"The Twilight Zone" The Shelter (1961)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Lamont Johnson

Writers:

Rod Serling (creator)
Rod Serling (writer)

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Original Air Date:

29 September 1961 (Season 3, Episode 3)

Genre:

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

Plot:

A suburban dinner party is interrupted by a bulletin warning of an impending nuclear attack. As the neighbors scramble to prepare themselves, they turn against the one family that installed a permanent bomb shelter. |

Plot Keywords:

Dinner Party | Panic | Neighbor Neighbor Relationship | Suburbia | Nuclear Threat

Cast

Larry Gates	...	Dr. Bill Stockton
Joseph Bernard	...	Marty Weiss
Jack Albertson	...	Jerry Harlowe
Peggy Stewart	...	Grace Stockton
Sandy Kenyon	...	Frank Henderson
Michael Burns	...	Paul Stockton
Jo Helton	...	Martha Harlowe
Moria Turner	...	Mrs. Weiss
Mary Gregory	...	Mrs. Henderson
John McLiam	...	Man

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:

Notably, there are no science fiction or fantasy elements included here.

A wonderful parable--and one parodied on The Simpsons, believe it or not!

There is a surprise announcement that a nuclear attack is coming and at that point the citizens of a town are forced to deal with impending annihilation. However, amidst all this panic is the realization that one person in the community has a bomb shelter and people might be able to survive if only they can manage to get inside.

I guess I am a real cynic, as among my very favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone are those that expose how fundamentally screwed up people are--particularly when we are in groups. My favorite of these is probably THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET, but this one is very close and very similar in its view of mankind at its worst.

By the way, this was parodied on an older episode of The Simpsons, in which Ned Flanders and his family are going to be the only residents of Springfield who will survive the impact of a meteorite and so, naturally, all his neighbors want inside as well.