Eccentric young man has chance to mend errant ways when guardian angel pays a concerned visit.
The role of Bevis is pivotal to this half-hour and calls for the acting skills of someone like the late Hans Conreid, who specialized in humorous eccentrics. Unfortunately, Orson Bean's performance demonstrates all the skills of an earnest teenager placing second in a high school audition. You would think with a name like 'Bean", he could bring off a nutty character who likes 'zither music' and broken-down old cars. But he doesn't, and with him goes the episode. There are two possible redeeming features-- Henry Jones as the delightfully smug guardian angel, and the story's subtext, which appears to be an unflattering comment on businessman conformity during the button-down 1950's (a recurring concern of Serling's). With better central casting, this could have been a whimsical and revealing half-hour, instead of the flat-liner it is.
The role of Bevis is pivotal to this half-hour and calls for the acting skills of someone like the late Hans Conreid, who specialized in humorous eccentrics. Unfortunately, Orson Bean's performance demonstrates all the skills of an earnest teenager placing second in a high school audition. You would think with a name like 'Bean", he could bring off a nutty character who likes 'zither music' and broken-down old cars. But he doesn't, and with him goes the episode. There are two possible redeeming features-- Henry Jones as the delightfully smug guardian angel, and the story's subtext, which appears to be an unflattering comment on businessman conformity during the button-down 1950's (a recurring concern of Serling's). With better central casting, this could have been a whimsical and revealing half-hour, instead of the flat-liner it is.