And When the Sky Was Opened (11 Dec. 1959)
"The Twilight Zone" And When the Sky Was Opened (original title)

Three U.S. astronauts blast off from Earth on an initial test flight in an experimental rocket-ship, but during the flight into space the ship disappears from radar, then reappears. On ... See full summary »

Director:

Douglas Heyes

Writers:

Rod Serling (teleplay by), Richard Matheson (based on a short story by),

Stars:

Rod Taylor, Jim Hutton, Charles Aidman

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Rod Taylor	...	Lieutenant Colonel Clegg Forbes
Jim Hutton	...	Major William Gart (as James Hutton)
Charles Aidman	...	Colonel Ed Harrington
Maxine Cooper	...	Amy
Paul Bryar	...	Bartender
Sue Randall	...	Nurse
Joe Bassett	...	Medical Officer

Storyline

Three U.S. astronauts blast off from Earth on an initial test flight in an experimental rocket-ship, but during the flight into space the ship disappears from radar, then reappears. On return, the rocket-ship is hangared and put under a tarp, pending an investigation. One crewman is hospitalized for a leg broken on landing, and is visited by the other two. Next the pair go for a drink, and then one crewman phones his parents from a bar phone-booth - but they say they have no son! The astronaut immediately disappears, and no one in the bar remembers him, except the other astronaut in the bar, the Captain.

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Plot Keywords:

bar | astronaut | space station | erased from existence | mirror | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 December 1959 (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

Jim Hutton's TV debut.

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Goofs

When Lt. Col. Forbes and Col. Harrington depart Maj. Gart's room, they both have their US Air Force uniform covers (caps). Col. Harrington's cap has "scrambled eggs" on the visor as it should, however, Lt. Col. Forbes' cap does not. This is an error- as *all* US Air Force officers the rank of Lt. Col. and above should have the "scrambled eggs" on their cap visors. This is current today, and was the policy in 1959, as well.

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Quotes

Narrator: [Closing Narration] Once upon a time, there was a man named Harrington, a man named Forbes, a man named Gart. They used to exist, but don't any longer. Someone - or something- took them somewhere. At least they are no longer a part of the memory of man. And as to the X-20 supposed to be housed here in this hangar, this, too, does not exist. And if any of you have any questions concerning an aircraft and three men who flew her, speak softly of them - and only in - The Twilight Zone.

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Connections

Referenced in Atop the Fourth Wall: Twilight Zone #9 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"It's Never June"
(uncredited)
Music by Bruce Campbell

User Reviews

An Episode which Shakes our Sense of Reality

Rod Taylor and Jim Hutton give appropriately creepy performances in this tale which explores the tenuousness of perceived reality. Three astronauts are in the hospital after their spaceship crashes to earth. The spaceship had been out of communication with Mission Control for some time prior to its being found in the desert with all three astronauts alive.

As the astronauts are released from the hospital, the world as they know it turns upside down, one astronaut at a time. By the time the episode ends, the viewer is left questioning basic premises of our existence, such as memory, observation, existence itself.

Rod Taylor's character is strong and confident, then confused and unsure, and finally desperate and panicky as he tries to figure out what is happening to everyone's memory.

The story poses large, existential questions, of "another dimension," worthy of portrayal in the Twilight Zone.