"Twilight Zone" (1959) "The Twilight Zone" (original title), TV series 1959-1964

Creator:

Rod Serling
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | unknown

Release Date:

2 October 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Rod Serling's seminal anthology series focused on ordinary folks who suddenly found themselves in extraordinary, usually supernatural, situations. The stories would typically end with an ironic twist that would see the guilty punished.

Plot Keywords:

Supernatural | Anthology | Surrealism | Cult TV | Hosted Television Series

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Rod Serling

...

Narrator / ... (156 episodes, 1959-1964)

Series Directed by
John Brahm		(12 episodes, 1959-1964)
Douglas Heyes		(9 episodes, 1959-1961)
Buzz Kulik		(9 episodes, 1960-1963)
Lamont Johnson		(8 episodes, 1961-1963)
Richard L. Bare		(7 episodes, 1960-1964)
James Sheldon		(6 episodes, 1961-1962)
Richard Donner		(6 episodes, 1963-1964)
Don Medford		(5 episodes, 1960-1963)
Montgomery Pittman		(5 episodes, 1961-1962)
Jack Smight		(4 episodes, 1959-1961)
Alvin Ganzer		(4 episodes, 1959-1960)
Ted Post		(4 episodes, 1960-1964)
William F. Claxton		(4 episodes, 1960-1962)
Elliot Silverstein		(4 episodes, 1961-1964)
Abner Biberman		(4 episodes, 1962-1964)
Joseph M. Newman		(4 episodes, 1963-1964)
Alan Crosland Jr.		(4 episodes, 1963)
Robert Florey		(3 episodes, 1959-1964)
Mitchell Leisen		(3 episodes, 1959-1960)
Robert Parrish		(3 episodes, 1959-1960)
Ron Winston		(3 episodes, 1960-1964)
Stuart Rosenberg		(3 episodes, 1960-1963)
David Orrick McDearmon		(3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Jus Addiss		(3 episodes, 1961-1963)
Perry Lafferty		(3 episodes, 1963)
Robert Stevens		(2 episodes, 1959)
John Rich		(2 episodes, 1960-1963)
Anton Leader		(2 episodes, 1960-1961)
Boris Sagal		(2 episodes, 1961)
Christian Nyby		(2 episodes, 1962)
Don Siegel		(2 episodes, 1963-1964)
Robert Butler		(2 episodes, 1964)

Series Writing credits
Rod Serling		(156 episodes, 1959-1964)
Charles Beaumont		(22 episodes, 1959-1964)
Richard Matheson		(16 episodes, 1959-1964)
Earl Hamner Jr.		(8 episodes, 1962-1964)
George Clayton Johnson		(7 episodes, 1960-1963)
Montgomery Pittman		(3 episodes, 1961-1962)
Jerry Sohl		(3 episodes, 1963-1964)
Oceo Ritch		(2 episodes, 1961-1962)
Frederick Louis Fox		(2 episodes, 1962)
Henry Slesar		(2 episodes, 1963-1964)
Martin Goldsmith		(2 episodes, 1964)

Series Produced by
Buck Houghton	....	producer (102 episodes, 1959-1962)
Rod Serling	....	executive producer: Cayuga Productions (36 episodes, 1959-1960)
Del Reisman	....	associate producer (22 episodes, 1960-1961)
William Froug	....	producer (22 episodes, 1963-1964)
Bert Granet	....	producer (18 episodes, 1963-1964)
Herbert Hirschman	....	producer (12 episodes, 1963)
Murray Golden	....	associate producer (10 episodes, 1963)

Series Original Music by
Van Cleave		(12 episodes, 1959-1964)
Bernard Herrmann		(7 episodes, 1959-1963)
Fred Steiner		(7 episodes, 1960-1963)
Jerry Goldsmith		(7 episodes, 1960-1961)
René Garriguenc		(4 episodes, 1960-1964)
Tommy Morgan		(3 episodes, 1962-1964)
Jeff Alexander		(2 episodes, 1960-1964)
Lucien Moraweck		(2 episodes, 1960-1964)
Nathan Scott		(2 episodes, 1960-1962)

Series Cinematography by
George T. Clemens		(117 episodes, 1959-1964)
Robert Pittack		(20 episodes, 1962-1964)
Jack Swain		(6 episodes, 1961-1962)
Fred Mandl		(2 episodes, 1964)
Charles F. Wheeler		(2 episodes, 1964)

Series Film Editing by
Bill Mosher		(43 episodes, 1959-1962)
Jason H. Bernie		(23 episodes, 1961-1962)
Richard V. Heermance		(18 episodes, 1963-1964)
Joseph Gluck		(15 episodes, 1959-1960)
Thomas Scott		(12 episodes, 1963-1964)
Leon Barsha		(11 episodes, 1960-1961)
Richard W. Farrell		(10 episodes, 1963-1964)
Edward Curtiss		(4 episodes, 1963)
Eda Warren		(4 episodes, 1963)
Everett Dodd		(3 episodes, 1963)
Fred Maguire		(2 episodes, 1959-1960)
Al Clark		(2 episodes, 1963)

Series Casting by
Patricia Mock		(25 episodes, 1963-1964)
Millie Gusse		(24 episodes, 1959-1960)
Ethel Winant		(21 episodes, 1960-1961)
Larry Stewart		(10 episodes, 1964)
Robert Walker		(9 episodes, 1962)

Series Art Direction by
George W. Davis		(148 episodes, 1959-1964)
Philip Barber		(51 episodes, 1960-1962)
William Ferrari		(26 episodes, 1959-1963)
Merrill Pye		(20 episodes, 1960-1962)
Walter Holscher		(13 episodes, 1963-1964)
Malcolm Brown		(12 episodes, 1963-1964)
Eddie Imazu		(10 episodes, 1964)
Edward C. Carfagno		(7 episodes, 1963)
Paul Groesse		(5 episodes, 1963)
John J. Thompson		(4 episodes, 1963)
William Craig Smith		(3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Robert Tyler Lee		(3 episodes, 1961)

Series Set Decoration by
Henry Grace		(116 episodes, 1959-1964)
H. Web Arrowsmith		(49 episodes, 1960-1962)
Robert R. Benton		(25 episodes, 1963-1964)
Rudy Butler		(21 episodes, 1959-1960)
F. Keogh Gleason		(20 episodes, 1960-1962)
Frank R. McKelvy		(13 episodes, 1963-1964)
Don Greenwood Jr.		(8 episodes, 1963)
Edward M. Parker		(5 episodes, 1963)
Jerry Wunderlich		(3 episodes, 1960-1964)
Arthur Jeph Parker		(3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Buck Henshaw		(3 episodes, 1961)
Budd Friend		(2 episodes, 1960)
George R. Nelson		(2 episodes, 1962)

Series Makeup Department
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist / makeup designer / ... (12 episodes, 1960-1964)

Series Production Management
Ralph W. Nelson	....	production manager (139 episodes, 1959-1964)
E. Darrell Hallenbeck	....	production manager (7 episodes, 1960-1961)
Sidney S. Van Keuren	....	production manager (6 episodes, 1960-1961)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
E. Darrell Hallenbeck	....	assistant director (53 episodes, 1960-1962)
Edward O. Denault	....	assistant director (25 episodes, 1959-1960)
Charles Bonniwell	....	assistant director (25 episodes, 1963-1964)
Carl 'Major' Roup	....	second assistant director (12 episodes, 1963-1964)
Marty Moss	....	assistant director (10 episodes, 1964)
Donald C. Klune	....	assistant director (9 episodes, 1960)
John D. Bloss	....	assistant director (9 episodes, 1963)
Ray DeCamp	....	assistant director (9 episodes, 1963)
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Kurt Neumann	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1960)
Henry Weinberger	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1960-1961)

Series Sound Department
Franklin Milton	....	sound (148 episodes, 1959-1964)
Bill Edmondson	....	sound (44 episodes, 1961-1962)
Joe Edmondson	....	sound (40 episodes, 1963-1964)
Van Allen James	....	sound effects editor (36 episodes, 1959-1960)
Philip Mitchell	....	sound (27 episodes, 1959-1964)
Jean G. Valentino	....	sound (21 episodes, 1959-1960)
Charles Scheid	....	sound (16 episodes, 1960-1961)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
James V. King	....	camera operator (54 episodes, 1963-1964)
Tom Schamp	....	lighting director (6 episodes, 1960-1961)

