"The Twilight Zone" Walking Distance (1959)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Robert Stevens

Writer:

Rod Serling (writer)

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Original Air Date:

30 October 1959 (Season 1, Episode 5)

Genre:

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

Plot:

A man makes a time travel to his childhood, when he's just a few miles away from his native town.

Plot Keywords:

Walking | Carousel | Time Travel | Carnival | Concert

Cast

Rod Serling	...	Himself - Narrator (voice)
Gig Young	...	Martin Sloan
Frank Overton	...	Robert Sloan
Irene Tedrow	...	Mrs. Sloan
Michael Montgomery	...	Young Martin
Ron Howard	...	The Wilcox Boy (as Ronnie Howard)
Byron Foulger	...	Charlie
Sheridan Comerate	...	Gas Station Attendant
Joseph Corey	...	Soda Jerk
Buzz Martin	...	Teenager
Nan Peterson	...	Woman in Park
Pat O'Malley	...	Mr. Wilson

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:

The episode was filmed predominantly at sets built for the 1959 television movie remake of "Meet Me in St. Louis". The carousel used in the episode was a rental.

Quotes:

Robert Sloan: Martin.
Martin Sloan: Yes, Pop.
Robert Sloan: You have to leave here. There's no room, there's no place. Do you understand that?
Martin Sloan: I see that now, but I don't understand. Why not?
Robert Sloan: I guess because we only get one chance. Maybe there's only one summer to every customer. That little boy, the one I know - the one who belongs here - this is his summer, just as it was yours once. Don't make him share it.
Martin Sloan: Alright.
Robert Sloan: Martin, is it so bad where you're from?
Martin Sloan: I thought so, Pop. I've been living on a dead run and I was tired. And one day I knew I had to come back here. I had to get on the merry-go-round and listen to a band concert. I had to stop and breathe, and close my eyes and smell, and listen.
[...]

"Mr. Sloan Is Now Home Again".

'Walking Distance' is another fine episode of "The Twilight Zone". This time a busy business executive, named Martin Sloan, decides to revisit his home town: Homewood. To his surprise, he finds that Homewood has been frozen in time for the past 25 years. He meets his father, mother, and even himself at age 11. However, Mr. Sloan discovers that even traveling through time "you can't go home again". The highlight of this episode is when the father tells Mr. Sloan that he doesn't belong in the past. This conversation feels rushed in a way. However, it still packs an emotional impact and contains the lesson of the episode. Perhaps this wonderful episode would have been better presented as a 1 hour special or 2 parter. Finally, the score for 'Walking Distance' by Bernard Herrmann would be used throughout the series and even the 1983 Twilight Zone movie. I give 'Walking Distance' a 9.6 for 10.