were, from someone who has already passed on. As the story opens, one feels some sympathy for the disabled but determined student Tomachek (Robert Ellenstein) as he explains his admiration for English teacher Lois Morrison (Barbara Baxley). She accepts his offer of a brooch against her initial judgment when she sees how upset it made him to turn it down at first. As the story progresses, it appears as if someone or something is taking over her psyche, leading to a virtual breakdown during which a brief hospitalization occurs. Eventually, the 'psychic writing' phenomenon she experiences results in a life saving moment, as Klara's message from the grave warns Miss Morrison that 'He will kill you just like he killed me'. As close calls come, this one takes you right to the edge whether one accepts the story or not.
Message From Beyond
telegonus9 March 2011
Message From Clara is a minimalist, tightly wound half-hour of One Step Beyond, a series that dealt with the paranormal, a rather broad category under which I think it's fair to say automatic writing neatly fits. It tells the tale of a night school teacher of what we'd now call ESL, whom a homely east European butcher takes a liking to, and the consequences of his interest in her.
Our first sense that something is wrong with this picture comes early, when the teacher, while writing on a blackboard, begins to inexplicably start writing in a language she does not know. She becomes acquainted with her student, finds herself uneasy in his presence, is incapable of signing her name to a traffic ticket, after which she spends a few hours in the hospital. Events come to a head when the teacher, while on the phone with her student's landlady, comes to learn what the words mean, as they come from Clara, a now deceased woman from the old country with whom her student was in love.
As One Step Beyonds go, this is a high end episode. Its low budget works in its favor; and the intense, heartfelt performances of its lead players, Barbara Baxley and Robert Ellenstein, help enormously. As was usually the case in this series someone or something was up to no good. There was an air of heightened realism to this episode, and most in the series, that made its "horror moments", while no big deal by today's standards, deeply unsettling. One has to be patient with old shows like this. They deliver the goods, but do so in a manner wholly different from how television series are made today. If one is willing to give them a chance, accept the black and white photography, the often drab, generic sets, shows such as this can be richly rewarding.
Our first sense that something is wrong with this picture comes early, when the teacher, while writing on a blackboard, begins to inexplicably start writing in a language she does not know. She becomes acquainted with her student, finds herself uneasy in his presence, is incapable of signing her name to a traffic ticket, after which she spends a few hours in the hospital. Events come to a head when the teacher, while on the phone with her student's landlady, comes to learn what the words mean, as they come from Clara, a now deceased woman from the old country with whom her student was in love.
As One Step Beyonds go, this is a high end episode. Its low budget works in its favor; and the intense, heartfelt performances of its lead players, Barbara Baxley and Robert Ellenstein, help enormously. As was usually the case in this series someone or something was up to no good. There was an air of heightened realism to this episode, and most in the series, that made its "horror moments", while no big deal by today's standards, deeply unsettling. One has to be patient with old shows like this. They deliver the goods, but do so in a manner wholly different from how television series are made today. If one is willing to give them a chance, accept the black and white photography, the often drab, generic sets, shows such as this can be richly rewarding.
The Original What Lies Beneath.
jamericanbeauty16 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Minus the married professor/student affair and seemingly delusional beautiful blonde Wife (Michelle Pfeiffer). The warnings from the beyond babe to the living babe remain the same. Here, we have a sweet pretty teacher at a night school for adults and a seemingly innocent, infatuated student. Who can blame him. Barbara Baxley has this unusual, yet natural sexiness. This episode's creepiness, unpredictability, paranormal incidents, acting and tone are flawless. I watched it once, then backed it up for a replay. Where it fell short of a 10 for me was how could the teacher not suspect nor question her newly gifted brooch as a possible reason for the strange occurrences that suddenly befell her?
Frankenstein goes to school
Goingbegging16 July 2022
A big, ugly one-eyed immigrant from East Europe gets passionate about his demure English teacher, and offers her the gift of a brooch. She instinctively refuses it, but he acts victim, claiming that she's rejecting him because of his appearance, and she feels blackmailed into accepting it. The next words she writes on the blackboard suddenly turn into a rapid stream of what looks like gibberish, but turns out to be a highly sinister, desperate message written in his native language (as only he can tell), and he rushes from the room.
What follows only makes sense if she's starting to warm towards him, yet there are no signs of this. He tells her that it's a message from his late girlfriend Clara, and in order to discover more, the teacher drives him to his boarding-house, running a red light and getting pulled-up, yet finds she can't write her name and address in the ordinary way.
Clearly the brooch is the channel for all this automatic writing (the catalyst, or what Hitchcock used to call 'the Macguffin') though its significance is much underplayed. The police doctor finds she's in better shape after a little rest without her jersey (or brooch). But the ending is indeterminate, fading out to reveal our genial host John Newland smoothly explaining his current take on psychic dialogue.
What follows only makes sense if she's starting to warm towards him, yet there are no signs of this. He tells her that it's a message from his late girlfriend Clara, and in order to discover more, the teacher drives him to his boarding-house, running a red light and getting pulled-up, yet finds she can't write her name and address in the ordinary way.
Clearly the brooch is the channel for all this automatic writing (the catalyst, or what Hitchcock used to call 'the Macguffin') though its significance is much underplayed. The police doctor finds she's in better shape after a little rest without her jersey (or brooch). But the ending is indeterminate, fading out to reveal our genial host John Newland smoothly explaining his current take on psychic dialogue.
Beware of Immigrants Bearing Gifts
wes-connors14 March 2010
After reluctantly accepting a cameo pin from visually disabled admirer Robert Ellenstein (as Tomachek), English teacher Barbara Baxley (as Lois Morrison) begins writing in tongues - that is, she uncontrollably scrawls messages on her chalkboard; and, they seem to be in a foreign language. The immigrant man who gave Ms. Baxley the pin says the writing matches that of his dearly departed "Clara" who has been dead five years. At first, Baxley is hysterical when she needs to write. Later, she becomes interested in what "Clara" is trying to communicate. And, she should be
In closing, "our guide into the world of the unknown" John Newland reveals more about what he calls "psychic writing." Bamf!
*** Message from Clara (11/10/59) John Newland ~ Barbara Baxley, Robert Ellenstein, Don Keefer, John Newland
*** Message from Clara (11/10/59) John Newland ~ Barbara Baxley, Robert Ellenstein, Don Keefer, John Newland
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