Tandy, Merideth and assorted others unexpectedly wake up in a steambath with no easy exit. After spending some time there, it becomes clear that the steambath is a sort of Afterlife, where indifferent souls come to tell their stories to God who happens to be the attendant picking up the towels.
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Seeing this "play" on PBS when first aired, I was left with questions ranging from character development, story location, interpersonal exchanges, etc. After (fortunately) viewing this masterpiece on several occasions I decided "Steambath" & my questions have individual answers to everyone. So, "What is Life?" and After remains a question with an infinite number of solutions; each your own. "Steambath" was & remains in my top most influential "plays/movies" ever! On par with this "10" is Dalton Trumbo's "Johnny Got His Gun"(~1969 movie) which describes the individual horror of War (WWI) from the perspective of a soldier - quadriplegic who also has lost sight & speech. He can only "Hear" who/what happens to & around him in the aftermath of man's inhumanity to man.
When I happened to tune into KQED in San Francisco in 1972, I was blown away by this truly outstanding program. I've never seen such a successful combination of mystery, comedy and tragedy presented in any medium or in any production. That show alone made me a life-long supporter of PBS television. I was fortunate to have seen it a couple times in the mid 1770's as it was occasionally shown during subscriber drives while I was living in Milwaukee. I have never seen any trace of it since. Believe me, I've tried.
This is an incredible movie. PBS needs to pull this one out of the archives and release this on DVD/VHS just as they have done with "The Lathe of Heaven", another wonderful picture. If anyone knows where this film can be purchased, please let me know.
I saw this movie over 25 years ago on TV. Several times as a matter of fact...the late, late, very late show! It really got under my skin. I've been looking for it forever, because the film really made an impact on me. I was beginning to doubt I had actually seen it. The film opens in a steam bath. Bill Bixby, confused in a towel, is told that he has died and the steam bath is the holding pen before moving into the netherworld (there's actually a door leading to eternity (heaven or hell??). He eventually determines that the skinny little Puerto Rican janitor on the other end of the room is God. "God" stands at a computer terminal making fateful decisions for those on earth (ie, Mary drives down Rt 1 in San Francisco, makes a fatal driving error and goes off the cliff). This film was highly thought-provoking and eerie. The entire film took place in the steam bath. Creepy. Makes you think.