Buck Houghton Movies

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

Written by George Clayton Johnson, this low-key Twilight Zone episode stars Gladys Cooper as Wanda Dann, an old woman terrified at the prospect of death. Sequestering herself in a shabby basement apartment, Wanda refuses to let anyone past her door, fearful that one of her visitors might be Death himself. And then late one evening, she lets down her guard long enough to offer shelter to wounded policeman Harold Belden (played by a very young Robert Redford). "Nothing in the Dark" first aired on January 5, 1962. ~ 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

Twilight Zone's only foray into old-time slapstick comedy, this episode stars the great Buster Keaton as Woodrow Mulligan, a 19th century janitor fed up with the hustle, bustle, and noise of "modern life." While working in the laboratory of scientists Gilbert and Fenwick (Milton Parsons and George E. Stone), Woodrow stumbles upon a newly-invented time helmet. Reasoning that he will enjoy more peace and quiet in the future, Woodrow activates the helmet and ends up in 1962 -- where, not surprisingly, he doesn't find things to his liking! The first half of this episode is delightfully staged in the manner of a silent movie, replete with flickery photography, gag subtitles, and a rinky-tink piano score (written by William Lava, performed by Ray Turner). The 1962 sequences are done in full sound, and they aren't quite as satisfying, though there's a terrific recreation of a key gag from the 1918 Fatty Arbuckle/Buster Keaton two-reeler The Garage, with Stanley Adams standing in for Arbuckle. Most of the episode was directed by silent-movie veteran Norman Z. McLeod, with the exception of an intrusive sequence set in a repair shop, which was helmed by Les Goodwins. Written by Rod Serling, "Once Upon a Time" was first telecast on December 15, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode was adapted by Rod Serling from "The Valley Was Still," a short story by Manley Wade Wellman. In the third year of the Civil War, Confederate officer Paradine (Gary Merrill) and his men march into a small town, where a regiment of Union Soldiers has been literally frozen in time. The only "moving figure" in the town is a deranged old man (Vaughn Taylor), who directs Paradine's attention to a book of black magic spells. Though he now possesses the means to win the war for the South, Paradine learns to his dismay that there's a diabolical "price tag" attached. First telecast November 24, 1961, "Still Valley" was the only half-hour Twilight Zone episode to be rebroadcast in the summer of 1963, by which time the series had expanded to an hour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The ongoing trial of Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann was the obvious inspiration for Rod Serling's "Death's-Head Revisited." Oscar Beregi stars as Capt. Lutze, the sadistic former commandant of the Dachau concentration camp. Travelling incognito, Lutze makes a "sentimental journey" to the camp, fondly recalling the misery he had wreaked in the final months of WWII. But Lutze is in for quite a few horrible surprises when one of his former prisoners, the emaciated Becker (Joseph Schildkraut), shows up to see that justice is finally done. "Death's-Head Revisited" was originally telecast November 10, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally filmed for Twilight Zone's second season, writer-director Montgomery Pittman's "The Grave" was not telecast until Season Three -- to be exact, October 27, 1961. Lee Marvin stars as western gunslinger Conny Miller, who upon arriving in a flea-bitten town for a showdown with outlaw Pinto Sykes, is told that Sykes is already dead. Convinced that Miller is a coward who never really wanted to catch up with him, the dying Sykes had challenged Miller to visit his grave, warning that he would reach up from the ground and drag Miller in with him. Goaded by the townspeople, the terrified Miller ventures into the graveyard in the dead of night. Western-movie regulars Strother Martin and Lee Van Cleef appear in key supporting roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In his second Twilight Zone appearance, Jack Klugman stars as pool hustler Jesse Cardiff, who would like nothing better than to challenge legendary pool champion Fats Brown. Only trouble is, Fats has been dead for a year. But Jesse is persistent, and before long the ghost of Fats (Jonathan Winters) puts in an appearance and challenges Jesse to a winner-take-all game of pool -- with Jesse's life as the "stakes." George Clayton Johnson's teleplay underwent several changes before filming, including a complete rewrite of the ending, which in its original state was fascinating, if not entirely satisfying. "A Game of Pool" first aired October 13, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the few Twilight Zone episodes with virtually no sci-fi/fantasy trappings whatsoever, this is nonetheless a disturbing and unsettling half hour. In the midst of a surprise birthday party, the revellers are shocked to hear a Civil Defense announcement on the radio, declaring that America is under attack from UFOs. Only Dr. Stockton (Larry Gates) has had the foresight to build a bomb shelter, and before long, he and his family are besieged by desperate neighbors, demanding to be allowed to take refuge in Stockton's cellar. As tensions reach a fever pitch, all of the suppressed hostilities and prejudices of the neighbors come rushing to the surface -- a dangerous situation reminiscent of the finale of the first-season episode "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," minus the extraterrestrial punchline. Written by Rod Serling, "The Shelter" first aired on September 29, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Three of Twilight Zone got off to a flying start with this episode, written and directed by Montgomery Pittman. Some five years after a devastating war that wiped out virtually all mankind, a pair of surviving soldiers from opposing armies confront each other in the deserted streets of a bombed-out city. Only the male soldier, played by Charles Bronson, has any dialogue; the female soldier, played by Elizabeth Montgomery, prefers to do her "talking" with a high-powered rifle. While the episode's ending is inevitable, the buildup to that ending takes a variety of unexpected twists and turns. Filmed on the old Hal Roach Studios backlot, "Two" originally aired September 15, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fed up with the loud and incessant talking of fellow men's club member Jamie Tennyson (Liam Sullivan), pompous Col. Archie Taylor (Franchot Tone) decides to place a most unusual wager. With $500,000 at stake, Taylor bets that Tennyson cannot remain silent for a full year. Deeply in debt, Tennyson accepts the wager, and even permits himself to be placed in a glass cage in the club's basement, so that Taylor and the other members can monitor his silence. Though the story contains no science-fiction or fantasy trappings whatsover, the ironic ending is very much in keeping with the standards set by previous Twilight Zone episodes. First telecast April 28, 1961, "The Silence" was scripted by Rod Serling -- and though Serling denied it at the time, the story would seem to have been influenced by Anton Chekhov's "The Bet." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

First telecast May 12, 1961, this amusing Twilight Zone entry was purely and simply a showcase for versatile comic actor Shelley Berman. The star is cast as Archibald Beechcroft, a dyed-in-the-wool misanthrope who despises everyone around him. With the help of an unusual "will power" book given to him by office boy Henry (Jack Grinnage), Beechcroft is able to make everyone else in the world disappear. Before long, however, the silence drives Beechcroft crazy, so he decides to populate the world with millions of Archibald Beechcrofts -- with similarly irksome results. "The Mind and the Matter" was written by series creator Rod Serling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Upon discovering that his business partner Jimbo Cobb (Buddy Ebsen) possesses psychokinetic powers enabling him to move things with his brain power alone, café owner and compulsive gambler Ace Larsen (Dane Clark) hightails it to Las Vegas with Jimbo in tow. It is Ace's contention that Jimbo's unsual gift will enable him to "fix" dice games and roulette wheels without detection, and for a while this proves to be the case. But what Ace hasn't counted on is the fact that Jimbo has a conscience -- and that Jimbo is disgusted by Ace's cavalier treatment of his erstwhile girlfriend Kitty Cavanaugh (Christine White). Scripted by Charles Beaumont from a story by George Clayton Johnson, "The Prime Mover" made its Twilight Zone debut on March 24, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide