Finnegan's Flight (3 Dec. 1972)
"Night Gallery" Finnegan's Flight (original title)

Charlie Finnegan is serving a life sentence in a federal penitentiary and longs to escape. Fellow prisoner Pete Tuttle tries to help him, with the aid of his talent for hypnosis.

Director:

Gene R. Kearney

Writer:

Rod Serling

Stars:

Burgess Meredith, Cameron Mitchell, Barry Sullivan

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Burgess Meredith	...	Charlie Finnegan
Cameron Mitchell	...	Pete Tuttle
Barry Sullivan	...	Dr. Simsich
Kenneth Tobey	...	Warden
Dort Clark	...	Prisoner
John Gilgreen	...	Infirmary Guard
Roger E. Mosley	...	Prisoner (as Roger Mosley)
Raymond Mayo	...	Prisoner
Michael Masters	...	Guard
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rod Serling	...	Himself - Host

Storyline

Charlie Finnegan is serving a life sentence in a federal penitentiary and longs to escape. Fellow prisoner Pete Tuttle tries to help him, with the aid of his talent for hypnosis.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 1972 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Don't ride this jet

I'm disappointed to say that I feel this episode is a dud, considering the decent performance of Burgess Meredith as Charlie Finnegan, although it wasn't enough to recommend to fans of this odd series. Cameron Mitchell guest stars as Pete Tuttle, as both he and Charlie are imprisoned for their own reasons, while Tuttle acts as Charlie's hypnotist(what?)as an escape for the poor man. I'll admit this is an odd storyline, but still fairly original for this genre, but it was poorly executed with little to no surprises. Tuttle makes Finnegan believe he's a pilot, and we get to hear him make these childish sounds of a jet engine, which was very embarrassing to watch, plus we we get to see this disgusting white foam emerge from his mouth as his face is turning very red; this whole scene is silly and borders on the sublime. There are another few scenes which didn't work for me either, and they have Charlie punching a brick wall inside the prison walls until he breaks all his fingers, while he's in a trance. So what happens? He does the same exact scene a few minutes later, and punches the same brick wall. I'll give Meredith credit for giving his all with weak material, but he couldn't save this episode from itself.