The Twilight Zone Vortex
Time 2021-10-23 06:08:06Web Name: The Twilight Zone Vortex
WebSite: http://twilightzonevortex.blogspot.com
ID:210358
Keywords:
Twilight,The,Vortex,Zone,Description:
keywords: description:You unlock this door with the key of imagination . . .
Inwhich we take a closer look at each issue. For our capsule history of themagazine, go here.
Volume3, Number 3
(July/August,1983)
CoverArt: Joe Burleson
SupernaturalCats!
TZPublications, Inc.
President Chairman: S. Edward Orenstein
Secretary/Treasurer:Sidney Z. Gellman
ExecutiveVice Presidents: Leon Garry, EricProtter
ExecutivePublisher: S. Edward Orenstein
Publisher:Eric Protter
AssociatePublisher and Consulting Editor: CarolSerling
Editor:T.E.D. Klein
ManagingEditor: Jane Bayer
AssociateEditor: Robert Sabat
BooksEditor: Thomas M. Disch
ContributingEditors: Gahan Wilson, Marc ScottZicree
DesignDirector: Michael Monte
ArtDirector: Pat E. McQueen
ArtProduction: Susan Lindeman, Carol Sun
Typesetting:Irma Landazuri
ProductionDirector: Stephen J. Fallon
Controller:Thomas Schiff
Assistantto the Publisher: Judy Linden
PublicRelations Manager: Jeffrey Nickora
AccountingManager: Chris Grossman
AccountingAssistant: Annmarie Pistilli
OfficeAssistant: Miriam Wolf
VicePresident, Circulation Director: MiltonJ. Cuevas
CirculationManager: Carole A. Harley
CirculationAssistant: Karen Martorano
EasternCirculation Manager: Hank Rosen
AdvertisingManager: Rachel Britapaja
AdvertisingSales Representative: Richard Brennan
AdvertisingProduction Manager: Marina Despotakis
AdvertisingAssistant: Katherine Lys
Contents:
--In the Twilight Zone: Ailurophiliaby T.E.D. Klein
--Other Dimensions: Books by Thomas M.Disch
--Other Dimensions: Screen by GahanWilson
--Other Dimensions: Nostalgia by RonGoulart
--Other Dimensions: TZ Trivia Crossword#1
--Other Dimensions: Etc.
--TZ Interview: H.P. Lovecraft by PeterCannon
--Required Reading: Something AboutCats by H.P. Lovecraft
--Huggins World by Ennis Duling
--Open Frame by Jack C. Haldeman II
--Cartoon by Curt Ferguson
--Edison Came to Stay by A. WayneCarter
--TZ Screen Preview: Brainstorm by James Verniere
--TZ Screen Preview: An Advanced Look atTwilight Zone: The Movie
--Confessions of a Freelance Fantasistby Isidore Haiblum
--The Fantasy Five-Foot Bookshelf byDisch, Wagner, Hadji, and Klein
--The Peddlers Bowl by Gordon Linzner
--The Better Choice by S. FowlerWright
--The Book by Gahan Wilson
--A Feline Portfolio
--Mistral by Jon Wynne-Tyson
--Show-by-Show Guide: TVs TwilightZone: Part Twenty-Five by Marc Scott Zicree
--TZ Classic Teleplay: Five Charactersin Search of an Exit by Rod Serling
--Looking Ahead
--Inthe Twilight Zone: Ailurophilia by T.E.D. Klein
-Kleinbegins his editorial by stating that the three most popular subjects for bookswere once considered to be Abraham Lincoln, doctors, and dogs. Now, Kleinreflects, the three most popular subjects appear to be golf, Nazis, and cats.This issue of the magazine takes the latter as its subject and Klein offers tosend a poster of TZ cat Maximilian (pictured, illustration by Randy Jones) tothe first nine readers (for nine lives) to write in with the correct number ofcat images contained in the issue.
-Thecenterpiece of the issue is an epistolary interview with H.P. Lovecraft,together with a reprinting of Lovecrafts essay, Something About Cats. Kleinshares quotes from Lovecrafts ex-wife Sonia H. Davis (also known as SoniaGreene) and Lovecrafts friend W. Paul Cook that illustrate Lovecraftsaffection for cats. Klein also explains that the interview with Lovecraft containedin the issue was compiled using Lovecrafts voluminous letters as published byArkham House. The remainder of the editorial is business as usual, with Klein providingbriefs on the issues contributors, beginning with Lovecraft scholars PeterCannon (who interviews Lovecraft) and S.T. Joshi, who writes an introductionand notes for Something About Cats, before moving on to the contributors offiction for the issue, Jon Wynne-Tyson, Gordon Linzner, Ennis Duling, Jack C.Haldeman II, A. Wayne Carter, S. Fowler Wright, and Gahan Wilson, the latter ofwhom makes a second appearance with his usual column as TZs film critic.Klein also mentions that Marc Scott Zicrees The Twilight Zone Companion is inits fourth printing and has been nominated for an American Book Award.
--OtherDimensions: Books by Thomas M. Disch
-Disch begins by sharing two images of the Cheshire Cat (in keeping with the theme of the issue) from the Barry Moser-illustrated edition of Alice in Wonderland (pictured), which Disch previously recommended in this column for the Christmas shopping season. Next, Disch thoroughly takes apart works by two of the leadinghorror writers of the time, Peter Straub and Karl Edward Wagner, the latter ofwhom appears alongside Disch later in the issue for The Fantasy Five-FootBookshelf. Disch has a great deal to say about Straubs Floating Dragon, littleof it positive in tone. He writes: Straub plots much as he butchers, producingsuch a multiplicity of possible explanations that there is sure to be at leastone alibi for any crime against logic. Disch provides an excerpt from thenovel in order to illustrate Straubs writing style and sums up his thoughts onthe novel by reprinting several interjections from the section Unbelief in RogetsInternational Thesaurus (Third Edition). Dischnext places Karl Edward Wagners story collection, In a Lonely Place, under the critical microscope. Dischgenerally finds Wagners writing as insufferable as Straubs, but concedes:Straub is just as guilty as Wagner of using such pseudohistory as windowdressing for his spook show, but with Wagner its less exasperating, partlybecause Wagner seems so much more sincere as he performs his ancient rites,partly because there is a dramatic shapeliness to his tales, the result oftheir having a beginning, middle, and an end.
-Anotherwork that receives the sharp end of Dischs critical spear is The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Describing Brooks as unrivaled among Tolkienimitators, Disch writes: Brookss Wonder Bread prose is as exciting as a gameof Dungeons and Dragons at a birthday party for pathologically shysix-year-olds. The Mists of Avalon byMarion Zimmer Bradley, a retelling of the legends of Camelot from the primaryperspective of Morgan le Fay, fares little better in Dischs view. He writes:Male readers should be warned, however, that as a purveyor of wish-fulfillingfantasies (Once upon a time the world was ruled by a Secret Sisterhood, theDruids, and the greatest and loveliest of all Druids was Vivian, High Priestessof Avalon . . .), Bradley caters primarily to women, especially women (amajority, I fear) who think there may be something in astrology and psychicpowers and that science and reason are tools of patriarchal power.
-ConcerningKing of the Wood by John Maddox Roberts, Disch writes: Robertss dreamland ischockablock with antiquarian detail that has been well-digested andreconstituted by his imagination, so that the result is not a cabinet of curiosbut a vivid panorama of a true-seeming never-never-land. Disch singles outThe Monkeys Bride by Michael Bishop from the anthology Heroic Visions, edited by Jessica Amanda Salmonson, whilewriting that the rest of the books contributors produce work that is eitheramiable or decorative in the manner of the better sorts of handicraft at aRenaissance Fair.
-Dischsaves his best praise for Harts Hopeby Orson Scott Card, describing Card asundoubtedly one of the brightest ascendant stars in the field of fantasy andscience fiction. Disch concludes his column by quoting from a novel Card hasbeen publishing in an Independent Student Newspaper disassociated from BrighamYoung University. Card writes: And the temptation of the flesh has become evenmore powerful in these last days. Because the scientists have wrought seemingmiracles, mortals have come to believe whatever sounds like science. The enemyhas wasted no time teaching mortals to spout rational-sounding explanations ofwhy it is healthier to indulge the lusts of the flesh than to resist them. AsDisch writes: Any writer who can, in all sincerity, produce that paragraph anda book like Harts Hope has got enough internal contradictions topower his own printing press.
--OtherDimensions: Screen by Gahan Wilson
-Wilsonreviews two films this issue, TheEntity and Sorceress. Wilson spends the majority of the column on TheEntity, the controversial film based onactual events in which Barbara Hershey (pictured) plays Carla Moran, a singlemother who finds herself the repeated victim of an invisible (or unseen) sexualassailant. The film was scripted by Frank De Felitta, from his 1978 novel basedon the case of Doris Bither, and directed by Sidney J. Furie. An earlier novelby De Felitta, Audrey Rose (1975), anightmarish tale of reincarnation, was scripted by the author for the 1977 filmdirected by Robert Wise. The novel was based on real events from De Felittas familylife. The Entity was a controversialfilm, and remains so today, due to its graphic depiction of sexual violence,made even more disturbing by the fact that the assailant is heard but neverseen, nor, as Wilson points out, properly explained. Is it a ghost? A demon? Aninvisible man? The film offers little in terms of resolution and functionsrather like a document of a particularly disturbing case history.
-Wilsonbriefly examines the relationship between sex and horror in cinema, coveringpre-code horror films, monster movies, and vampire films before writing: Now,however, with The Entity, we have arrived at a new era in monsters. .. we can, at least, observe the very explicit effects of a monster who indulges in actual sex, and generally even in themissionary position! Wilson does not question whether or not the film isactually based on real events but dislikes the use of this marketing approach,regardless of the truth, since make-believe easily elicits a willing suspensionof disbelief while based on actual events leads the viewer to scrutinizeeverything presented in the film. This annoyance aside, Wilson writes: Itcertainly has a nasty premise, and it could have been a thoroughly disgustingmovie. But thanks to Sidney J. Furie of Ipcress File fame, who directed it, and to an oddly sincere sort of script by FrankDeFelitta, based on his novel (which is, presumably, based on some actualincident), and to the acting, by Barbara Hershey, in the reallyhard-to-beat-for-difficulty role of the supernaturally violated victim, themovie ends up being quite sympathetic. Wilson also praises the filmsdisturbing makeup effects by Stan Winston and James Kagel, very nearly guessingthe method by which the artists achieved the effects. For the scenes in whichHershey is assaulted, only the actresss head was above the bed setting. Hersheysat, unseen, on the floor below while, from her neck down, a fake body wasconstructed which could be manipulated using cables and air bladders. Wilsonconcludes on a typically humorous note: However it was accomplished, I thinkits safe to state it is the very first such whatsis ever assembled, and itwould have made a lifetimes living for an old-time carnival sideshow man.
-Wilsonalso briefly considers the fantasy film Sorceress,an exploitation sword and sorcery film writtenby Jim Wynorski and directed by Jack Hill (as Brian Stuart). Wilson begins his review this way: If TheEntity manages to tiptoe around thepitfall of being disgusting, Sorceress, gleefully,does not. It wants to be disgusting, strivesfor it, and succeeds completely. Wilsonequates the film with the cheap movie serials of his youth, with the addedpleasures of sex and sadism thrown in, and spends the rest of his columndescribing the more outrageous scenes in the film.
--OtherDimensions: Nostalgia by Ron Goulart
-Oldtime radio is the nostalgic subject this issue, with a focus on mystery,suspense, and horror programs of the 1930s and 1940s. Goulart lends a personalperspective to describing the best-known programs, beginning with OrsonWelless (pictured) The MercuryTheatre on the Air. Goulart brieflymentions the infamous The War of the Worlds broadcast of 1938 (Goulart remembers it as 1940), as well as themeeting between H.G. Wells and Orson Welles in October, 1940 during H.G. WellssU.S. lecture tour. They met in San Antonio, TX, where Orson Welles was alsogiving a lecture. Although H.G. Wells was vocal in his dislike of Orson Wellessadaptation of The War of the Worlds, themeeting between the two men was cordial. From there, Goulart considers OrsonWelless time as radios The Shadow, andexpands the discussion to cover his general love for the program, especiallythe music, the spooky narration, and the outrageous episode titles.
-Goulartneglects to mention that Orson Welles performed in Lucille Fletchers TheHitch-Hiker on the long-running, and star-studded, program Suspense, aradio play that was adapted by Rod Serling for the first season of TheTwilight Zone. Goulart does mentionFletchers other famous radio play, Sorry, Wrong Number, perhaps the mostpopular episode of Suspense, and praisesthe plays star performer, Agnes Moorehead (radios Margo Lane on TheShadow), who, according to Goulart, performedthe play seven additional times due to listener demand. The film version ofSorry, Wrong Number, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster, appearedin 1948. Lucille Fletcher provided the films script and collaborated withAllan Ullman in adapting the script into a novel, released the same year. Goulartnotes that Agnes Moorehead, known for her evocative voice, was awarded a roleon The Twilight Zone, in RichardMathesons The Invaders, in which she doesnt speak a word.
-Thehistory of I Love a Mystery, Goularts favorite program, is discussed insome detail, as are the unique offerings to be found on Lights Out (Goularts pick for the scariest radio program)and Quiet, Please. Goulart profiles the two creatives who madethese programs special: Wyllis Cooper and Arch Oboler. Goulart describes theway in which Cooper created Lights Out, Cooperssubsequent departure from the program to try his hand at screenwriting inHollywood, Obolers arrival on the program, leading to its greatest success,and Coopers return to radio with the artful but commercially unsuccessful Quiet,Please. Arch Oboler wrote one of the moreintriguing lost (unproduced) episodes of The Twilight Zone, a script titled What the Devil! that wasslated for the fifth and final season of the series. The script describes thefate of an obnoxious couple in a sports car who decide to duel with the driver,who happens to be the Devil, of a truck loaded with explosives on a lonelystretch of Arizona highway.
