A REVIEW of "Dreaming Can Make It So"*

VARIETY Sept. 30, 1964

"A delightfully funny episode opened the second season of "My Favorite Martian", a half-hour which, by comparison, puts many of the new situation comedies to shame.

"The script evidenced an uncommon inventiveness, an imaginative flair, a feel for the comedic turn, all the elements a good situation comedy should have. Kudos go to scripters Ben Gershman and Bill Freedman.

"Ray Walston, who portrays the Martian visiting Earth, again displayed his wry humor, his ability to tickle the audience’s funny bone in the right place. Bill Bixby, the keeper of the Martian, the newspaper reporter closeted with the biggest story yet to be told, again showed himself to be the perfect partner to Walston.

"The madcap outing for Walston and Bixby was paced for maximum results by director Oscar Rudolph. In two sequences, director Rudolph utilized the speed-up of film, reminiscent of silent pix, to obtain whiz-bang movement, again registering in the laugh meter. The opener involved (the) Martian’s ability to dream in two dimensions. What happened when Martian Walston was deprived of nutrition by the meddlesome landlady and he began dreaming in three dimensions served as the plot. The meddlesome landlady with an eye toward matrimony was played effectively by Pamela Britton.

"It would be tedious and injudicious to go into the convolutions of the plot. Let it be said that each twist and turn was a surprise and the yocks built right up to the final scene. "Martian" again looks like a winner for CBS in its 7:30 p.m. time slot."

 

 

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*the article quoted here is held in copyright by VARIETY