This is an interesting Studio One production from 1949. It involves a young woman with a history. Lurking in it is a character played by Yul Brynner, though he plays a much older man. I think of his buff portrayal of Pharoah in The Ten Commandments. This young woman is married to a psychiatrist and the Brynner character is a highly respected doctor himself. There is a connection back to the war and the death of the mother. This is about as Freudian as you can get. It is a bit chilling and interesting. As usual, in a male dominated world, a woman who tries to prove her danger is seen as silly and scatterbrained. The husband tries to analyze her at every turn. The past connection involves the piano, a recital, white flowers and a lot of angst. It's just really melodramatic.
5 Reviews
Intriguing but nothing special
didi-524 November 2009
The chief interest of this Studio One production is in the casting of a young Yul Brynner as a mysterious middle-aged doctor with an interest in carnations. The main characters are a neurotic woman who has nightmares about music and trains, her psychiatrist husband, and a live-in housekeeper.
It's acted well enough, but is rather over the top and has no real thrills or twists to recommend it. Still, for fans for archive television and of Brynner, it is worth a look, although prints available at the moment have not been restored in any way and suffer from muddy sound.
It's acted well enough, but is rather over the top and has no real thrills or twists to recommend it. Still, for fans for archive television and of Brynner, it is worth a look, although prints available at the moment have not been restored in any way and suffer from muddy sound.
The dreadful music sure didn't help this one!
planktonrules15 May 2012
A woman gets some flowers from a stranger and she spends the rest of the show worrying about who sent them as well as freaking out every time she sees a strange doctor (Yul Brynner--sporting white thinning hair). Is there anything to it...or is the lady simply a nut?
While I did not like this episode of "Studio One", I sure can respect what they did. Think about it--each week the show presented a LIVE one-hour play to America! So, even if the shows are sometimes rough, you sure have to admire what they did. Plus, some episodes (such as "Twelve Angry Men") are brilliant classics. While "Flowers From a Stranger" isn't all that good, for 1949 (the very earliest period in commercial TV history) it's good. So what didn't I like? Well, some of the acting is a bit shrill and overdone--and reactions seemed WAY overboard. The script was a bit silly. And, most importantly, the crappy organ music is just awful--and a carryover from the old radio programs of the time. It comes off as pretty cheap--and silly.
By the way, if you are wondering about Brynner's hair, this was before he gained fame on Broadway for "The King and I" (later made into an Oscar-winning film). So, you get a chance to see him before he shaved it off for this role. Apparently, folks liked the hairstyle so much, Brynner kept it shaved from then on--and it became his trademark look.
While I did not like this episode of "Studio One", I sure can respect what they did. Think about it--each week the show presented a LIVE one-hour play to America! So, even if the shows are sometimes rough, you sure have to admire what they did. Plus, some episodes (such as "Twelve Angry Men") are brilliant classics. While "Flowers From a Stranger" isn't all that good, for 1949 (the very earliest period in commercial TV history) it's good. So what didn't I like? Well, some of the acting is a bit shrill and overdone--and reactions seemed WAY overboard. The script was a bit silly. And, most importantly, the crappy organ music is just awful--and a carryover from the old radio programs of the time. It comes off as pretty cheap--and silly.
By the way, if you are wondering about Brynner's hair, this was before he gained fame on Broadway for "The King and I" (later made into an Oscar-winning film). So, you get a chance to see him before he shaved it off for this role. Apparently, folks liked the hairstyle so much, Brynner kept it shaved from then on--and it became his trademark look.
Really hammy
HotToastyRag10 February 2023
From the first few minutes of this Studio One production, you know you're in for a very cringeworthy tv-play. Felicia Montealegre, the leading lady, really hams it up and aims for the back row. She plays John Conte's wife, and even though he's a psychiatrist, she has mental problems she's trying to cover up. She has strange dreams and an odd fear of orchids. Someone knows about her fear and starts sending flowers to her house - hence the title.
So why would anyone sit through it? To see Yul Brynner in his first year of making movies. It's very interesting because the audience isn't able to say, "He's so young!" like they normally do when revisiting an early role of a later established star. He's aged up to be an old man, with white hair and gaunt cheeks. He plays John's colleague, a wise Freudian-type, who doesn't really have much screen time. But the screen time he does get is far different than any other movie he made in his career. He has big, emotional scenes and breaks down and cries - can you imagine? If you can't, and you want to see Yul before he became Mr. Sexy (because he's certainly not in this), you can try sitting through Flowers from a Stranger.
So why would anyone sit through it? To see Yul Brynner in his first year of making movies. It's very interesting because the audience isn't able to say, "He's so young!" like they normally do when revisiting an early role of a later established star. He's aged up to be an old man, with white hair and gaunt cheeks. He plays John's colleague, a wise Freudian-type, who doesn't really have much screen time. But the screen time he does get is far different than any other movie he made in his career. He has big, emotional scenes and breaks down and cries - can you imagine? If you can't, and you want to see Yul before he became Mr. Sexy (because he's certainly not in this), you can try sitting through Flowers from a Stranger.
Intriguing Episode
Rainey-Dawn15 May 2016
I actually liked this episode - it's intriguing, nothing special but good. It is a little suspenseful, "spooky" organ music in it (which I actually liked), a fun story to follow and an evil Yul Brynner! Yul Brynner is our evil villain in this sorta spooky tale of a woman's mother who was murdered, her dreams and memories coming back to "haunt" and her psychiatrist husband that downplays the woman's situation.
The dream sequence - the one with the woman as a girl and the passing train - that was beautifully filmed! Excellent, haunting. Too bad the rest of the story was not filmed this way.
8/10
The dream sequence - the one with the woman as a girl and the passing train - that was beautifully filmed! Excellent, haunting. Too bad the rest of the story was not filmed this way.
8/10
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