One Step Beyond (TV Series) The Riddle (1959) User Reviews

Reincarnation

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 14 April 2015]

Last episode of the first season tackles the mysterious and universal topic of reincarnation, as a married couple(played by Warren Stevens as Len Barrett, & Bethel Leslie) traveling in India by train encounter a seemingly harmless old beggar that drives the man crazy with rage, as Len forgets who he or his wife are, determined to kill the beggar for reasons he can't define. Despite the efforts of local police, it seems that nothing can stop the killing, which recalls a similar murder many years ago that occurred on the very day that Len was born... Intriguing episode creates good local flavor as it tells its tragic tale of unavoidable fate.

The Riddle

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 25 June 2022]

Is there more to life and death. A question that host John Newland wants the viewers to ponder.

An American couple Leonard and Elizabeth Barrett are travelling across Indian by train. First class oc course.

However when an elderly Indian gentleman with a scar on his neck called Kumar accidentally ends up in their compartment.

Leonard Barrett goes on an inexplicable rage. He cannot understand it, maybe it is the heat or dehydration.

At a train stop, a hostile Leonard chases Kumar down the streets of a nowhere town and collapses.

The local police wants Leonard to recover and get out as quickly as possible.

Kumar once faced tragedy with a love rival. Is history about to repeat itself?

There is a message about reincarnation and how both love and hate can be reborn.

There is some mangled Hindi being spoken here. The story is interesting.

Reminiscences from the past!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 10 March 2020]

The Riddle touch in a strong subject widely accepted at India's religions, the reincarnation, starting this premise stay easy a fully understanding for western people of Christian education, an American couple on holydays at exotic India, Leonard (Warren Oates) and Betty Barret are travelling by train when appears a humble old Indian called Kumar, most probable from low castle on the cabin's door, Leonard already has a bit eager stays disturbed henceforth, when the train stopped in a little village he follows the old man, on the narrow streets Leonard has a nervous breakdown, falling down on the ground, helped by a medic and found by his worried wife he was taken to rest in a room, an Indian policeman who knows Kumar imposes to the couple that they must leave the town at eleven o'clock without delay, but soon Leonard disappears in search for Kumar's house, it has something connected with past lives, simply great!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

Leonard and Kumar go to India

[safenoe · 7/10 · 14 May 2024]

For some reason I only found out about One Step Beyond today, after it debuted in 1959, so 65 years ago. It debuted around the same time as The Twilight Zone (the original one) and I'm keen to watch some of them. Anyway, The Riddle is the first episode of One Step Beyond, and is hosted by John Newland with a quasi-English accent, and the ending was quite the twist and would have made Rob Serling very proud. In fact, I can imagine a future episode of Inside No. 9 using the plotline twist. Anyway, this episode was set in India, and who would have thought that nearly 60 years after The Riddle debuted, an Indian would become Prime Minister of England.

Reincarnation for Beginners

[nvasapper · 10/10 · 6 November 2009]

