"The Twilight Zone" The Lateness of the Hour (1960)

Director:

Jack Smight

Writers:

Rod Serling (creator)
Rod Serling (writer)

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Original Air Date:

2 December 1960 (Season 2, Episode 8)

Genre:

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

Plot:

The daughter of an inventor objects to their "perfect" home where they are waited on by mechanical servants. |

Plot Keywords:

Perfection | Isolation | Beautiful Woman | Boredom | Robot

Cast

Inger Stevens	...	Jana Loren
John Hoyt	...	Dr. William Loren
Irene Tedrow	...	Mrs. Loren
Tom Palmer	...	Robert
Mary Gregory	...	Nelda
Valley Keene	...	Suzanne
Doris Karnes	...	Gretchen
Jason Johnson	...	Jensen

Runtime:

25 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

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:

One of six episodes to be videotaped

An interesting experiment

Several reviewers have noted that this episode looks cheaper than other episodes.

In 1960, early into its second season, The Twilight Zone had already gone well over its budget. To cut production costs, six episodes were taped on video. These six episodes ("Static," "The Whole Truth," "The Night of the Meek," "Twenty Two," "Long Distance Call," and this one) were indeed shot on a sound stage, and they are therefore notable for their plots' occurring entirely in one indoor location.

As anomalies, though, each of the six episodes is interesting because each is carefully written and constructed as a low-budget, more cerebral affair. In each, stagey dialogue takes the place of action and exposition because, obviously, each of the six experimental episodes had to be filmed without making use of costly sets, special effects, or exterior shots. "The Lateness of the Hour" is among the more successful attempts, I think.

The cheapened production was obvious to viewers, though, and to quote Wikipedia, the savings were not so great as to "justify the loss of depth of visual perspective, which made the shows look like stagebound live TV dramas. The experiment was therefore deemed a failure and never attempted again."