Old-time character actor Robert Keith (Brian Keith's father) plays Jason Foster, a very rich man who is on his death bed in "The Masks." Like vultures, his immediate family members (who haven't visited him in years) arrive like clockwork to see him off to the next world and find out how much money he's going to leave them. Foster has no use for any of them and decides to put them through a little test before he departs from the living. Once they've all gathered at his mansion in New Orleans, he informs them that they'll receive an equal share of his inheritance but only if they perform one simple and very demeaning task. They must each put on a strange and utterly grotesque Mardi Gras mask for the duration of Foster's last hours or else NO MONEY. Reluctantly, the greedy relatives comply with his wishes. They're convinced that Foster only has a short time to live anyway, and what's a little inconvenience? What they don't know is that the masks are cursed with a strange power and all the money in the world will be of little satisfaction to them after Foster's imminent death.
"The Masks" is aided by director Ida Lupino's deft handling of the cast, including Milton Selzer as Foster's despicable nephew Wilfred and Alan Sues (of "Laugh-In" fame) as Selzer's degenerate son Junior. Willis Bouchey has a nice turn as Foster's long-time physician who tries to keep his patient alive as long as possible. The "Masks" themselves are the real stars of this episode. They have a way of revealing the inner beings of all who wear them and the end results are frighteningly permanent. For Foster's relatives, it's not a pretty sight.
"The Masks" is aided by director Ida Lupino's deft handling of the cast, including Milton Selzer as Foster's despicable nephew Wilfred and Alan Sues (of "Laugh-In" fame) as Selzer's degenerate son Junior. Willis Bouchey has a nice turn as Foster's long-time physician who tries to keep his patient alive as long as possible. The "Masks" themselves are the real stars of this episode. They have a way of revealing the inner beings of all who wear them and the end results are frighteningly permanent. For Foster's relatives, it's not a pretty sight.