\"The Golden Cauldron\" took me by surprise. I hate to admit that I ever have low expectations for CBSRMT, but when an episode is not one I\'ve ever noticed anyone discussing, one that was not written by any major contributor to the series, and one that was not adapted from a well-known classic, well...

But this episode is completely charming and held me from beginning to end. In its \"old dark house\" setting as well as its lighthearted dialogue the story reminded me of films like THE CAT AND THE CANARY and THE OLD DARK HOUSE, as well as the Agatha Christie classic novel and film AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. Characters in these sorts of stories always seem strangely happy to have bullets whizzing past their heads, scary things popping up out of nowhere, etc. (I\'ve often thought that the movie AND THEN THERE WERE NONE makes it look positively fun to be under constant threat of violent murder!)

\"The Golden Cauldron\" really strives to throw in absolutely everything common to this genre, and it pretty much succeeds. Obviously we have the old dark house---in this case a castle---with the obligatory middle-of-the-night thunderstorm. But we also have ominous warnings (delivered by the required guy-with-a-weird-accent, Mr. Lockridge); murder, both recent and ancient; references to Stonehenge, Druids, and human sacrifice; and a fun little whodunit to wrap it all together.

Overall, this was one of the most purely entertaining CBSRMTs I\'ve heard. And by the way, kudos to the writer, Ralph Goodman, for integrating E.G. Marshall into the beginning of the story in a really creative manner.

Goodman seems to have penned only a handful of RMTs, but on the basis of this one, I\'ll certainly listen to the others. According to my guidebook, they are:

\"Them!\" (2/27/75)
\"Brain Drain\" (3/24/76)
\"Free the Beast\" (6/10/76)
\"The Gloria Scott\" (Sherlock Holmes adaptation---11/14/77)

Anyway, thanks for a great choice.<br>