October 5, 2024: The Twilight Zone rewatch continues with season 4, episodes 13-15!

Season 4, Episode 13, “The New Exhibit”

This episode first aired April 4, 1963.

Although “The New Exhibit” is credited to Charles Beaumont, at this point in his life he was suffering the debilitating effects of Alzheimers so the episode ended up being ghost written by fellow writer Jerry Sohl after the two discussed the plot. According to Sohl, Beaumont: “was able to come up with an idea and sell it. But beyond the fact that these museum people were murderers. he had no story. And instead of plotting out the story, we really just chewed the fat. He seemed to waiver and talk about other things than the story. It was rather unsettling for me. He said “It’s up to you how you do this.” So I dd it. And it didn’t take every long.”

The stairway in the opening shot is the same one used in the opening shot of “The Masks”.

Actor Martin Balsam, who played Martin Senescu, was an accomplished actor of stage and screen who won a Tony Award for Best Actor in 1968 three years after receiving an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in A Thousand Clowns. Balsam was apparently the first to record the voice of HAL-9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) but director Stanley Kubrick felt he sounded too colloquially American. Later in his career, Balsam fell in love with Italy and settled down there for his final years.

Margaret Field, who played Emma Senescu, was the mother of actress Sally Field.

Marcel Hillaire, who played the museum guide, is perhaps best known as the quirky German film director, Fritz, in Woody Allen’s Take the Money and Run (1969).

While Jack the Ripper is fairly notorious, the other figures that made up the museum’s murderous rogues gallery are not quite as well-known…

The axe-wielding Albert H. Hicks killed his “entire crew” aboard the E.A. Johnson, which was actually comprised of three men. He robbed them and abandoned ship but was eventually captured and hanged. Before his execution, he made a full confession and even admitted to the murders of some 100 prospectors in California gold-mining camps.

Burke and Hare were “reverse grave robbers”, murdering 16 people in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1828 in order to sell their bodies to medical science – which is why suffocation was their preferred M.O. since it left behind a relatively undamaged corpse. They happened upon their lucrative killing spree quite by accident after a lodger in Hare’s home died and they discovered the market for dead bodies. In the end, Hare flipped on Burke who got the nurse. Following his execution, his body was dissected and his skeleton put on display at the Anatomical Museum of Edinburgh Medical School.

Henri Landru murdered ten women and a teen age boy between 1914 and 1919, luring his victims through lonely-heats ads he placed in local newspapers. After killing his victims, he disposed of their bodies through dismemberment and burning. He was caught and executed via guillotine. His severed head supposedly resides in the Museum of Death in Hollywood.

This one was a lot creepier the first time I watched it – back when I was maybe 10. All the same, it’s a pretty effective little chiller. Balsam is terrific as are all the supporting players, and the murderers row is particularly terrifying. I did enjoy the twist of Martin joining his beloved rogues gallery at episode’s end. Another season 4 Top 5 candidate.

Season 4, Episode 14, “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville”

This episode first aired April 11, 1963.

This episode was based on the novelette “Blind Alley” by Malcolm Jameson, first published in the June 1943 issue of Unknown Worlds.

In the original story, Feathersmith dies an old man in the past, unable to adjust to a life devoid of modern conveniences. Also in the original story, and the first draft of the script, the devil is male.

Actor Albert Salmi, who played Feathersmith, appeared in two previous time travel-themed episodes, “Execution” (1960) and “A Quality of Mercy” (1961). Apparently, his character’s villainous laugh in this episode was not his own. According to John Anderson, who played Deidrich: ““Al’s character had to give this maniacal laugh every time he pulled something over on somebody. But poor Al could only muster up this terribly unconvincing, ‘Ha, ha.’ Director David Lowell Rich went bananas. He said, ‘John, what am I gonna do with Al’s laugh?’ I said, “Greez, David, I dunno. It sure ain’t working, is it?’ I suggested that he dub in somebody else’s laugh. They probably did, because you sure as hell couldn’t use what Al was giving them.”

Anderson previously appeared in season 1’s “A Passage for Trumpet” and season 2’s “The Odyssey of Flight 33”. Wright King, who played Hecate, appeared in season 2’s “Shadow Play”.

Julie Newmar, who played Miss Devlin, was only 15 when she was prima ballerina with the Los Angeles Opera. She is no doubt best known for her portrayal of Catwoman on Batman (1966). Reflecting back on her time on that show: “It was so wonderful being on Batman because you could be nasty and mean, and in the ’50s, women could never–unless you were some “B” picture actress–be mean, bad and nasty. It was so satisfying; I can’t tell you how satisfying it was.”

Overall, a solid episode. Yes, Salmi’s bald cap was distracting and his performance a tad hammy, but I quite liked the final twist that not only had the two men trade positions but, evidently, personalities as well. Having money presumably turns you into a jerk while not having money makes you a meek and affable fellow.

Season 4, Episode 15, “The Incredible World of Horace Ford”

This episode first aired April 18, 1963.

This episode was actually a remake of a live TV version starring Art Carney and Jason Robards. The original’s ending was much darker, concluding with the boy delivering the Mickey Mouse watch to Laura Ford who realizes her husband has been lost to the past. This ending so outraged viewers that the network received over a thousand letters either complaining about it or demanding an explanation for what the hell happened to Horace. Perhaps as a result, the Twilight Zone production requested a more upbeat (aka lamer) ending for the TZ version.

The blueprints of the toy robot Harold is building are actually copies of the blueprints Bob Kinoshita created for the design of Robbie the Robot in Forbidden Planet.

Actress Nan Martin, who played Laura Ford, reminisced about her Twilight Zone experience and working with Pat Hingle: “They flew me in from New York to do “Horace Ford”. I was flown in for a lot of television. We were known as the Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy of the stage and screen because we worked together so often. I met Rod when he came on the set. He was a very nice man. Kind of shy. But here I am, an actress, and I was in awe for Rod Serling.” As for Pat Hingle: “We were doing the street scene where Pat relieves his childhood with the street kids. I was off camera with everyone else and he played the part so well that I had chills on my back. I told someone next to me how I felt and they agreed with me.”

Pat Hingle, who played the part of Horace Ford, is perhaps better known for his portrayal of Commissioner Gordon in the Batman movies.

Alas, another dog of an episode that probably wouldn’t have fared so poorly had we not already seen variations of this exact theme done countless times before. Familiarity aside, my biggest beef with this episode is the character of Horace Ford who comes across as a spoiled, temperamental man baby. His boss was infinitely patient with him and his dismissal was long overdue. And his wife… Hell, I’ve had to suspend my disbelief many times watching the Twilight Zone, but buying into the fact that this miserable oaf had a wife like Laura was a bridge too far.

Today’s blog entry is dedicated to Birthday Gal Drea!

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