August 6, 2024: The Twilight Zone rewatch continues with season 2, episodes 5-8!

Season 2, Episode 5 “The Howling Man”

Initial telecast November 28, 1960.

This was the first episode of the show’s second season not written by Rod Serling. “The Howling Man” was a Charles Beaumont adaptation of his own short story of the same name originally published in the November 1959 issue of Rogue magazine. In the original short story, rather than witness Satan’s tranformation, David Ellington only discovers the truth years later when he spots a newspaper photo of a Nazi commander – and realizes it’s the same man he released. Beaumont had originally envisioned the monks keeping the Howling Man captive by placing a cross against the front of his cell door, but CBS objected and, despite Beaumont’s protestations, the cross was switched to the “staff of truth”.

Beaumont and director Douglas Heyes battled over the devil’s reveal. According to actor H.M. Wynant who played David Ellington: “When I allow the devil to escape…this is where director Douglas Heyes and writer Charles Beaumont began their disagreement about the script and how it was [to be] done.  Charles Beaumont always wanted the devil to come out as this bedraggled man, and run and be chased by this traveler, David Ellington, and as he goes over the wall he’s supposed to reach up and grab his foot, which is a cloven hoof.  And that indicates the fact that he is the devil, and you never see him.  But Doug Heyes says that he promised the audience that he was going to show them the devil, therefore he’s going to show them the devil.” While watching the episode, I honestly expected the cloven hoof reveal – and was pleasantly surprised with the decision to go the other way.

The establishing short of the monastery was footage of the detailed miniature of the burnt out Manderley estate from Hitchcock’s 1940 Oscar-winning Best Picture Rebecca.

John Carradine, who plays Brother Jerome in this episode, was a highly prolific actor who earned the nickname “The Master of Horror” for his many onscreen appearances in genre films. He played Dracula in four movies but missed out on two huge roles, the original Dracula (1931), which went to Bela Lugosi, and Frankenstein (1931), which went to Boris Karloff. Playwright Tennessee Williams wrote the part of Big Daddy in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” with Carradine in mind. On February 8, 1960, Carradine was awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. According to oldest son David Carradine, following his father’s death in 1988: “… we carted the coffin over to our house and opened it up. I looked down at him, and the undertaker had put a demonic, artificial grin on his face–like nothing I had ever seen him do in real life, except in a horror film. I reached out and, using the sculptural skills I had learned from him, I remodeled his face to be more naturally like him. Then I poured half a bottle of J&B scotch, his favorite, down his throat, and we had a wake”.

Said actor H.M. Wynant (David Ellington) of his Twilight Zone experience working with Carradine: “Basically The Twilight Zone is schduled for five days – two days of rehearsal and three days of shooting.  Now, we had John Carradine in this cast, so the two day sof rehearsal was a quick read-through of the script, and John Carradine, for the next two days, telling stories.  It was the best time of my life.  He was fabulous because he had stories about John Barrymore, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, all of these people – ”

Wynant, who enjoyed a solid career on both stage and screen, explained how he landed the role of David Ellington: “This was 1959, I think, and there was a kiddie park on Beverly Boulevland and La Cienega, with pony rides and little dodge ‘em cars, and a small little roller-coaster, and muy kids were on the rolller-coaster and next to me was Doug Heyes, and we said hello to each other.  And the next day, I got a call that I have this job…”

This reminded me of Don S. David (Stargate’s General Hammon) and his tale of landing the role of Major Briggs on Twin Peaks. He apparently went to the audition and, while waiting his turn, ended up chatting with David Lynch. They hit it off and wound up conversing for almost an hour about fly fishing after which Lynch excused himself and left. Don inquired with the desk about his audition but was told Lynch had gone home for the day and the auditions were over. Don returned home, annoyed and disappointed he hadn’t gotten the opportunity to audition – only to receive a phone call from his agent informing him he’d landed the role.

This one I liked a lot! It’s rare The Twilight Zone actually leans into horror (free of comical trappings), but when it does, it’s at its most effective. Love the early shot compositions that, according to director Heyes, are intended to convey the sense of delirium affecting our protagonist. Very reminiscent to me of Farscape that used the same visual approach to equally successful effect. Loved the gothic atmosphere and the final reveal of the devil, as well as the framing sequence that delivers one final twist at episode’s end. My only quibble with this episode is Ellington’s decision to go run errands and entrust his prisoner to the cleaning lady. I think it would have been much more effective, and made much more sense, to have him incapacitated, maybe on his death bed, about to be moved to a hospital. He protests and tells them the tale, only to be led off at episode’s end, leaving someone to test the door…

After a bumpy start to season 2, finally a Top 10-worthy episode!

Season 2, Episode 6, “Eye of the Beholder”

Initial telecast November 1, 1960.

According to writer Rod Serling: “This is one of those wild ones that I came up with while lying in bed and staring into the darkness.  Nothing precipitated it beyond the writer’s instinct as to what consistutes an interesting story.  Also, as is often the case on The Twilight Zone, I would like to make a thematic point.  “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street “was a parable having to do with prejudice.  “Eye of the Beholder” on the other hand made a comment on conformity.  No audience likes a writer’s opinion thrust down their gullet as simply a tract.  It has to be drmatized and made acceptably palatable within a dramatic form.” (Wish more writers and producers working today would follow this advice).

Prior to going to camera, CBS expressed concern that the depiction of the nurses might offend the Nursing Association. They were assured that the nurses featured in the episode were not representative of any nursing group in existence. Another dumb network note requested that “the abrupt close ups of the nurses faces will not be played for shock”. No no. Of course not.

Director Douglas Heyes described the casting process for this episode: “I had the idea that the voices of these monster people would be very sympathetic.  Rod was surprised at that.  He had not intended them to be that way, but he liked it.  So I interviewed the actors for that show without ever seeing them.  I sat in a room with my back to the door.  They’d come in, and I’d read the part with them and listen only to their voices.  I picked the people with the most sympathetic voices I could get.  If we are going to believe that these people are the norm, then they have to sound like nice people.” In casting the role of Janet Tyler however: “The opposite is also true.  Under the bandages, I wanted a voice that suggested it could belong to an ugly person.  I wanted a voice with character, harshness, and timbre.  So we used a radio actress named Maxine Stuart, a marvelous actress, and she played the part of Janet Tyler under the bandages.  Later, when we unwrapped the bandages, Donna Douglas emerged, so the part was actually played by two actresses.”

The original plan was to have Stuart dub Douglas’s dialogue for consistency but Heyes was surprised: “When it came time to do the unwrapping scene, she [Douglas] had learnd the vocal intonations and did her own dialogue sounding just like Maxine Stuart.”

TV Guide ran a four page feature titled “Anatomy of a Script” that featured the first few pages of the script for this episode. The issue dropped the same week “Eye of the Beholder” aired.

Shortly after it aired, The Hollywood Reporter had this to say about the episode: “The biggest reward for that evening was a Twilight Zone that should rank as one of Rod Serling’s best scripting efforts.” An early 1988 issue of Cinescape Magazine named “Eye of the Beholder” the sixth best science fiction episode of all time.

The threat of a lawsuit by GE Theatre that was using the “Eye of the Beholder” title for one of their own episodes forced production to rename the episode to “A Private World of Darkness”. It has aired and been released to DVD and home video under both titles.

The creature features were compliments of makeup department head William Tuttle who had just done the Morlock creatures for MGM’s The Time Machine (1960).

According to Maxine Stuart who played the bandaged Janet Tyler: “I could not see anything with the bandages around my face, so the cast or some – I can’t remember – helped me move about.  I had to go to the bathroom once and it was embarrassing!”

William D. Gordon who played the doctor/surgeon in this episode was last glimpsed playing George in “Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room”.

Donna Douglas, who played the unbandaged Janet Tyler at episode’s end, is perhaps best known for her role as Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies. A true southern belle, she grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she won the crowns of both Miss Baton Rouge and Miss New Orleans. A self-descrbied tomboy and animal lover, she became best friends with Hillbillies co-star Max Baer Jr. who played the role of Jethro. While the show was in production, Douglas and co-star Irene Ryan (Granny) would host an annual Christmas party for the show’s crew and family. Later in life, Douglas enjoyed a second career as a gospel singer and, later, a real estate agent in Beverly Hills.

