A Stop at Willoughby (6 May 1960)
"The Twilight Zone" A Stop at Willoughby (original title)

Tired of his miserable job and wife, a businessman starts dreaming on the train each night, about an old, idyllic town called Willoughby. Soon he has to know whether the town is real and fancies the thought of seeking refuge there.

Director:

Robert Parrish

Writer:

Rod Serling

Stars:

Rod Serling, James Daly, Howard Smith

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Rod Serling	...	Narrator (voice)
James Daly	...	Gart Williams
Howard Smith	...	Misrell
Patricia Donahue	...	Janie Williams
Jason Wingreen	...	1960 Conductor
Mavis Neal Palmer	...	Helen (as Mavis Neal)
James Maloney	...	1888 Conductor

Storyline

Tired of his miserable job and wife, a businessman starts dreaming on the train each night, about an old, idyllic town called Willoughby. Soon he has to know whether the town is real and fancies the thought of seeking refuge there.

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Plot Keywords:

train | fictional town | small town | employer employee relationship | new york city | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 May 1960 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cayuga Productions, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Willoughby, Ohio, has a yearly community event involving trains in honor of "A Stop at Willoughby" known as "Last Stop Willoughby".

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Goofs

Just before Gart Williams enters the restroom, the office assistant tells him his boss wants to talk to him. He uses the phone and hangs the receiver up backwards (cord across the dial). When he returns to the desk, after breaking the mirror, the receiver is hung up correctly.

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Quotes

Narrator: [Opening Narration] This is Gart Williams, age thirty-eight, a man protected by a suit of armor, all held together by one bolt. Just a moment ago, someone removed the bolt, and Mr. Williams' protection fell away from him and left him a naked target. He's been cannonaded this afternoon by all the enemies of his life. His insecurity has shelled him, his sensitivity has straddled him with humiliation, his deep-rooted disquiet about his own worth has zeroed in on him, landed on target, and blown him...

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Connections

Referenced in The Twilight Zone: A Day in Beaumont/The Last Defender of Camelot (1986)

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Soundtracks

"Oh! Susanna"
(uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster

User Reviews

One Twilight Zone episode that sticks in the mind

Of all of the episodes from The Twilight Zone it is this one that seems to stick in my mind most - alongside the episode entitled (I think) 'Terror at 10,000ft'.

Why 'A Stopover at Willoughby' should have such an effect on me I can not really say, but there is something about the idea of a place which you have never actually visited yet you know every street, building, shop, person, even the dogs on the streets that appeals to something deep within - maybe a psychological yearning for a place were you are eternally safe and free from worries. I have often had dreams like that and I guess that is what this episode taps into deeply, as do the very best of the rest of this amazing series.

The other thing that has stayed with me after watching this episode - which was some many moons ago! - is the train conductor saying "Willoughby, this is Willoughby...Willoughby, this is Willoughby..." When I am travelling on a bus (and, occasionally, the train) and it is idling at some stop somewhere I find myself saying these words in my head - now there are not many programmes that have the power to last that long in the brain!