This episode is dominated by the presence of a pre-stardom Robert Duvall, here ironically cast as an unsuccessful actor named Bart Conway. When he finds out that fellow actor Jerry Lane (Charles Robinson) is his main competition for an upcoming role, he invites Jerry to his apartment to prepare for the audition -- hoping of course, to scare off the younger actor with his "method" histrionics. In the course of the evening, Bart gets carried away and ends up killing Jerry, leaving him with the problem of disposing of the body. The method hit upon by the methodical Mr. Conway is gruesome but efficient -- or it would have been had he not forgotten about a certain ice bucket in his living room. "Bad Actor" was remade for the 1985 revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, with Martin Sheen taking over for Robert Duvall.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
