It's a Good Life (3 Nov. 1961)
"The Twilight Zone" It's a Good Life (original title)

On an isolated family farm, a young boy with vast mental powers, but lacking emotional development, holds his terrified family in thrall to his every juvenile wish.

Director:

James Sheldon

Writers:

Jerome Bixby (story), Rod Serling (teleplay),

Stars:

John Larch, Cloris Leachman, Don Keefer

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
John Larch	...	Mr. Fremont
Cloris Leachman	...	Mrs. Fremont
Don Keefer	...	Dan Hollis
Bill Mumy	...	Anthony Fremont (as Billy Mumy)
Alice Frost	...	Aunt Amy
Max Showalter	...	Pat Riley (as Casey Adams)
Jeanne Bates	...	Ethel Hollis
Lenore Kingston	...	Thelma Dunn
Tom Hatcher	...	Bill Soames

Storyline

In a small farming community in Ohio, a young boy by the name of Anthony Fremont terrorizes those around him. Anthony has the ability to command anything he wants simply by thought. The community is cut off from the outside world and the boy insists that those around him think only pleasant thoughts, and if they don't, he eliminates them. Everyone walks in fear of the lad who ably demonstrates what he's prepared to do at a small party in his home.

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Plot Keywords:

power | farm | murder plot | cornfield | telepathy | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 1961 (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

Contains the longest opening narration of Twilight Zone (or any Twilight Zone series).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: [Opening Narration] Tonight's story on The Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is a map of the United States, and there's a little town there called Peaksville. On a given morning not too long ago, the rest of the world disappeared and Peaksville was left all alone. Its inhabitants were never sure whether the world was destroyed and only Peaksville left untouched or whether the village had somehow been taken ...

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Connections

Featured in Pioneers of Television: Science Fiction (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Moonglow"
Music by Will Hudson and Irving Mills
played on piano by the character named Pat Riley

User Reviews

Silly special effects, but still a great episode

This was one of the episodes of the original TWILIGHT ZONE series that was needlessly remade for THE TWILIGHT ZONE MOVIE. While the latter incarnation had better special effects, the original was better in every other way and proves that the people out in Hollywood are often idiots--choosing to remake things out of sheer laziness and contempt for the audience.

Cute little Billy Mumy stars as a bored little monster who is terrorizing an entire town. It seems this kid is a freak who has amazing mental powers but lacks the moral development to use it wisely. Again and again, at the slightest whim, this brat kills or maims people--forcing the survivors to cater to his every wish or else!! What I especially liked was the vague way it all ended--unlike the stupid movie version.

By the way, I am not 100% against remakes--I just want them to be intelligently written and necessary. THE SIMPSON'S version of this episode is excellent.