Villainess Review: Ellen Pritchard (Circle of Fear)

I am always on the search for something to watch online, but I was working overtime in that regard during the summer of 2020. This was because of the obvious: the COVID-19 pandemic, which was in its early stages at the time. I had already binge-watched a number of shows at the time, and while searching on IMDB and Wikipedia, I learned about a show called, Circle of Fear. The show was one of a number of horror anthology shows, and was originally known as Ghost Story for the first few episodes until switching to the alternate title. I didn't binge this one; rather, I saw an episode that got my attention: "Spare Parts."

The episode centered on Ellen Pritchard, who was married to renowned doctor Phillip Pritchard until his sudden passing entering the episode's events. We see Ellen at her husband's funeral, and later on, she grieves and speaks fondly of Phillip, who was revealed to have donated his eyes, hands, and vocal cords donated to three different patients. A woman named Penny Wiseman received Phillip's eyes, a man named Chuck received Phillip's hands, and the vocal cords went to a man named Joseph Moretti.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Stephen Crosley, who was Phillip's protégé and a friend of Ellen's, but once the procedures were completed, all three recipients were suddenly under Phillip's control, beginning with Joseph using Stephen's voice to call Ellen to the hospital. We would see all three patients pursue Ellen, who later vented to Stephen and reveal that her marriage to Phillip wasn't as happy as those around the couple had assumed. The centerpiece of the estrangement was Phillip's obsessive belief that Ellen was having affairs, even going as far as naming Stephen as one of Ellen's lovers, and he used that to turn down Ellen's request for a divorce.

The patients continued to pursue Ellen, who was accused of actually killing her husband, with Ellen repeatedly denying the accusation and claiming that Phillip's death was an accident. Ellen's attempt to escape would see her end up in the hospital's cold room (which locked from the outside), while Penny's new vision led her and the others to take Stephen to Ellen's location, where they found Ellen. However, the trio of mesmerized patients refused to let Ellen out, adding that Ellen could free herself by revealing what really happened on the night in question. Though Ellen refused, Penny stated that she knew the truth about Phillip's demise.

We were treated to a flashback scene where Ellen was inside the garage, where she started Phillip's car. After Phillip entered, Ellen trapped her husband inside, as she was planning on having the carbon monoxide fumes kill Phillip. What followed was Phillip making failed attempts to get inside his car; he couldn't open the doors because they were locked, and breaking the windows was impossible--the glass was too strong. Pleading to Ellen was definitely out; all she did was watch and glare intensely as her husband suffered, and when Phillip finally succumbed to the carbon monoxide poisoning, the villainess gave a sadistic smile over her evil handiwork. After so much denial, Ellen finally admitted to killing her husband, stating that she hated Phillip and used her antipathy as a motive. Once Ellen revealed the truth, Phillip's hold over the patients was over, and Ellen was freed from one prison, but would end up in another.

Ghost Story/Circle of Fear was a short-lived series, only lasting one season of 22 episodes. "Spare Parts" was the 20th and antepenultimate episode of the series, and aired on February 23, 1973. The episode's villainess, Ellen Pritchard, was played by the late Susan Oliver, and I absolutely loved the episode, as well as Ellen. After watching the episode the first time, the flashback scene played in my head repeatedly. The reason was simple: Ellen's evil and sadistic demeanor--her cold stare as she watches her husband suffer, and that wicked grin after her handiwork kills him. This was a woman who immensely despised her husband, and as we saw in the episode, Ellen was willing to allow the hospital to be wrought with absolute chaos if it meant that she could keep her murderous secret hidden. Susan Oliver acted out every facet of Ellen's self-serving and villainous personality to perfection; an absolutely amazing performance.

Susan Oliver, who sadly passed away on May 10, 1990, is best remembered for her one-shot role as Vina (the alluring green-skinned beauty) on the original Star Trek. She has also played a few other villainous roles on shows such as Laramie, The Andy Griffith Show, and Thriller, but I consider Ellen Pritchard her best of the villainesses she's played.

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Check out Ellen Pritchard's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!