Buck Houghton Movies

Originally filmed under the title One Starry Night, this CBS TV movie stars Melissa Sue Anderson as 19-year-old University of Washington volleyball champ Molly Rush. In danger of flunking out of school, Molly turns to a tutor for help. Her "mentor" turns out to be 14-year-old math genius Harry Woodward (Doug McKeon), who has been enrolled in the university under a special early entry program. Much to the surprise of both protagonists, Molly and Harry fall in love -- a state of affairs that does not please Molly's otherwise easygoing jock boyfriend, Dunc Widdoes (Steven Bauer, here billed as Rocky Bauer). An Innocent Love initially aired on March 2, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Robert Goulet plays David March, an American traitor living in Germany during World War II. Allowed to travel freely within the Nazi hierarchy, March is privy to secrets that would spell his doom were he on "our" side. What the Nazis don't know (but we do) is that March is on our side: he's a secret agent, posing as a turncoat in order to relay Nazi war plans to the allies. His main goal is to destroy a secret weapons factory, but he still has time to romance German scientist Jo Ann Pflug and French chanteuse Christine Carrere. I Deal in Danger was comprised of three half-hour episode of the 1966 TV series Blue Light; the seamwork shows at times, but the film runs a lot more smoothly than most such pastiches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Guest star Kim Hunter is cast as brilliant but superstitious master criminal Hannah O'Connel, who engineers a million-dollar bullion heist with her sons Thomas (Robert Hogan) and Robert (Solomon Sturges. The O'Connels escape to the safety of a remote Caribbean island which has no extradition treaty with the United States. To lure Hannah back to America for prosecution, the IMF rigs up a phony murder and an apparent haunting. Buck Houghton, for many years the producer of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone, wrote the story for this episode, and collaborated on the script with another TV notable, Stephen Kandel. "Incarcerate" first aired on January 5, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"You're traveling to another dimension...a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind...a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Your next stop: The Twilight Zone." Originally telecast on CBS from October 2, 1959, to September 18, 1964 (not counting a brief spate of network reruns in the summer of 1965), The Twilight Zone was one of the foremost filmed dramatic anthologies on TV and one of a precious few that specialized in fantasy and science fiction. Created by Rod Serling, whose previous TV writing credits included such classic live dramas as Patterns and Requiem for a Heavyweight, the series specialized in concise, economical playlets dealing with the offbeat andsupernatural, many of them with surprising and ironic climactic twists. Many of the individual episodes have stood the test of time as indisputable classics, among them "Eye of the Beholder," "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," "The Invaders," "It's a Good Life," "To Serve Man," "The Invaders," and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." Rod Serling served as the series' host and narrator, and also wrote most of the dramas. Other noteworthy contributors included Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, and, on one memorable occasion (the episode "I Sing the Body Electric"), Ray Bradbury.

A veritable constellation of guest stars brought the stories to life; among those making multiple appearances were Burgess Meredith, Jack Klugman, William Shatner, Martin Landau, Anne Francis, Bill Mumy, Ed Wynn, and Lee Marvin, while many more showed up for memorable single performances including Charles Bronson, Elizabeth Montgomery, Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, James Coburn, Mickey Rooney, and Dennis Hopper. The series' famous theme music (heard from the second season onward) was composed by Marius Constant with unforgettable incidental music provided by the likes of Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith. Although the series' title has become a household word and many of its episodes are acknowledged masterpieces, Twilight Zone was never a huge ratings attraction during its network run. Indeed, after only three seasons, CBS decided to yank the show. It was saved at the last minute and brought back as a mid-season replacement, expanded from 30 to 60 minutes per week in the process. For its fifth and final season, Twilight Zone returned to its familiar half-hour format, still playing to appreciative but comparatively small audiences. It was not until the series went into off-network reruns that Twilight Zone truly built its fan following, which has increased many times over in the ensuing years. Twilight Zone was revived twice with new, full-color episodes, first as a CBS (and later syndicated) weekly in 1985, then on UPN in 2002. Rod Serling was not involved with these revivals, having passed away in 1975; the 1985 version had no host, though its narrators included Charles Aidman and Robin Ward, but the 2002 version was hosted by Forest Whitaker. In addition, a theatrical feature, Twilight Zone: The Movie, was released in 1983. ~ All Movie Guide

