Walking Distance (Season One, Episode 5)
Directed by Robert Stevens
Written by Rod Serling
Cinematography George T. Clemens
Music composed and conducted by Bernard Herrmann
Cast: Gig Young (Martin Sloan), Michael Montgomery (young Martin), Ron Howard (young boy), Frank Overton (Robert Sloan), Irene Tedrow (Mrs. Sloan)
Walking Distance is a good example of how much mileage the show could get out of a simple, well written story paired with a fine actor. Martin Sloan (Gig Young) comes back to the small town he grew up in and finds it much more familiar than he expected.
Young (They Shoot Horses, Don’t They) delivers a hauntingly layered performance as a 50’s ad man at the end of a very short rope; he has come back to his hometown looking for answers. His chagrin at finding things just as he remembers them is confounding, deepening his pain as he helplessly encounters what he so hopelessly desires. The Universe has thrown him a spit ball. Young captures the calm (or as Thoreau would have it, quiet) desperation of modern man with an unsettling ease. Some call it a mid-life crisis, some a nervous breakdown, it culminates with the realization that you suddenly find yourself in a place that you never meant to inhabit.
Familiar faces supporting him in the cast include Ron Howard, Irene Tedrow, and Frank Overton (To Kill A Mockingbird). Overton does a measured job as Martin’s father; Ron Howard is the perpetual 50’s every boy, and character actress Irene Tendrow is perfect as Martin’s frightened mother.
Escape Clause (Season One, Episode 6)
Directed by Mitchell Leisen
Cinematography George T. Clemens
Written by Rod Serling
Theme music Bernard Herrmann, Stock music Jerry Goldsmith & Lucien Moraweck
Cast: David Wayne (Walter Bedeker), Thomas Gomez (Cadwallader), Virginia Christine (Ethel Bedeker), Raymond Bailey (Doctor), Dick Wilson (Jack)
Escape Clause is another favorite of mine that features David Wayne (The Andromeda Strain), a multi-talented and prolific stage, screen & TV actor who originated the roles in the original Broadway productions of Og in Finian’s Rainbow, Ensign Pulver in Mister Roberts, and Sakini in Teahouse of the August Moon.
Hypochondria has taken control of Walter Bedeker’s (David Wayne) life. The doctor (Raymond Bailey) finds nothing wrong with him, but he can see the toll that Walter’s behavior is taking on his long suffering wife (Virginia Christine), and writes her a prescription for vitamins. Christine (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), a noted character actor, is convincingly entwined in her husband’s absurd anxiety.
The story is delivered with a light touch of dark humor which enhances its impact as it unwinds to its surprising climax and conclusion. The performances of both Wayne & Gomez (Ride the Pink Horse) are extreme parodies of their characters while the rest of the cast plays it perfectly straight. From the moment that Cadwallader (Thomas Gomez) enters, he is a counterpoint to Bedeker in every way. Indirectly direct and not so subtly ironic, he makes a comically chilling Satan.
“…a fragment of an atom of your being…your soul.”
Bedeker’s eagerness to make a deal for immortality is all the more unsettling because he has been so cautious of even the most mundane things; yet, he trusts this man that has suddenly appeared in his bedroom. Once the agreement is made (complete with flaming signature to bind it), Bedeker further tests our willful suspension of disbelief as he tries to fight the boredom of being immortal with outlandish schemes and actions. Easily one of the best episodes in the series.
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration: There’s a saying, ‘Every man is put on Earth condemned to die, time and method of execution unknown.’ Perhaps, this is as it should be. Case in point: Walter Bedeker, lately deceased, a little man with such a yen to live. Beaten by the Devil, by his own boredom – and by the scheme of things in this, The Twilight Zone.
These two early episodes are a good reason to re-watch what you think you remember. I guarantee that on a careful viewing, you will find much more in each than what you think you recall. Both, well worth another trip into The Twilight Zone.
Facts, Rumors, and Hearsay
Walking Distance
One of the townspeople that Martin Sloane remembers walking through Homewood
is “Dr. Bradbury.” Rod Serling, the screenwriter of this episode, was
acknowledging the inspiration of Ray Bradbury.
This episode was Ron Howard’s first time being credited as Ronnie Howard.
Escape Clause
The episode features two actors best known for long-running
TV commercials: Virginia Christine (as Mrs. Olson for Folgers Coffee for 21 years)
and Dick Wilson (as Mr. Whipple for Charmin Bathroom Tissue for 25 years).