Expert: 7devonapes - 7/4/2011

Question
I've been trying to figure this one out for a very long time, mainly because I was very, very young when I saw it and the details are somewhat hazy.

I saw this on my grandparents' television set (which was a wood-panel cabinet job about the size of a small desk) back in the early 70's. It had to do with group of teenagers or young adults in some sort of strange store (a curio shop maybe?). They were very mod-looking and hippy-esque, and they may or may not have been rude or disrespectful to the shopkeeper -- I'm a little fuzzy on that point. The thing I really remember is the end of the movie/show, where the teenagers/young adults all ended up trapped in jars on the shelves of the store.

Additional items that I *seem* to remember, but that might be red herrings:
    * The setting may have been San Francisco.
    * The shop may have been below street level, with a window looking out on the street just above the sidewalk (so that you could see people's legs walking past from inside).

This was definitely on regular television, so it could have been a made-for-TV movie or an episode of Night Gallery, the Outer Limits, or one of those types of shows. (It seemed a little too mod for the Twilight Zone.)

This seems like a tough one, and it has driven me crazy for decades. Any insight you can give would be much appreciated!

Answer
Hi Mahan,

I will take a stab in the dark and say this is an episode of the early 70s Horror anthology TV series "Ghost Story" aka "Circle of Fear, called 'Earth, Air, Fire And Water'. The show starred, among others, Tyne Daly and Dabbs Greer, with a story penned by the great Harlan Ellison.

Imdb.com details: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0587871/

More here (though contains spoilers):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068074/board/thread/164203833


You can watch the entire thing (well, the first part anyhow...) on Youtube, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQyORrqu9t8


A bootleg (?) DVD of the series looks available to purchase via the following links, though I can't vouch for either site's legitimacy: http://shop.vendio.com/HARDTOFINDFILMS/item/846560636/index.html + http://www.skaryguyvideo.com/ghoststory.htm - You could always try Ebay or the like also.


Anyway, hope this is the one you've been looking for. If not, let me know and I'll have another shot.


Cheers,
Ryan

PS - 'Earth...'s synopsis, by the way, reminds me a little of John Carpenter's 1989 Horror flick "Prince of Darkness". I wonder if he nicked a few ideas from this old show. Interesting...