The Four of Us Are Dying (1 Jan. 1960)
"The Twilight Zone" The Four of Us Are Dying (original title)

A man who can change his face to look like other people uses his ability to improve his life regardless of his affect on others.

Director:

John Brahm

Writers:

Rod Serling (teleplay by), George Clayton Johnson (based on a short story by),

Stars:

Harry Townes, Phillip Pine, Ross Martin

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Harry Townes	...	Arch Hammer
Phillip Pine	...	Virge Sterig
Ross Martin	...	Johnny Foster
Don Gordon	...	Andy Marshak
Harry Jackson	...	Trumpeter
Bernard Fein	...	Penell
Peter Brocco	...	Mr. Marshak
Milton Frome	...	Detective
Beverly Garland	...	Maggie

Storyline

Arch Hammer arrives in the city and checks into a seedy hotel. He looks like any other man but looks can be deceiving. Hammer has the ability to change his appearance at whim, a trick he definitely uses to his own advantage. He takes on the appearance of the recently deceased musician Johnny Foster. who died in a car accident. He goes to meet Maggie, a lounge singer who is mourning Foster's death and convinces her to run off with him. He then takes on the appearance of Virge Sterig, a gangster whose bullet-riddled body was recently found in the river. He then visits mob boss Penell who double-crossed him to get his share of the money their most recent job. An unplanned change of face doesn't go over well however.

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Plot Keywords:

musician | disguise | selfishness | narrator | impersonation | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 January 1960 (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

Though Hammer, Foster, Sterig, and Marshank had been planned to be performed by a sole actor using different makeup, the production crew timed the planned scene and noted his time wearing makeup would exceed that of him in front of the camera, so four actors were used.

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Goofs

Spelling of Sterig is given as Steric in newspaper article.

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Quotes

Narrator: [opening narration] His name is Arch Hammer, he's 36 years old. He's been a salesman, a dispatcher, a truck driver, a con man, a bookie, and a part-time bartender. This is a cheap man, a nickel-and-dime man, with a cheapness that goes past the suit and the shirt; a cheapness of mind, a cheapness of taste, a tawdry little shine on the seat of his conscience, and a dark-room squint at a world whose sunlight has never gotten through to him. But Mr. Hammer has a talent, discovered at a very early ...

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Soundtracks

"Too Marvellous For Words"
(uncredited)
Written by Johnny Mercer and Richard A. Whiting

User Reviews

Meh...

I am a fan of "The Twilight Zone", but I have noticed that many of the reviews are so positive you'd get the impression that every episode was golden. No anthology series is THAT good that there aren't a few bland or sub-par episodes. "The Four of Us Are Dying" is indeed one of these bland episodes. It's not bad, really--it just isn't particularly good or memorable.

The show begins with some guy showing himself in the mirror that can change his face at will just by concentrating. It's an interesting idea, though how and why he does what he does in the episode is awfully vague. In one case it's obvious he's doing this to cheat someone out of money--but why mess with the lady whose boyfriend died?! It was as if they had an interesting idea but didn't know where to go with it. And, not unexpectedly, by the end the guy with the chameleon face gets his comeuppance--no big surprise when you are in the Twilight Zone.

No great twist, no memorable moments...this one is worth seeing if you have nothing better to do.