Can You Believe This????????? Miss Helen Hayes, Actually Beating Up On A Little Kid???????????????????

                         Appearances can be deceiving, because, if you had seen the episode, "Alter-Ego," also on "Ghost Story," back in 1972, you might want to take a swipe at the kid too. The minute this story got underway, I knew somebody was ripping off "The Other."  Too bad Tryon never got money from this.  But "The Other" was far more realistic than this.

                           Michael James Wixted, an erstwhile child actor of the day, portrays Robert Cameron, a bright fifth grader, who is obviously being programmed for Advanced Placement.  He and Miss Gilden (Hayes)  have an amicable relationship, and she ups his skill at the game of chess.  An accident renders Robert home bound for some time, with isolation and loneliness setting in. To conquer that, his mind conjures up an alter-ego of himself,(also Wixted) who is as evil as Robert is good.  At the start, it is just to have a companion to play chess, but soon the alternate wants total control. He goes to school in Robert's place, and no one seems thrown by his changed personality or the changes it wreaks in Miss Gilden, who mentally disintegrates to the point of beating the kid, who gets even with her by having her fall on her rose shears and die.

                            Meanwhile, Robert's parents (his mother is played by Collin Wilcox now Paxton, looking so middle class and not trashy, I thought, at first, it was Patty Duke!!!!!!!  Who could have imagined?  Her husband is played by Charles Aidman, and eventually they are convinced Robert has descended into schizophrenia, and needs help with that.

                              The finale is a hoot!  Helen Hayes comes back from the dead, in Robert's room, and ushers off the alter-ego to some kind of eternal Classroom Hell, where she will slam him again and again!!!!!!!!!!  Why should she go there? She was actually good!  And is there such a place?  I hope not, because I do not want to be confronted with Mrs. Santamarina in the afterlife!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                But how obviously similar to "The Other" could one get?  And in the same year it was released!!!!!!!!!!  Someone had at least read the book, and decided to do a riff on it!  Too bad it wasn't as good!  What a camp hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                 Helen Hayes, bashing a kid!  What a way to spend Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!