By John King Tarpinian: If you are a Bradbury fan Bullet Trick is a must-have. This is a compilation of never-before-published material. Not new material per se, but never made available to the public in book format.
In this volume you get five teleplays written by Bradbury. These five teleplays were original to the small screen not translated from previous works. These stories appeared on TV from 1955 to 1969…during a more golden age of fear and paranoia.
A real treat are the two teleplays Ray wrote for Twilight Zone that never aired, Here There Be Tygers and a Miracle of Rare Devices. Included in the Lettered Edition is I Sing the Body Electric, which was Ray’s only TZ program.
The Bullet Trick was written for Jane Wyman and is about the magician Ching Ling Soo. Included is a preface by Bradbury, the contract and the teleplay.
Christmas “The Gift” was aired as part of the Steve Canyon series, a very uplifting holiday story and aired December 20, 1958. This is a story in which Steve Canyon tries to explain Christmas to a little girl who has never celebrated the holiday.
Tunnel to Yesterday was inspired by an article Ray read in Time Magazine. In this case it is about Nazis that do now know that WWII is over.
The Jail was written for Alcoa Premiere. Included is a neat photo of Ray with James Barton, Norman Lloyd and John Gavin. Directed by Lloyd and airing in 1962. Oh yes, the narrator was Fred Astaire.
“The book contains two prose adaptations Bradbury wrote after he wrote the screenplays. Both “Bullet Trick” and “Hand In Glove” (“The Jail”) are far different than the teleplays.
Dial Double Zero begins with ghost voices you never hear on a telephone and I’ll leave you with the final line from the story, “The White House. Good Evening.” I’ll leave you wanting to know what is in-between.
Limited Editions available are:
Signed Numbered Edition ~ $75
With Bradbury drawing imprint leather slip case ~ $110
With generic leather slip case ~ $100
Lettered Tray case Edition ~ $300