After briefly experimenting with the videotape format, The Twilight Zone wisely returned to film with this episode, which originally aired April 7, 1961. The story begins in the California desert in 1847; Chris Horn (Cliff Robertson), leader of a bedraggled wagon train, sets out to search for food, water, and medicine for himself, his ailing child, and the rest of his party. Upon climbing "over the rim," Chris finds himself in a roadside diner -- in the year 1961. The supporting cast includes future TV-series stars Ed Platt (Get Smart) and John Astin (The Addams Family), as well as actress Evans Evans, who later played Gene Wilder's wife in the 1967 film classic Bonnie and Clyde. Written by Rod Serling, "A Hundred Yards over the Rim" benefits immeasurably from a driving musical score by Fred Steiner, which would pop up in truncated form in dozens of films and TV series throughout the '60s and '70s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shot down while escaping the cops, two-bit hoodlum Rocky Valentine (Larry Blyden) awakens to find a jovial, bearded fellow named Mr. Pip (Sebastian Cabot) standing over him. Realizing that he is now dead, Rocky assumes that Pip is his guardian angel, an assumption "proven" when Rocky is transported to an idyllic world where his every wish is granted. Before long, however, Rocky's good fortune turns out to be too much of a good thing -- and in addition, appearances can be very, very deceiving. Written by Charles Beaumont, this morbidly comic Twilight Zone episode was originally to have starred Mickey Rooney; at one point, Beaumont jokingly suggested that series creator Rod Serling step into the role of Rocky Valentine before Larry Blyden was decided upon. "A Nice Place to Visit" was originally telecast April 15, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Long before he costarred in Bewitched, Dick York was forced to contend with unwelcome magical powers in this Twilight Zone episode. York is cast as bank clerk Hector Poole, who suddenly finds himself gifted with the power to read other people's minds. Hoping to use this power to his advantage, Hector ends up with a heap o' trouble instead. This being a comic episode, however, there's a happy (or at least satisfying ending). Watch for Hayden Rorke, Dr. Bellows from I Dream of Jeannie, in a key supporting role. The first Twilight Zone script written by George Clayton Johnson, "A Penny for Your Thoughts" originally aired February 3, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the last days of WWII, "90-day wonder" Lieutenant Katell (Dean Stockwell) takes charge of a battle-weary American squadron somewhere in the Pacific Theater. With the arrogance of inexperience, Katell demands that Sgt. Causarano (Albert Salmi) lead an attack against a group of wounded and dispirited Japanese soldiers -- "They are the enemy! First day of the war or the last day of the war!" But a sudden wrinkle in time causes Lt. Katell -- or should we say "Lt. Yamuri" -- to experience an epiphany. Future Star Trek stalwart Leonard Nimoy plays a small role as a radio operator. Scripted by Rod Serling from an idea by Sam Rolfe (Have Gun, Will Travel, Man from U.N.C.L.E. et al.), "A Quality of Mercy" was Twilight Zone's Yuletide offering for the 1961-62 season, making its first appearance on December 29, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Magazine critic Bartlett Finchley (Richard Haydn) despises all things mechanical, from electric typewriters to refrigerators. Such is his invective against machinery that, inevitably, all the machines in his household band together and turn against him. This was one of those "you can see the end coming a mile away" episodes that tended to weaken Twilight Zone's second season. First telecast October 28, 1960, "A Thing About Machines" was written by Rod Serling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first season Twilight Zone came to a delightful conclusion on July 1, 1960, with this episode, written by Richard Matheson. Coming home early one afternoon, Victoria West (Phyllis Kirk) is shocked to find her playwright husband Gregory West (Keenan Wynn) in the arms of another woman named Mary (Mary LaRoche). When Victoria demands an explanation, Gregory is forced to reveal that Mary was purely a figment of his imagination, "invented" on the writer's tape recorder. To prove this point, Gregory not only makes Mary re-appear, but also a "huge, red-eyed element." But this is not the only surprise in store for the nonplussed Victoria West. The hilarious finale finds series creator Rod Serling joining in on the festivities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After speculating on the possibility that a person can travel back in time and change history, Peter Corrigan (Russell Johnson) bids farewell to his friends and prepares to head home from his club. As he walks through the doors, he is unexpectedly transported from 1961 to 1865. Once he gets his bearings, Corrigan finds himself in a position to prevent the assassination of Abraham Lincoln -- but this "wrinkle in time" turns out to have entirely different results. Scripted by Rod Serling, "Back There" is one of the lesser offerings of Twilight Zone's 1960-61 season, though it does boast an excellent musical score by Jerry Goldsmith, which would remain in the standard TV stock-music repertoire throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The episode first aired January 13, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Written by Charles Beaumont with the uncredited assistance of OCee Ritch), this compact little Twilight Zone offering gets under way as a pair of gangsters dump a corpse into a Bowery alley. Emerging from the shadows, shabby derelict Nate Bledsoe (Warren Stevens) steals the dead man's custom-made shoes -- and suddenly acquires the dead man's custom-made personality, arrogant swagger and all. "Dead Man's Shoes" made its CBS network premiere on January 19, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wandering into the small Mexican town where Luis Gallegos (John Alonso) is about to be hanged, mercenary peddler Sykes (Thomas Gomez) sells the rope to the hangman, then turns around and sells a handful of "magic dust" to the condemned man's father (Vladimir Sokoloff). Lying through his teeth, Sykes insists that the dust will spread goodwill throughout the community -- and, it is hoped, will spare Gallegos' life. One doesn't have to be a diehard Twilight Zone fan to guess what will happen next. Douglas Heyes, Jr., son of the episode's director, plays a small role. Written by Rod Serling, "Dust" was first telecast January 6, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide