The Brain Center at Whipple's (15 May 1964)
"The Twilight Zone" The Brain Center at Whipple's (original title)

A heartless CEO completely automates his factory and lays off almost all of his workers over the objections of his employees.

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers:

Rod Serling (creator), Rod Serling

Stars:

Richard Deacon, Paul Newlan, Ted de Corsia

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Richard Deacon	...	Wallace V. Whipple
Paul Newlan	...	Chief Engineer Hanley
Ted de Corsia	...	Foreman Dickerson
Thalmus Rasulala	...	Technician (as Jack Crowder)
Shawn Michaels	...	Bartender
Bert Conroy	...	Watchman (as Burt Conroy)

Storyline

A heartless CEO completely automates his factory and lays off almost all of his workers over the objections of his employees.

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Plot Keywords:

factory | automation | machine | fired from the job | technology | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 1964 (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?

Trivia

Robby the Robot:  The Forbidden Planet robot makes an appearance.

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Goofs

At the moment Chief Engineer Hanley turns off the projector, the lamps in the background come on at precisely the same moment. Mr. Whipple is standing in the middle of the room. No one else was in the room to turn the lights on.

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Quotes

[opening narration]
Narrator: These are the players, with or without a scorecard: in one corner, a machine; in the other, one Wallace V. Whipple, man. And the game? It happens to be the historical battle between flesh and steel, between the brain of man and the product of man's brain. We don't make book on this one, and predict no winner, but we can tell you that, for this particular contest, there is standing room only - in the Twilight Zone.

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Connections

References Forbidden Planet (1956)

User Reviews

Richard Deacon plays a real butt-head!

Richard Deacon plays a real butt-head! He's the new boss who has an adding machine for a heart! Since taking over at his company, he's slowly replaced just about everyone with machines. Putting people out of work means nothing to this jerk--all he cares about is modernization and efficiency. Naturally, he gets his comeuppance, as this is the Twilight Zone.

The show's greatest shortcoming is probably Richard Deacon's character. While he was a fine actor, his character was broadly written--too broadly written. On the other hand, Ted de Corsia was wonderful as an angry employee who runs amok and tries to destroy the computers Deacon installed in the factory. Another problem is that the script is just weak--as was the problem with a growing number of episodes towards the end of the series. This was late in season five--the last season--and it showed. The bottom line is that unless you MUST see every episode for your life to be complete, this one is well worth skipping.