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

User Rating:

9.1/10   

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 | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | 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:

Power | Farm | Murder Plot | Abuse Of Power | Dictator

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)

Everything is Hopeless

This is a portrayal of a nightmare. It's one of those things where you hope you'll wake up. It's about an entire community that has been taken over by a child brat who is totally self centered and sociopathic. He probably doesn't realize the error of his ways. Any effort to educate him would result in being "sent to the cornfield." This is a state of limbo. When your adversary has no conscience, he cannot be approached in a rational way. This story is about fear. Not only are the people under constant threat, the world the boy is creating is one that is becoming bleak and vacuous. We never know if he has the power to bring things back, but it appears not. We know at some point he will be all that is left. Everyone has a breaking point. Billy Mumy is a great choice for the child monster. The other characters sweat and frown. In their efforts to survive they have the constant mantra "That was a good thing you did. A real good thing." This is an episode of the Twilight Zone where we never get to relax. See it if you never have.