Shabby hitch-hiker keeps reappearing as young woman drives cross-country.
Great episode. Perhaps the most haunting of all the entries. Serling's adaptation of the Louise Fletcher radio play is first rate, one of the best of the series. Everything entertaining and artistic comes together as Inger Stevens' cross-country trip descends from bright sunlight into the depths of midnight. There's suspense (the railroad crossing), humor (the sailor thinking it's his lucky day), mystery (what is this with the hitch-hiker), and finally pathos ( in a rear-view mirror). I particularly like the subtle way the final scene is handled with the superb camera work and expert use of half light and shadow. Notice how the camera shots become progressively tighter as the tension inside the car mounts. Also, there's the well-timed blinking neon in the final scene to convey a subtle transition. And for those who care-- there's a taste of radio drama in the voice-over sequences where Stevens is riding alone. Radio drama, of course, could not allow dead air time, so script writers such as Fletcher had to become skilled at verbalizing what the character is thinking. It still shows in these traveling sequences. (A half-facetious observation-- strange how so much of cross-country America looks like the scrub lands of southern Cal. But then, as good as the best shows are, TZ was never a big-budget series.) Anyhow, this is one of those haunting episodes that stays with you. So don't miss it.
Great episode. Perhaps the most haunting of all the entries. Serling's adaptation of the Louise Fletcher radio play is first rate, one of the best of the series. Everything entertaining and artistic comes together as Inger Stevens' cross-country trip descends from bright sunlight into the depths of midnight. There's suspense (the railroad crossing), humor (the sailor thinking it's his lucky day), mystery (what is this with the hitch-hiker), and finally pathos ( in a rear-view mirror). I particularly like the subtle way the final scene is handled with the superb camera work and expert use of half light and shadow. Notice how the camera shots become progressively tighter as the tension inside the car mounts. Also, there's the well-timed blinking neon in the final scene to convey a subtle transition. And for those who care-- there's a taste of radio drama in the voice-over sequences where Stevens is riding alone. Radio drama, of course, could not allow dead air time, so script writers such as Fletcher had to become skilled at verbalizing what the character is thinking. It still shows in these traveling sequences. (A half-facetious observation-- strange how so much of cross-country America looks like the scrub lands of southern Cal. But then, as good as the best shows are, TZ was never a big-budget series.) Anyhow, this is one of those haunting episodes that stays with you. So don't miss it.