Review: “Perchance to Dream” – Charles Beaumont

PODCAST:

S4E3B – Perchance to Dream (book)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we discuss classic Twilight Zone writer Charles Beaumont and six stories of his turned into memorable episodes. I’m joined by returning guest, indie filmmaker, Mike O’Reilly (YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMoreilly318); oil painter, Andres Sercovich (Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahserco/); and book reviewer, Kaelin O’Reilly (Kaelin Reads YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3r-oumDi_CsMoFH4-vTqSA). We recorded this podcast in-between attending lectures and film viewings at the annual Wildwood Film Festival (https://www.wildwoodfilmfestival.com/) that takes place in Appleton, Wisconsin where Mike was screening his short film drama “Volatile” later that night.

During our recording Andres talked about his interests in artificial intelligence themes and the consciousness of mankind which come up in “In His Image,” or the touching reflections of a life-lived found in “Song for a Lady.” Kaelin felt the social commentary on society in “The Beautiful People” both intriguing and disturbing and exemplary of typical Twilight Zone themes. She also noted how these tales aged well and felt relevant even today. Mike discussed how he appreciated that these stories were generally just good yarns, whatever deeper aspects might have been present within such tales as “Perchance to Dream,” “The Jungle,” or cult favorite: “The Howling Man.”

We also observed the wide variety of elements and genres explored in these stories as well as others in this collection. Highlights of our show include Andres quoting “The Big Lebowski” and Mike’s grin-worthy impressions of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Listen in!

-Ryan

 

Ryan, Kaelin, Andres, and Mike recording before attending film screenings at Wildwood Film Festival in Appleton, Wisconsin

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

“Perchance to Dream: Selected Stories (1952-1960)” by Charles Beaumont a/k/a Charles Leroy Nutt (select short stories)

Ryan: 4 Stars “…I know there’s going to be a twist, and I wonder how he’s going to flip this at the end…”

Mike: 4 Stars “…don’t get me wrong, when I say escapism and yarn I mean that as complimentary toward the writer because I loved it…”

Kaelin 4 1/2 Stars “...something that you could go back to and re-read and [it] really make[s] me take something more out of it and wanna keep reading other works by him…”

Andres 3 1/2 Stars “…there was a lot of like thrill…not knowing until you know, then once you know there was not a lot more there–at least what I could see…more perhaps entertainment…”

(Click the links to read full written reviews on Goodreads.com)

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

As mentioned above, our episodes were recorded while in attendance at Wildwood Film Festival in Appleton, Wisconsin. We had an excellent time at this regional film festival whose mission is “The Wildwood Film Festival’s purpose is to promote Wisconsin film talent (actors, directors, writers, composers, editors, etc.). We also strive to educate high school students and adults in film basics-script writing, story boarding, filming, lighting, sound, editing and marketing.” (from https://www.wildwoodfilmfestival.com/)

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In preparing for the episode and to research the author some of us watched an indie documentary about his rather short, but amazing career as well as his untimely and strange demise. That film was directed by Jason V. Brock and is called: Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone’s Magic Man (the documentary can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Charles-Beaumont-Short-Twilight-Zones/dp/B004HKIVCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517340570&sr=8-1&keywords=Charles+Beaumont+documentary). For more insight into this author, check out an reprinted interview with his son: https://www.rodserling.com/wsimmons/Chris_Beaumont.htm.

We mentioned briefly how one of the short stories mentioned a show from the golden age of radio known as “The Hermit’s Cave.” Mike and Ryan in particular are fans of Old Time Radio and many of those classic programs can be found archived free on the internet. Here’s a select collection from that radio horror series housed at Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/The_Hermits_Cave.

All of the Beaumont stories we officially covered in this episode were originally published in magazines before being adapted as Twilight Zone episodes. Check out the original covers for these magazines below:

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* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.