Series Casting Department
Ethel Winant	....	casting (1 episode, 1961)

Series Editorial Department
Scott Lawson	....	colorist (156 episodes, 1959-1964)

Series Music Department
Bernard Herrmann	....	composer: theme music / conductor / ... (23 episodes, 1959-1963)
Jerry Goldsmith	....	conductor / composer: stock music / ... (8 episodes, 1959-1961)
Van Cleave	....	conductor (8 episodes, 1961-1964)
Fred Steiner	....	conductor (7 episodes, 1960-1963)
René Garriguenc	....	composer: stock music / stock music cues (6 episodes, 1959-1961)
Lud Gluskin	....	conductor (6 episodes, 1960-1964)
Lucien Moraweck	....	composer: stock music (5 episodes, 1959-1960)
Jeff Alexander	....	conductor (2 episodes, 1960-1964)
Tommy Morgan	....	conductor / music playing (2 episodes, 1962-1964)

Series Other crew
Richard P. McDonagh	....	story consultant (23 episodes, 1961-1962)
John Conwell	....	assistant to producer (18 episodes, 1963)
Jim Brady	....	technical director (6 episodes, 1960-1961)
James B. Clark	....	associate director (6 episodes, 1960-1961)

Production Companies

• Cayuga Productions
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (in association with)

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1959) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• AXN (????) (Japan) (TV)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Fuji Television Network (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD) (season 1)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD) (season 2)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD) (season 3)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD) (season 4)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD) (season 5)
• Kita Nihon Broadcasting (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Nihonkai Telecasting (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Paramount Television
• Radio Aoyama Television (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Radio Tohoku Television (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Sapporo Television Broadcasting Company (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Super Channel (2003) (Japan) (TV)
• Viacom
• Yamagata Broadcasting (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Yomiuri Television (1960) (Japan) (TV)

Other Companies

• Liggett & Myers  original sponsor (Chesterfield cigarettes)
• Procter & Gamble  original sponsor (Lilt home perm, Crest toothpaste)

Also Known As:

"The Twilight Zone" - USA (original title)

Runtime:

51 min (18 episodes) (season 4) | 25 min (138 episodes) (season 1-3 and season 5)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | USA:TV-PG | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Cayuga Productions

Trivia:

All episodes in Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 5 were thirty minutes in length. Episodes in Season 4 (airing from January to May 1963) were one hour in length due to CBS' switching the show's available time-slot where only an hour could be taken.

Quotes:

[Opening narration-Season 1 alternate]
Narrator:You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Mike Wallace Interview: Rod Serling" (1959)

Soundtrack:

Twilight Zone Theme

When It Worked, No TV Show Was (Or Is) More Imaginative

Rod Serling's distinctive approach gave "The Twilight Zone" a unique character that will always keep it among the best-remembered of all classic television shows. Not only that, but it set high goals for itself, and it took a lot of chances - and not chances in the phony, trivial sense in which a lot of more recent series "take chances" by resorting to unnecessarily provocative or indecent material that actually guarantees them attention and acclaim.

"The Twilight Zone" took chances by experimenting with many different kinds of stories and material, and by aiming to provide high-quality entertainment while simultaneously giving you something to think about. As a result, there were a few episodes that didn't quite click, and that seem odd or even dull. But when it worked - as it did a great deal of the time - no television show then or now was more imaginative.

In a short review, it would be impossible to list all of the memorable episodes, or even to cover the full range of the kinds of material that it used. There were chilling episodes like "To Serve Man", which is often remembered by those who saw it decades ago, and there were thought-provoking episodes like "In the Eye of the Beholder", which was also imaginatively filmed.

Many episodes relied primarily on a well-written and well-conceived story, while others, like "The Invaders", relied heavily on excellent acting performances (in that case, by Agnes Moorehead). There were occasional light-hearted episodes like "Once Upon a Time", which was also a nice showcase for the great Buster Keaton.

It's too bad that these anthology-style series went out of fashion, because a number of them were of high quality. This one, in particular, stands well above its subsequent imitators. The best science fiction, like the best of any genre or art form, appeals to the imagination, not to the senses, and imagination is what "The Twilight Zone" was all about.