The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank (23 Feb. 1962)
"The Twilight Zone" The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank (original title)

A young man wakes up at his own funeral and wants to know what the heck is going on. The townfolk are glad to see him back, but they begin to wonder if he's a man.. or something else?

Director:

Montgomery Pittman

Writers:

Montgomery Pittman, Rod Serling (creator)

Stars:

James Best, Sherry Jackson, Edgar Buchanan

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
James Best	...	Jeff Myrtlebank
Sherry Jackson	...	Comfort Gatewood
Edgar Buchanan	...	Doc Bolton
Lance Fuller	...	Orgram Gatewood
Dub Taylor	...	Peters
Ralph Moody	...	Pa Myrtlebank
Jon Lormer	...	Strauss
Ezelle Poule	...	Ma Myrtlebank
James Houghton	...	Jerry (as Jim Houghton)
Helen Wallace	...	Ma Gatewood
William Fawcett	...	Reverend Siddons
Mabel Forrest	...	Mrs. Ferguson
Vickie Barnes	...	Liz Myrtlebank
Patrick Hector	...	Tom (as Pat Hector)

Storyline

Everyone at Jeff Myrtlebank's funeral service is shocked when he pushes the coffin lid open and steps out, seemingly in perfect health. Old Doc Bolton mumbles some ridiculous explanation and the people there settle down a bit. Obviously his family is happy that he's back with them and his fiancée welcomes him as he is, with no questions asked. They do notice that he's a bit different. As time goes on however, rumors begin spread and the locals decide to take action.

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Plot Keywords:

young man | funeral | paranoia | baffled doctor | doctor | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 February 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?

Trivia

A mailbox by the side of street reads "M. Pittman", for the director and writer of the episode Montgomery Pittman

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Goofs

When Jeff's fiancée, Comfort, comes to warn him about the angry group of men coming to threaten him, the line in the script is "I rode out to warn you. There's a group of men comin' out from town. They're gonna ask you to move out of the county." Instead, Sherry Jackson, the actress playing Comfort, flubs the line, and says "I rode out to warn you. There's a group of men coming out from town. They're gonna ask you to move out of the COUNTRY." Jackson apparently had been having so much trouble saying the line as written that director, Montgomery Pittman, left the mistaken word in the final cut.

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Quotes

[opening narration]
Narrator: Time: the mid-twenties. Place: the Midwest - the southernmost section of the Midwest. We were just witnessing a funeral, a funeral that didn't come off exactly as planned, due to a slight fallout - from The Twilight Zone.

User Reviews

Saw this last night on KDOC!

Like one reviewer put it, the twilight zone is just magical. James Best does an excellent job with this character and the reactions from the townspeople are right on. This episode is open to interpretation, but I'm sure after viewing it you'll ponder what has become of his soul.

Although the narration leads us to the conclusion that he is a demon who has gained the power to become a senator, one still may have doubt to what has happened in this hick town.

Great Show! I'm interested in purchasing this whole se to show this to my soon to be kids. There is nothing decent on television anymore, and I'm afraid the imagination that the Twilight Zone offered will never exist again. Shows these days focus too much on sex.