Redford plays a police officer who's shot outside her home. Legendary actor and director Robert Redford was a baby-faced blond in his mid-twenties when he starred in this episode about an old woman (Gladys Cooper) who has kept herself shut away from the outside world because she fears the personification of Death will come looking for her to end her life. Robert RedfordĮpisode: "Nothing in the Dark" (Season 3, Episode 16) Stockwell's Japanese makeup and accent are best left in 1961, but it's another instance of The Twilight Zone's supernatural morality going global. The central figure in this episode is played by Dean Stockwell, of Quantum Leap fame, so it's probably appropriate that in this episode, his bloodthirsty lieutenant gets transported three years in the past into the body of a Japanese soldier, the better to learn about the titular quality of mercy in war. The future Spock of Star Trek fame took a supporting role in this episode, playing an American soldier in the Pacific theater in the waning days of World War II. Leonard NimoyĮpisode: "A Quality of Mercy" (Season 3, Episode 15) It's a rather simple parable about being happy where you are, but the real appeal of the episode is that the first third is filmed in era-appropriate silent-movie style, giving TV viewers a chance to watch a master of the genre in his element. Perhaps the greatest Hollywood icon to ever appear on The Twilight Zone was silent film star Buster Keaton, who a few short years before his death starred on a season three episode as a man living in 1890, disgruntled with his noisy, expensive, morally decaying hometown, who comes upon a prototype time machine and travels to 1960 … where it's noisier, pricier, and even more modern. Buster KeatonĮpisode: "Once Upon a Time" (Season 3, Episode 13) So that happened! The Twilight Zone wasn't exactly known for its hot-button topicality, but this episode traded on the paranoia and uncertainty of its geopolitical time as triumphant revolutionary Clemente is tormented by a bizarre mirror that foretells future betrayals by his comrades. Falk, born in the Bronx to parents of Eastern European Jewish descent, was heavily accented, costumed in full Fidel Castro drag, and sporting some intense bronzer action that borders on brownface. Peter FalkĮpisode: "The Mirror" (Season 3, Episode 6)įile this one under Yikes: a decade before he landed his most iconic role as the TV detective Columbo, Peter Falk appeared on The Twilight Zone in the role of Central American freedom fighter-turned-dictator Ramos Clemente. The man and the woman meet in a blasted-out city and find the beginnings of what may be a dark and sad love story … in the Twilight Zone. Charles Bronsonįuture action-movie star Charles Bronson co-starred with future Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery in this episode about two opposing soldiers of a future war that has decimated both sides. This was one of The Twilight Zone's more wistful episodes, and an early footnote in the career of actor/director/producer Howard. Howard, who would be cast as Opie Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show the next year, played a neighborhood boy who points Young in the direction of his teenage self. Young played a successful executive who returns to his hometown only to find himself transported back in time. The star of this first-season episode of The Twilight Zone wasn't little Ronnie Howard but instead actor Gig Young, who had starred opposite Doris Day in movies like Teacher's Pet and Tunnel of Love (and who would eventually win an Academy Award for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?). Ron HowardĮpisode: "Walking Distance" (Season 1 Episode 5) The following ten screen legends all showed up on the series, often before they were famous, and just as often in roles that make for great curiosities today. A typical tour through classic Twilight Zone episodes will find you stumbling across quite a few Hollywood icons, from silent film legends to Oscar winners to comedy queens. Not for nothing, it also featured some of the great performers of its era. The original series, which ran from 1959-1964, is famous for its plot twists, reality-bending premises, and lessons learned through dramatic ironies. With Halloween nearly upon us, if you find yourself in the mood for something spooky and unnerving but not exactly horrifying, one easy recommendation is to sit down with some classic episodes of The Twilight Zone.
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