PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS

The Time Element - Rod Serling

The Time Element is an episode of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse and it first aired on November 24 1958.

Rod Serling wrote the script about a poor man who wakes up in the past. William Bendix plays the time traveler and he's upset enough to go to a psychoanalyst.

That's William looking so sad, Martin Balsam plays the psychoanalyst. William tells him he's been having the same dream over and over. He wakes up in a Honolulu hotel December 6 1941 with the knowledge of what's happening the next day. He tries to tell people he's from 1958 but they don't believe him. William's had the same dream repeatedly, as soon as he sees the incoming planes the dream ends and he wakes up.

It's very much like the later Twilight Zone episodes but CBS didn't buy into the idea and it got shelved. Bert Granet was a producer for Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, he found the script and produced it for his show. It was well received and CBS started talks with Rod on doing The Twilight Zone.

The Twilight Zone S5D5 And Extras

Finally finishing up the last of The Twilight Zone discs. Season 5 Disc 5 has 7 episodes from the last season which aired back in 1964.

Stopover In A Quiet Town  April 24 1964

Written by Earl Hamner Jr and directed by Ron Winston. A couple, Barry Nelson and Nancy Malone, wake up in a strange bed in a town with no inhabitants. They do hear someone giggling. Giant Aliens sure can suck. I remember this one from the first time I saw it. There's a nice video interview with Earl Hamner Jr and Nancy Malone.

The Encounter  May 1 1964

Written by Martin M. Goldsmith and directed by Robert Butler. George Takei is a gardener who comes to Neville Brand's house to get a job mowing lawns. Things get ugly and everyone dies. This episode was taken out of syndication in the US. I don't remember ever seeing it before. It's pretty intense and sad. Can't we all get along? I doubt it. No extras on this episode.

Mr Garrity And The Graves  May 8 1964

Written by Rod, from a story by Mike Korologos, and directed by Ted Post. John Dehner is a travelling conman reviver of the dead. He comes to Happiness Arizona to offer his services. He shows them he's not lying by resurrecting a dog that got hit by a wagon. He's also going to raise the dead of the townsfolk. They have mixed feelings about that and offer him cash to leave without doing his job. They all seem to have a really good pile of cash on them. The cost per body is about a 500 bucks each. As John drives out of town with the "dead" dog and his conman partner the dead do rise. Looks like there's going to be less happy in the tow tonight. I didn't remember this one but I liked it more than a lot of the episodes so far. It had a nice sense of humor. There's a copy of the radio drama of the episode as an extra.

The Brain Center At Whipple's  May 15 1964

Written by Rod and directed by Richard Donner. Richard Deacon is computerizing his factories so he can get rid of a lot of workers. It works too well and Robby The Robot takes over his job. Ha ha. Not so funny now, huh, Richard. I didn't remember this one. It's not much of a fun story, industry rarely is. There are no extras on this episode.

Come Wander With Me  May 22 1964

Written by Anthony Wilson and directed by Richard Donner. Gary Crosby is a folk singer looking for new songs. He stops in a small town and get involved with Bonnie Beecher. She sings a song with his death in it and the story comes true. I don't remember this one. I liked it more than some of the others. The only extra is an isolated score.

Here's a bit on Bonnie from the Wikipedia: Bonnie Beecher (born Bonnie Jean Boettcher, 1941 in Minneapolis) is an American actress. She made her TV debut in an episode of The Twilight Zone, "Come Wander with Me". She played Sylvia, Chekhov's love interest, in "Spectre of the Gun", an episode of Star Trek where they re-enact the gunfight at the OK Corral. She knew Bob Dylan during his early career, and may have been the inspiration for his song "Girl from the North Country." She is married to Wavy Gravy.

The Fear  May 29 1964

Written by Rod and directed by Ted Post. Hazel Court is a wealthy fashion editor who had a nervous breakdown. She's taking a break in her mountain cabin when she gets a visit from State Trooper Mark Richman. He's just checking on her but she's a bit of a bitch. He's a nice guy and sadly they are now they're trapped in her cabin by some aliens. Oh, oh, huh. It ends with some silliness. I liked it. I didn't remember seeing it before. There are no extras for this show.

