Long Distance Call
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“Long Distance Call” is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
[edit] Details
- Episode number: 58
- Season: 2
- Original air date: March 31, 1961
- Writer: Charles Beaumont and William Idelson
- Director: James Sheldon
- Producer: Buck Houghton
- Director of photography: none [sixth of six episodes consecutively recorded on videotape—see "Episode notes"]
- Music: none credited
[edit] Cast
Starring
- Chris Bayles: Philip Abbott [first of two TZ appearances—see "Episode notes"]
- Grandma Bayles: Lili Darvas
- Sylvia Bayles: Patricia Smith
- Billy Bayles: Billy Mumy [first of three TZ appearances—see "Episode notes"]
- The Baby Sitter (Shirley): Jenny Maxwell
- Mr. Peterson: Reid Hammond
- The Doctor (Dr. Unger): Henry Hunter
- The Fireman: Lew Brown [third of four TZ appearances—see "Episode notes"]
unbilled
- Nurse: Jutta Parr
- One of Billy's Rescue Workers: Robert McCord [first of four TZ appearances—see "Episode notes"]
- Another of Billy's Rescue Workers: James Turley [second of four TZ appearances—see "Episode notes"]
[edit] Rod Serling's opening narration
"As must be obvious, this is a house hovered over by Mr. Death, that omnipresent player to the third and final act of every life. And it's been said, and probably rightfully so, that what follows this life is one of the unfathomable mysteries—an area of darkness which we the living reserve for the dead—or so it is said. For in a moment, a child will try to cross that bridge which separates light and shadow—and, of course, he must take the only known route, that indistinct highway through the region we call...the Twilight Zone."
[edit] Synopsis
A boy communicates with his father's European-immigrant mother, who had recently died, using a toy telephone that she gave him before her passing. The boy, Billy, runs out in front of a car. The driver, who barely managed to swerve out of the way, reports that Billy said someone told him to try to kill himself. Later, his mother grabs the phone out of his hands and hears breathing on the other end; she is convinced that she is hearing the dead grandmother. His father, of course, thinks Billy is just pretending. Billy attempts to drown himself. One of the paramedics says he doesn't believe Billy's chances are very good. His father goes into Billy's room, picks up the toy phone, and begs the grandmother to give Billy a chance to experience life. Suddenly, the paramedics are able to revive Billy.
[edit] Rod Serling's closing narration
"A toy telephone, an act of faith, a set of improbable circumstances, all combine to probe a mystery, to fathom a depth, to send a facet of light into a dark after-region—to be believed or disbelieved depending on your frame of reference. A fact or a fantasy, a substance or a shadow, but all of it very much a part...of the Twilight Zone."
[edit] Episode notes
Five weeks into The Twilight Zone's second season, the show's budget was showing a deficit. The total number of new episodes was projected at twenty-nine, more than half of which, sixteen had, by November 1960, already been filmed. CBS strongly suggested that in order to trim the production's $65,000-per-episode budget, six episodes should be produced in the cheaper videotape format and then transferred to 16-millimeter film. The studios of the network's Television City, normally used for the production of variety shows and live drama, would serve as the venue. There would be fewer camera movements and no exteriors, making the episodes more akin to soap operas, with the videotaped image effectively narrowing and flattening perspective. Even with these artistic sacrifices, the eventual total savings amounted to only $30,000, far less than the cost of a single episode. The experiment was thus deemed a failure and never attempted again.
Even though the six shows were taped in a row, through November and into mid-December, their broadcast dates were out of order and varied widely, with this, the final one, shown on March 31, 1961 as episode 22. The first, "The Lateness of the Hour", was seen on December 2, 1960 as episode 8; the second, "Static", appeared on March 10, 1961 as episode 20; the third, "The Whole Truth" was broadcast on January 20, 1961 as episode 14; the fourth was the Christmas entry, "Night of the Meek", shown as the 11th episode on December 23, 1960 and the fifth, "Twenty-Two" was seen on February 10, 1961 as episode 17.
- Philip Abbott, one of the most familiar movie and television faces from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s is best remembered for his nine-year run as Deputy Director Arthur Ward on ABC's The F.B.I. (1965-74). His other TZ role was as the general in charge of the space mission in fourth season's "The Parallel".
- Billy Mumy holds an iconic spot among genre fans for his TZ appearances as well as for playing Will Robinson on CBS' Lost in Space (1965-68). Later, as Bill Mumy, he played Lennier on the syndicated hit Babylon 5 (1993-98). Subsequent to this episode, his other two TZ roles include his classic portrayal of the all-powerful six-year-old Anthony Fremont who sends people into "the cornfield" oblivion in the third season's "It's a Good Life". The last role was in the fifth season's premiere episode "In Praise of Pip", playing the spirit of young Pip, returning for a moving encounter with his distraught father (Jack Klugman).
- Lew Brown (born 1925) has played small roles and walk-ons in a few films and hundreds of TV episodes in a career which extended from the late 1950s into the early 90s. His four TZ appearances were typically small. Here he is the only one of the three fire department rescuers who gets a billing in the end credits. Earlier in the season, he repaired Bartlett Finchley's ripped-out-of-the-wall phone in "A Thing About Machines" and was a Union Army lieutenant in "Back There". His final TZ role was again in the Army, as a sergeant in fifth season's "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms".
- Robert McCord, also billed as Robert L. McCord and Robert McCord III, had a minor semi-regular role as an Army captain in CBS' 1958-59 Western-adventure Yancy Derringer. His other acting credits were very limited. Here he's unbilled as member of the rescue services, trying to revive Billy. He is also in the immediately-following episode "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" as a modern-day sheriff contending with past-century visitor Cliff Robertson. He's only heard as one of the voices haunting Castro-like despot Peter Falk in the third season's "The Mirror". Finally, he was the wax-statue-come-to-life of the murderer-grave-robber Burke in the fourth season's "The New Exhibit"
- James Turley, also billed as James Austin Turley and Jim Turley, worked as a stuntman and assistant director, as well as playing a number of small parts between 1958 and 1978. Here, he's unbilled, portraying, with fellow bit players Lew Brown and Robert McCord, young Billy's rescuers. In the first season, he was a member of the spaceship crew arriving to pick up "The Lonely" Jack Warden and in the third season, he and Robert McCord were voices from "The Mirror" haunting the bearded Castro stand-in Peter Falk. Finally, later in the third season, he was a cowboy-stuntman in the western spoof "Showdown With Rance McGrew".
[edit] External links
- The Twilight Zone episode "Long Distance Call" (1961) at the Internet Movie Database
- TV.com episode page