-Evenmore popular than Lights Out, Goulart tells us, was the horror series InnerSanctum, the creation of writer/director HimanBrown. Remembered for the ghoulish humor of the programs host, Raymond(Raymond Edward Johnson), Goulart provides a typical example of Raymondsopening narration. Having run out of space, Goulart ends his column with afleeting mention of another program, Escape, which adapted tales from such writers as John Collier, H.G. Wells, andAlgernon Blackwood.
--OtherDimensions: TZ Trivia Crossword #1
--OtherDimensions: Etc.
Illustration by Robert Price
-Themiscellany column this month includes an interview with actor DonaldSutherland, a brief response to a newspaper article on the avant-garde musicalartist Laurie Anderson, and a reprinting of a humorous article by Robert M.Price concerning a narrative trend in horror fiction.
-Themagazines resident film reporter James Verniere provides a concise biographyof Donald Sutherland and interviews the actor concerning Sutherlandsappearances in genre films. They begin by discussing Sutherlands earlyappearances in horror films such as Castleof the Living Dead (1964), Dr.Terrors House of Horrors (1965), and Fanatic(aka Die! Die! My Darling!) (1965), the latter scripted by Richard Matheson froma novel by Anne Blaisdell. Next, they discuss the commercial failure of thefilm Dont Look Now (1973), apsychological horror film adapted from the story by Daphne du Maurier in whichSutherland appears alongside Julie Christie. The film was directed by NicholasRoeg, whose career as a cinematographer included photographing Roger Cormans TheMasque of the Red Death (1964), co-scripted by Charles Beaumont, and FrançoisTruffauts adaptation of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451. Although Dont Look Now wasnot successful upon its initial release, it has since come to be consideredamong the finest horror/suspense films of its era. Sutherland blames the filmsfailure on The Exorcist, which openedtwo months after Dont Look Now, aswell as, and perhaps more importantly, Paramount Studios lack of support forthe film. Finally, Sutherland explains the reasons why he accepted a role inthe remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which essentially came down to a great script and a director with avision. Directed by Philip Kaufman, the 1978 version of Invasion of the BodySnatchers is an important entry in thescience fiction/horror genre, widely considered to be the equal of the originalfilm version of Jack Finneys novel (1956, directed by Don Siegel, starringKevin McCarthy of The Twilight Zones LongLive Walter Jameson and Twilight Zone: The Movie) due to its convincing urban setting, depth of characterization, excellentperformances, gruesome makeup effects, and relentlessly grim tone. The originalfilm version is marred by a superficially happy ending attached to the film atthe insistence of the studio.
-Themagazine received numerous letters concerning an article in the Chicago Tribune headlinedwith Laurie Anderson blends a twilight zone with pop. The magazine did notimmediately respond because no one on the editorial staff knew of LaurieAnderson. However, the article states, it now seems that everyone else inthe world does know who she is, andTZ film chronicler Jim Verniere just phoned to say that a lengthy musicalcomposition of hers will be featured in The Keep, the horror movie previewed in our last issue.
-Areprint of an article by author, publisher, and anthologist Robert M. Price,from his fanzine Crypt of Cthulhu, humorously catalogs the absurd practice amonghorror writers of having a character write a narrative until the point of theirdemise (pictured). Price provides several examples. The trend began, as far as Pricesarticle is concerned, with H.P. Lovecrafts Dagon. Lovecraft is represented asecond time with an excerpt from The Diary of Alonzo Typer, a story written with William Lumley. Other authorsfollowed in Lovecrafts footsteps and Price shares examples from stories by LinCarter, August Derleth, Robert Bloch, and Frank Belknap Long. Fittingly, Priceends the article with . . . but wait! Good God! Whats that coming out of thegarbage disposal eeeeyahh! glub, glub . . .
--TZInterview: H.P. Lovecraft by Peter Cannon
TZ joins Americas acknowledged masterof cosmic horror for a gentlemanly talk about dreams, nightmares, and thedelights of Providence, Rhode Island.
-HowardPhillips Lovecraft, author of fantasy and horror fiction, best known for hisassociation with Weird Tales magazine, whose posthumous appreciation asan important American author greatly eclipses the scant recognition receivedduring his lifetime, died in 1937, forty-six years before this issue hitnewsstands. Therefore, this interview with Lovecraft is an artistic deception.This feature on Lovecraft was likely originally slated to follow the sameformat as The Essential Writers column from previous issues, in which a deceasedwriter of supernatural fiction is profiled in an essay by a literary historian(Mike Ashley or Jack Sullivan) and represented with a notable story. Previousissues included features on M.R. James, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, William HopeHodgson, Arthur Machen, and L.P. Hartley. Later issues featured the Bensonbrothers, Shirley Jackson, and H. Russell Wakefield. It was Carol Serling whosuggested that the feature on H.P. Lovecraft take a different approach. Knowingthat the magazine wished to reprint excerpts from Lovecrafts letters,published in several volumes by Arkham House, Serling suggested the interviewformat, with Lovecrafts answers taken from his vast correspondence.
-Theinterviewer is Peter Cannon, a Lovecraft scholar and author of Lovecraftianfiction. Cannon is faithful to the artifice, using his opening remarks toprovide a brief outline of Lovecrafts life and writings and to describetraveling to Providence to meet with Lovecraft for the interview. Cannon coversa great amount of material over the course of the interview. He begins by recordingLovecrafts thoughts on Providence, Lovecrafts beloved native city, as well asLovecrafts love for England and his penchants as an Anglophile. Lovecrafts attemptsto set stories in other locations are discussed, as is Lovecrafts bleak viewof humanitys place in the cosmos. From there, the interview moves along abiographical track, recording Lovecrafts memories of his upbringing, his earlylove of science (especially astronomy) and reading, the death of Lovecraftsfather, Lovecrafts admiration for his maternal grandfather, Whipple Van BurenPhillips, and the deaths of both Phillips and Lovecrafts maternal grandmother,the latter event plunging the Lovecraft household into a gloom from which itnever recovered.
-Othertopics discussed include the way in which the death of Lovecrafts grandmotherbrought nightmares that in turn inspired imagery in Lovecrafts poetry. Revealedalso is the prosaic truth behind the naming of the mad sorcerer Abdul Alhazred,author of the dreaded book of black magic, The Necronomicon. The name wasapplied to Lovecraft himself by a relative, in a bit of roleplaying, when theyoung Lovecraft became enamored of the region described in the ArabianNights. Lovecrafts school days arebriefly touched upon, as are Lovecrafts earliest published writings, sciencearticles and miscellaneous written contributions by a teenaged Lovecraft forlocal newspapers. From here, the interview delves into Lovecrafts stories,beginning with Herbert West Reanimator, a story Lovecraft despised, and astory that was considered by most to be strictly minor Lovecraft until directorStuart Gordon and writer Dennis Paoli adapted the story for the 1985 cult film,Re-Animator. Lovecraft describesbreaking into Weird Tales magazine asa contributor, and also describes the conditions which resulted in his turningdown the publishers offer to edit the magazine (the required move to Chicagoproved prohibitive).
-Lovecraftvery briefly describes his marriage to Sonia H. Greene, as well as the eventualdisintegration of the marriage, and avoids directly commenting on an indirectquestion about sex. Lovecraft describes his evolution as a political thinker,his love of the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Dunsany, Arthur Machen, M.R.James, and Algernon Blackwood, and his generally low opinion of the fictionpublished in Weird Tales. Lovecraft describes the rare instance of adream inspiring a story, as in The Statement of Randolph Carter, and providescomments on a number of his other stories. Lovecraft held a very low opinion ofalmost all of his stories, stating that the only stories he felt weresuccessful were The Colour Out of Space and The Music of Erich Zann.Lovecraft describes the occasional difficulties in placing many of his mostnotable works, including The Call of Cthulhu and At the Mountains ofMadness, and provides details on the onlybook publication of his work to appear during his lifetime, an error-fillededition of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, with illustrations by Frank Utpatel,published by Visionary Press in 1936. Lovecraft explains why Putnams initiallyplanned to publish a collection of his tales before ultimately declining, anddescribes the lack of satisfaction achieved in ghostwriting stories orcollaborating with other authors.
-Lovecraftgives his opinion concerning popular horror films of the time (he generally foundthem boring), describes his love of the southern U.S., as well as his reticenceto set a story there (he associates warmth with happiness), and bemoans thegradual shrinking of markets for quality weird fiction. Lovecraft explains thereason he has never held down a regular job (he never learned an employable skill),and describes the methods by which he is able (barely) to live on a minusculebudget. The interview concludes with Lovecrafts autobiographical poem,Background. Cannon provides a final statement describing the circumstances ofLovecrafts death and the creation of the publisher Arkham House by Lovecraftsfriends August Derleth and Donald Wandrei in order to preserve Lovecraftswritings. Finally, Cannon provides a list of works by Lovecraft and others forthose interested in reading further. The interview is illustrated with severalphotographs, including two profiles of Lovecraft, a photograph of one ofLovecrafts handwritten letters to Clark Ashton Smith, a photograph ofLovecrafts tombstone in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, and a current(1983) photograph of the house in which Lovecraft lived. Also included isLovecrafts sketch of his home, the cover (by A.R. Tilburne) for the November,1938 issue of Weird Tales (containing Lovecrafts The NamelessCity), and Virgil Finlays famous illustrative portrait of Lovecraft as aneighteenth-century gentleman.
-Ona final note, the earliest adaptations of Lovecrafts stories on Americantelevision arrived courtesy of Rod Serlings Night Gallery. The second seasonof the series brought two Lovecraft adaptations, Pickmans Model and CoolAir, the latter adapted by Serling, both of which are considered to be amongthe shows best segments.
--RequiredReading: Something About Cats by H.P. Lovecraft
With an introduction and notes by S.T. Joshi
Illustrated by Jason Eckhardt
HPLs definitive defense of a creaturewho, if not mans best friend, iscertainly the gentlemans
-Thisdense, witty, philosophical, and sometimes outrageous (and hilarious) written defenseof the domesticated cat, presented here in edited form, is one of Lovecrafts best-knownand most oft-reprinted essays, a mode of writing in which, according toLovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi, Lovecraft fully reveals that astoundingerudition, found only indirectly in the tales, that made him one of the mostintelligent men of his generation. The essay was first published(posthumously) as Cats and Dogs in the Summer, 1937 issue of the amateurmagazine Leaves, edited by Lovecrafts friend and literary executor Robert H. Barlow. Itwas collected as the title work in Something About Cats and Other Pieces, edited by August Derleth and published byArkham House in 1949. The essay was written much earlier, in 1926, and Joshidetails the genesis of the piece in his introduction: It was inspired byLovecrafts lifelong connection with amateur journalism. In November of 1926the Blue Pencil Club, a group of amateur writers based in New York City, wasplanning to hold a debate on the aesthetic superiority of cats or dogs.Lovecraft had become closely associated with this group during his two yearsspent in New York, but in April of 1926 he had left the pest zone of Brooklynto return to the tranquil and familiar environs of his native Providence. Notwishing to be left out of the discussion, however, he wrote a lengthy treatisefor his good friend James F. Morton to read to the club. The debate itself wasinspired by a similar debate that occurred in the pages of the New YorkHerald Tribune in October of 1926, inwhich the critic Carl Van Doren wrote an article defending the cat as thegentlemans chosen companion. The article prompted rebuttals and attacks fromthe writers Albert Payson Terhune and Harvey OHiggins.
-Theessay is an artful if straightforward rebuttal of the negative conceptions thathave formed around the image of the domesticated cat throughout the course ofhuman history. It also addresses dogs and dog-lovers in an honest, if sometimesinsulting, manner. Lovecraft discusses the physical beauty of the cat, famouswriters and artists who admired cats, the Egyptian worship of cat idols, themysteries of cat behavior, and the general inability of some people to livewith an animal companion as independent in its behavior as themselves. Lovecraftconcludes: Beauty, sufficiency, ease, and good manners what more cancivilization require? We have them all in the divine little monarch who loungesgloriously on his silken cushion before the hearth. Loveliness and joy fortheir own sake pride and harmony and coordination spirit, restfulness, andcompleteness all here are present, and need but a sympathetic disillusionmentfor worship in full measure.
-Catsappear in several of Lovecrafts tales. As S.T. Joshi points out in hisintroduction: who can forget that scene in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath [1927;published 1943] when legions of cats save Randolph Carter from loathsometoadlike entities on the moon, leaping back to earth before dawn? Cats take acentral role in Lovecrafts gruesome revenge story, The Cats of Ulthar (1920)and remain an unfortunate figure from one of Lovecrafts most popular tales,The Rats in the Walls (1924). In the tale, the narrators cat is given anappallingly racist name which has repeatedly served as fodder for thosedetractors who have attacked Lovecrafts growing stature as a writer due to theracism and xenophobia Lovecraft revealed in private letters and, oftenindirectly, several of his tales.
--HugginsWorld by Ennis Duling
Illustrated by Nicola Cuti
Seen from the inside, the funny paperswerent very funny.
-Ajournalist is intrigued by a long-running newspaper cartoon, Huggins World, whichseems never to change over time. The journalist attempts to contact the stripscreator, feeling there may be a story there which will jumpstart thejournalists sagging career. The journalist is invited to the creators home,making the journey via an old, abandoned railway. Once arrived, the journalistrealizes, to his horror, that not only has he arrived in the actual world ofthe cartoon (a zany town with frighteningly insane residents) but that he istrapped there. In a final act of desperation, the journalist discovers thelocation of the cartoonists drawing board and draws a doorway back to hisworld. The story was reprinted in The Years Best Fantasy Stories: 10 (1984), edited by Arthur W. Saha.
--OpenFrame by Jack C. Haldeman II
Illustrated by Rosanna Chinchilla
He was just your average Joe, butsomewhere inside lurked a genius
-Fora brief time, an average man becomes incredibly intellectually gifted. In thisstate, he deduces that the Earth has long moved through a vast electromagneticfield that has diminished the brain power of everyone on the planet. The planethas now moved free of this field. With his newfound intellectual gifts, the manmakes plans to improve his life and pursue an array of new fields of study. Butit was only a hiccup. Earth again moves into the electromagnetic field and theman loses his newfound intellectual ability.
-JackC. Haldeman II (1941-2002), a prolific and accomplished science fiction writerspecializing in short fiction, returned to the pages of TZ Magazine with the story "Judgment Day" in the March/April, 1984 issue. Another story, "Dead Man's Tie," appeared in the February, 1987 issue. Haldeman collaborated with George Alec Effinger for the story "The Funny Trick They Played on Old McBundy's Son" in the Summer, 1986 issue of Night Cry.Haldeman alsowrote the copious story notes for the posthumously published anthology Rod Serlings Other Worlds (1978), which included an introduction by Richard Matheson and stories by Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon, William F. Nolan, Fritz Leiber, and Dennis Etchison, among others. Haldeman's younger brother, Joe Haldeman, best-known as the author of The Forever War (1975), previously appeared in the pages of TZ Magazine for the May, 1981 issue with the story "Seven and the Stars."
--Cartoonby Curt Ferguson
Illustrated by Gregory Cannone
For phone-machine freaks, a cautionarytale. Start reading at the sound of the beep.
-Ananswering machine, nicknamed Edison by its owner, develops a mind of its ownwhile recording the increasing eccentric behavior of its owner, thefrustrations and suspicions of his associates, and, eventually, the evidence ofa murder. The tale is told almost entirely in the form of transcripts from ananswering machine. This story is an interesting entry in the tale oftechnological terror, using a recent innovation, the telephone answeringmachine, to explore the dehumanizing aspects of our increasing reliance on technologyto facilitate interpersonal relationships, a theme explored numerous times on The Twilight Zone.
--TZScreen Preview: Brainstorm by James Verniere
Despite the death of one of its stars,special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull believes hes saved the film. JamesVerniere reports.
-Vernieredocuments the troubles on the set of the film Brainstorm, directedby Douglas Trumbull and starring Christopher Walken, Natalie Wood (pictured),Louise Fletcher and Cliff Robertson (star of The Twilight Zones A Hundred Yards Over the Rim and TheDummy). The film is notable as the final film role of Natalie Wood, who diedin a boating accident before photography was completed on the film. Woodsdeath, which continues to be a subject of fascination for many who believethere was more to the actresss death than an accident, nearly derailed thefilm. Despite the insistence of director Trumbull that the film could becompleted without Wood, MGM/UA attempted to scrap the project and collect on aninsurance claim with Lloyds of London. Trumbull convinced Lloyds that the filmcould be completed and was given the go-ahead to finish. MGM/UA eventually camearound once Trumbull screened a rough cut of the film for the studio. Trumbullis best-known as a special effects artist, working on such films as 2001: ASpace Odyssey, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Trumbulls opportunities as a feature-filmdirector virtually evaporated after the troubled production of Brainstorm, a film which, due to the studios reluctanceto properly market the film, was a commercial failure. Trumbull previouslydirected the science fiction ecology film Silent Running (1972) but it was also commercially unsuccessful.Verniere briefly interviews Trumball concerning the filming of Brainstorm. The feature is accompanied by several colorphotographs from the film.
--TZScreen Preview: An Advanced Look at TwilightZone: The Movie
Whats in store for the summer? A tripback to The Twilight Zone, courtesy StevenSpielberg and John Landis.
-Thisis a photo-feature serving as a preview of Twilight Zone: The Movie as wellas a preview of the next issue of TZ Magazine, which is devotedly almostentirely to documenting the production of the film. The text that accompaniesthe photographs describes each segment of the film, including director George Miller's remake of Richard Matheson's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (pictured), which I wrote about in detail in my previous post.
--Confessionsof a Freelance Fantasist by Isidore Haiblum
Illustrated by the author
A survival guide in the form of amemoir
-Inthe previous issue, science fiction and fantasy author Isidore Haiblum(1935-2012), using a humorously self-deprecating tone that is carried over intothis installment, wrote about his cloistered upbringing in an ethnic Jewishcommunity, his discovery of hardboiled detective stories, which spurred a desireto write, and his breakthrough as a writer when he connected with author/editorLarry Shaw at Dell Books. In this installment, Haiblum describes his life as apublished author, from falling into the science fiction genre (I do not viewmy lack of scientific knowledge as an obstacle), to writing the first ethnicJewish science fiction novel (TheTsaddik of the Seven Wonders), toinjecting his love of hardboiled detective fiction into his novels. Haiblumalso describes the ups and downs of having an agent, seeing his works publishedin hardcover, as well as in foreign editions, and the challenges of workingwith artists to achieve an appropriate cover image.
--TheFantasy Five-Foot Bookshelf by Thomas M. Disch, Karl Edward Wagner, R.S. Hadji,and T.E.D. Klein
More recommended reading lists fromthose in the know and shame on you if youve never heard of Claude Seignolleor Philip George Chadwick.
-Lastissue I shared the pages from the first part of this feature. This time around,Ive decided to simply list the selections chosen by the authors. In mostcases, each author also provides a sentence of two explaining why the works inquestion deserve their lofty positions.
13 Great Works of Fantasy from theLast 13 Years
Selected by Thomas M. Disch
1.One Hundred Years of Solitude byGabriel Garcia Marquez
2.The Pagan Rabbi and Other Stories byCynthia Ozick
3.Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
4.Shamp of the City-Solo by JaimyGordon
5.The Great Victorian Collection byBrian Moore
6.The Sinking of the Odradek Stadium and Other Novels by Harry Matthews
7.The Auctioneer by Joan Samson
8.Dancers at the End of Time by MichaelMoorcock
9.Alyx by Joanna Russ
10.Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia TownsendWarner
11.Lovers Living, Lovers Dead by RichardLoritz
12.Childhood and Other Neighborhoods byStuart Dybek
13.Little, Big by John Crowley
13 Neglected Masterpieces of theMacabre
Selected by R.S. Hadji
1.Basil Netherby by A.C. Benson
2.Bury Him Darkly by John Blackburn
3.The Dark Chamber by Leonard Cline
4.The Sorcerers Apprentice by HannsHeinz Ewers
5.The Shiny Narrow Grin by Jane Gaskell
6.Children of the Black Sabbath by AnneHebert
7.Neither the Sea Nor the Sand byGordon Honeycombe
8.Tales of the Uneasy by Violet Hunt
9.A Book of Bargains by VincentOSullivan
10.The Hole of the Pit by Adrian Ross
11.Randalls Round by Eleanor Scott
12.The Accursed by Claude Seignolle
13.Medusa by E.H. Visiak
13 Best Science Fiction Horror Novels
Selected by Karl Edward Wagner
1.The Death Guard by Philip GeorgeChadwick
2.Final Blackout by L. Ron Hubbard
3.Vampires Overhead by Alan Hyder
4.The Quatermass Experiment by NigelKneale
5.Quatermass and the Pit by NigelKneale
6.The Cadaver of Gideon Wyck byAlexander Laing
7.The Flying Beast by Walter S.Masterman
8.The Black Corridor by MichaelMoorcock
9.Land Under England by Joseph ONeill
10.The Cross of Carl by Walter Owen
11.Freak Museum by R.R. Ryan
12.Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
13.The Day of the Triffids by JohnWyndham
The 13 Most Terrifying Horror Stories
Selected by R.S. Hadji
1. The Striding Place by GertrudeAtherton
2. Negotium Perambulans by E.F. Benson
3. The Willows by Algernon Blackwood
4. The Jar by Ray Bradbury
5. In the Bag by Ramsey Campbell
6. The Upper Berth by F. MarionCrawford
7. Mujina by Lafcadio Hearn
8. Pigeons from Hell by Robert E.Howard
9. The Ash-Tree by M.R. James
10. The Thing in the Cellar by DavidH. Keller
11. The Graveyard Rats by HenryKuttner
12. The Haunter of the Dark by H.P.Lovecraft
13. The Frontier Guards by H. RussellWakefield
The 13 Most Terrifying Horror Stories
Selected by T.E.D. Klein
1. Casting the Runes by M.R. James
2. The Novel of the Black Seal byArthur Machen
3. The Willows by Algernon Blackwood
4. The Dunwich Horror by H.P.Lovecraft
5. Bird of Prey by John Collier
6. Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell
7. They Bite by Anthony Boucher
8. Stay Off the Moon! by Raymond F.Jones
9. Ottmar Balleau X 2 by George Bamber
10. First Anniversary by RichardMatheson
11. The Autopsy by Michael Shea
12. The Trick by Ramsey Campbell
13. To Build a Fire by Jack London
-Kleinalso offers a few honorable mentions for his list, including Fritzchen byCharles Beaumont, Mimic by Donald A. Wollheim, A Bit of the Dark World byFritz Leiber, Ringstones by Sarban, and The House on theBorderland by William Hope Hodgson.
--ThePeddlers Bowl by Gordon Linzner
Illustrated by José Reyes
The bowl held magic, that much wasclear. But was it a blessing . . . or a curse?
-Apoor couple in medieval Japan receives an unusual visitor after dark. He is apeddler of wares but is not trying to sell them anything. Instead, the peddleroffers that they eat from his bowl. The couple is wary at first and thenterribly frightened when it is revealed that the bowl was crafted by forestspirits and contains magical properties. When that magical property is revealedto be an endless bowl of steamed rice, however, the man and his wife eatgreedily. The wife wakes the husband in the middle of the night and forces himto help her steal, while the peddler sleeps, as much rice from the peddlersmagic bowl as they are able before the sun rises. Desperate to beat the dawn,the wife reaches her hand into the bowl. The bowl reduces the wifes hand to abloody stump. To make matters worse, all of the rice the couple pilfered hastransformed into an inedible muck. The peddler, a kind-hearted man, wished onlyto share a meal with the couple. He travels the countryside, sharing the ricefrom his magical bowl with the poorest households. He foolishly neglected to explain to the couple the nature of the magic. The contents of the bowl cannot be given if not freely offered and cannot be gathered and stored beyond a single meal.
-GordonLinzner returns to the pages of TZ Magazine with another tale of magical Japan.Linzner previously appeared in the magazine with the story "The Inn of the Dove" for the June, 1981 issue. Linzner also appeared with the story "Moshigawa's Homecoming" in the November, 1981 issue, and the story "MTA Announces New Plans to Ease Subway Congestion" in the September, 1982 issue. A later story, "The Magistrate's Pillow," appeared in the March/April, 1985 issue.
--APair of Cat-Tales
Two faces of your friendly neighborhoodfeline: demonic . . . and delightful
--TheBetter Choice by S. Fowler Wright
Illustration by Frank Beyda
-Ascientist and his wife are discussing the possibilities, as well as theadvantages and disadvantages, of transforming the wife into a cat. Thescientist believes he can achieve the transformation and the wife offers herselfup as a subject. Many days later, the wife, now in the form of a cat, returnsto their home, having had many exciting adventures. The scientist opens thedoor for her, where she can enter the home and return to her human life. Instead,she bounds away into the night, content to remain a cat. This story originallyappeared in Science FictionAdventures in Mutation (1955), edited byGroff Conklin.
--TheBook by Gahan Wilson
Illustration by Frank Beyda
-Abook collector named Doren is astonished to find a rare grimoire at an absurdlylow price on the shelves of his favorite used bookstore. He expects to receivetrouble from the shops proprietor, who will undoubtedly recognize the error inprice and instead charge Doren a price closer to the books actual worth. ToDorens surprise, the shop owner offers no resistance when Doren brings thebook to the counter for purchase. Unbeknownst to Doren, however, an evil spiritin the form of a cat, who has long plagued the shops owner, follows the newowner of the cursed book out of the shop. This story is reprinted from itsinitial appearance in the June, 1962 issue of Playboy. It wascollected in The Cleft and Other Odd Tales (1998).
--AFeline Portfolio
TZ artists look at the most perfectsupernatural creature of them all.
-Themagazines art director asked the magazines usual artists to dig into theirfiles and share their most interesting or unusual cat illustrations. Theresults comprise this portfolio, with illustrations by John Canizzo (pictured),Randy Jones, Nicola Cuti, E.T. Steadman, Annie Alleman, Stephen W. Andrus,Yvonne Buchanan, Chris Pelletiere, Rosanna Chinchilla, Peter Kuper, AhmetGorgun, Richard Basil Mock, and Frances Jetter. Also included are severalquotes on cats.
--Mistralby Jon Wynne-Tyson
Collage with an illustration by AubreyBeardsley
When the wind known as le mistral blows, memories return, masksare torn away, and horror unsheathes its claws.
-Whilevacationing in an area of France far removed from the usual tourist spots, thenarrator encounters a school friend from many years ago. The friend isaccompanied by a beautiful and exotic woman who reminds the narrator of afeline. The narrator learns that the woman insists on a disciplined life. Shedoes not eat meat, vacation where it is cold, or remain in a place where anunnatural wind blows. The narrator makes the mistake of feeding the woman meatfrom his dinner plate, resulting in the womans ravenous behavior. Thenarrators friend and the woman leave soon after the narrator offers the use ofhis car. Later, the narrator finds his wrecked car near the roadside. Nearby,he finds the body of his friend, clawed to ribbons as though from a wild animal.There is no sign of the woman, and she is never seen again. Mistral was reprintedin the first issue of TZ Magazines sister publication, Night Cry. Itwas also selected for The Years Best Horror Stories: Series XII (1984), edited by Karl Edward Wagner. JonWynne-Tyson previously appeared in the magazine for the October, 1982 issue. Alater story, Monarch of the Glen, appeared in the Winter, 1985 issue of NightCry.
--Show-by-ShowGuide: TVs Twilight Zone: Part Twenty-Five by Marc Scott Zicree
-Zicreeis winding down his episode guide to the original series by providing the castand crew credits, Rod Serlings opening and closing narrations, and summariesfor the fifth season episodes Sounds and Silences, Caesar and Me, and TheJeopardy Room. Unlike in his then-recently published The Twilight Zone Companion, Zicrees guide in the pages of TZ Magazine does not include hisproduction history of the series, episode commentaries, or writer profiles.
--TZClassic Teleplay: Five Characters in Search of an Exit by Rod Serling
-Reprintedhere is Rod Serlings teleplay for the excellent third season episode, FiveCharacters in Search of an Exit. The script was based on an unpublished story,The Depository, by Marvin Petal. It was directed by Lamont Johnson andfeatured William Windom, Susan Harrison, Murray Matheson, Kelton Garwood, andClark Allen as a group of misfits trapped in an unfamiliar place with no memoryof who they are or how they got there. The episode also features Carol Hill andMona Houghton, the latter being the daughter of series producer Buck Houghton. Formore interesting facts about the episode, revisit Brians review.
--LookingAhead: In the September/October TZ
-Nextmonth brings a special issue, an in-depth look at the making of Twilight Zone: The Movie. The issue also includes George Clayton Johnson's teleplay for his classic TZ episode, "Kick the Can," remade by Steven Spielberg for Twilight Zone: The Movie, as well as an afterword by Johnson proposing a new ending to the play and describing the episode's transition to the big screen. Marc Scott Zicree completes his show-by-show guide to the series and reflects back on his personal journey in researching the series and on The Twilight Zone's unique appeal.
-JP
2 comments: Labels:Twilight Zone Magazine Monday, August 23, 2021 "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"William Shatner as Robert WilsonNightmare at 20,000 FeetSeason Five, Episode 123Cast:
Crew:
And Now, Mr. Serling:
OnThe Twilight Zone next comes more exciting work from thetypewriter of Richard Matheson. Our show is called Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.William Shatner and Christine White share performing honors in an aircraft, butits the kind of flight none of us have ever experienced, and, I might add, Ihope none of us ever will. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, next time out on TheTwilight Zone.
Rod Serlings Opening Narration:
Portraitof a frightened man: Mr. Robert Wilson, thirty-seven, husband, father, andsalesman on sick leave. Mr. Wilson has just been discharged from a sanitariumwhere he spent the last six months recovering from a nervous breakdown, theonset of which took place on an evening not dissimilar to this one, on anairliner very much like the one in which Mr. Wilson is about to be flown home the difference being that, on that evening half a year ago, Mr. Wilsons flightwas terminated by the onslaught of his mental breakdown. Tonight, hestravelling all the way to his appointed destination, which, contrary to Mr. Wilsonsplan, happens to be in the darkest corner of The Twilight Zone.
Summary:
BobWilson boards a passenger airplane with his wife, Julia. Wilson is noticeablynervous. He is uncomfortable with his seat being next to the emergency exit. Heis startled when the cabin door slams closed. This is not simply a fear offlying, but rather that Wilson has spent the last six months in a sanitariumrecovering from a nervous breakdown, the onset of which occurred on anairplane. Released by his doctor, Wilson is determined to begin living again,feeling guilt for having left Julia alone to take care of their children whilehe was institutionalized. Julia does her best to calm him and assure him thathe is cured.
Juliafalls asleep shortly after takeoff but Wilson is too nervous to sleep. He looksout the window at the gathering storm. Then Wilson sees something else. On the wingof the airplane is a figure resembling a man but grotesque in form. The figure movesacross the wing and pokes at a propeller. Wilson panics and calls the stewardess.Theres a man out there, Wilson tells her. The stewardess looks at himincredulously. Look! Wilson turns to the window. There is no one to be seen. Wilsonunderstands the madness of what he is saying and admits to having made amistake. Julia awakens but the stewardess assures her that everything isalright.
Wilsonreassures Julia and she falls asleep again. Wilson closes the curtain on hiswindow and tries to read a newspaper. He cannot ignore the window for long,however, and soon throws open the curtain. There, pressed close to the glass,is a hideous face regarding him. Wilson looks away, repeating over and again: Itisnt there! Wilson again calls the stewardess but the creature flies awayfrom the window before the stewardess arrives. Wilson, fearful of being thoughtunwell, instead asks about the storm.
Shortlythereafter, Wilson again sees the creature on the wing of the airplane. Thecreature begins tampering with the housing on an engine, prying it up andmeddling with the mechanism. Wilson is now convinced that he is not imaginingwhat he is seeing. He is fearful, as well, for this creature may damage theplane and send it careening to the ground.
Wilsonwakes Julia. He tries to calmly explain what he has seen. He tells her that heis sure it is real. At first he thought perhaps a mechanic had been forgottenduring takeoff. Now he believes it may be a gremlin like those described bypilots during WWII. The creature jumps away whenever anyone other than Wilsonlooks out the window. Now, however, it is threatening the safety of the plane.This is why Wilson has decided to tell her. He knows it looks as though he issuffering another breakdown but he assures her that this time is different.
Juliacannot disguise the look of shock on her face, and this enrages Wilson. Still,he tries to remain calm. He tells her to alert the pilots, have them observe thewing. If they see nothing, hell commit himself when they land. But if they dosee something . . .
Juliahurriedly agrees. She gets up and walks to the cockpit door. The stewardesscuts her off and Julia states that her husband wishes to see the flight engineer.The stewardess reluctantly agrees. Wilson looks out the window again to see thecreature reappear and continue tampering with the airplanes engine. Wilson hollersfor them to hurry. Julia and the flight engineer rush over. Wilson repeats hisstory about something on the wing of the plane. He urges the flight engineer tolook out the window. Again, there is nothing unusual to be seen.
Theflight engineer tells Wilson to remain calm, that they have also seen it butwish not to alarm the other passengers. At first, Wilson is elated that someoneelse has seen the creature, but he quickly realizes that the flight engineer isonly validating his story in order to calm him down.
Insulted,Wilson declares hell say nothing more, willing to let the plane crash beforebeing thought insane. The flight engineer gives Julia a sleeping tablet to giveto Wilson, who dutifully takes it. Julia falls asleep again. Wilson removes thesleeping tablet held in his mouth and throws it to the floor. The creaturereturns, taunting Wilson. Wilson looks over his shoulder and finds the solutionto his quandary.
Asleeping police officer is seated a few rows behind. At the police officership is a service revolver. Wilson stands up, careful not to wake Julia, andwalks toward the officer. Wilson makes a pretense of dropping something to thefloor. He kneels down to retrieve it, gently removing the officers revolver inthe process. Wilson puts the gun in his coat and returns to his seat.
Wilsoneyes the emergency exit and buckles his seatbelt. He wakes Julia and asks herto get him a glass of water. Dazed, she gets up and walks to the back of thecabin.
Wilsonremoves the gun from his coat and opens the emergency exit. In a whoosh, cabinpressure is lost and Wilson is nearly pulled from the airplane. Only hisseatbelt holds him in. The other passengers erupt into a screaming panic.Wilson takes aim and fires at the creature on the wing, wounding it andknocking it from the airplane.
Later.The plane has landed and Wilson is being removed on a stretcher. Its okaynow, Julia comforts him. Wilson knows this to be true. Hes made sure of it. Rightnow, however, he is the only one who knows. As we move along the airplaneswing, we see that the housing on an engine is partially torn away and wrenchedupwards.
Rod Serlings Closing Narration:
Theflight of Mr. Robert Wilson has ended now, a flight not only from Point A topoint B, but also from the fear of recurring mental breakdown. Mr. Wilson hasthat fear no longer, though, for the moment, he is, as he has said, alone inthis assurance. Happily, his conviction will not remain isolated too muchlonger, for happily, tangible manifestation is very often left as evidence oftrespass, even from so intangible a quarter as The Twilight Zone.
Commentary:
I.
Suddenly, his stomach muscles jerked in violently andhe felt his eyes strain forward. There was something crawling on the wing.
-RichardMatheson, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
Cover illustrationby Richard Powers
In1962, a year before its appearance on TheTwilight Zone, the creature on the wing of the airplane first frightenedreaders when Richard Mathesons short story, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,appeared in the paperback horror anthology Aloneby Night, edited by Michael and Don Congdon and published by BallantineBooks. Alone by Night was one in aloose series of paperback books published from 1958-1962 and advertised under theumbrella title: Ballantines Chamber ofHorrors. Perhaps the first paperback horror line in U.S. publishing, andnow highly collectible for the distinctive cover art of American artist RichardPowers, Ballantines Chamber of Horrors wasan eclectic series that included single-author collections from Gerald Kersh,Fritz Leiber, H. Russell Wakefield, H.P. Lovecraft, August Derleth, JosephPayne Brennan, John Keir Cross, and Ray Russell, as well as anthologies compiledby television horror host Zacherley (John Zacherle), magazine publisher CalvinThomas Beck (Castle of Frankenstein),literary critic Basil Davenport, SF anthologist Groff Conklin, and The Twilight Zone writer CharlesBeaumont. Beaumonts 1962 anthology, TheFiend in You, compiled with an uncredited William F. Nolan, included stories by The Twilight Zone writers George ClaytonJohnson and Henry Slesar, as well as selections from Beaumont and RichardMatheson, Perchance to Dream and Mute, respectively, that were adapted for The Twilight Zone.
Don Congdon Anotheranthologist associated with Ballantines Chamberof Horrors was literary agent Don Congdon (1918-2009). A native ofPennsylvania, Congdon moved to New York immediately after high school. There,he began a long and successful career in publishing as a mail clerk for theLurton Blassingame Literary Agency. Blassingame (1904-1988) is chiefly rememberedas the longtime literary agent for such notable SF authors as Robert A.Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and William F. Nolan. As Congdons role with theagency increased, his name on a number of excellent story submissions drew theattention of the editors at Colliers, whohired him away and installed him as an associate fiction editor with themagazine. Eighteen months later, Congdon was hired away again, this time bySimon Schuster, who placed Congdon as an editor on their Venture Press, anew imprint designed to showcase emerging literary talent.
As an editor, Congdon gravitatedtoward a distinctly modern type of fantasy fiction exemplified by the writingsof John Collier, Jack Finney, and, especially, Ray Bradbury. Congdon left hisposition at Venture Press and transitioned to a fulltime literary agent withthe Harold Matson Company in 1947. In 1983, Congdon established Don CongdonAssociates with his son Michael, co-editor of Alone by Night. Possessing a keen eye for talent, Congdons earlytriumphs as a literary agent included securing Ray Bradbury as a client, aswell as Bradbury protégés Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson.Congdon was also theliterary agent of writer Earl Hamner Jr., author of eight episodes of The Twilight Zone, whose contributionsto the series remain underappreciated. Hamner scripted five episodes for the fifth season of the series, more than any writer not named Serling, including the fan-favorite episode, "Stopover in a Quiet Town," and the final broadcast episode, "The Bewitchin' Pool."
Congdon wasinstrumental in realizing the full potential of Ray Bradburys 1951 novella, The Fireman, from Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine. When Bradburyrevised and expanded the novella, it was published two years later byBallantine Books as Fahrenheit 451. Bradburysdedication read: This one, with gratitude, is for Don Congdon. Toward theend of his career, Bradbury again showed his gratitude by co-dedicating hislong-gestating fix-up novel, From theDust Returned (2001), to Congdon.
Althoughhe compiled a number of books over the course of his career, predominantly inthe area of military history, Congdon first showed a discerning eye as a horroranthologist with Stories for the Dead ofNight, published by Dell in 1957 with a cover illustration by Jeanette Cissman. This anthology featured the firstappearance of Charles Beaumonts harrowing autobiographical story, MissGentilbelle, adapted in 1968 as Miss Belle for the UK television anthologyseries Journey to the Unknown. Writtenseveral years before its eventual publication, Beaumonts story was a difficultsale for Beaumonts then-agent Forrest J. Ackerman, and it was not untilCongdon secured Beaumont as a client that the story appeared, a year before itwas collected in Beaumonts The Hungerand Other Stories. Stories for the Dead of Night also included JohnColliers The Chaser, later adapted for TheTwilight Zone, and Bradburys The Illustrated Man.
Cover illustrationby Richard Powers
Congdon followed this witha well-reviewed anthology, Tales of Loveand Horror (1961), his firsteffort for Ballantines Chamber ofHorrors. This pioneering erotic horror anthology featured Bradburys TheIllustrated Woman and Richard Mathesons No Such Thing as a Vampire. Mathesonadapted his story for television in 1977 for director Dan Curtis and theanthology film, Dead of Night.
Alone by Night (1962), Congdons final horror anthology, ishighlighted by two stories from Robert Bloch, Sweets to the Sweet andEnoch, stories Bloch adapted for the Amicus horror anthology films Torture Garden (1967) and The House that Dripped Blood (1971), respectively,and two new stories from Richard Matheson, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet and,under the pseudonym Logan Swanson, The Likeness of Julie. Matheson typicallyused the Swanson pseudonym when other hands edited, censored, or tampered withhis works, such as on the 1964 film TheLast Man on Earth, or the first edition of his 1982 novel Earthbound. Here, however, Matheson simplyavoided having his name attached to two stories in the same anthology. TheLikeness of Julie also made the transition to television, if less memorably sothan that of Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. William F. Nolan adapted the story forthe Dan Curtis-directed anthology film, Trilogyof Terror (1975). The segment, Julie, was effective but overshadowed byMathesons own adaptation of his 1969 story, Prey, which closed out the film ina segment entitled Amelia. This segment, featuring actress Karen Black beingterrorized by an evil Zuni fetish doll, is widely considered one of the mostmemorable and frightening in television history.
The preceding is simply an effort to pay tribute to Don Congdon, who servedas a literary agent, friend, and correspondent to four foundational writersfor The Twilight Zone: Ray Bradbury,Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, and Earl Hamner Jr.
II.
WWII-era illustration of gremlins Thegerminal idea for Nightmare at 20,000 Feet arrived when Richard Mathesonlooked out the window next to his seat while on an airplane travelling atcruising altitude. Matheson observed the clouds below the airplane. He imagineda man suddenly appearing above the clouds, skiing across them as though theclouds were snowbanks. This somewhat humorous image reminded Matheson of the legendof the gremlins, impish sprites that damaged and disrupted aircrafts. Whatwould he do, Matheson wondered, if this imaginary man landed on the wing of theairplane and began tampering with one of the engines?
In Mathesons mind,gremlins were connected with tales told by RAF pilots during WWII, the mostfamous example being The Gremlins (1942) by Roald Dahl, first published underthe pen name Pegasus in CosmopolitanMagazine. Matheson inserted this notion into his story: Wilson thoughtabout war, about the newspaper stories which recounted the alleged existence ofcreatures in the sky who plagued the Allied pilots in their duties. They calledthem gremlins, he remembered. Were there, actually, such beings? Matheson wascertainly not the first writer to tackle a tale of gremlins but he was perhapsthe first to give the story a truly sinister tone, as gremlins were more oftenportrayed in writings and illustrations as silly and mischievous.
Theunfortunate individual who encounters the gremlin in Mathesons story is ArthurJeffrey Wilson, a frightened flier and businessman on the edge of a nervousbreakdown. A family man, Wilson is nevertheless alone on his flight of terror,buried under poisonous thoughts of suicide and death. Wilson imagines himselfaccidently killed in a scene foreshadowing the climax of the story: And,naturally, his seat was next to the emergency door. He thought about it openingaccidentally; about himself sucked from the plane, falling, screaming.
Wilson is also plaguedby suicidal thoughts represented in the form of a handgun he has carried on theplane in his briefcase: He sat staring at the oil-glossed symmetry of thepistol. Hed carried it around with him for almost a year now. Originally, whenhed thought about it, it was in terms of money carried, protection fromholdup, safety from teenage gangs in the cities he had to attend. Yet, farbeneath, hed always known there was no valid reason except one. A reason hethought more of every day. This handgun eventually becomes a symbol not ofWilsons destruction but of his liberation, as he finds renewed purpose in hisbattle with the fantastic creature. Wilsons acquisition of the handgun ischanged for the storys television adaptation, where it is not carried inWilsons briefcase but rather pilfered from a sleeping police officer on theplane. A similar construction was maintained for the storys adaptation for Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), where Valentine (changed from Wilson)acquires the gun during a physical struggle with an FAA officer.
Mathesonprovided only partial glimpses of the gremlins appearance in the originalstory, describing the creature as troll-like, hairy, with short arms and clawedhands. The best view of the creature, as in the television episode, is when itpresses its face against the glass of the window: Its skin was grimy, of awide-pored coarseness; its nose a squat, discolored lump; its lips misshapen,cracked, forced apart by teeth of a grotesque size and crookedness; its eyesrecessed and small unblinking. All framed by shaggy, tangled hair which sprouted,too, in furry tufts from the mans ears and nose, birdlike, down across hischeeks.
Nick Cravat as the GremlinIn many ways, thesedescriptions were faithfully achieved by makeup designer William Tuttle for The Twilight Zone. Still, Matheson wasultimately unhappy with the appearance of the gremlin, writing in the June, 1984issue of Rod Serlings Twilight Zone Magazine: I thought themonster on the wing was somewhat ludicrous. It looked rather like a surly teddybear. Mathesons vision for the episode was to hire director Jacques Tourneur,whose design for the gremlin was conceived as a man in a black suit covered inreflective dust, giving only a hint of the creatures form. Matheson teamedwith Tourneur for the excellent fifth season episode, Night Call, producedimmediately before Nightmare at 20,000 Feet but not broadcast on the seriesfor several months after.
Time and budgetaryrestraints prevented William Tuttle from developing a complete suit for themonster, resulting in an off-the-rack selection from the MGM costume departmentfor the monsters body. Tuttle created a similar design the following year forMGMs 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), in which Tony Randall is made to appearas a domesticated Yeti (pictured). Tuttle won a special achievement Academy Award for hiswork on the film, the first such award given to a makeup artist. The film wasscripted by Charles Beaumont from the novel TheCircus of Dr. Lao (1935) byCharles G. Finney. Tuttle also previously created a similar makeup for GeorgePals production of H.G. Wells The TimeMachine (1960), in the form of the frightening Morlocks.
Beneath the gremlincostume was actor and acrobat Nick Cravat (1912-1994). Cravat was born inManhattan as Nicholas Cuccia and got his start in show business as one half ofan acrobatic team with Burt Lancaster. The duo toured throughout the 1930s as Langand Cravat. Cravat secured small roles in films before Lancaster made it bigin the industry, but he is chiefly remembered today for his supporting roles inLancasters films. His final film role was alongside Landcasters Dr. Moreau inthe 1977 film version of H.G. Wells TheIsland of Dr. Moreau. The film was directed by Don Taylor, director of theRod Serlings Night Gallery segments,Theyre Tearing Down Tim Rileys Bar and The Messiah on Mott Street.
Cravat was selected forthe role of the gremlin due to his athletic and acrobatic prowess, and thegremlin suit was equipped with special soles on the feet to allow Cravat tomaintain his balance on the slippery wing of the airplane while being buffeted withwind, rain, and smoke machines. Cravat was connected to wires which not onlyachieved the effect of the gremlin flying in and out of frame, but alsoprotected the actor from tumbling from the suspended set. According to directorRichard Donner, wires were also used to achieve the convincing effect of theemergency door whipping away after Wilson opens the lock.
William Tuttles makeupdesign was applied to Nick Cravat by makeup artist Grant Keate (pictured with Cravat), in his onlywork on The Twilight Zone. Keatearrived at CBS in the early 1960s with work on The Jack Benny Show. He began a long stretch as makeup artist on My Three Sons when that series moved toCBS in 1965, and he is also credited with work on several episodes of Family Affair.
Despite Mathesonsreservations, the gremlin has become an iconic image from the series, perhaps asrepresentative as any other in the minds of general viewers. Tuttles designfor the gremlin has appeared on virtually every type of merchandisingassociated with the series, from book and magazine covers, to trading cards andT-shirts, to posters and toys. The gremlin even made an appearance, in the formof a childs toy, in the 2019 TheTwilight Zone series for the Matheson inspired episode, Nightmare at30,000 Feet.
The gremlin remains amemorable monster from the series, although time has somewhat blunted itseffectiveness. Nevertheless, for Halloween, 2016, when I compiled what I feltwere the thirty-one most frightening moments from the series, I rated themoment that William Shatner (as Bob Wilson) opens the window curtain to findthe gremlin staring closely back at him as the top scary moment from the series.A year later, when I compiled what I felt were the greatest performances on theseries, I rated Shatners performance as third-best on the series, illustratingthat an engaging story, a capable director, a memorable monster, and a greatlead performance can immortalize a segment of television.
William Shatner's (b. 1931) career is likely familiar to readers in the Vortex, particularly after Shatner assumed the role of Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the USS starship Enterprise, on Star Trek (1966-1969), a series which reunited Shatner with writer Richard Matheson for the episode, "The Enemy Within."Shatner previously appeared on the second season of The Twilight Zone in Richard Matheson's "Nick of Time," an episode that remains among the finest produced on the series. See our review of "Nick of Time" here.
Shatner in "The Glass Eye,"with Rosemary Harris
Shatner's performance in "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" continues to be one of his most memorable and discussed roles, a controlled, sustained, frenzied performance that cemented Shatner as one of the performers most readily associated with the series, placing him in the company of such actors as Burgess Meredith and Jack Klugman. Shatner enjoyed a busy television career before Captain Kirk catapulted him to international exposure. Shatner fine-tuned his craft on several anthology programs, including an appearance in 1958 on Playhouse 90 in Rod Serling's "A Town Has Turned to Dust," a script Serling later reworked for the second season The Twilight Zone episode, "Dust." Shatner also appeared on several genre programs, often in a signature episode of the series. Shatner appeared in the unforgettable third season episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled "The Glass Eye" (1957), based on the story by John Keir Cross. Shatner appeared again on the series in 1960 for the episode, "Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?" Shatner also appeared in two of the finest episodes of Boris Karloff's Thriller, "The Hungry Glass" (1961) and "The Grim Reaper" (1961), the former scripted and directed by The Twilight Zone director Douglas Heyes, from a story ("The Hungry House") by Robert Bloch, and the latter scripted by Robert Bloch from a story by Harold Lawlor. Shatner also appeared on One Step Beyond in "The Promise" (1960), and on The Outer Limits for "Cold Hands, Warm Heart" (1964).
A year before his appearance in "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," Shatner portrayed the hate-mongering Adam Cramer, who stirs up racism in a southern town in The Intruder (1962). The film was scripted by Charles Beaumont from his 1959 novel and directed by Roger Corman. Beaumont appeared in the film, as a tolerant school principal, and the film also featured appearances from Beaumont's friends, the writers William F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson, and OCee Ritch, the latter of whom documented the making of the film for the December, 1961 issue of Rogue.The film is also known by the exploitation titles Shame and I Hate Your Guts!
Shatner remained a busy performer after Star Trek left the air. Appearances of interest here include an episode of The Sixth Sense (1972), a television horror film titled The Horror at 37,000 Feet (1973),in which Shatner plays an ex-priest battling evil Druidic spirits alongside the other passengers on an airplane, and a memorable episode of The Ray Bradbury Theater, "The Playground" (1985), based on Bradbury's 1952 tale from The Illustrated Man.
Events in Richard Mathesonsoriginal story are faithfully echoed in the television adaptation. As Wilsonbattles the disbelief of the airplanes crew, he comes to the conclusion thatthe only solution is to take matters into his own hands. Wilson opens theemergency exit in order to kill the dangerous creature: Wilson flung his armup, fired. The explosion was like a popping in the roaring violence of the air.The man staggered, lashed out and Wilson felt a streak of pain across his head.He fired again at immediate range and saw the man go flailing backward then,suddenly, disappear with no more solidity than a paper doll swept in a gale.
Theepilogue of the story is essentially the same as in the television adaptation,as well. Wilson is forcibly removed from the grounded plane on his way (oneassumes) to an involuntary committal. Wilson is allowed his moment of clarityand hope, however: As would be established soon enough when the engine wasexamined and they checked his wound more closely. Then theyd realize that hedsaved them all.
ArthurJeffery Wilson, businessman, becomes Robert Wilson, businessman, in thetelevision episode, and becomes John Valentine, author, in the film version. Wilsonis travelling alone in the original story, and the reader is given intimateinsight into his mental processes. Realizing that this was difficult to achieveonscreen, except perhaps by including a voiceover narration (a device usedeffectively on the series in such episodes as The Hitch-Hiker and To ServeMan) or an exaggerated performance like the one given by John Lithgow in Twilight Zone: The Movie, Matheson choseto include a spouse travelling alongside Wilson. In this way, Wilsons thoughtscould be spoken aloud. We learn in the story that Wilsons spouse is namedJacqueline. She becomes Julia in the episode. Director George Miller, whenadapting the story for Twilight Zone: TheMovie, removed the spouse again.
Otherdifferences between the story and its television adaptation are moresignificant, the most important of which is that in the story Wilson is on the vergeof a nervous breakdown. By contrast, Matheson chose to have Wilson recovering from a nervous breakdown inthe television adaptation, creating a character who must battle not only disbeliefin others, a fundamental trope on TheTwilight Zone, but also his own questionable mental state. If there is astandard Twilight Zone story, it isone in which seemingly rational people are confronted with the unfathomable, presentingthe character(s) with the challenge of convincing others of the existence ofthe inexplicable. Mathesons defining effort in this mode is perhaps his firstseason episode, A World of Difference. By creating a character that othersalready view as irrational, Matheson cleverly inverts the expectations of theviewer.
Nightmareat 20,000 Feet continued a relatively recent development concerning Mathesonscontributions to the series. Matheson began as a writer on the seriesdetermined to create original content for the show. Hed previously sold twoearly, slight stories to the series that were adapted and greatly expanded andembellished by Rod Serling: And When the Sky was Opened, nominally adapted fromMathesons Disappearing Act, and Third from the Sun. It was not until relativelylate in the third season, with Little Girl Lost, that Matheson adapted one ofhis previously published short stories. Although Matheson continued to createnew material for the series, he became more reliant on previous material forhis teleplays, resulting in such memorable episodes as Death Ship, Steel,and Night Call.
Nightmare at 20,000Feet was the final Matheson episode filmed for the series but the second offour Matheson episodes to air during the fifth season. Nightmare at 20,000Feet also marked the final episode produced by Bert Granet for the series.Another Matheson episode, The Doll, was slated by Granet for production butwas shelved by the shows final producer, William Froug, due to a perceivedsimilarity of Mathesons story to Charles Beaumonts and Jerry Sohls LivingDoll. Mathesons The Doll was eventually produced in 1986 on StevenSpielbergs anthology series AmazingStories. Ironically, The Doll starred John Lithgow, who was awarded an Emmyfor his performance. Lithgow, of course, starred in George Millers remake ofNightmare at 20,000 Feet for TwilightZone: The Movie.
Nightmare at 20,000Feet is also an entry in the small but interesting subset of episodesconcerning uncanny air travel. Mathesons first effort on the series, and inthis regard, was the first season time travel tale of redemption, The LastFlight. Other episodes on the subject, especially those written by RodSerling, featured variations on the Flying Dutchman legend, as in King NineWill Not Return, The Odyssey of Flight 33, and The Arrival. Mathesonpresented his own variation on the Flying Dutchman legend with the fourthseason episode, Death Ship.
Matheson told authorMatthew R. Bradley that he cut around five thousand words from Nightmare at20,000 Feet before the storys publication, having initially begun the tale wellbefore Wilson boarded the plane. Matheson felt this amounted to unnecessary expositionin order to establish Wilsons fragile mental state, and he was able to avoidthis altogether by adding a traveling companion for Wilson in the televisionadaptation. In this regard, Matheson hoped to rekindle some of the magic froman earlier episode ofThe Twilight Zone,stating in the June, 1984 issue of RodSerlings The Twilight Zone Magazine: I still wish, though, that PatBreslin had played his wife (as she did in the Twilight Zone segment The [sic] Nick of Time). Although William Shatnerand Patricia Breslin were wonderful in Nick of Time, a thematically relatedepisode, the relationship between Bob and Julia Wilson required a differentapproach in Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, and Christine White was more thancapable in the role.
Christine White (L) with Asa Maynor ChristineWhite (1926-2013) previously appeared on TheTwilight Zone in the second season episode, The Prime Mover, and knew RodSerling from Serlings guest appearance in 1962 on the CBS comedy series Ichabod and Me, on which White had arecurring role. White was also known to director Richard Donner, who received arecommendation from Loretta Young to cast White in one of Donners many televisionassignments. Both Donner and Young worked several times on The Loretta Young Show, though never on the same episode.
RichardDonner (1930-2021) is arguably the most notable director to helm an episode of The Twilight Zone, having gone on to a lucrativecareer filled with hugely successful films beginning with The Omen (1976) and including Superman(1978), The Goonies (1985), Lethal Weapon (1987), Scrooged (1988), and many more. Donnerretired from directing after the 2006 action film 16 Blocks. Sadly, Donner passed away on July 5, 2021, as I wasbeginning work on this review of his first episode of TheTwilightZone.He was 91. His death provoked an outpouring of grief frommembers of the entertainment industry, including William Shatner, who retweetedan image from Nightmare at 20,000 Feet and replied: I am sorry to learn ofhis passing. He was a wonderful director. I dont really have many memories ofthe shoot. It was chaotic; it was supposed to be a 4 day shoot they cutit in half. They kept us there all night on the 2nd day to finishit. We were all sleep deprived.
Nightmareat 20,000 Feet was scheduled for production between July 12 and July 16, 1963,with two days of rehearsal and three days of filming. Filming at MGM could be adouble-edged sword, however. It was arguably the finest film studio in theworld but this also meant that the feature film department took precedent overany television production using the facilities. Shatner, Donner, and companyexperienced this firsthand while filming Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.
Besides a briefepilogue and even briefer footage of model work for the exterior of the flying airplane,the episode predominately takes place in a single setting. This set consistedof a complete passenger airplane cabin with a fixed external wing suspendedabove a large water tank to contain the rain effects used in the episode. The airplanewing, incidentally, was brought to the set from an out-of-service aircraft atthe Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, a facility where both RichardMatheson and fellow The Twilight Zone writerGeorge Clayton Johnson previously worked.
Thissetup proved extremely challenging for Donner and company, especiallyconsidering the compressed time allowed for completing an episode. In additionto the rain effects and the suspended set, the latter of which made movement onthe set problematic, the effects included wind machines, smoke machines (tosimulate the rapid passage of clouds), and the bright flashes of lightningeffects. As a result, much of the dialogue in the episode needed to be looped,despite the efforts of the crew to use an electric rotor, as well as electricwind and rain machines, when louder, gas-powered machines were the industrystandard at the time. The effects on the episode were so challenging, in fact,that MGM technicians were hired to assist with the logistics of the specialeffects.
AsDonner and the cast and crew were filming in this difficult environment, Donnerwas approached by MGM during the second day of shooting and informed that thefeature film department required the use of the rain machine and the rain tank onthe following day. This meant that Donner would not have use of the set for thefollowing day of scheduled shooting. The only solution was to delay the castand crew and continue shooting throughout the night. Filming on the episode eventuallywrapped at dawn of the following day. Despite the challenging conditions underwhich the episode was filmed, Richard Matheson repeatedly praised Richard Donnersdirection, as well as the performance of William Shatner.
Richard Donner toldinterviewer Robert Martin in the July, 1981 issue of Rod Serlings The Twilight Zone Magazine: I was doing a lot of MGMshows at the time. The script they approached me with was called Nightmare at20,000 Feet. It was the most adventurous TwilightZone theyd ever done, and probably the most adventurous show theyd doneat Metro. It had unbelievable special effects a gremlin on a wing, airplaneengines going, with lightning, wind, and rain. It was a major thing, and itwent half a day over. We couldnt go straight to the half day, because the setwasnt available; we had to shoot straight through the following night. Becauseof that delay, I almost lost my job at MGM forever. But when it came out, itwas a very well-received program, much talked about, and that turned thesituation around for me. I was able to stay on at MGM, and a very talentedwriter-producer named Bill Froug came in and hired me for four more Twilight Zones.
In fact, Froug hiredDonner for five additional episodesof the series, although none approached the quality of Nightmare at 20,000Feet except perhaps for Rod Serlings claustrophobic spy thriller, The Jeopardy Room.
Although he workedalmost exclusively in film after the success of The Omen, Donner got his start directing television. A native NewYorker, Donner briefly chased the dream of becoming an actor, finding roles onthe New York stage, notably in productions directed by Martin Ritt. It was Rittwho suggested that Donner try his hand at directing. When the opportunity tomove to Los Angeles presented itself, Donner moved across the country and foundinroads in the burgeoning television industry, first through advertising andthen on series productions. It was through the machinations of Ritt that Donnerwas installed as assistant director on SomersetMaugham TV Theatre and RobertMontgomery Presents. Donners breakthrough as a television director camewhen he directed a television ad for Westinghouse Electric with the cast of I Love Lucy. Television producer Ed Adamsonwas impressed with Donners direction of the shows cast and recruited Donner todirect Steve McQueen, an old friend of Donners from their time in New York, inWanted: Dead or Alive.
Lots of television workfollowed, including prior work with Nightmare at 20,000 Feet actress AsaMaynor on Wagon Train in 1961. Donner directed an episode of the ABC seriesThe Sixth Sense (1972), a series that was merged in syndication with Rod Serlings NightGallery, and which included newly filmed introductions by Serling, and an episode ofCircle of Fear (1972), a rebranded and reformattedcontinuation of the NBC anthology series GhostStory, a series developed from a pilotby Richard Matheson. Donners return to televisionarrived in 1989 for the HBO series Talesfrom the Crypt, based on the E.C. Comics from the 1950s, a series on whichDonner served as an executive producer. Donner directed three episodes of theseries, including the fan-favorites, Dig that Cat Hes Real Gone and TheVentriloquists Dummy.
Despite difficult conditionswhen filming Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, the cast and crew kept the mood lightand playful during and after the production, and pranks were a regularoccurrence. Richard Donner related to RodSerlings The Twilight Zone Magazine in 1981: On that last night of shooting, he [William Shatner] was visitedon the set by Edd Byrnes, Kookie from 77Sunset Strip. We were all exhausted it was quite late and when my backwas turned, Shatner and Byrnes decided to stage a fight. I happened to look upat the wing of the airplane and saw this fight going on. I started runningover, of course, and just when I got there I saw Byrnes hit Shatner, who wentover the wing of the airplane, down forty feet to the tank below! What I didntknow was that they had dressed a dummy in Shatners clothes. All I could thinkat the time was, screw Shatner, now I have to reshoot this whole thing! ButShatner is a wonderful guy. I enjoyed working with him tremendously.
Rod Serling also attempteda prank, the target this time being writer Richard Matheson. Serling related thetale during a 1975 lecture at Sherman Oaks College and is quoted by author MarcScott Zicree in The Twilight ZoneCompanion: Matheson and I were going to fly to San Francisco. It was likethree or four weeks after the show was on the air, and I had spent three weeksin constant daily communication with Western Airlines preparing a given seatfor him, having the stewardess close the [curtains] when he sat down, and I wasgoing to say, Dick, open it up. I had this huge, blownup poster stuck on the[outside of the window] so that when he opened it there would be this gremlinstaring at him. So what happened was we get on the plane, there was the seat,he sits down, the curtains are closed, I lean over and say, Dick at which point they start the engines and itblows the thing away. It was an old prop airplane . . . He never saw it. And Ihad spent hours in the planning of it. I would lie in bed thinking how we coulddo this.
III.
What youre looking at could be the end ofa particularly terrifying nightmare. It isnt its the beginning. IntroducingMr. John Valentine, air traveler. His destination: The Twilight Zone.
-Narration by Burgess Meredith for TwilightZone: The Movie (1983)
Larry Cedar as the Gremlinin Twilight Zone: The Movie
Nightmareat 20,000 Feet was memorably resurrected in 1983 for Twilight Zone: The Movie, a feature film anthology with fourdifferent directors tackling remakes of original series episodes, with theexceptions of the films prologue, epilogue, and opening segment, which were writtenspecifically for the film. Theopening segment was filmed from an original script by director John Landis, andthis segment has made Twilight Zone: TheMovie an infamous film due to the negligent and horrific deaths of actorVic Morrow and two young children during filming. For those unfamiliar withthis tragedy, the Vortex Library lists several books covering the deaths andthe subsequent trial of director John Landis.
Richard Matheson wastasked with adapting Nightmare at 20,000 Feet for the films final segment, andhe was also involved in adapting and updating two additional segments from the originalseries: Kick the Can, directed by Steven Spielberg from the episode writtenby George Clayton Johnson, and Its a Good Life, directed by Joe Dante fromthe episode written by Rod Serling and adapted from the story by Jerome Bixby.
Matheson was initiallytold that Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (titled simply Segment Four orValentine, as in Robert Blochs novelization) would be a filler, a shortsegment of only ten to twelve minutes in length. Matheson was also told thatGregory Peck was being considered for the role originally performed by WilliamShatner. Matheson fashioned his script according to these specifications,writing in the June, 1984 issue of RodSerlings The Twilight Zone Magazine: I was told, at the start, thatGregory Peck was being considered for the movie version. Accordingly, my scriptportrayed Wilson, the hero, as a character like the one Peck played in Twelve OClock High, a former bomberpilot who had already been exposed to the idea of gremlins. He had no mentalproblems; he was merely reacting to the gremlins destructive behavior and with mounting frustration and fury to the crews disbelief in what he said,resulting in his ultimate decision to take things into his own hands.
George Miller (L) with John LithgowMathesonscondensed, Gregory Peck version of the script was essentially scrapped with thearrival of director George Miller on the project. Not only was Peck not cast inthe central role, but it eventually ballooned from a filler into a twenty-one-minutelong segment. Miller, the Australian director best-known for the Mad Max series of films, arrived on theproject with definite ideas about the story. Chief among these ideas was totake the original episode and exaggerate everything about it. Miller told Starburst Magazine in 1983: Everythingis heightened every sound is louder and more significant. The exaggeratedelements went beyond sound, however. Millers roving, energetic camerawork wasmatched by John Lithgows manic, though enormously entertaining, performance asterrified air passenger John Valentine. Lithgow, a Tony Award-winner and anAcademy Award nominee, portrayed Valentine in a way which made William Shatnerappear highly restrained. One sequence, in which Valentine views the gremlinclose against the window glass, is exaggerated to the point that Valentineseyes grotesquely bulge from their sockets in a blink-and-miss-it specialeffects shot.
Lithgow may haveexaggerated the role of the frightened air passenger, but he was not directly reactingto Shatners performance in the original episode. Lithgow told Rod Serlings The Twilight Zone Magazine (October,1983) that, although he was aware of TheTwilight Zone, he was not a regular viewer of the series and had not seenthe original Nightmare at 20,000 Feet prior to filming Twilight Zone: The Movie.
The storm outside the airplanewas intensified, as well, with the set rumbling and rolling in a way that RichardDonner and company could not achieve in 1963. The film segment also contains abroader strain of comedy, highlighted by a precocious and persistent littlegirl (Christina Nigra), equipped with a sarcastic ventriloquists dummy(perhaps a nod to the original series episode, "The Dummy"), a stone-faced FAA officer (CharlesKnapp), and a snooping elderly couple (Eduard Franz and Margaret Wheeler).
The film segmentcontains a number of interesting changes from or additions to the originalepisode, exemplified by the final sequence of events. Valentine attempts totake a photograph of the gremlin using a Polaroid instant camera forcibly takenfrom the little girl. He succeeds only in capturing his own reflection in thewindow glass. Valentine decides instead to knock out the window glass using amedical canister. When an FAA officer attempts to restrain Valentine, thepanicked air passenger manages to get his hands on the officers gun, taking itfrom the officers ankle holster and shooting out the window. Valentine isnearly pulled completely out of the plane if not for the effort of the FAAofficer to hang on to him. Unlike Wilson in the original episode, who is giventhe satisfaction of shooting and (presumably) killing the gremlin, Valentinemanages only to attract its unwanted attention. The gremlin charges atValentine and bites the barrel of the gun clean off the handle. Then thegremlin grips Valentines face as though it intends to harm him. The gremlinreleases Valentine, however, and humorously gives Valentine a wag of itsfinger. As the gremlin spots the lights of the approaching city below, itsimply flies away, spiraling up into the stormy sky and vanishing above thedark clouds.
The epilogue of thesegment, which eventually ties in to the epilogue of the film, plays out muchthe same way as the original episode, with the notable difference that evidenceof the gremlins destruction is immediately found by a mechanical crew.
Makeup artist CraigReardon, who created the memorable ghoul makeup for the films prologue, wastasked with creating a new version of the gremlin, both in appearance andbehavior. Assisted by makeup artist Michael McCracken, with additionalassistance from animators David Allen and Jim Danforth, and visual effectsartist Peter Kuran, they decided to start from scratch and did not take intoaccount any elements from William Tuttles original design. The result was amore frightening, if less visually memorable, monster.
Reardon designed andsculpted a full suit for the creature, complete with a head and face whoseexpression could be changed with the use of cables. If the original monster wasa surly teddy bear, then the gremlin for TwilightZone: The Movie resembled a gargoyle come to life, with a shockof long hair streaming from its otherwise bald head. Allen and Danforth assisted with thegremlins movements and with the effect of the gremlin spiraling upwards intothe night sky. Kuran created the impressive lightning effects for the sequence,where there were not merely flashes of lightning, but the impression that thegremlin could actually direct lightning to strike the airplanes engine.
Inside the gremlin suitwas prolific character actor Larry Cedar. Cedar, who described himself as asong-and-dance man, had no prior experience playing a creature in a suit orunder heavy makeup. Cedars agent suggested he audition for the role becausethe role was described as needing an actor who could move well. Cedar got thejob when, during his audition, he ran across the table and threw things. Cedardescribed shooting the sequence in the October, 1983 issue of Rod Serlings The Twilight Zone Magazine: Wehad a lot of special effects: water, smoke, wind . . . I can remember being outthere on the wing to shoot. We were practically under atmospheric conditions.Cedar went on to describe the set as being blacked out with the airplane wingon hydraulics in order to give it the appearance of being lifted. Like NickCravat in the original episode, Cedar was also connected to wires, so that hewould not fall off the wing. Cedar apparently worked well with makeup artistCraig Reardon, as the two immediately went on to work together on the 1984 horror/fantasyfilm Dreamscape.
The impressive set uponwhich the drama plays out was constructed on a closed set on Stage 15 of theWarner Bros. lot, where the entire sequence was filmed. Here, art directorJames Spencer and his crew created the fuselage of a passenger jet completewith an 82-foot long fixed external wing.
JerryGoldsmith, a veteran of TheTwilight Zone who composed several memorable scores for the original series, provided theintense, strings-heavy music for the segment which recalled his score for Richard Mathesonsoriginal series episode, The Invaders.
George Miller wrote afirst draft script which Matheson greatly disliked. He then wrote a seconddraft which I liked better, Matheson wrote in the June, 1984 issue of Rod Serlings The Twilight Zone Magazine.So although I have a solo credit as screenwriter for the segment, most of thedialogue is Millers. Matheson ultimately enjoyed the segment, stating:Fortunately, hes [Millers] a consummate director, and John Lithgow is aconsummate actor. I thought Jerry Goldsmiths score was marvelous, and I likedthe monster infinitely more even its sense of humor.
IV.
Settling in for a 13-hour transatlantic flight to aland rife with ancient mysteries is Justin Sanderson. Mr. Sandersonsoccupation is to uncover unbiased truth. But with an hour before certain doom,he must ask the right questions of the right people. Landing at the truth thistime will require an unscheduled stopover in The Twilight Zone.
-Narrationby host Jordan Peele for Nightmare at 30,000 Feet (2019)
Adam Scott in "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet"Nightmare at 30,000Feet is a reimagining of Richard Mathesons Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, astory about a nervous airplane passenger who sees a gremlin tampering with the engineof a passenger jet. Another attempt at adapting this tale poses a particularchallenge. How can a new version be staged which captures the atmosphere of theoriginal while moving the story in a fresh new direction? This is the challengeset up by the new series. The answer lies in taking the skeleton of Mathesonsstory and changing the focus of the nightmare.
Allthat is essential to the drama is the psychological makeup of the protagonist, a man whopreviously suffered a mental breakdown placed in a situation which again forceshim to call into question his own sanity at the risk of the lives of thepassengers on the airplane. The suspense arrives from the fact that an airplanecannot simply pull over and assess the trouble. Jordan Peele and companyunderstood that, in this sense, the gremlin was not necessary and removed thataspect of the story entirely (well, almost). In place of the gremlin? An MP3player loaded with a very ominous podcast which becomes the focus of thenightmare.
Justin Sanderson (AdamScott) is an investigative reporter on a flight from Washington D.C. to TelAviv. He previously suffered a mental breakdown while on assignment. Aftergoing through the grueling boarding process and giving up his first class seatto a family, he takes a window seat and plans for a smooth flight. This isquickly challenged by Justins discovery of an MP3 player in the compartment ofthe seat in front of him. The player is paused on a podcast, Enigmatique, which tells the story ofthe doomed Flight 1015, the very flight Justin is taking. As he listens to moreof the podcast he realizes that Flight 1015 will soon mysteriously disappear,never to be found. Justin attempts to unravel the mystery but only succeeds indrawing the ire of the flight crew and the other passengers. He has apparentlymade one friend, however, in a pilot named Joe Beaumont (Chris Diamantopoulos)who hitches free rides but never flies anymore due to trouble in the past. Heclaims to believe Justin. With Justins help, Beaumont gains access to thecockpit and subdues the pilots. He lowers the cabin pressure, putting all ofthe passengers to sleep, then signs off, Goodnight, New York, and sends theplane into a nosedive. Only Justin, with a portable oxygen tank, is leftconscious as the plane begins its deadly descent.
Justin wakes up on theshore of an isolated lake. He finds the MP3 player and gives it a listen onlyto discover that the flight is his personal hell and the other passengers arenow his tormentors.
Not every viewer is going to enjoy this reimagining ofa classic episode but I really enjoyed this fresh take. I thought it was stagedextraordinarily well and perfectly captured the claustrophobic panic of theoriginal story. The gremlin could likely not have been bettered than that of the1983 film version, and the twist ending with the damning realization and theidea of a personal hell echoes several original series episodes.
Thereare several Easter eggs in Nightmare at 30,000 Feet, beginning with names.Joe Beaumont is, of course, an homage to original series writer CharlesBeaumont. The podcast host is Rodman Edwards, a nod to The Twilight Zone creator Rodman Edward Serling. Donner is also thename of a character in the episode.
William Tuttlesoriginal design for the gremlin returns in the form of a doll found floating inthe water near the wreckage of the plane. Jordan Peeles introduction for theepisode is also interesting as he delivers it on a screen inside the airplane.The astute viewer will notice that behind Peele one can see that he isdelivering the opening narration in the place where the episode will end.
Arecent appearance of Nightmare at 20,000 Feet arrived via the 2018 bookanthology, Flight or Fright, editedby Stephen King and Bev Vincent. In his afterword to the anthology, co-editorVincent reveals the story of the anthologys creation. Stephen King approachedVincent and Cemetery Dance publisher Richard Chizmar in a restaurant prior tothe premiere of the film adaptation of Kings The Dark Tower (2017). King had fastened on the idea of ananthology of airplane-themed horror stories, and he tasked Vincent to co-editthe book with him and Chizmar to publish it. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet was thestory which immediately came to Vincents mind, and served as the launchingpoint for the anthology. An earlier anthology, Mysterious Air Stories, did much the same thing. Published in 1986by W.H. Allen, the volume was edited by the prolific anthologist Peter Hainingunder the pseudonym William Pattrick. The cover for the book, by an unknownartist, was an illustration of Mathesons Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, includedwithin. Mysterious Air Stories was onein a series of travel-themed horror anthologies compiled by Haining under thePattrick name, also includingMysteriousRailway Stories (1984), MysteriousSea Stories (1985), and MysteriousMotoring Stories (1987). Haining was an admirer of The Group and includedstories by Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, William F. Nolan, Ray Bradbury,and Robert Bloch across the series.
Nightmareat 20,000 Feet has rightly become an iconic episode from The Twilight Zone. It has spawned remakes, adaptations, and numerousparodies. Still, nearly sixty years later it is the original series episode whichcontinues to resonate across the landscape of popular culture. Anchored by amesmerizing lead performance from William Shatner, a strong supporting cast,excellent direction by Richard Donner, and effective makeup and specialeffects, it remains an undisputed classic of American television.
Grade:A+
Gratefulacknowledgments:
-TheTwilight Zone Companion by Marc ScottZicree (3rd ed., Silman-James, 2018)
-TheTwilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic by Martin Grams, Jr. (OTR, 2008)
-The Incredible Scripting Man: RichardMatheson Reflects on His Screen Career by Matthew R. Bradley (The Twilight and Other Zones: The DarkWorlds of Richard Matheson, ed. Stanley Wiater, Matthew R. Bradley, andPaul Stuve (Citadel Press, 2009))
-DimensionsBehind the Twilight Zone by StewartT. Stanyard (ECW Press, 2007)
-Richard Donner: TZ Alumnus Makes Goodby Robert Martin (Rod Serlings TheTwilight Zone Magazine, July, 1981)
-Matheson Looks at His Nightmare byRichard Matheson (Rod Serlings TheTwilight Zone Magazine, June, 1984)
-Don Congdon, Longtime Literary Agentfor Ray Bradbury, Dies at 91 by William Grimes (The New York Times, Dec 4, 2009)
-RodSerlings The Twilight Zone Magazine, October,1983
-StarburstMagazine, October, 1983
-RichardMatheson Onscreen: A History of the Filmed Works by Matthew R. Bradley (McFarland, 2010)
-Audio commentary by Marc Scott Zicreeand Richard Donner for Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (The Twilight Zone: The 5th Dimension (DVD Box Set),Image Entertainment, 2014)
-The Internet Speculative FictionDatabase (isfdb.org)
-The Internet Movie Database (imdb.com)
Notes:
--Richard Mathesons originalshort story first appeared in Aloneby Night, edited by Michael and DonCongdon (Ballantine Books, 1962). The story was collected in Mathesons 1966collection Shock III, published byDell. The story has been reprinted several times since, including in TheTwilight Zone: The Original Stories (1985),Mathesons Collected Stories (1989),and as the title story of Mathesons 2002 retrospective collection from TorBooks. The story inspired two anthologies, Mysterious Air Stories, edited by Peter Haining (as by William Pattrick),published by W.H. Allen in 1986, and Flight or Fright, edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent (Cemetery Dance, 2018).
--Richard Mathesons teleplay forNightmare at 20,000 Feet was first published in the May-June, 1984 issue of Rod Serlings The Twilight Zone Magazine. It was published as a standalone volume byHarvest Moon Publishing in 2001, and was collected in the second volume of RichardMathesons Twilight Zone Scripts, editedby Stanley Wiater (Edge Books/Gauntlet Press, 2002). In 2011, Gauntlet Presspublished a deluxe edition of the story, including the original story,Mathesons teleplay, and Mathesons and George Millers screenplay for TwilightZone: The Movie. The book was edited byTony Albarella.
--Richard Donner directedfive additional episodes for the fifth season of the series, including FromAgnes with Love, Sounds and Silences, The Jeopardy Room, The BrainCenter at Whipples, and Come Wander with Me.
--William Shatner alsoappeared in the second season episode, Nick of Time, also scripted by RichardMatheson. Shatner worked again with Matheson for the first season Star Trek episode,The Enemy Within. In 1958, Shatner appeared in Rod Serling's Playhouse 90 episode, "A Town Has Turned to Dust," a script Serling reworked for the second season The Twilight Zone episode, "Dust." Shatner played the villainous lead role in the 1962 film, The Intruder, scripted by Charles Beaumont from his 1959 novel and directed by Roger Corman.
--Christine White alsoappeared in the second season episode, The Prime Mover.
--David Armstrong alsoappeared, often uncredited, in The Mind and the Matter, To Serve Man, TheTrade-Ins, and I Sing the Body Electric.
--Slim Bergman alsoappeared, uncredited, in Richard Mathesons Steel.
--Ed Haskett alsoappeared, uncredited, in The Silence and Hes Alive.
--This episode marksanother appearance by prolific series extra Robert McCord.
--Edward Kemmer, here playingthe Flight Engineer, portrayed the role of Commander Buzz Corry on Space Patrol (1950-1955).As author Marc Scott Zicree has pointed out, Kemmer was the quintessentialspaceship captain of the 1950s. In Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, he encountersWilliam Shatner, who, on Star Trek, becamethe quintessential spaceship captain of the 1960s.
--TwilightZone: The Movie contains several cameos from the cast and crew of theoriginal series, including Burgess Meredith, Bill Mumy, Buck Houghton, KevinMcCarthy, Patricia Barry, and William Schallert. The most memorable cameo,however, likely belongs to Carol Serling, who appears in the Nightmare at20,000 Feet segment as a concerned air passenger. In the segment, Serling is seenholding an issue of Rod Serlings TheTwilight Zone Magazine.
--Nightmare at 20,000 Feet was adaptedas a Twilight Zone Radio Drama starring John Schneider.
--Viewers longing to own theirown gremlin can choose from a limited edition figure created by SideshowCollectibles (TV Land Special Edition) or one of several options from toycompany Bif Bang Pow!
Additional Images:
Cover image sourced from Twilight Zone: The Movie for a 1983 Dutch-language reprint of selections from Rod Serling's Stories from the Twilight Zone (1960) and More Stories from the Twilight Zone (1961).
