Richard Conte stars as Edward Hall, an accursed man who visits a psychiatrist (John Larch), determined to relate his story to *somebody*, even though he knows it can't really help him. A man with a heart condition, he's been afraid to fall asleep for days now, fearing that his recurring nightmares will cause his heart to fail during his sleep.
'Perchance to Dream' was the first non-Rod Serling script to be filmed for the series, as it was written by Charles Beaumont, another man whose name is synonymous with TZ. It's a good if not great episode, that definitely creates some eerie dream imagery, complete with Dutch angles and deliberately off-kilter photography. As usual, the final twist helps to sell the story. And this is a compelling scenario for our protagonist, and the haunted performance by Conte is top-notch. He receives able support from top character actor Larch and the strikingly attractive Suzanne Lloyd as a "cat lady" working at a carnival in Halls' dream world. Beaumont had a true flair for the macabre, standing in contrast to Serling's typical style; this hews closer to outright horror than past episodes. But Beaumont, like Serling, did have a talent for intelligent and riveting dialogue.
Directed with style by Robert Florey ("Murders in the Rue Morgue", "The Man Called Back").
Seven out of 10.
'Perchance to Dream' was the first non-Rod Serling script to be filmed for the series, as it was written by Charles Beaumont, another man whose name is synonymous with TZ. It's a good if not great episode, that definitely creates some eerie dream imagery, complete with Dutch angles and deliberately off-kilter photography. As usual, the final twist helps to sell the story. And this is a compelling scenario for our protagonist, and the haunted performance by Conte is top-notch. He receives able support from top character actor Larch and the strikingly attractive Suzanne Lloyd as a "cat lady" working at a carnival in Halls' dream world. Beaumont had a true flair for the macabre, standing in contrast to Serling's typical style; this hews closer to outright horror than past episodes. But Beaumont, like Serling, did have a talent for intelligent and riveting dialogue.
Directed with style by Robert Florey ("Murders in the Rue Morgue", "The Man Called Back").
Seven out of 10.