Perchance to Dream (1959) Poster

Twilight Zone: Season 1, Episode 9

Perchance to Dream (27 Nov. 1959)
"The Twilight Zone" Perchance to Dream (original title)

TV Episode  -   -  Fantasy | Horror | Mystery
7.5
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Ratings: 7.5/10 from 758 users  
Reviews: 19 user | 2 critic

A fatigued man fights to stay awake as he explains to a psychiatrist that if he falls asleep it will trigger a nightmare, which will cause his heart to fail.

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Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
...
Edward Hall
John Larch ...
Dr. Eliot Rathmann
Suzanne Lloyd ...
Maya / Ms. Thomas
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Storyline

A fatigued man fights to stay awake as he explains to a psychiatrist that if he falls asleep it will trigger a nightmare, which will cause his heart to fail.

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Plot Keywords:

nightmare | psychiatrist | narration | dream sequence | title based on shakespeare | See more »

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Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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27 November 1959 (USA)  »

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1.33 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The title of the episode, and the Charles Beaumont-written short story that inspired it, is taken from William Shakespeare's Hamlet's "to be or not to be" speech. "To sleep, perchance to dream-ay, there's the rub." The very next line, "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come," was used by fellow Twilight Zone writer Richard Matheson as the title of his novel/movie What Dreams May Come. See more »

Quotes

Maya: We've been expecting you, Mr. Hall.
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Connections

Referenced in Atop the Fourth Wall: Twilight Zone #9 (2011) See more »

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User Reviews

 
Scary and Fun, with a Trippy Homage to the American carnival.
17 October 2007 | by (MN) – See all my reviews

Long before Freddy Krueger, The Twilight Zone brought us the beautiful, voluptuous, and deadly "Maya," a character in a man's dream determined to literally scare him to death. "Perchance to Dream" plays like a carnival dark ride, full of cheesy fun, nightmarish imagery, and low-rent thrills and chills. Richard Conte plays Edward Hall, a man terrified to fall asleep lest the exotically seductive Maya take him away in his dreams to a place that will cause his weak heart to fail. It's a story perfect for The Twilight Zone, helped by the series' low budget, black and white cinematography, and make-do special effects. It plays like German Expressionism done with a distinctly 1950's rural American vibe. Highly recommended!
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