"The Twilight Zone" People Are Alike All Over (1960)

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Paul W. Fairman (short story)
Rod Serling (teleplay)

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Original Air Date:

25 March 1960 (Season 1, Episode 25)

Genre:

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

Plot:

A crash landing on Mars leaves a fretful scientist as the lone survivor of an expedition. After something...

Plot Keywords:

Mars | Martian | Spaceship Crash | Narration | Astronaut

Cast

Roddy McDowall	...	Sam Conrad
Susan Oliver	...	Teenya
Paul Comi	...	Mark Marcusson
Byron Morrow	...	Martian
Vic Perrin	...	Martian
Vernon Gray	...	Martian

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

Trivia:

Episode's production number is 173-3613

Quotes:

Narrator: You're looking at a species of flimsy little two-legged animals with extremely small heads whose name is Man. Warren Marcusson, age thirty-five. Samuel A. Conrad, age thirty-one... They're taking a highway into space, Man unshackling himself and sending his tiny, groping fingers up into the unknown. Their destination is Mars, and in just a moment we'll land there with them.

All the Creatures Aren't in the Zoo

In 1959, the Apollo program to send a man to the moon was only two years old, while the public was just starting to realize that space exploration was no longer a mere comic book fantasy. I suspect that is one reason a bold science fiction concept like TZ was finally picked up by sponsors long wary of how such themes would play with unchallenged 1950's audiences.

This episode is an average one among the exploration themes. It's basically a one gimmick plot, moving toward an ironical ending. However the spaceship interior comes across as an impressively complex and cavernous one, while the director holds interest with some imaginative camera angles. The mysterious pinging on the ship's hull also adds a nice dollop of suspense.. Nonetheless, the fey Roddy McDowell makes for an unconvincing astronaut, while the half-togas worn by the supposed Martians made me think the ship had crashed in ancient Greece. Even so, the many nice touches, along with the haunting mood music, add up to a very watchable half-hour's entertainment.