"The Twilight Zone" Kick the Can (1962)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Lamont Johnson

Writers:

George Clayton Johnson (writer)
Rod Serling (creator)

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Original Air Date:

9 February 1962 (Season 3, Episode 21)

Genre:

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

Plot:

An old man living in a rest home thinks he's found the secret of youth in children's games. |

Plot Keywords:

Game | Elderly Woman | Friend | Hide And Seek | Cynicism

Cast

Ernest Truex	...	Charles Whitley
Russell Collins	...	Ben Conroy
John Marley	...	Mr. Cox
Hank Patterson	...	Freitag
Earle Hodgins	...	Agee (as Earl Hodgins)
Marjorie Bennett	...	Mrs. Summers
Lenore Shanewise	...	Mrs. Densley
Anne O'Neal	...	Mrs. Wister
Burt Mustin	...	Carlson

Runtime:

25 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Cayuga Productions

Movie Connections:

Remade as Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

It's Got a Good Heart

While this is one of the best known episodes, it isn't as noteworthy as some say. It involves one who does not want to go gentle into that good night. He is fed up with the old people at the old folks home, because, in his mind, they have given up. Now, let's realize that these folks are pretty lethargic and the man who runs the home is quite the Nazi. So he's probably right. What always bothered me is the idea that we have to return to being young children. Is this really the happiest time? I don't know. If this guy was in the same place I was, I would find a way to push him out a second story window. It's the old thing that there is a no it all in the setting, and if we don't follow his lead, there is something wrong. What we perceive as a dignified withdrawal is part of aging and, in some ways, this guy is a bit of a threat. The other thing is that these people are pretty clichéd residents. it was nice to see Bert Mustin again. I always liked him.