A couple are is dancing and discussing what a tramp the woman is (by 1959 standards, anyway). There are 2 gunshots which are effective shocks even though (i.e. because) they are so unrealistically staged. They are dancing very close and shown from just below the shoulders when the shots are heard. It is almost comical what a non-sequitur they are. Before the shots, the woman’s arms do not move, so it is as if she was holding the gun between them the whole time. As we hear the shots, there is absolutely no recoil.
The camera pulls so far back we can see the director — no wait this has been a scene filmed for a movie. Stage-victim Oliver Matthews picks himself up and heads for his dressing room. He opens up a bottle of hooch and unloads on his assistant, Miss Hall. He hates the film, hates that he has been reduced to a small role, and hates having to act beside Myra Robbins. But he’s not just a h8ter, he does love that booze. Miss Hall gets him to put down the bottle by offering a sedative.
Her slavish devotion is repaid by Matthews telling her, “You ought to find yourself a man. You’re drying up, Pretty soon you’ll have fewer choices.” He goes on a Serling-esque harangue of self-pity about himself and mockery of Miss Hall. This a pretty pathetic pair. Even as Matthews is cruelly taunting Miss Hall on the way out the door to Mexico, she is obsequiously fawning over him.
We are tricked as he actually goes home, not that the director gives us any clue — this could have been a place in Mexico. However, the wardrobe lady from the film set who Matthews had earlier pretended not to know walks in and is all smiles. I was expecting that his previous ass-hattery was an act and that he would be charmingly in love with the lowly wardrobe lady, Grace Dolan. Well cheers to them for fooling me, but jeers for them subjecting me to another depressing co-dependent train-wreck of a relationship.
In this pairing, Dolan is blackmailing Matthews to keep quiet about his role in her daughter’s murder. Ya know, most parents might take such evidence to the police. He insists that he is broke and can’t keep paying. She nastily demands that he write the check anyway and damn well better find a way to cover it. As she is leaving, he asks her to stay for a drink which is not at all suspicious.
As she is looking through his record collection, he dumps a bottle of his sedative in her glass and charmingly stirs it with his finger. As a result of the drug or his grubby finger, Dolan passes out. She is so disgusting that he isn’t tempted to do anything but kill her. He loads her in the car, wraps her in chains and gives her a long shove off a short pier.
He returns home and finds Miss Hall there. She knows what Matthews did, but will not tell the police as long as he will be her boyfriend.
This episode is a victim of its own success. Franchot Tone is just great as Matthews. And, by great, I mean repulsive. Miss Hall is so needy, you go right past empathy into thinking “what’s wrong with this woman?”, and Grace Dolan is just as nasty as Matthews. There is just no one to root for or identify with.
Post-Post:
- AHP Deathwatch: No survivors.
Michael Wright awakes to the sound of construction. His lovely wife June [1] looks at the clock and it is 11:37. Michael’s watch, however, says 7:05. Realizing he has suddenly gained four hours and thirty-two minutes, he starts making out with June. Her mind is probably on what she will do with her extra four hours and thirty minutes. This temporal fantasizing is cut short as she hears a noise downstairs.
They decide to go to a neighbor’s house. Outside they see more blue men scurrying around, using blue tools and driving blue vans. Inside the neighbor’s house, the find a white dimensionless void. They wander downtown amid many more blue workers. They notice the clock on the bank also says 11:37. Luckily they run into a man in a yellow suit who seems to be the supervisor.
It begins with a solid foundation — exploring the nature of time. That is an immediately intriguing subject, especially to anyone who is watching The Twilight Zone. I’m not sure even this incarnation of TZ is up to the task screwing up that subject.
Visually this is the most startling episode of the series so far and must rank high up for TV of any era. The faceless blue men stand out in contrast to the reality they are constructing whether it is inside the house or downtown. Outfitting them in red would have been too flashy; the cool blue is the perfect choice for these drones going quietly about their work.
Toby Michaels and his Dad are horsing around with horror masks and toy ray guns. Toby shouts, “
he is a monster, specifically a Vampire-American. Toby protests that that can’t be true or he would be burning up in the sunlight. So clearly Toby was lying earlier when he bragged about reading 
Riegert wrestling with a young boy in 
He explains to Toby that a vampire must stay on the move. If he stays in one place too long, the real monsters come out. The sneezes are just a symptom of a recessive human survival trait. When they are near vampires, they turn into monsters and kill the vampire in their midst. Later that night, Bendictson leaves his door open and allows himself to be taken.
In the alley at 300 Lincoln Place, a fight is taking place. All we see are 
After Cox leaves, Reynolds asks Avery if he purposely scheduled that seminar so Reynolds would have an alibi. Reynolds had earlier told Avery about Munson’s blackmail scheme. Avery counters that he could not possibly have strangled Munson because “Munson was a giant.”
Avery cautions that the serum must remain secret. Reynolds agrees that “It could upset a lot of things. Make a champion out of a mid-class pug, put a claiming horse [?] in the winners circle at the Kentucky Derby.” So far, I’m only seeing how it would be dangerous to bookies.
Cowboy Jake Miller is having a crisis of conscience — he can’t remember the faces of any of the eight men he has killed. His brother Ben rightly reminds him that even if he could remember their faces, they’d still be dead. Nearby, a preacher is having a bigger crisis as an alien materializes and possesses his body.
Frank & JD go to the saddle boutique. The possessed Preacher strolls by and gives them a demonstration. Light shoots out of his eyes and he makes a horse disappear. He offers to give them the same power. Frank tests it out by making a wagon wheel disappear. With this amazing new talent, the best the can think to do is kill the storekeeper and steal a couple of saddles and horses.
Jake & Ben see Frank & JD at the cemetery. Frank says, “Let’s get going.” Ben stops them after a few steps and says, “Hold up, this is it.” They all start digging and unearth a steel box. Frank uses his superpowers to enable him and JD to steal the loot. OK, so Frank & JD didn’t get mad that the money had been moved; or that they dug a huge back-breaking hole for nothing. Maybe they were playing it cool until Jake & Ben took them to the real burial space. That kind of calm strategic long-game doesn’t seem like a good fit for Frank, though.
Jake & Ben point their pistols at Frank, but he just makes them disappear. When Ben rushes him, he strangles him, with sparks flying from his hands. After Frank & JD take off with the loot, the Preacher happens by. He gives Jake & Ben the same power.
The Preacher explains he is from another planet. This was all a test from yet another condescending alien species. Jake gets on his horse and inexplicably rides off leaving Miriam, the only other survivor, behind. Well, she did kill his brother which could make Thanksgiving awkward, but he really had it coming. But again, the motivation escapes me. I like that she is left stunned, staring at the sky, but why is she alone?