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"The Twilight Zone" To Serve Man (1962)


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"The Twilight Zone" (1959): Season 3: Episode 24 -- The Kanamits, nine-foot tall aliens, arrive on Earth with one lofty goal: To Serve Man. They end war, they end famine. They make the military wonder: what's the catch?

Overview

User Rating:
9.1/10   479 votes
Director:
Richard L. Bare
Writers:
Damon Knight (story)
Rod Serling (teleplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for To Serve Man on IMDbPro.
Original Air Date:
2 March 1962 (Season 3, Episode 24)
Plot:
An alien race comes to earth, promising peace and sharing technology. A linguist and his team set out to translate the alien's language, using a book whose title they deduce is "To Serve Man". full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
An alien arrives on earth to help stop wars and famine. more

Cast

  (Episode Complete credited cast)
Lloyd Bochner ... Chambers
Susan Cummings ... Patty

Richard Kiel ... Kanamit
Hardie Albright ... Secretary General
Theodore Marcuse ... Gregori
Bartlett Robinson ... Colonel #1
Carleton Young ... Colonel #2 (as Carlton Young)
Nelson Olmsted ... Scientist
Robert Tafur ... Señor Valdes
Lomax Study ... Leveque
Jerry Fujikawa ... Japanese Delegate (as J.H. Fujikawa)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
25 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Damon Knight's short story To Serve Man - which included details on the language-translation cut from the screenplay - was awarded the 1951 "Retro" Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 2001. more
Goofs:
Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the beginning when Mr. Chambers asks the computer what time it is on Earth and is told twelve noon, he is asking a source aware of Earth's different time-zones, yet is given the answer of his own time, Eastern Standard time, since it is known that this is what he is referring to. more
Quotes:
Patty: [SPOILER] Mr. Chambers! Don't get on that ship! The rest of the book, "To Serve Man", it's... it's a cookbook! more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in "Robot Chicken: S&M Present (#1.9)" (2005) more

FAQ

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15 out of 17 people found the following comment useful:-
An alien arrives on earth to help stop wars and famine., 18 February 2006
Author: k-folk from United States

This episode of the Twilight Zone is a must see. Bochner and the supporting actors work naturally in under 25 minutes in this teleplay. The story works on our fears and dreams as the alien Kanamits, all wonderfully played by Richard Kiel, tells the earth that they can turn our war and famined ridden world into a "Garden of Eden." The directing and script works so well together that it moves at break neck speed as questions about the Kanamits "good will" unfolds as you unfold them in your own mind. Kiel with bulbous head and darkened eyes doesn't moves his lips as he communicates telepathically. His expressionless face and a tinny Voice Over gives a strange and surreal effect. Good Night Mr. Serling!

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