"The Twilight Zone"
It's a Good Life (1961)

Director:

James Sheldon

Writers:

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

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Original Air Date:

3 November 1961 (Season 3, Episode 8)

Genre:

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

Plot:

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Classic Episode | Based On Short Story | Dictator | Cornfield | Attempted Child Murder

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

Runtime:

25 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Cayuga Productions

Trivia:

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

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: 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...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Older and Far Away (#6.14)" (2002)

Excellent

I certainly cannot agree with the previous poster who found this episode partly humorous-- in fact, this is one of the few almost unbearably frightening Twilight Zone shows. A young boy's power to control his community through his childish whims is an excellent allegory of the power of any dictator. I imagine that office holders in North Korea spend most of their day saying something similar to "it's good that you did that." This episode powerfully portrays unchecked narcissism. I do agree that the "special effects" version in the Twilight Zone movie is inferior, not only because it is overproduced but because the little boy is presented as brilliant and perhaps even redeemable.