Originally shown on January 27, 1961, episode #51 "The Invaders" was a very different Twilight Zone. Written by Richard Matheson and directed by Douglas Hayes, it starred Agnes Moorehead. Her co-star was Jerry Goldsmith's music. Richard Matheson did a total of sixteen Twilight Zone episodes and "The Invaders" is my favorite. This is Matheson's version of the classic "things that go bump in the night" but with a twist.Rod Serling's Twilight Zone has some of the finest music ever composed for TV. The reason for this was due, in part, to the nature of the show, and also to the judgment of the head of the CBS music department, Lud Gluskin. Gluskin chose composers who could work in a pressure cooker of tight budgets, limited time, and small orchestral ensembles, which ranged from four to thirteen. Look at who he had to chose from; Jerry Goldsmith, Franz Waxman, Nathan Van Cleave, Bernard Herrmann, Leith Stevens, Fred Steiner, and Lynn Murray. For "The Invaders," he chose Jerry Goldsmith .
Along with the black & white camera work work of George T. Clemens and the fine acting of Agnes Moorehead , Jerry Goldsmith's music had to carry much of the dramatic action, because this show had no dialogue until the very last moments. A bold and daring move for a half hour TV show at the time.Goldsmith's music for "The Invaders" tells the story of a woman who lives alone on the prairie in primitive conditions and her confrontation with some otherworldly aliens who have landed their ship in her attic, and move around her house.
How does it end? I won't tell you. Does it work? I think so. You can see for yourself at http://www.cbs.com/ classic TV shows, Twilight Zone season 2.
Paul, really informative and well-written article. That episode was always one of my favorites of TZ, and your slant on it with Goldsmith's music is right on. It was always true that those great composers gave TZ stories their haunting quality, and they would not have been the same without it. Even the mediocre episodes were made better by the music. Good job!
ReplyDeletePaul2, this is a marvelous write-up on one of the best TWILIGHT ZONE episodes! One of my favorite TV reference books is THE TWILIGHT ZONE COMPANION by Marc Scott Zicree. In it, the author quotes a producer who, while discussing that TV is a visual medium, says of this episode: “Well, Matheson wrote that one without one word of dialogue. There were some grunts and screams in it, but no dialogue whatsoever. And it really and truly came to fruition as the kind of visual medium that it is.” By the way, the spacecraft in this episode was one of those used in FORBIDDEN PLANET. Thanks for picking such a cool episode from a great TV series.
ReplyDeletePaul, you really do amazing me on all you know about the movies.
ReplyDeleteTwilight Zone, was one of my favorite TV Shows. it was wonderful to see Agnes Moorehead acting in another role than "Endora" from "Bewitched." Agnes Moorehead, is one of my favorite character actresses.
Thanks every one for all the kind words. Rick if anyone was going to comment on the "Ship" I knew it would be you. It was used on many other episodes," To Serve Man" "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" to name a few. They would shoot it upside down to make it look different.
ReplyDeleteRick as I was rereading the 31 days post's I would have to say so far that Richard Matheson is the star. Having more people know about his work has been the best part of the 31 days.
Dawn have you seen Anges in" Dark Passage" and" Since You Went Away'? She is the perfect "Bitch" in both these films.
Paul, this was a fun blog about a classic Twilight Zone episode. It truly was a bold move to film a story without dialogue until the last few moments. Your observation is excellent about how important the music is, along with the excellent performance by Agnes. It is an inexpensive set with inexpensive costumes and props. I can't even imagine someone being bold enough to shoot a work like this today.
ReplyDeleteToto, thank you. And your right today this would have CGI effects ,loud bad music and no clue about how to move the story along,except by violence.
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ReplyDeleteThough I can't say its my favorite episode, I enjoyed this post. The Twilight Zone of the 60s has never and never will be recreated. I love it when I go through the guide late at night and old episodes are on. I once wrote a post for a blog for my English class analyzing the parallels between Huxley's Brave New World and various episodes of the Twilight Zone.
ReplyDelete- RebelYell4 on the CFU, though away for a while
Kayla AKA Rebel ,Glad you made it over to the Cafe. Thanks for the kind words. Hope to see you here more often.
ReplyDeletePaul, I think i have seen "Since You Went Away". is that with Claudette Colbert ?
ReplyDeleteDawn, Yes it is.
ReplyDeletei'm at work so i can't stream the video to verify this recollection. one of the best TZ episodes but wasn't there a flaw in that her fingernails were polished? they got the hair and makeup spot on, but the nails? am i wrong?
ReplyDeleteWhat I heard is that in the hand close ups you can tell thae Agnes has a manacure . I really think that is not a major flaw. Today they would do a CGi "insert" and fix it.
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