"The Twilight Zone" Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? (1961)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Montgomery Pittman

Writers:

Rod Serling (creator)
Rod Serling (writer)

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Original Air Date:

26 May 1961 (Season 2, Episode 28)

Genre:

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

Plot:

Following a frantic phone call about a crashed spaceship, two policeman try and determine who among the passengers of a bus at a snowed-in roadside diner is from another world.

Plot Keywords:

Bus | Diner | Alien | Police Officer | Spaceship

Cast

John Hoyt	...	Ross
Jean Willes	...	Ethel McConnell
Jack Elam	...	Avery
Barney Phillips	...	Haley
John Archer	...	Trooper Bill Padgett
William Kendis	...	Olmstead (as Bill Kendis)
Morgan Jones	...	Trooper Dan Perry
Gertrude Flynn	...	Rose Kramer
Bill Erwin	...	Peter Kramer
Jill Ellis	...	Connie Prince
Ron Kipling	...	George Prince

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:

Rod Sterling wrote a script called "Night of the Big Rain" earlier to inspire this plot, which was originally going to air under the title "Nobody Here But Us Martians".

Quotes:

Avery: Didn't figure us Martians would know nothin' about the great American pastime, did ya?

Movie Connections:

References "To Tell the Truth" (1956)

Adorable

This is one of the more adorable episodes of the Twilight Zone, with some fun dialog and amusing characters to break the tension of some creepy moments. There's the usual blond vamp "dancer" (what is up with Serling's fondness for that kind of character, such that she keeps showing up in various episodes?) and other assorted characters, but it's Jack Elam's "old man" who totally steals the show. I consider this the funny, light-hearted version of "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" -- or, perhaps, a 20-minute Twilight Zone parody of "The Thing." On another note: I thought the young lover of the episode might be someone who eventually went on to other things -- he looked familiar -- but it seems that "Ron Kipling" disappeared after just two TV credits to his name.