Visions Deferred: Three Unfilmed Screenplays [Paperback]

When I went to see I AM LEGEND at the cinema last year, I was disappointed. This is the third time that Richard Matheson's classic vampire story has been poorly adapted for the screen (the other films were THE LAST MAN ON EARTH and THE OMEGA MAN). My companion said that if you hadn't read the book, then you might find the film more entertaining. That is a fair point, but if you are going to make a film and call it I AM LEGEND, why does the screenplay diversify so much from the original source? Richard Matheson actually wrote his own screenplay from his novel in 1957 that was going to be made by Hammer Films, but they rejected it as too violent and wanted to make it with extensive cuts. The same old story. The publication of VISIONS DEFERRED is good timing, as now you can read Matheson's original script and imagine how the film should have been. Two other unfilmed scripts include THE DISTRIBUTOR, based on Matheson's short story and must have been on Stephen King's mind when he wrote NEEDFUL THINGS.
The final story is the script Matheson sorely regrets being left on his shelf as it was to star Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Basil Rathebone, Peter Lorre and Tallullah Bankhead in a comedy titled SWEETHEARTS AND HORRORS. A very entertaining read and a great shame these ideas never saw the light of day on celluloid.

After many years, Richard Matheson has finally consented to publication of his censored screenplay of one of the world's most well-known titles, I AM LEGEND. Although his famous novel has been filmed under numerous titles and guises, you may not be aware that in 1957 Mr. Matheson himself wrote a superb screenplay, which he titled "The Night Creatures", that was never filmed due to various problems with the studios, including the Motion Picture Association's assertion that the screenplay's dialogue was too racy, citing instances of "damn", "Oh, God", etc. The MPA also cited excessive violence in their laughable letter, which has been reproduced for this volume; it must be read to be believed. Mark Dawidziak's in-depth interview with Mr. Matheson about the doomed project precedes the screenplay, which is surprisingly tame by today's standards, and Mr. Matheson's son, Richard Christian Matheson, follows up with his very personal assessment of I AM LEGEND. Next up is Mathew R. Bradley's insightful introduction to the unfilmed screenplay based on Mr. Matheson's short story, "The Distributor", which won Playboy's Best Story of the Year Award. It is a magnificently creepy story that chronicles a clean little suburban neighborhood's infestation by an insidious evil. You'll enjoy reading this truly wonderful script that would have made a killer movie! Mr. Matheson discusses his feelings about "The Distributor" in his candid Afterward. The volume concludes on a delightfully wicked note. Richard Matheson introduces the third and, in my opinion, his most magnificent screenplay of all, SWEETHEARTS AND HORRORS. Remember the wonderful classic comedy/horror film, COMEDY OF TERRORS, starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff? SWEETHEARTS AND HORRORS was scripted to reunite that cast, with the addition of Basil Rathbone and Tallulah Bankhead! The script had me laughing aloud, I swear! Here's the story: There are five Sweetheart siblings, Dudley (Karloff), the cantankerous, child-hating kid's show host; Sydney (Rathbone), the smooth and natty ne'er-do-well; Adelbert (Lorre) the clumsy, not-quite-bright brother; Malcom (Price), the hateful, drunken ventriloquist; and Portia (Bankhead), their witheringly vicious actress sister ("A cross between Medea and Ma Barker"). When the five Sweethearts receive identical telegrams informing them of their father's murder, their respective responses are: "Eureka!" " Hurrah!" "Oh." " Yippee!" "Ha-ha!" And the game is afoot! The surviving Sweethearts converge at their late father's home to hear the will and collect their fortunes. At the same time, they each gleefully endeavor to knock off their other siblings in order to cash in on the entire estate! This is a hilarious and rollicking farce that, if I could, I would wish onto film starring the original cast. It would have been an instant classic! As funny as it reads, it would have been a marvel of hilarity with the collective talent slated for the production. Unfortunately, all of the actors died before the film could be realized, but this sidesplitting script lives on, hurrah (as Sydney would have said). This splendid collection of Mr. Matheson deferred visions is a dream come true for readers.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars