Night Gallery – A Midnight Visit to the Neighborhood Blood Bank (S2E9)

I wouldn’t normally write about one of the short Night Gallery sketches, but this one fails so completely on every level that it can’t go without recognition.

  1. The Title — There is no blood bank in the story.  Then I thought that maybe the titular blood bank was a metaphor for the girl.  Like when Jack Torrance referred to Wendy as “the old sperm bank”  in The Shining (although he could have been referring to his own impotence).
  2. The Description — From the DVD menu:  A vampire attempts to open an account at a blood bank but only plans on making withdrawals.  OK, so the title did refer to a literal blood bank.  Well, where the hell is it?  There is no account being opened — the entire sketch takes place in a girl’s bedroom.
  3. The Dialogue — As the vampire is about to bite the girl, she says, “I gave at the office” and he withdraws dejectedly.  OK, I get that this references an old joke about dodging people seeking contributions, but does she work at a blood bank?  Is that the office?  I am very confused.
  4. The Cast — The girl is played by the producer’s daughter in her only IMDb credit.  On the other hand, admittedly, Victor Buono is great as the vampire.
  5. The Effort — Zero on the above points.  The segment only runs 1:36 and 14 seconds of that is spent on the oil slick at the beginning.

So was the wrong segment put on the DVD?  Was it just severely edited for time?  Rod Serling did no intro for this segment — were they just embarrassed to show it to him?  I am at a loss.

Post-Post:

  • Twilight Zone Legacy:  None.
  • Odd Couple Legacy:  Victor Buono was highlarious playing an exorcist.

1 thought on “Night Gallery – A Midnight Visit to the Neighborhood Blood Bank (S2E9)

  1. I’ve been searching myself for evidence of a similar segment, which does in fact feature the titular blood bank, but not Victor Buono in the toothsome lead rôle. I wonder if that segment was pulled from circulation to avoid any negative impact on blood donations, and this half-baked substitute put in its place? That would explain the mismatch between story & title, as well as the lack of a Rod Serling commentary.

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