This is another dumb episode with a somewhat surreal ending. I always find the characters in these episodes not being phased by the weird happenings going on. They always just act like it's just another normal day. I don't know if it's the writing or the actors fault but either or it's a mess.
10 Reviews
If the Show Fits...
Scarecrow-8810 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
A crooked politician, a showy, flashy conman telling the public of his state what they want to hear in order to be elected governor, talks about his craft to a young bellhop eager to listen to his jovial ramblings. The bellhop, Peter (the bright-eyed John Zarchen), wants governor-hopeful, Bo Gumbs (Dick Shawn, in a full-tilt performance, holding nothing back) to entertain his public in the best possible way so he convinces the showman to look the part: as a circus clown in full regalia. A political satire that pokes fun at politicians who use charm and acting skills to manipulate the public-at-large by having one fall apart at the seams, literally manifesting into what he truly is a clown, not concerned with the issues as much as tickling the ears of those in his state just so he can be elected. Shawn is the whole show here, conveying someone knowingly corrupt and secure in his role as a master showman entertaining an audience, using lies for his own benefit, sugar-coating what presently burdens the people and aware that addressing what is wrong with his state would not necessarily win him votes as much as feeding his constituents a load of hooey so he can line his own pockets at the expense of those who elected him. I felt nothing for this episode although I have contempt for this kind of person, as do a lot of others, and that is the whole point: to show such a cretin as he really is and what he truly symbolizes. It is a loud political statement, using Tales from the Darkside as a sounding board to voice concerns about how such clowns influence people in elections, not helping them as he much as gaining a political office to attain power and privilege. I prefer episodes that spook and chill the bones, so "If the Shoe Fits
" isn't really my thing, but this could appeal to those who agree with its philosophy.
Dull and Nonsense Episode
claudio_carvalho14 March 2022
The politician Bo Gumbs is promoted by his friend Louie Farnum and checks in a hotel to speech to the audiences and win votes. While drinking whiskey in his room, Bo dances with the maid Mimi and says to the bell boy Peter that politics is the art of entertaining the audiences. When he gives his clothes and shoes to Peter to take to the laundry, he goes to a shower. Soon he receives his clean clothes and shoes and has a surprise.
"If the Shoes Fit..." is a dull and nonsense episode of "Tales from the Darkside". There is no explanation for the bizarre and silly conclusion. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "If the Shoes Fit..."
"If the Shoes Fit..." is a dull and nonsense episode of "Tales from the Darkside". There is no explanation for the bizarre and silly conclusion. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "If the Shoes Fit..."
Another bizarre Tales from the Darkside episode...
poolandrews29 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Tales from the Darkside: If the Shoes Fit... starts as Bo Gumb (Dick Shawn) arrives at the hotel he is staying at while delivering a speech to potential electorate in his bid to become Govenor of the state. There is is shadowed by a bell-boy named Peter (John Zarchen) who tries to convince him that he is a clown, Gumb is supposed to be a clown as opposed to Peter I mean...
Episode 18 from season 1 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during May 1985, the second of four Tales from the Darkside episodes to be directed by Armand Mastroianni I thought If the Shoes Fit... was yet another crap story from this very hit-and-miss series. The script by Mastroianni & N. Ward is just downright bizarre, it seems that someone has taken some outlandish idea which wasn't particularly good in the first place & tried to shoehorn it into a 20 minute anthology show & it just turns out to be a complete disaster. It makes zero sense, nothing in it works, it feels like some bad children's story that is supposed but have a moral but is so poorly written & thought out that the moral got lost & I simply don't like the story, didn't think it made any sense & is just total complete rubbish from start to finish, harsh maybe but that's how I feel & it's as simple & straight forward as that. There's no twist at the end either & at a meagre 20 minutes in length it still felt 19 and a half minutes too long.
This one is utterly bizarre but there's no story to go with it, I personally don't like bizarre which makes no sense & so it comes as no real surprise that I didn't like this. I'm sorry but I just like my programme's to make sense & have a storyline, call me picky & fussy but is that really too much to ask for? This one like a lot of episodes so far from this show has absolutely zero horror in it, it's not scary in the slightest & it as far as I could see it doesn't even try to be. Forget about any monsters, gore or special effects because there aren't any. The acting is OK & it's well made but so what when the stories so crap?
If the Shoes Fit... is almost as bad as The Tear Collector but not quite, so while it's not the worst Tales from the Darkside episode so far it comes a close second. One to miss.
Episode 18 from season 1 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during May 1985, the second of four Tales from the Darkside episodes to be directed by Armand Mastroianni I thought If the Shoes Fit... was yet another crap story from this very hit-and-miss series. The script by Mastroianni & N. Ward is just downright bizarre, it seems that someone has taken some outlandish idea which wasn't particularly good in the first place & tried to shoehorn it into a 20 minute anthology show & it just turns out to be a complete disaster. It makes zero sense, nothing in it works, it feels like some bad children's story that is supposed but have a moral but is so poorly written & thought out that the moral got lost & I simply don't like the story, didn't think it made any sense & is just total complete rubbish from start to finish, harsh maybe but that's how I feel & it's as simple & straight forward as that. There's no twist at the end either & at a meagre 20 minutes in length it still felt 19 and a half minutes too long.
This one is utterly bizarre but there's no story to go with it, I personally don't like bizarre which makes no sense & so it comes as no real surprise that I didn't like this. I'm sorry but I just like my programme's to make sense & have a storyline, call me picky & fussy but is that really too much to ask for? This one like a lot of episodes so far from this show has absolutely zero horror in it, it's not scary in the slightest & it as far as I could see it doesn't even try to be. Forget about any monsters, gore or special effects because there aren't any. The acting is OK & it's well made but so what when the stories so crap?
If the Shoes Fit... is almost as bad as The Tear Collector but not quite, so while it's not the worst Tales from the Darkside episode so far it comes a close second. One to miss.
A real piece of work
Leofwine_draca25 May 2015
IF THE SHOES FIT... is an episode of TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE which is happy to take the mickey out of the kind of superficial, enthusiastic politicians popular in America, the type who constantly seek to curry favour with the masses but who turn out to to be downright despicable underneath.
Unfortunately this consists of an awful, non-existent storyline and a stupid idea which goes absolutely nowhere. The whole episode is played for quirky laughs and yet said laughs fall completely flat, making this a complete waste of time. I find that there are far too many of these 'filler' episodes in this show, ones that exist merely to fill up a quantity quota and are lacking in any kind of basic narrative power or simple storytelling ability.
Unfortunately this consists of an awful, non-existent storyline and a stupid idea which goes absolutely nowhere. The whole episode is played for quirky laughs and yet said laughs fall completely flat, making this a complete waste of time. I find that there are far too many of these 'filler' episodes in this show, ones that exist merely to fill up a quantity quota and are lacking in any kind of basic narrative power or simple storytelling ability.
If the shoes fit
BandSAboutMovies14 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Armand Mastroianni directed The Clairvoyant, The Supernaturals and He Knows You're Alone, so he has to have some understanding of horror. Sadly, this is another funny - so they say - episode. David Gerrold wrote plenty of TV - maybe we can't blame Louis Haber, one of the credited writers, who didn't - so one wonders why an episode where the entire plot is summed up as politicians are clowns ever made it to air.
Dick Shawn is Bo Gumbs, a politician drinks whiskey, dancing with a maid and talks about politics with the bellboy. Then, as he sends his clothes to the laundry, surprise, he ends up having clown shoes.
Remember when George Romero was once the guy who had nuanced commentary in his films and then suddenly his later movies felt like the most obvious messages ever? I worry that he was compromised by this show, which often takes the easiest way to 22 minutes of syndicated storytelling.
Dick Shawn is Bo Gumbs, a politician drinks whiskey, dancing with a maid and talks about politics with the bellboy. Then, as he sends his clothes to the laundry, surprise, he ends up having clown shoes.
Remember when George Romero was once the guy who had nuanced commentary in his films and then suddenly his later movies felt like the most obvious messages ever? I worry that he was compromised by this show, which often takes the easiest way to 22 minutes of syndicated storytelling.
Tales From The Darkside If The Shoes Fit
MafiaScarecrow13 February 2012
A narcissistic politician from the south named Bo Gumbs is invited to a creepy hotel with no other visitors. There he meets a fat maid (Mimi) and a bell-boy (Peter) who he makes friends with and tells them that politics are really all about making people laugh and have fun. They decide to have a little fun with him by using magic (unexplained why they can use magic in the episode) to prank him. Peter gets him a clown suit and tries to make him wear it but Bo refuses, saying it looks silly. Bo's campaign manager shows up and thinks Bo got drunk and got stage fright before the election because he finds Bo hopping around and muttering about an evil bell-boy who won't let him get dressed, but Peter's magic is only visible to Bo, so the manager just ignores him. Mimi and Peter turn Bo into a clown, revealing his true thoughts to the public and watching as he drives away in a clown car and off into a dark background.
Although the show didn't have the best effects, for a show made in 1984 the effects were pretty great. The characters were funny and believable as well as original and the story was well thought out. The costumes and scenery were great and although it wasn't scary it was intriguing. The background music and soundtrack was mostly clown music and music from a children's music box to fit the scenes, but they made it slightly eerie which was great.For anybody looking for a show not too scary but creepy and even funny at times, this is a great selection. For a scarier one, try Inside The Closet (episode 8.)
Although the show didn't have the best effects, for a show made in 1984 the effects were pretty great. The characters were funny and believable as well as original and the story was well thought out. The costumes and scenery were great and although it wasn't scary it was intriguing. The background music and soundtrack was mostly clown music and music from a children's music box to fit the scenes, but they made it slightly eerie which was great.For anybody looking for a show not too scary but creepy and even funny at times, this is a great selection. For a scarier one, try Inside The Closet (episode 8.)
A very interesting, and funny episode.
TOMNEL13 October 2006
In the first half of this episode, I was just staring at the TV wondering what was happening, then of course it hits you like a ton of bricks. This episode deals with a politician that likes to show off to the people, meeting a bellboy that tries to change his appearance. Over the episode, the politician slowly turns in to a clown. That's about it. There isn't much substance or plot to this, but it was very well directed, had some great over the top acting and it had a certain atmosphere that just worked perfectly. Not a classic, but a fun and clever idea done well.
My rating: Great episode. 21 mins. TV PG
My rating: Great episode. 21 mins. TV PG
A comical and neat fun episode that takes a crude twist proving a point that most politicians are clowns!
blanbrn30 March 2009
This "TFTD" episode is rightfully titled "If the Shoes Fit" as it proves a great point to show who a character really is deep inside! A political themed episode yet it's mostly comical and it takes a neat twist. Dick Shawn stars as Bo Gumbs a southern politician who plans to run for governor and he enters a strange hotel to stay before launching his campaign. And from the start you can see he's full of bull and cocky talk like any typical politician as he talks to hotel staff and tries to charm them and convince them that he can make all the little people's dreams come true. Bo feels untouchable just like he's above the clouds. Only he starts to see and hear that this hotel is most unusual as the staff have a plan in mind for him! In fact it's a circus type plan! As Bo will have a twist of fate show up as his true colors will show as he will hit the campaign trail just like the true clown he is! Overall great episode that's done in a neat and clever way proving that no one can really hide their true colors and it showcases to the viewer to be cautious of politicians because they really are clowns! Great episode a must see.
Delightfully quirky comic episode
Woodyanders10 May 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Smarmy and duplicitous fast-talking politician Bo Gumbs (marvelously played with zesty go-for-broke gusto by Dick Shawn) is running for governor. Gumbs learns his true colors while staying at a strange hotel for an upcoming meeting. Director Armand Mastrioanni, who also co-wrote the biting script with David Gerrold, relates the enjoyably offbeat story at a zippy pace and maintains an appropriately off-kilter lighthearted tone throughout. Moreover, this episode makes a valid and pertinent (if unsubtle) point that certain politicians are just obnoxious superficial clowns who treat politics like a big flashy game of smoke and mirrors by having Gumbs exposed as a slick conman who's a complete phony in his concern for the common folk who elect him to public office. While Shawn clearly dominates the proceedings with his gloriously full-tilt flamboyant acting, he nonetheless receives sound support from Harry Goz as concerned campaign manager Louie Farnum (the last name is a clever pun on P.T. Barnum), John Zarchen as clever bellhop Peter, and Catherine Anne Hayes as sweet maid Mimi. A total hoot.
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