Cover for the October, 1983 issue of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine:
Cover for the June, 1984 issue of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine:
Cover for the October, 1983 issue of Fangoria:
Cover illustration by Rick Melton for The Dark Side #181 (2017):
Detail of cover illustration by "Ravenwood" for Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories by Richard Matheson (Tor, 2002):
Painting by Cortlandt Hull for the restoration of the carousel in the pavilion at the George F. Johnson Recreational Park in Rod Serling's hometown of Binghamton, NY:
Cover illustration by Harry O. Morris for the definitive edition of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," published by Gauntlet Press in 2011:
In Memory of Richard Donner (1930-2021)
Donner as pictured in the July, 1981 issue of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine-JPNo comments: Labels:Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,Richard Donner,Richard Matheson,Season 5,Top Rated Episodes,Twilight Zone: The Movie,William Shatner Older PostsHomeSubscribe to:Posts (Atom)Rod Serling (1924-1975)
The Twilight Zone VortexCelebrating ten years in the Vortex!
-Jordan Prejean and Brian DurantPopular Posts:"The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" Maple Street, before the monsters came. The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street Season One, Episode 22 Original Air Date: Mar...Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine The first issue (April, 1981) Cover art by Jim Warren Alt hough Rod Serling sold his share of television syndication ..."Third From the Sun" Fritz Weaver and Edward Andrews Third From the Sun Season One, Episode 14 Original Air Date: January 8, 1960 Cast: Willi..."A Stop at Willoughby" Gart Williams (James Daly) longs for escape to Willoughby A Stop at Willoughby Season One, Episode 30 Original Air Date..."The Shelter" The Shelter Season Three, Episode 68 Original Air Date: September 29, 1961 Cast: Bill Stockton: Larry Gates Grace Stockton:..."The After Hours" Anne Francis as Marsha White The After Hours Season One, Episode 34 Original Air Date: June 10, 1960 Cast: Mar..."Twenty Two" Barbara Nichols as the tormented Liz Powell Twenty Two Season Two, Episode 53 Original Air Date: February 10, 1961 Cast: ..."People Are Alike All Over" Roddy McDowall as astronaut Sam Conrad and Susan Oliver as Martian temptress Teenya People Are Alike All Over Season One, Episode 2..."Five Characters in Search of an Exit" Five lost characters searching for a way back to their own stories Five Characters in Search of an Exit Season Three, Episode 79 ..."Nick of Time" Patricia Breslin and William Shatner test their fate with the Mystic Seer. Nick of Time Season Two, Episode 43 November 18, 1960 ...Directory:A Game of Pool(1)A Hundred Yards Over the Rim(1)A Most Unusual Camera(1)A Nice Place to Visit(1)A Passage for Trumpet(1)A Penny for Your Thoughts(1)A Piano in the House(1)A Quality of Mercy(1)A Stop at Willoughby(1)A Thing about Machines(1)A World of Difference(1)A World of His Own(1)And When the Sky Was Opened(1)Back There(1)Cavender Is Coming(1)Dead Mans Shoes(1)Death Ship(1)Deaths-Head Revisited(1)Dust(1)Elegy(1)Escape Clause(1)Execution(1)Eye of the Beholder(1)Five Characters in Search of an Exit(1)Four OClock(1)Hes Alive(1)Hocus-Pocus and Frisby(1)I Dream of Genie(1)I Shot An Arrow Into the Air(1)I Sing the Body Electric(1)In His Image(1)In Praise of Pip(1)Its a Good Life(1)Jess-Belle(1)Judgment Night(1)Kick the Can(1)King Nine Will Not Return(1)Little Girl Lost(1)Long Distance Call(1)Long Live Walter Jameson(1)Miniature(1)Mirror Image(1)Mr. Bevis(1)Mr. Denton on Doomsday(1)Mr. Dingle the Strong(1)Mute(1)Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room(1)Nick of Time(1)Nightmare as a Child(1)Nightmare at 20(1)No Time Like the Past(1)Nothing in the Dark(1)Of Late I Think of Cliffordville(1)On Thursday We Leave for Home(1)Once Upon a Time(1)One for the Angels(1)One More Pallbearer(1)Passage on the Lady Anne(1)People Are Alike All Over(1)Perchance to Dream(1)Person or Persons Unknown(1)Printers Devil(1)Shadow Play(1)Showdown with Rance McGrew(1)Static(1)Steel(1)Still Valley(1)The After Hours(1)The Arrival(1)The Bard(1)The Big Tall Wish(1)The Changing of the Guard(1)The Chaser(1)The Dummy(1)The Fever(1)The Four of Us Are Dying(2)The Fugitive(1)The Gift(1)The Grave(1)The Hitch-Hiker(1)The Howling Man(1)The Hunt(1)The Incredible World of Horace Ford(1)The Invaders(1)The Jungle(1)The Last Flight(1)The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank(1)The Lateness of the Hour(1)The Little People(1)The Lonely(1)The Man in the Bottle(1)The Midnight Sun(1)The Mighty Casey(1)The Mind and the Matter(1)The Mirror(1)The Monstes Are Due on Maple Street(1)The New Exhibit(1)The Night of the Meek(1)The Obsolete Man(1)The Odyssey of Flight 33(1)The Parallel(1)The Passersby(1)The Prime Mover(1)The Purple Testament(1)The Rip Van Winkle Caper(1)The Shelter(1)The Silence(1)The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine(1)The Thirty Fathom Grave(1)The Time Element(1)The Trade-Ins(1)The Trouble with Templeton(1)The Whole Truth(1)Third From the Sun(1)Time Enough at Last(1)To Serve Man(1)Twenty Two(1)Two(1)Valley of the Shadow(1)Walking Distance(1)What You Need(1)Where is Everybody?(1)Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?(1)Young Mans Fancy(1)000 Feet(1)20 Best Performances(4)20 Best Twist Endings(4)Abner Biberman(2)Alan Crosland Jr.(1)Allen H. Miner(1)Allen Reisner(2)Alvin Ganzer(4)Anthologies(1)Antioch College(1)Anton Leader(2)Books(3)Bookshelf Essentials(4)Boris Sagal(2)Buck Houghton(2)Burgess Meredith(4)Buzz Kulik(9)C.L. Moore(1)Carol Burnett(1)Charles Beaumont(28)Christian Nyby(2)Christopher Conlon(3)Damon Knight(1)David Butler(1)David Greene(1)David Lowell Rich(1)David Orrick McDearmon(3)Dead of Night (1945)(1)Dennis Hopper(1)Dick Smith(1)Don Medford(5)Don Weis(1)Douglas Heyes(9)Earl Hamner Jr.(4)Edgar Allan Poe(2)Elliot Silverstein(3)Episode Directory(1)Film Noir(1)Fred Steiner(1)Frederic L. Fox(2)Fritz Leiber(1)Gamma(1)George Clayton Johnson(13)Ghost Stories(1)Halloween Countdown 2016(32)Harold Schuster(1)Henry Kuttner(1)Henry Slesar(2)Jack Klugman(4)Jack Smight(4)James Sheldon(6)Jerome Bixby(2)Jerry Sohl(3)John Brahm(10)John Chambers(1)John Collier(1)John Furia Jr(1)John Rich(1)John Tomerlin(2)Joseph M. Newman(1)Justus Addiss(3)Lamont Johnson(8)Lee Marvin(2)Lee Polk(1)Lists(13)Literary Roots(7)Lucille Fletcher(1)Manly Wade Wellman(1)Mitchell Leisen(3)Montgomery Pittman(5)Night Cry magazine(1)Night Gallery(2)Norman Z. McLeod(1)Paul Stewart(1)Perry Lafferty(3)Podcasts(1)Price Day(2)Ralph Nelson(1)Ralph Senensky(1)Ray Bradbury(7)Recommended Listening(1)Reginald Rose(1)Richard Donner(1)Richard L. Bare(6)Richard Matheson(25)Robert Bloch(2)Robert Duvall(1)Robert Ellis Miller(1)Robert Florey(2)Robert Gist(1)Robert Parrish(3)Robert Stevens(2)Rod Serling(90)Rod Serling as Host(1)Ronald Winston(2)Season 1(37)Season 1 Intro(1)Season 2(30)Season 2 Intro(1)Season 3(38)Season 3 Intro(1)Season 4(18)Season 4 Intro(1)Season 5(3)Season 5 Intro(1)Southern California School of Writers (The Group)(13)Spotlight on Makeup(1)Stuart Rosenberg(3)Ted Post(1)The Green Hand(1)The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas(1)The Vortex Library(3)Top Rated Episodes(24)Twilight Zone (1985-1989)(1)Twilight Zone Art(2)Twilight Zone Christmas(2)Twilight Zone comics(7)Twilight Zone Magazine(27)Twilight Zone newsfeed(10)Twilight Zone Summer(1)Twilight Zone: The Movie(2)Veterans Day(1)Video Tape(6)Walter E. Grauman(1)Welcome Page(1)William Asher(1)William Claxton(4)William F. Nolan(6)William Self(1)William Shatner(1)William Tuttle(7)Beyond the Vortex:The Rod Serling Memorial FoundationAnne Serling Official WebsiteThe Twilight Zone ArchivesRod Serling BooksTwilight Zone CafeThe Twilight Zone MuseumThe Twilight Zone RadioThe Twilight Zone WikiaTwilight Zone WikipediaRod Serling's Night GalleryMy Life in the Shadow of the Twilight ZoneShadow and SubstancePostcards from the ZoneThe Twilight Zone PodcastSound, Sight s The Twilight Zone Magazine, Part 13 In which we take a closer look at each issue of the magazine. For our capsule history, go here. Volume 2, number 1 (April, 1982) ..."The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" Maple Street, before the monsters came. The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street Season One, Episode 22 Original Air Date: Mar..."The Silence" Archie Taylor (Franchot Tone) being chastised by his friend (Jonathan Harris) The Silence Season Two, Episode 61 Original Air Dat..."The Grave" Hired gun Conny Miller (Lee Marvin) arrives at the grave of outlaw Pinto Sykes to await his doom. The Grave Season Three, Episode 7..."The After Hours" Anne Francis as Marsha White The After Hours Season One, Episode 34 Original Air Date: June 10, 1960 Cast: Mar..."The Hitch-Hiker" A haunted woman: Inger Stevens as Nan Adams The Hitch-Hiker Season One, Episode 16 Original Air Date: January 22, 1..."The Hunt" Hyder Simpson (Arthur Hunnicutt) and his faithful hound dog, Rip, resting at the end of a very strange day. The Hunt Season Three..."The Incredible World of Horace Ford" Pat Hingle as Horace Ford The Incredible World of Horace Ford Season Four, Episode 117 Original Air Date: April 18, 1963 ...Reading Rod Serlings The Twilight Zone Magazine, Part 25 In which we take a closer look at each issue. For our capsule history of the magazine, go here. Volume 3, Number 3 (July/August, 1983) ..."The Shelter" The Shelter Season Three, Episode 68 Original Air Date: September 29, 1961 Cast: Bill Stockton: Larry Gates Grace Stockton:...Archive: 2021(10) September(1)Reading Rod Serlings The Twilight Zone Magazine, ... August(2) July(1) June(1) May(1) April(2) March(2) 2020(17) June(1) May(4) April(5) March(3) February(2) January(2) 2019(16) December(2) November(1) October(1) September(1) August(2) July(2) June(2) May(1) March(1) February(2) January(1) 2018(22) December(1) November(2) October(2) September(1) August(1) July(2) June(2) May(2) April(3) March(1) February(1) January(4) 2017(40) December(2) November(2) October(4) September(5) August(3) July(3) June(3) May(2) April(5) March(6) February(4) January(1) 2016(60) December(3) November(4) October(31) September(4) August(2) July(2) June(2) May(2) April(2) March(3) February(3) January(2) 2015(2) December(1) October(1) 2014(14) November(1) October(1) September(2) August(1) July(3) June(1) May(1) April(2) February(1) January(1) 2013(14) December(1) November(1) September(1) August(1) July(1) June(1) May(1) April(2) February(1) January(4) 2012(26) December(1) November(2) October(2) September(1) August(1) July(2) June(3) May(2) April(3) March(2) February(4) January(3) 2011(20) December(4) November(2) October(3) September(5) April(5) March(1)
<<< Thank you for your visit >>>
Websites to related : Steve Quayle - Giants - Dead Sci
keywords:Steve Quayle - Giants - Dead Scientists - Gold Metals - Radio Host
description:Steve Quayle - Giants - Dead Scientists - Gold Metals - Radio
keywords: rustenburg, herald, north west, noordwes, newspaper, stellalander, vryburg, gemsbok, upington, noordwester, lichtenburg, klerksdorp, record,
Texas Hunt Lodge - Exotic Hunts keywords:
description:Texas Hunt Lodge hosts the finest All Inclusive Hunts and accommodations in the Texas Hill Country for your Texas Exotic Hunts a
keywords:
description:
Family and Local History
[Bill Macafee's Website]
keywords:flexo dealer, flexo used equipment, pre-owned, parts, consumables, accessories
description:We offer more than 1,800 replacement parts for use
keywords:
description:
skip to main | skip to sidebar Tuesday, February 9, 2010 THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Unemploye
keywords:Algon, Organics, Algae, Remover
description:Algon helps restore the natural colour of virtually any surface the organic way.No scrubbing or r
keywords:
description:
Lenguaje de Programacion / Jose bernal lunes, 22 de noviembre de 2010 PUNTOS EXTRA
keywords:
description:
Astrologia na era de aquárioastrologia e estudos astrológicos outubro 18, 2021 Horóscopo d
keywords:airline,airlines,timetable,timetables,schedule,schedules,airline timetable,airline timetables,time table,time tables,airline baggage labels,a
adsHot Websites