Dealing with the cycle of rebirth, reincarnation and revenge, this is one of the very best episodes of the series. A married couple, Leonard and Elizabeth Barrett of Westport, Connecticut, are vacationing in India. Travelling by rail on the Bombay-Calcutta Mail, their trip takes an unexpected and frightening turn when an elderly man named Kumar(PATRICK WESTWOOD), who bears a knife scar on his neck, enters their compartment by mistake. As soon as Mr. Barrett(WARREN STEVENS) lays eyes on him, he has an incredibly hostile and violent reaction to Kumar. The very sight of this inoffensive and harmless old man provokes such hateful, murderous rage in her husband, that Mrs. Barrett(BETHEL LESLIE) can't believe what she's witnessing. She simply can't fathom why her husband is acting this way. Barrett moves to attack Kumar with the jagged neck of a water bottle he had smashed in his rage. Kumar's life is saved by the sudden appearance of the conductor(LEONARD STRONG), who was drawn by the commotion. Understandably confused and frightened by this man's violent hatred towards him, Kumar whimpers piteously in his native tongue, begging forgiveness for the intrusion and the misunderstanding. The conductor ushers him away and admonishes Barrett for his intemperate behavior over such a minor mistake. When the train pulls into the town of Narainpur, where Kumar lives, he gets off and Barrett watches him walk away, all the while ranting to his wife that if Kumar tries anything, he'll kill him. Kumar, feeling Barrett's eyes on the back of his neck, turns and stares very intently at Barrett, as if he were searching Barrett's face for something recognizable. Barrett then chases Kumar through the crowded streets of the town until, overcome by heat exhaustion, he collapses unconscious. A medical missionary named Graham(BARRY ATWATER) and Constable Gaising(ARTHUR BATANIDES) arrive. Gaising questions Mrs. Barrett as to why she and her husband are there and she tells him that her husband left the train unexpectedly. Barrett, loaded onto a jeep to be taken to the medical mission, rants that "I've got to find him. I've got to find him." The constable now ratchets up the level of his inquiry and Mrs. Barrett tells him there was an old man on the train and that her husband took a dislike to him. She describes the man down to the scar on his neck and Gaisingh realizes it's someone he knows very well. He confiscates Barrett's passport, telling Mrs. Barrett he'll need it for his report. At the mission, Barrett tells Graham that he's as perplexed as anyone over what occurred. He says this has never happened to him before and that there isn't anyone he really dislikes. Yet, the moment he saw Kumar, he felt this incredible hatred towards him and he knew if he didn't kill Kumar, Kumar was going to kill him. The constable arrives and tells Barrett that the Calcutta Express will be making an unscheduled stop that evening at 10:12 p.m. and that he and his wife will be on that train when it leaves. His tone and demeanor indicate that it's not open to discussion. Graham shows the Barretts the collection of odds and ends in his storeroom which the grateful villagers had given him over the years in appreciation for his services to them. One of these artifacts catches Barrett's eye. It's a clay sculpture of a woman's head with the word "piari" on its base. On hearing this word, Barrett translates it into the English "beloved." Both Mrs. Barrett and Graham regard him with amazement that he would somehow know this Hindi word. The sculpture is disfigured and Barrett says they're knife slashes made while the clay was still wet, almost as if he had personal knowledge of this. Barrett is transfixed by this sculpture and can't take his eyes off of it. When his wife returns later with his dinner, the sculpture is lying on the floor, smashed to pieces and her husband is gone. We then see Barrett, who has inexplicably lost his sight, make his way in his blindness to Kumar's home. Pounding on his door and violently screaming at him in Hindi, he breaks the window and moves to strangle Kumar with his bare hands. Kumar defends himself with his rifle. The constable, Graham and Mrs. Barrett arrive and they take the mortally wounded Barrett to the mission for treatment. Mrs. Barrett is at her wit's end to comprehend the apparent senselessness of what happened, but Constable Gaisingh knows. He tells her Kumar's wife asked a similar question- "How can the same thing happen twice in one lifetime?" He tells her that Kumar and a gifted artist named Ranjit were both rivals for the love of the same woman. Ranjit attacked Kumar, slashing him on the neck with a knife. Kumar defended himself with his own knife, the blade cutting across Ranjit's eyes, blinding him. On Kumar's wedding day, Ranjit made his way to Kumar's home to kill the man he had come to hate so passionately. But Kumar had a gun and used it on Ranjit in self-defense. Gaisingh tells Mrs. Barrett he remembers the date, July 17th, 1925, very well because it was his first homicide. He tells her he feels somewhat responsible for what happened because he didn't take better charge of her husband until the train arrived to collect him. Graham tells Mrs. Barrett to go to her husband and her cry of anguish from the next room tells us that Barrett has succumbed to his wound. Graham tells the constable that it's over. Gaisingh says "Is it?" and tells Graham to look at Barrett's date of birth on his passport and then tell him if it's ever over. Gaisingh, seeing confusion on Graham's face, tells him that Barrett was born on the same day that Kumar killed Ranjit. This is my all-time favorite episode- I give it 10 out of 10, hands down.

Stranger then Fiction

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 6 August 2016]

***SPOILERS*** Straight out of the files of the supernatural this "One Step Beyond" episode has to do with the unsolved murder of one's lover back in India in 1925. The story is so confusing you have to watch it at least twice to get what's happening or the hang of it. With American tourist Leonard Barrett, Warren Stevens,completely freaking out at the very sight of Indian pan handler Kumar, Patrick Westwood, whom he developed a violent hatred for that he can't seem to explain.

The poor gut Mr. Kumar just seems to want to talk to Barrett about something trivial like the weather or the latest stock or commodity prices but Barrett a mild mannered and lovable man back in the states according to his confused wife Batty,Bethel Leslie, just want's to ring his neck! Barrett is so full of hate and fury that he chases the man down a village street and passes out from heat exhaustion in doing it!

***SPOILERS**** Trying to get Barrett to cool off before he drops dead from a heart attack the local police constable Gaisingh, Arthur Batenides, has him checked out to leave the village on the next train but as things turn out it's a little bit too late for the guy. Making a last desperate attempt to kill Kumar by breaking into his home Barrett is finally gunned down by him in self defense putting an end to this whole insanity. As we soon find out the truth to this story really has really nothing to do with the crazed and homicidal Barrett's feelings about Kumar at all, who never met Kumar in his entire life, but in fact the person he was in his previous life, before he was reincarnated, whom Kumar back in July 1925 murdered!