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TOURIST ATTRACTION
Ralph Meeker, Henry
Silva, Janet Blair.
A living, prehistoric sea monster is found in the waters south of the
border.
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QUICK SCAN...
If you like shows set in exotic foreign lands, this is the
episode for you. Ralph Meeker, ("Food of the Gods"),
as the crass American tycoon brings new meaning to the term, "ugly
american". Note the high quality underwater photography.
Henry Silva, ("Alligator"), is appropriately nasty as
a Spanish dictator.
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SYNOPSIS...
A Latin American country sponsors an unsuccessful World's Fair. Meanwhile,
an American businessman discovers a prehistoric, amphibious creature
in the waters off the coast.
The businessman captures one of the creatures and brings it to the
capital city's oceanographic lab to be analyzed. The dictator of the
country takes the creature, to display it at his World's Fair.
The creature communicates to it's fellow creatures. The sea creatures
use their sonar power to shatter a dam, flooding and destroying most
of the capital city.
REVIEW...
Director Laslo Benedek's TOURIST ATTRACTION
is one of "The Outer Limits" weaker episodes.
Ralph Meeker is quite convincing as a boorish American businessman.
The fact that he played a similar role thirteen years later, in "Food
of the Gods," seems to indicate that he was yet another victim
of Hollywood typecasting.
Surprisingly, Janet Blair ("The Fuller Brush Man") as Meeker's
secretary/lover, has a complicated and quite adult relationship with
her employer. As she explains it to one of Meeker's new employees,
"I came with the magazine he bought up last year." Unfortunately,
their relationship doesn't do much to enhance the overall quality
of this episode.
The amphibious creatures are particularly unconvincing. They look
more like refugees from a Chinese New Year's celebration, than they
do actual living creatures.
The Teleplay, by Dean Riesner, seems more concerned with Latin American
politics, and the troubled relationship between Meeker and Blair,
than in the science fiction elements related to the sea monsters.
Since the "Outer Limits" was a science fiction series, and
not a political drama or adult soap opera, Riesner's story focus seems
unfortunate.
A scene of a model dam, exploding, lacks credibility. Special Effects
guy, Harry Redmond, Jr. seems to be the guilty party here.
Director of Photography, John M. Nickolaus, Jr.'s work is solid and
professional. His underwater photography is particularly good, with
enough fish and vegetation moving around to enhance credibility.
The Music Score, by Robert Van Eps, is a mixture of the kind of standard,
"spooky" music that "Outer Limits" was famous
for. Also well done is his dreamy, "water" music for the
underwater scenes, featuring flute and harp.
TOURIST ATTRACTION will not be particularly watchable for most Sci-Fi
viewers. "Creature from the Black Lagoon" fans may be somewhat
entertained. TOURIST ATTRACTION is not an "E" ticket entertainment!
 
 
 
 
 
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