Director Heyes’ own wife, Joanna Heyes, plays the part of the nurse at reception. Douglas Heyes explained: “When she came on the set with the full outfit on, all the makeup and everything, I glanced over and said, “Hi, honey, shouldn’t you be in makeup?”  The day did not go well from that point afterward.”

Producer Buck Houghton said: “I think that Eye of the Behlder is the most difficult director’s job that ever came down the pike.” And director Douglas Heyes truly rises to the occasion.

This episode’s slow, suspenseful-burn, its dynamic camera work, its clever blocking, and its memorable twist land it in my Top 10 Twilight Zone episodes of all time. Simply superior television.

Season 2, Episode 7, “Nick of Time”

This episode originally aired November 18, 1960.

Writer Richard Matheson adapted his original short story, “The Fortune Teller” for this episode. According to Matheson: “As for the inspiration behind this terrific episode.  My wife and I went to a movie in the north part of the Valley and there was a machine like that in the coffee shop where we were eating.  It answered yes and no questions.  And I just decided that that would make a good story, which it did, and William Shatner was wonderful in the episode and he was wonderful  in Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.“

The Devil’s head on the fortune-telling machine wasn’t in the original script but was added by the show’s Art Department.

“Nick of Time” is the first Twilight Zone episode to feature a future Star Trek star in William Shatner. More would follow including James Doohan, Leonard Nimoy, and George Takei.

Apparently, the confusing title was a pun on the couple’s last minute escape as well as the name “Old Nick”, being a term for the Devil. Matheson held that he also considered the title to mean that time keeps “nicking” (i.e., cutting) into each of us as we live our lives. I suppose that’s as good an explanation as any…but I still don’t get it.

Canadian-born William Shatner who played Don Carter in this episode needs no introduction.  Best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk on Star Trek, he has enjoyed a long and storied career, receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983, and becoming the oldest person to fly in space in 2021 at the age of 90.

Actress Patricia Breslin’s performance as newlywed Pat Carter so impressed Richard Mateson that he lobbied for her to guest opposite Shatner again in the episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”. To no avail.

Actor Stafford Repp, who played the mechanic in this episode, is perhaps best known for playing the part of Police Chief O’Hara in the Batman television series (1966).

Another great episode, this one more of a psychological thriller than a full foray into the supernatural. The ambiguous Devil fortune-telling machine reminded me of the Magic 8-Ball we kept in the Stargate production offices and would consult as we neared the end of every season to learn whether or not the show had been picked up. I wonder whatever became of it.

Season 2, Episode 8, “The Lateness of the Hour”

This episode originally aired December 2, 1960.

This was the first of six episodes to be shot on tape as a cost-cutting measure by CBS. Programming Chief and reputed asshole James Aubrey was, apparently, not a fan of the show and forced the experiment on them – which turned out to be a complete failure. As a result, we have this episode (for starters) that looks like an instalment of Playhouse 90 or a dated soap opera. Also as a cost-cutting measure, the production left the visually-pleasing MGM backlot for the drab and echoey confines of the CBS Studio Center, contributing to the debacle.

Inger Stevens, who played Jana, delivered a much more memorable performance as Nan Adams in “The Hitch-Hiker” in the show’s first season. J

ohn Hoyt, who played Dr. Loren, was one of a handful of actors to appear both in the original Star Trek (1966) and the original Battlestar Galactica (1978). He was part of the doomed cast of The Conqueror (1956), many of whom passed away from cancer due to the radioactive soil where the film was shot, the location of a former nuclear test site. Rather than face the same fate as many of his fellow castmates, Hoyt took his own life in 1991.

I liked the premise even though the final twist was pretty predictable, even by early 1960’s standards, but the production quality was abysmal and, to be honest, the dialogue and performances felt over-the-top. Also, another seemingly arbitrary title on the heels of “Nick of Time”. I wasn’t too fond of this one and wonder how my opinion may have differed with proper production quality and direction.

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