William Froug Movies

A young organizer for a California farmhand union dies of carbon monoxide poisoining, and the evidence points to suicide. Quincy (Jack Klugman), however, suspects that the man was murdered--and that one of two rival union leaders, currently embroiled in a bitter power struggle, may have been responsible. Conducting a personal investigation, Quincy exposes a great deal of corruption within the the union system...and also unearths a motive for murder that surprises even him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Just before embarking upon a 40-year space journey, Cmdr. Douglas Stansfield (Robert Lansing) falls in love with the beautiful Sandra Horn (Mariette Hartley). Blasting into space, Stansfield in placed in a state of suspended animation, which will enable him to retain his youth and vitality during the long journey. Thus does he spend most of the flight in despair, knowing that when he returns, Sandra will have aged four decades. . .or will she? Also appearing in this low-key Twilight Zone installment are veteran movie heavy George Macready and TV-series perennial Edward Binns. Written by Rod Serling, "The Long Morrow" was originally telecast January 10, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three leather-jacketed motorcyclists converge upon a small town and immediately take up residence in a vacant house. Though everyone considers the cyclists to be nice, quiet boys, they are in fact the vanguard of an invading army from a hostile planet. Things get dicey when one of the "boys" (Lee Kinsolving) falls in love with Earthling Ellen Tillman (Shelley Fabares). In his haste to come up with an intriguing gimmick, Twilight Zone scripter Earl Hamner failed to answer a vital question -- if the three invaders hoped to blend in and avoid drawing attention to their activities, why did they dress up like second-rate Marlon Brandos? Denver Pyle, Irene Hervey, and Michael Conrad play key supporting roles in "Black Leather Jackets," which originally aired January 31, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Clearly inspired by the then-current publicity blitz surrounding the Elizabeth Taylor film version of Cleopatra, this Twilight Zone episode was credited to scriptwriter Charles Beaumont, even though Jerry Sohl did the actual writing. Ann Blyth stars as Pamela Morris, a seemingly ageless movie queen. Determined to find out why Pamela is as beautiful as she was during the silent-film era, journalist Jordan Herrick (Lee Herrick) shows up at the actress' home for an interview. He ends up getting the story of his life -- which turns out to be a significant shorter life than that enjoyed by Pamela Morris. "Queen of the Nile" first aired March 6, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Evidently inspired by such stage and screen comedy-fantasies as I Married a Witch and Bell, Book and Candle, the long-running ABC sitcom Bewitched starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens, a pert, perky, suburban housewife who happened to be a genuine witch, with all the usual magical powers. Samantha was married to Darrin Stephens (played during the first five seasons by Dick York, and in the final three seasons by Dick Sargent), a rising young advertising executive who worked at the New York firm of McMahon and Tate. A mere mortal, Darrin insisted that Samantha -- or "Sam," as he called her -- behave like an ordinary human being, and that she keep her witchcraft under wraps at all times. Sam tried her best to oblige, but the situations occurring in the course of the series invariably required her to cast a few spells and chant a few incantations to get her husband or herself out of jams.

Also in the cast on a regular and semi-regular basis were Agnes Moorehead as Samantha's sophisticated witch mother, Endora, who bore an intense dislike for Darrin, forever misidentifying him as "Dagwood," "Darwin," or some such; David White as Darrin's bombastic boss, Larry Tate, who never suspected that Sam was a witch and was thus always at a loss to explain the miraculous ways that things inevitably turned out right at the end of each episode; Irene Vernon and Kasey Rogers as Larry's level-headed wife, Louise; Alice Pearce and Sandra Gould as the Stephens' snoopy next-door neighbor Gladys Kravitz, who always suspected that something was amiss with Sam but was never able to prove it; George Tobias as Gladys' phlegmatic husband, Abner Kravitz; Maurice Evans as Sam's father and Endora's husband, Maurice, an elegant warlock; Paul Lynde as Sam's prankish warlock uncle Arthur; Marion Lorne as Sam's befuddled witch aunt Clara; Alice Ghostley as the equally birdbrained (and equally magical) Esmerelda, the Stephens' housekeeper-witch; and Bernard Fox as Dr. Bombay, warlock physician who popped in and out with zany remedies for various witch maladies.

During the second season, Samantha gave birth to a daughter named Tabitha (generally played by Erin Murphy), who had obviously inherited some of her mom's powers. Likewise "gifted," though on a lesser scale, was Sam and Darrin's son, Adam (a role shared by David Lawrence andGreg Lawrence), who was born during season six. Also, the Stephens household was occasionally visited by Sam's mischievous, hippie-like identical cousin, Serena, who was played by "Pandora Spocks" (actually a pseudonym for Elizabeth Montgomery). Produced by Elizabeth Montgomery's then-husband, William Asher, and debuting September 17, 1964, Bewitched lasted eight seasons and 252 half-hour episodes (180 in color), finally leaving the air on July 1, 1972. Five years later, a spin-off of sorts, Tabitha, was seen on ABC. In 2005, a theatrical film version of Bewitched appeared, starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hate hangs heavy in the air in the small midwestern town where accused murderer Jagger (Terry Becker) is sentenced to hang at sunrise. But there's a slight hitch in these plans -- though it is already mid-afternoon, the sun has failed to rise. Written by Rod Serling, this heavy-handed Twilight Zone episode may be the first filmed TV drama to make reference to the recent Kennedy assassination. Michael Constantine, Ivan Dixon, and George Lindsey ("Goober" on The Andy Griffith Show) are among the participants in "I Am the Night - Color Me Black," which made its network debut on March 27, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode stars Jackie Cooper as Jonathan West, a pathetically unsuccessful ventriloquist. Unable to find work in any other profession, Jonathan turns to a life of crime -- with his sinister, cigar-smoking dummy Caesar acting as "mastermind." Featured in the cast as a malevolent youngster is Susanne Cupito, who grew up to become glamous TV star Morgan Brittany. First telecast on April 10, 1964, "Caesar and Me" was the only Twilight Zone episode to be scripted by a woman, Adele T. Strassfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ruthlessly efficient businessman Wallace V. Whipple (Richard Deacon) runs roughshod over the feelings of his employees when he elects to fully automate his factory. Installing computers and robots, Whipple drives longtime worker Dickerson (Ted de Corsia) to take desperate measures to protect his job. Without giving away the ending, it is worth noting that Robby the Robot, of Forbidden Planet fame, makes a cameo appearance. Written by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, "The Brain Center at Whipple's" was originally telecast on May 15, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Investigating a strange series of occurences -- eerie noises, flashing lights, reports of giant monsters -- state trooper Robert Franklin (Mark Richman) is forced to take refuge in a mountain cabin occupied by vacationing fashion designer Charlotte Scott (Hazel Court). Though Charlotte has seen and heard the weird noises and images, Franklin remains skeptical, until he too is barraged by these seemingly extraterrestrial cannonades. Before long, both Franklin and Charlotte are fighting for their lives against a huge, apparently invulnerable space alien. . .but this being Twilight Zone, all is not quite what it seems. Written by Rod Serling, "The Fear" first aired May 29, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Written by Earl Hamner, Jr., this late Twilight Zone episode shows evidence of production difficulties and post-production tampering, as indicated by the curious repetition of several key scenes and the decision to dub the voice of child actress Mary Badham (of To Kill a Mockingbird fame) with that of adult actress June Foray. Whatever the case, this is the story of Sport (Badham) and Jeb (Tim Stafford), two wealthy southern kids who would give anything to escape their parents' constant quarrelling. While lolling near the swimming pool in their suburban backyard, the kids are astonished when a Huck Finnish young boy suddenly emerges from the water and beckons them to dive in. They do so, resurfacing in an idyllic backwoods setting, populated by disenfranchised children and presided over by benevolent "earth mother" Aunt T (Georgia Simmons). With the telecast of "The Bewitchin' Pool" on June 19, 1964, the five-year saga of Twilight Zone came to an end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bernard Herrmann composed his final Twilight Zone musical score for the December 20, 1963 episode "Ninety Years Without Slumbering." Ed Wynn stars as septuagenarian Sam Forstmann, who resists his family's efforts to sell his precious grandfather clock. It seems that the clock began running on the day that Sam was born, and he is convinced that if its stops running, so will he. As originally conceived by George Clayton Johnson, this episode was to have had a "cyclical" ending, with Sam's death coinciding with the birth of his grandson. But as rewritten by Richard de Roy, "Ninety Years Without Slumbering" settled for a "happier" -- and weaker -- denouement. Watch for Dick Wilson, TV's "Mr. Whipple," as a moving man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though credited to Charles Beaumont, this Twilight Zone episode was actually written by Beaumont's associate Jerry Sohl. Telly Savalas heads the cast as Erich Streator, whose life becomes Hell on Earth when his stepdaughter Christie (Tracy Stratford) is presented with an expensive "Talky Tina" doll. It seems that the doll doesn't like Erich, and it has expressed this dislike by making such chirrupy pronouncements as "My name is Talky Tina. . .and I'm going to kill you." June Foray provides the voice for the doll, as she had previously supplied the voice for the once-popular doll Chatty Cathy. "Living Doll" first aired November 1, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ambrose Bierce's classic hallucinatory short story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge has been adapted to film at least three times. The first version was a 1932 short subject directed by Charles Vidor; the second was a two-part 1959 installment of TV's Alfred Hitchcock Presents; and the third was this award-winning French short, adapted and directed by Robert Enrico. The time is the American Civil War: Southern plantation-owner Peyton Farquahr (Roger Jacquet) has been condemned to death for spying against the Union cause. As he prepares to be hanged from the Owl Creek bridge, Farquahr morosely contemplates his fate and fondly recalls his loving wife (Anne Cornaly). The commanding officer gives the signal, Farquahr is dropped off the side of the bridge -- and suddenly the rope breaks. Farquahr breaks loose of his bonds, remains submerged in the creek as the soldiers' bullets whiz all about him, breathlessly reaches dry land, and painstakingly makes his way home to the arms of his wife. As he rushes towards her and.......ah -- to say more would be to ruin the surprise. The music by Henri Lanoe includes an original ballad, "Live Livin' Man", sung spiritual-style in English. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge made its American TV premiere as the February 28, 1964 installment of the anthology series The Twilight Zone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide