One of those episodes of Twilight Zone I cherish because of how loathsome people get their comeuppance as only this classic show could do. "The Masks" indicts those despicable relatives who only come to visit when wanting something, in this episode's case to see their wealthy patriarch die so they can be rewarded as heirs to his fortune. Jason Foster's (Robert Keith, exceptional) ticker is about to go and he continues to live, stubborn will and a definite desire to size up his miserable wretch of a family one last time before croaking. His daughter, Emily (Virginia Gregg, of Dragnet fame, perfectly pathetic), is a whining, always-on-death's-door (always hurting somewhere, an ailment of some sort as a means to get attention) complainer, son-in-law, Wilfred (Milton Selzer, subtle as a snake ready for a venomous bite) a cruel businessman wholly concerned with the almighty dollar and what it brings, grandson Wilfred Jr. (Alan Sues) disinterested and lost in his own little world, called out by granddaddy for his sickening abuse of animals for which only brings him pleasure, and granddaughter Paula (Brooke Hayward, not unlike many reality show celebs that exist in our culture today) who spends all of her time touching up her face, concerned with the party lifestyle and picking up a boy, bored with having to spend time in the New Orleans mansion as Mardi Gras happens outside. Foster will require the family to wear specially grotesque masks designed with "special properties" by a Cajun with certain abilities (Voodoo maybe?) until Midnight if they want to receive his fortune, doing so with plenty of bitching, moaning, and groaning. Awaiting his death, these four monsters get one more round of properly fired insults stripping them down to exactly who they are before Foster bites the big one, dying from a coronary, not too harshly, a long gasp and silent peace. The four, however, have quite a surprise in store for them
they may spend his hard-earned fortune, but must wear the faces of their inner ugliness. The masks and make-up effects are as superb as Foster's evaluation of each repulsive character, calling them caricatures before meeting his maker, accurately detailing how vile they really are. The ending is quite satisfying. Expert directorial work by cinema legend Ida Lupino who acted in her own Twilight Zone episode, The Six-Millimeter Shrine, properly building to that masterful conclusion. It is hard to believe such a marvelous episode was one of the last in the entire series.
Review of The Masks
