Nothing in the Dark (5 Jan. 1962)
"The Twilight Zone" Nothing in the Dark (original title)

An old woman has fought with death a thousand times and has always won. But now she finds herself afraid to let a wounded policeman in her door for fear he is Mr. Death. Is he?

Director:

Lamont Johnson

Writers:

George Clayton Johnson, Rod Serling (creator)

Stars:

Gladys Cooper, Robert Redford, R.G. Armstrong

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Gladys Cooper	...	Wanda Dunn
Robert Redford	...	Harold Beldon
R.G. Armstrong	...	Contractor

Storyline

The old Ms. Wanda Dunn is afraid of Mr. Death, and does not open the door of her room for anyone who knocks the door. When the police officer Harold Beldon is shot at her front door, the reluctant woman opens it and lets him in. She helps Harold and she tells him about her fear of Mr. Death and that her time was coming, therefore she could see him. When a contractor comes to demolish the building, he explains the "old gives space for the new" to her and she finds that her new journey has begun.

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Plot Keywords:

death | fear | old woman | condemned building | reflection | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 1962 (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?

Quotes

[closing narration]
Narrator: There was an old woman who lived in a room and, like all of us, was frightened of the dark, but who discovered in a minute last fragment of her life, that there was nothing in the dark that wasn't there when the lights were on. Object lesson for the more frightened amongst us - in or out - of The Twilight Zone.

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Connections

Referenced in The Twilight Zone: Rendezvous in a Dark Place (1989)

User Reviews

Expect the unexpected when you journey out and perhaps a visit from a guardian angel?

In this classic "Twilight Zone" episode titled "Nothing in the Dark" it's certainly one of mystery and journey into the unknown. Plus it's a vintage one for the fact that it featured Robert Redford well before he became a big movie star or household name. Redford plays Harold Beldon a policeman who's shot alongside a street corner of a house of a sheltered and old woman played perfect by Gladys Cooper who takes Redford's character in and treats and nurses him back to good health. This woman has a fear of dying and venturing out into the real world she even thinks this arrival could be the angel of death, only it turns out to be the opposite as the Redford character returns a favor as he ventures the old lady out and he looks more like a guardian angel. Overall good episode for it's mystery and discovery of good nature proving life is so unexpected as a mystery can arrive to us and be a find that helps us start a new journey.