An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is really kicked around by TV. The 1960s Twilight Zone famously aired a pre-fab French production in order to afford the final season supply of Lucky Strikes for Rod Serling. I assume AHP is just using it to give them time to prepare for the smelly 1960’s which begin in 12 days. At least AHP made an American production of it. No wonder Bierce was bitter.
Three Union soldiers are installing a plank on the titular Owl Creek Bridge. A fourth is tying a hangman’s noose while a few others stand by. This seems like a lot of resources to kill this one guy, but it is a Union job – heyyyyooooo! C’mon, a train runs right over this bridge, just give him a shove; plus, you have guns! As they work, Farquhar flashes back 12 hours.
He was “safe and secure” in his home being served dinner by his sassy housekeeper slave, Hattie. [1] He is depressed over the death of his wife and child. She says she can sympathize because she was depressed over the death of her son Joshua; she seems pretty chirpy with her slave status though. Farquhar spots a harp in the corner and imagines his wife playing it, which would make any normal person actually miss her less.
A Rebel sergeant (James Coburn) rides up. He says the Yanks are moving closer, all the way to the titular Owl Creek Bridge. Farquhar was a soldier, but lost a leg and a brand new sock in Shiloh. He speculates on blowing up the bridge so the Yanks can’t advance. The sergeant warns him that any civilian caught around that bridge would be “hanged on the spot.”
Farquhar ignores the warning and sneaks down to the bridge. He pulls out a can of Short’s Solidified Greek Fire. When he tries to throw it at the bridge, the same sergeant, who had only pretended to be a Rebel — he’s the world’s first confederate Confederate — shoots him in the arm. [2]
Back on the bridge, the sergeant puts the noose around Farquhar’s head. He prays for the frayed rope to break. After he walks the plank, he finds himself in the river below. He struggles to pull the noose off his head. Fortuitously, he is being executed by seven men so addle that Farquhar is actually able to escape by swimming up-stream. He further confounds the squad by coming ashore the last place they would suspect — the riverbank.
Farquhar runs back toward his house. On the way, he finds his old friend slave Josh. I still can’t figure out whether he was Hattie’s husband or son. Either way, he is supposed to be dead. Josh leads him home on an unfamiliar trail. He is surprised when Josh leads him through a Union camp and no one notices them.
Clickable pic. Pretty obvious where it goes.
When Farquhar arrives back at his house, his uncredited (i.e. dead) wife runs out to greet him. We snap back to him hanging by the neck at the bridge. His escape only occurred in his mind, in the seconds before he died.
The episode is not as stylish as the TZ version, but then, that was actually an Oscar-winning short film. It is a change of pace — or really, change of location — for the series. As always, AHP turns out a quality product. It really works best if you haven’t seen the TZ episode, read the short story, or had it spoiled by some idiot blogger.
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