The Bewitchin' Pool  June 19 1964

Written by Earl Hamner Jr and directed by Joseph M. Newman. A couple of children disappear into the swimming pool after their parent tell them they are divorcing. The kids come out of the pool in a creek near a hillbilly shack which is home to a bunch of kids who've run away and an older lady, Aunt T. who takes care of the kids. It looks like a nice place to go. There's a nice interview with Earl Hamner Jr and an isolated score.

The girl's voice sounded weird to me and the Wikipedia says that the audio was no good on the outdoor scenes. June Foray dubbed the little girl's lines because the actress had left town.

The 5th disc has a nice bunch of little short interviews and clips. The first thing up is a bit of footage from The Museum Of Television and Radio. It's a group of people who worked on the show and one of the participants was George Clayton Johnson. Sadly he passed away just a few days ago. I've enjoyed bits of his TV and film work and he's one of the more interesting writers to comment on the extras for this show. The rest of the panel are no slouches either: Billy Mumy, Earl Hamner Jr, Earl Holliman, Cliff Robertson, Marc Scott Zicree, Del Reisman, Richard Matheson, Martin Landau, William Self, Lamont Johnson, Bert Granet, Buck Houghton and Carol Serling. I would have watched the whole thing.

There's more conversations with Rod, an Alfred Hitchcock Promo, some of George Clayton Johnson's Home Movies, an Excerpt from Rod's Sherwood Oak's Experimental College Lecture, season 5 Billboards and photo gallery.

Disc 6 has a copy of the American Masters called Submitted For Your Approval. There were lots of people commenting on Rod and his career. It was fairly interesting and informative.

Well, it's nice to get done with the series and finally store the set away. It took me 2 years and 13 days to get to the end of the 5 year series. Probably be a while before I get to them again.

The Twilight Zone S5D4

Coming down to the end of the series, two more discs with episodes on them to watch, and one more disc with lots of extras on it. The 4th disc has 8 more episodes on it. I was curious about seeing the first episode on the disc, more so than most of the others, because it's been years and years since I saw it. When the TZ bought the film from the French producers they were only allowed two showings. It wasn't included in syndication packages but it has been included on the DVD.

An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge  February 28 1964

Written and directed by Robert Enrico who adapted an Ambrose Bierce story. I was sure disappointed after watching this one. I knew that it was just a guy's mind imagining his escape and reunion with his wife but it all seems like a dirty trick. That guy's mind is a dick. There's a short bit of an interview with Rod that I liked more than the episode. 

Queen Of The Nile  March 6 1964

Written by Jerry Sohl but credited to Charles Beaumont and directed by John Brahm. A reporter goes to interview an actress who's really a 2000 year old youth stealing Egyptians. She kills him for his youth. Reporters have a pretty tough job, huh. I remembered that there was an episode with a youth stealer but not the details. I guess this was it.

What's In The Box  March 13 1964

Written by Martin Goldsmith and directed by Richard L Bare. William Demarest and Joan Blondell are a married couple. He starts seeing their life on their TV after a repairman fixes it. He sees a scene where they have a knockdown drag out fight that ends with her being punched through the window to the street below. His wife doesn't see any of the scenes and thinks he's delusional. Things get worse and worse, he sees himself being tried and executed, and then flips out when she ridicules him. What was on the TV comes true and that the end of them. Reminds me not to get married. Sterling Holloway plays the TV repairman from the Twilight Zone. Good thing we don't need to get our TVs repaired much anymore.

The Masks  March 20 1964

Written by Rod and directed by Ida Lupino. A dying rich man has his greedy horrible family wear masks until midnight. The masks are hideous, he's chosen them to reflect their personalities. The masks change their faces, making them hideous. Ha, ha. Now they're rich and ugly. There's an ok commentary by Alan Sues. Remember him from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.

I Am The Night - Color Me Black  March 27 1964

Written by Rod and directed by Abner Biberman. A man who killed a bigot is about to be hung and the morning it's supposed to happen the sun doesn't come out. The darkness is some sort of TZ reaction to the haters in the town. Michael Considine is the sheriff, George "Goober" Lindsey is his deputy, Paul Fix is the newspaper editor, and Ivan Dixon is the reverend. It gets darker after the man is hung. Sucks to be that town. The show ends with the darkness appearing in other places. There's a short but interesting interview with Terry Becker who played the hanged man.

Sounds And Silences  April 3 1964

Written by Rod and directed by Richard Donner. John McGiver is a boorish businessman who likes lots of noise. His wife leaves him and he has trouble hearing, every noise is louder and louder. His doctor can't find anything wrong so he sends him to a psychiatrist who tells him it's all in his mind. He believes this and is cured. After his wife comes to get some jewelry he used mind over matter to shut her out and goes completely deaf. Serves him right, he's a big asshole. I didn't remember this one but it was funny and I liked it better than a lot of them.

Caesar And Me  April 10 1964

Written by Adele T. Strassfield and directed by Robert Butler. Here's an interesting bit about the writer of the episode from the Wikipedia.

The writer of the episode, Adele Strassfield, was the secretary of William Froug, the producer of the second half of the final season of The Twilight Zone. According to Froug, they worked out this episode together. Strassfield (billed in the credits as "Adele T. Strassfield", not "A.T. Strassfield" per Zicree) is the only woman credited with writing an original teleplay for the original version of The Twilight Zone, though several women received credit for stories that were adapted for the show. She later wrote a first season episode of Gilligan's Island with executive producer Froug's assistance.

Jackie Cooper is a ventriloquist who can't seem to get a job because he isn't that funny. He has conversations with Caesar the dummy and the dummy picks on him. Jackie can't even get a job since he has no real working skills and he's dead broke. The dummy talks him into breaking into a delicatessen to get some cash. Things go down hill from there and Jackie gets tossed in jail. Caesar starts to pervert the horrible niece of the rooming house's landlady. We leave them with Caesar telling her that poison darts are a good way to kill her aunt. What a dick that dummy is, huh. I wouldn't see that girl go down in flames. She's really an asshole. Kind of funny. I didn't remember it.

The Jeopardy Room  April 17 1964

Written by Rod and directed by Richard Donner. Martin Landau is a KGB agent who wants to defect. He gets caught by another agent who locks him in a room with a bomb and a three hour limit. If he triggers the bomb it blows up, if he tries to run, or quit looking, or turn out the lights they will shoot him. What a predicament! John van Dreelen plays the other agent who makes up the elaborate plan. It fails and he dies because his henchman is a dim witted boob. I didn't remember it but it was alright. There's a nice commentary by Martin Landau.

The Twilight Zone S5D3

Disc three of the last season has 7 episodes. Of these Rod only wrote the first. He wrote 92 of the 156 episodes.

The Long Morrow  January 10 1964

Written by Rod and directed by Robert Florey. Robert Lansing is an astronaut who's going to travel to a galaxy 20 years away, get out, take a look around and return. He's to be in suspended animation during the trip. Mariette Hartley is a worker at the rocket base. They fall in love just before he leaves. When he returns he's old, he'd taken himself out of suspended animation so he would be old like she would be. Unfortunately, Mariette has put herself in suspended animation and she's still young. Gift of the Magi much. It's a sad story of the type I don't care for much anymore. I remember it from my youth. There's a nice audio commentary by Mariette Hartley and a TZ radio drama.

The Self-Improvement Of Salvadore Ross  January 17 1964

Written by Jerry McNeely, who adapted a short story by Henry Slesar, and directed by Don Siegel. Don Gordon plays a guy who's insensitive, pushy, and lacks compassion, He wants to marry Gail Kobe but she doesn't want to marry a man like that. It turns out that Don has the power to magically trade with other people. He trades youth for money, buys back some youth, and trades the woman's father a pile of money for his compassion. The old man shoots him dead. Ironic, huh. One I don't remember. No extras.

Number 12 Looks Just Like You  January 24 1964

Written by Charles Beaumont and John Tomerlin and directed by Abner Biberman. A young woman on the eve of "The Transformation" has doubts. Her family and the society brainwash her into having it anyway. Conformity in the future sure sucks balls, huh. One I remember and one that still holds up for me. Audio commentary by Marc Scott Zicree.

Black Leather Jackets  January 31 1964

Written by Earl Hamner Jr and directed by Joseph M Newman. Some bikers move into a neighborhood. They act weird and it turns out that they are aliens come to wipe out humans as being a poor addition to the populace of the universe. One falls for Shelley Fabares and tries to warn the humans. There are other aliens on the earth and one who's a cop takes the biker off to "hospital" and that's the end of the humans. Sucks to be them. This one I remember. There's a short interview with Michael Forrest, he played the main biker, and Earl Hamner Jr.

Night Call  February 7 1964

Written by Richard Matheson, adapted from his short story Long Distance Call which appears in his 1961 story collection Alone By Night, and directed by Jacques Tourneur. Gladys Cooper is an older woman, confined to a wheelchair. She starts getting phone calls from a quiet voice that eventually she tells to leave her alone. The phone company trace the calls to a cemetery and when Gladys and her nurse go there they find the wire on the grave of her fiancé. He had been killed just before their marriage was to take place. Gladys had insisted on driving his car, when she lost control of the car, he was killed and she was crippled. She returns home and makes a call pleading for him to talk to her. He tells her she told him to leave her alone and he always does what she says. Sad for the old lady. Not one I remember for sure. There's an interview with Richard Matheson.

From Agnes - With Love  February 14 1964

Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld and directed by Richard Donner. Here's a silly story with a computer that falls in love with Wally Cox. Machines aren't so smart in the 1960's I guess. It's amusing and I remember it from when I was a lad. I got a laugh or two. No extras. 

Spur Of The Moment  February 21 1964

Written by Richard Matheson and directed by Elliot Silverstein. A woman from our time goes back into the past to warn herself not to marry the jerk she married. It doesn't work because she's an idiot. Now she's doomed. Not one I remembered. It wasn't that interesting to me. There's an interview with Richard Matheson and an isolated score by Rene Garriguenc.

Three discs done and three more to go. Only two of the remaining discs have episodes on them the last one had a lot of interviews etc. I'm actually more interested it the extras than the series at this point.

The Twilight Zone S5D2

Back at it again, more trips to The Twilight Zone. There's another 7 episodes on the second disc in the set. I remembered some of these from my youth and some from reruns in the 1980s. Here's the rundown.

Uncle Simon  November 15 1963

 

Written by Rod and directed by Don Siegel. Constance Ford plays Barbara, she lives with her Uncle Simon, played by Cedric Hardwicke. Uncle Simon is one of those miserable prick type invalids. He brow beats her and she wishes him dead. he dies and traps her in the house with a robot that has his personality. She has to make sure the robot works or she's out on her ear. Sucks to be Barbara, huh. That's Robby the Robot with a different head under his glass dome. A head so poor that someone should have been kicked in the nuts. Seriously. Right in the nut sack. I did not remember this one.

Probe 7, Over And Out  November 29 1963

Written by Rod and directed by Ted Post. Poor Richard Basehart is an astronaut who crashes on a planet. He calls home and they tell him that they can't come get him, war has just broken out. He's stuck. Lucky for him he meets a woman who crashed her ship on the planet. Turns out he's Adam and she's Eve. I don't remember this one either. It's was ok but the Adam and Eve bit didn't appeal to me.

The 7th Is Made Up Of Phantoms  December 6 1963

 

Written by Rod and directed by Alan Crosland Jr. Some soldiers from modern day go back in time to die at the Little Big Horn. How stupid is that? Not going to be a favorite that's for sure. I think when I re-watch these someday I'll skip this one. The extra is an episode of the Twilight Zone radio program.

A Short Drink From A Certain Fountain  December 13 1963

Written by Rod and directed by Bernard Girard. An old man, Patrick O'Neal, with a rude gold digging wife, Ruta Lee, takes a youth potion and turns into a baby. The wife is bummed that she is stuck with the baby. It doesn't make much sense but there is a nice punishment for the wife.

Ninety Years Without Slumbering  December 20 1963

 

Written by Richard De Roy, from a teleplay by George Clayton Johnson, and directed by Roger Kay. Ed Wynn is an old man who lives with his daughter and her husband. Ed tinkers with his old grandfather clock, making sure it's wound and in good repair. The daughter and husband think Ed is a bit crazy because he thinks he will die if the clock stops. He works through that fear and everyone is happy. A nice little tale. I always like seeing Ed Wynn and he was quite good here. There's a video interview with Carolyn Kearney and George Clayton Johnson, an isolated score, and a solo video interview with George. The bits with George were entertaining.

Ring-A-Ding Girl  December 27 1963

Written by Earl Hamner Jr and directed by Alan Crosland Jr. A movie star's ghost goes to her home town and saves everyone from a airliner crash. Nice but melancholy. One of Earl's earliest works. There's a nice video interview with Early Hamner Jr. He talked about his early days in the business and Rod giving work when he was just starting out.

You Drive  January 3 1964

Written by Earl Hamner Jr and directed by Jon Brahm. Edward Andrews runs over a kid with his car and then runs off. He spends the rest of the show being chased by his car until he confesses. Not going to be a favorite of mine. There's another nice video interview with Earl Hamner Jr. I used to like his show The Waltons when it first aired but I don't feel a need to re-watch it. 

Second disc done, three more discs with shows and a last one with some extras.

The Twilight Zone S5D1

I decided that I would try watching the 5th season of The Twilight Zone pretty quickly since I have some more time on my hand nowadays. Some of these episode are some of the more famous ones.

In Praise Of Pip  September 27 1963

Written by Rod and directed by Joseph M. Newman. Jack Klugman is a low level bookie. His son has been badly wounded in the Vietnam war and might die. He helps a gambler, by not turning in his loosing bet. His boss finds out and in the altercation Jack is shot by the man's henchman. Jack encounters his son Pip, in the form of 10 year old Billy Mumy, but the son runs away. Jack collapses after asking God to take him. It worked and Pip comes back home alive. It was a fairly good episode but I didn't remember seeing before. According to the Wikipedia this is one of only three episodes that have the catch phrase "Summited for your approval." Who knew, huh. There's a commentary and a video interview with Billy Mumy and an isolated score by Rene Garriguenc.

Steel  October 4 1963

Written by Richard Matheson, who adapted his short story of the same name, and directed by Don Weis. I remember this story from when I was a young lad. Lee Marvin is a robot boxer manager who's fighter Battling Maxo is the old style B2 robot. Sadly it's so obsolete it can't be repaired easily. Lee and his mechanic are on their last coins and they really need the fight to get a few bucks together. The robot breaks down just before show time and Lee takes his place. He gets beat pretty well. It's kind of a dumb story and I'm not fond of it. There's a short video interview with Richard Matheson and an isolated score by Van Cleave.

Nightmare At 20,000 Feet  October 11 1963

Written by Richard Matheson, adapted from his short story, and directed by Richard Donner. William Shatner thinks he sees a Gremlin on the wing of a plane. He gets really crazy and no one believes him. He's just out of recovery, he'd been in the hospital for 6th months, from a previous plane issue. He saves the plane but goes back to the nut house. There's a clip from a Rod Serling lecture at Sherwood Oaks Experimental College, a video interview with Richard Matheson, and an isolated score.

A Kind Of A Stopwatch  October 18 1963

Written by Rod Serling, who adapted an unpublished story by Michael D. Rosenthal, and directed by John Rich. A boring guy gets a stopwatch that stops time. He's such an ass that he can't make it work to his advantage. He eventually gets stuck with the time stopped. Couldn't happen to a better man. I remember this one but it's not a favorite. I just can't stand spending time with such an asshole. The extras have an isolated score by Van Cleave and a TZ radio drama of the episode.

The Last Night Of A Jockey  October 25 1963

Written by Rod and directed by Joseph M Newman. Mickey Rooney is an angry jockey with a bunch of chips on his shoulder. He's crooked he got caught fixing a race while the guys higher up got off scot free. He wishes he were big and he gets it. Things don't go well, he can't be a jockey when they offer him another chance to ride, and he isn't done growing. Sucks to be that guy, huh. I do remember this one from when I was a kid. There's a commentary with Mickey Rooney.

Living Doll  November 1 1963

Written by Charles Beaumont, ghost written by Jerry Sohl while Beaumont was sick, and directed by Richard C. Sarafian. Telly Savalas is the step father to a little girl. Her mother buys a talking doll for the little girl and Telly gets upset they spent money. He's kind of a big ass jerk who fights with the doll. She hands out a big dose of deadly punishment in the Zone. I think I remember this one from the 60s. June Foray does an audio commentary on the episode, she supplies the voice for the doll. There's an isolated score by Bernard Herrmann, a video interview with June Foray, and a TZ radio drama of the episode.

The Old Man In The Cave  November 8 1963

Written by Rod, adapted from Henry Slesar's short story The Old Man, and directed by Alan Crosland Jr. The story is set in the post-apocalypse future of 1974. Everyone lives in a town that gets advice from the old man in the cave. John Anderson is the man who talks to the old man in the cave. James Coburn leads 3 men who strong arm the survivors in the town. They find out the old man in the cave is a computer and destroy it. Then everyone in the town dies from eating contaminated food that James told them was ok. Sucks to be that town. The episode has no extras.

Another bad day in the Twilight Zone. Nothing much happy happens. Oh, well, maybe next disc.

The Twilight Zone S4D6

The 4th Season DVD set of The Twilight Zone has been sitting on my work bench for ages, I'm hardly can bring myself to watching them, not sure why, I like the show when I see it but I have a hard time chain watching them. I half feel bad that I haven't gotten more excited about the episodes. I've settled for a disc at a time and waiting a while between them. Here's the last of the 6 discs in Season 4.

On Thursday We Leave for Home  May 2 1963

Written by Rod and directed by Buzz Kulik. James Whitmore is the leader of a failed colony stuck on a planet for 30 years. It's a hellish place, hot with two suns drying everything out. They all survive in caves under the ground but it's a hard life and everyone is really excited to be leaving from the place. Finally a rescue ship comes and it breaks Whitmore's control over his people. Sadly he's deluded enough not to know he's slipped off the deep end, and since he's in the zone he's going to be really disappointed when the people turn against him. It's never easy being a nut job. It's another script about a failed guy and I'm not as interested in those much anymore. It's well written and well directed. There's an isolated score.

Passage on the Lady Anne  May 9 1963

Written by Charles Beaumont and directed by Lamont Johnson. Joyce Van Patten and Lee Phillips are a married couple who book a trip on a ship to England. They don't get along too well, and talk about divorcing during the trip. All the other passengers are elderly folks who tell Joyce and Lee that they were all honeymooners on the ship when they were young. They all decided to take the ships last voyage. Wilfred Hyde White, Gladys Cooper, Cecil Kellaway and Alan Napier are amongst the passengers. They put the couple on a lifeboat and the ship leaves them in the ocean, never to be seen again. They are rescued and so is their marriage. A more interesting story than the previous episode but like most of the 4th season the hour long shows feel drawn out. It was the last episode with a script by Beaumont. He'd get sick and Jerry Sohl and others would ghostwrite some of his future story ideas. He died in 1967. There's an isolated score by Jack Garriguenc.

The Bard  May 23 1963

Written by Rod and directed by David Butler. The season ends with a goofy episode. Jack Weston is a failed writer, his agent kicks him out of the office but it's hard to get rid of the guy. The agent has a deal going for a show about black magic and witchcraft and he lets Jack submit a script. Jack gets a book of the black magic arts from a story and accidentally conjures up Shakespeare. William writes some scripts for Jack but doesn't care for the changes made nor for Jack's big head. There's some nice guest stars, William McGiver, Howard McNear and Burt Reynolds. It's pretty silly and I liked that more than the more depressing episode that started the disc. There's a TZ Radio Drama and an isolated score by Fred Steiner.

The disc has some extras on it. There's a clip from Saturday Night Live with Dan Aykroyd as Rod. The Genesee Beer Commercial and the Famous Writers School promo both have Rod in them. Season 4 Billboards, a Photo Gallery and a PDF of a Twilight Zone comic round out the rest of the disc.

Now I'm done the fourth season and I can put the DVDs away. There's still the fifth season to get too. Maybe I'll fall into the Twilight Zone before I get to it.

The Twilight Zone S4D5

The 5th disc has three more episodes of the hour long version of The Twilight Zone.

The New Exhibit  April 4 1963

Written by Charles Beaumont and directed by John Brahm. Martin Balsam works in a Wax Museum. We meet him and the owner on the last day that the place is open. Martin pleads with the owner to keep the pace open. When that won't happen he pleads for the owner to keep the statues, especially the 5 figures on Murder's Row which were made by a famous Frenchman. Martin gets the owner to give the figures to him and he puts them up in his basement. He spends a lot of money on an air conditioner. Their money in the bank dries up and the wife really wants him to get rid of the figures. Martin comes home from an errand and finds his wife stabbed. Jack the Ripper's knife is all bloody. Martin buries her in the basement. Things don't go so well for the wife's brother when he comes snooping around. When the owner comes to tell Martin that the figures have been sold Martin becomes distraught. The figures like their new home, you can guess what happens next. This time we actually see the figure move. I guess that's how you know you're in The Twilight Zone, huh. Not one of my favorites of the Beaumont stories, it's kind of padded out, and I think it would have been better as a half hour program. All the wax figures are played by actors. The only bonus feature is the isolated score.

Of Late I Think Of Cliffordville  April 11 1963

Written by Rod Serling and adapted from the short story Blind Valley byMalcolm Jameson and directed by David Lowell Rich. Albert Salmi is an older business man, in a bad bald wig, who has made his money in various commodities. He wants a man's tool and die company and he's taken a loan note on that business so he can demand the owner pay it off right now. The owner can't and he leaves a broken man. After having a few celebratory drinks by himself Albert talks to the janitor who came from the same small town, Cliffordville Indiana. Albert wishes he could go back and start over, the fun was making the money, not having the money. He leaves and winds up ont he 13th flor where he stops into a travel agency, Devlin's, where he meets Julie Newmar. She offers him a trip to 1910 Cliffordville. He winds up there young and ready to make his fortune. Things don't go so well for Albert, he's just another man fooled by the Devil, and I didn't much care as he's just a big asshole who turns out to be a pretty poor businessman. It one of my least favorite episodes. There's the radio version of the episode and an isolated score.

The Incredible World Of Horace Ford  April 18 1963

Written by Reginald Rose and directed by Abner Biberman. Pat Hingle is Horace Ford, a toy designer and a big kid. He thinks about his childhood and talks about it all the time. He's designed a robot that sure looks like Robby the Robot. His boss thinks he's crazy for designing a toy they can't make any money on. Horace's wife and mother are worried about him as he keeps bringing up his childhood. He gets mad and goes to his home street. He runs into the kids he used to play with and freaks out when he realizes they are the same age as they were when he was young. He returns again and again only to learn that his childhood sucks and he was stupid. It was better than the other two but still could have been better served by a shorter running time. Not that I can complain too much about the running time, I'm watching these at the 1.5 speed so that the 51 one minus is only about 34 minutes. There's a nice interview with Pat Hingle, the radio version of the story and an isolated score.

Reginald Rose originally wrote "The Incredible World Of Horace Ford" as a teleplay for Westinghouse Studio One, which originally aired live on June 13, 1955, starring Art Carney in the title role, with Leora Dana as Laura. The original ending was somewhat downbeat, and producer Herbert Hirschman asked Rose to create a slightly different (and happier) ending. Accordingly, the Twilight Zone version of the script is largely identical to the Studio One version, except that an epilogue has been added. In the Studio One version, the story ends at the Fords' apartment, with the audience invited to assume that Horace has been permanently transported back to his miserable past. In the Twilight Zone version, the story continues on: Laura leaves the apartment to find Horace, who magically transforms back into an adult and vows not to live in the past any longer. -Wikipedia

Again I'm feeling less interested in the stories than I might have thought I would be. Oh well, huh.

The Twilight Zone S4D4

The fourth disc of 4th season of The Twilight Zone has three more episodes.

No Time Like The Past  March 7 1963

Written by Rod Serling and directed by Justus Addiss. Dana Andrews is a physicist who builds a time machine and goes back in time to try to kill Hitler, stop the bombing of Hiroshima and the sinking of the Lusitania. He wants to save the people of the world but his plans don't work out. He decides that he will go live in a small town in 1881. That doesn't go so well and he comes back to face the present. Kind of a pointless waste of a time machine when there are dinosaurs to hunt. Just kidding, that's part of the point of the show, you can't change the past and if you try bad things could happen to you. I thought it wasn't too bad a story but it dragged for me, especially after he gets to the old town. I thought it could be better as a half hour story. There's a TZ Radio Drama of the episode and an isolated score for the extras.

The Parallel  March 14 1963

Written by Rod Serling and directed by Alan Crosland Jr. Steve Forrest is an astronaut who goes into orbit and comes back changed. He remembers things differently, like he didn't have a picket fence around his house, he's a major not a colonel, and Kennedy isn't the President. His daughter is scared of him. The military is skeptical but even they can't explain why his space capsule isn't the one he left in. He figures that he was in some sort of parallel universe. Things work out in the end and it was an ok story that almost filled up the hour time slot. The extras are a video interview with actor Paul Comi who had a smallish part in the episode and parts in a couple of other episodes. He speaks fondly about working on the show. There's a TZ radio dramas with Lou Diamond Phillips.

I Dream Of Genie  March 21 1963

Written by John Furia Jr and directed by Robert Gist. Howard Morris is a schlub in an office. He has a crush on the boss's secretary but she doesn't have any interest in him. He thinks he might get the head account job but the flashy guy in the office has that wrapped up. Howard bought the secretary a present for her birthday, an antique lamp, but the flashy guy in the office beats him to the secretary with a sexy nightgown. He goes home to his dog and rubs the lamp to clean it up a bit. Jack Albertson is the genie in the lamp. He offers one wish and Howard has three fantasies to see what might be the best wish. First one he's married to the secretary but she's a movie star and he can't keep her. The second one is wealth but that got boring for him. The last thought is for power, he's the president, just as alien's invade. His final wish is a good one. Him and his dog are happy now. I enjoyed this more than the other two stories. I like the light hearted episodes more than the serious ones. There's a nice video interview with writer John Furia and in isolated score by Fred Steiner.

The Twilight Zone S4D3

I had almost forgot to watch some more of the 4th season of The Twilight Zone. I'd been busy with other things and a big glut of stuff from the library. The shows are the hour long ones and there are three on each disc.

Jesse Belle  February 14 1963

Written by Earl Hamner Jr and directed by Buzz Kulik. James Best is a farmer named Billy-Ben who plans to marry Ellwyn but Jesse-Belle has her own plans for him. Anne Francis plays Jesse-Belle and Ellwyn is played by Laura Devon whom I had seen recently in Chamber Of Horrors. Jesse-Belle goes to see the local witch and gets a love potion. The witch tells her the potion will turn her into a leopard all night and she drinks it anyway. What Granny Hart didn't tell her was that the potion will also turn Jesse-Belle into a witch. She steals James away form Ellwyn but things don't go so well and that serves to remind that people shouldn't have any truck with witches. I hadn't seen this one for a long long time and I sort of remembered the plot. The story is ok and there are good performances from all the actors. According to Buzz Kulik the leopard was the problem. He wasn't very good at following direction. I was sad to read that James Best passed away last month. Extras are good interviews with Earl Hamner Jr, Buzz Kulik and Anne Francis, an isolated score by Nathan Van Cleave and a nice video interview with Anne Francis.

Miniature  February 21 1963

Written by Charles Beaumont and directed by Walter Grauman. Robert Duvall is a rather distant guy who spends his lunch hours at a museum for the 60 cent lunch. The cafeteria is closed one day and he wanders into a room with a miniature doll house. He sees the wooden figure move when it's not supposed to. Soon after he gets fired from his job for being a square peg who doesn't fit in. The next day he sees more movement in the doll house but strangely doesn't go see a doctor. Rather than take a job with his brother-in-law he visits the doll house again and again. The guard asks him why he's there for 5 hours and his sister, played by Barbara Barrie, follows him. She sees him at the doll house and later sets him up with a girl. He's only got eyes for the gal in the doll house. He breaks down at the museum and they send him to a shrink who's played by William Windom. Robert acts cured and he gets to come home. Soon as he gets a chance he runs off to the museum. His family call William and they all go to the museum. They  can't find him but the security guard sees a male figure in the doll house. He doesn't say anything. I didn't remember this one at all and it's one that I thought could be better as a half hour episode. Extras include an audio commentary with William Windom, an isolated score by Fred Steiner and color scenes from the syndicated version.

Printer's Devil  February 28 1963

Written by Charles Beaumont, adapted from his story The Devil, You Say, and directed by Ralph Senensky. A small town newspaper is fading because of a bigger paper muscling them aside. Robert Serling plays the editor and Pat Crowley plays his girlfriend. The paper is heavily in debt, things are grim, then his linotype operator quits. Despondent, Robert plans to jump off the local bridge but he's interrupted by the arrival of Burgess Meredith looking for a light. He turns out to be a linotype operator and reporter. He's got some ready cash to help get the paper get rolling again. He comes up with some big stories that scoop the new paper. Burgess offers Robert more newspaper power in exchange for his soul. Never something good to do but Robert signs. Things start to go bad and Robert has to think his way out of the problem. I sort of remembered this story and enjoyed it quite a bit. Nice interesting characters with good actors making the most of a pretty good script. Extras include a short but good interview with Burgess Meredith and an isolated score.

I keep thinking of hitting these disc more often and I might have the chance with the library choking on some shows I want. I must have 8 things sitting with a good long wait before they hit my hands. That's the way that goes.