The premise of The Purple Testament (TPT) episode is that a junior officer in a combat situation late in WWII is able to look in the faces of his associates and determine which of them is destined to soon die. The peculiar "mark of death" facial signal marks the future of his friend and commanding officer------and then eventually identifies his own fate. The eerie visual effect used to produce this illusion was accomplished through varying the film exposure and lighting emphasis. Starring William Reynolds as the junior officer and Dick York as his superior with able direction from veteran Richard L. Bare, this episode illustrates the high level of quality realized by even somewhat less distinguished stories during TZ's fabulous First Season.
An anecdote recounted by Marc Scott Zicree in his The Twilight Zone Companion (Bantam Books, Inc., 1982) tells us a story that in many ways is even more interesting than TPT episode itself! On the evening when it was to be first aired, Reynolds and Bare coincidentally were involved in a private airplane accident between Jamaica and Miami. The plane crashed into the ocean, killing one of the five people on board. Reynolds sustained a broken leg, while Bare broke both of his legs in the accident. Notwithstanding their serious injuries, both men managed to survive the crash, swim to shore and fully recover. While in the water, Bare asked Reynolds if he realized that TPT episode was scheduled to be premiered by TZ that very evening. When Reynolds answered in the affirmative, Bare's recalled response was "Bill, please don't look at me"-----recollecting the "mark of death" symbolism in the episode! Bare later went on to direct 158 episodes of the future series Green Acres while Reynolds became the future star of the successful series The FBI!
Because the actual fate of Reynolds and Bare was not then known at TPT's scheduled air time, producer Buck Houghton decided to minimize the possible stress on their families and pull it from being first broadcast that evening. Another classy act from a very classy series!
An anecdote recounted by Marc Scott Zicree in his The Twilight Zone Companion (Bantam Books, Inc., 1982) tells us a story that in many ways is even more interesting than TPT episode itself! On the evening when it was to be first aired, Reynolds and Bare coincidentally were involved in a private airplane accident between Jamaica and Miami. The plane crashed into the ocean, killing one of the five people on board. Reynolds sustained a broken leg, while Bare broke both of his legs in the accident. Notwithstanding their serious injuries, both men managed to survive the crash, swim to shore and fully recover. While in the water, Bare asked Reynolds if he realized that TPT episode was scheduled to be premiered by TZ that very evening. When Reynolds answered in the affirmative, Bare's recalled response was "Bill, please don't look at me"-----recollecting the "mark of death" symbolism in the episode! Bare later went on to direct 158 episodes of the future series Green Acres while Reynolds became the future star of the successful series The FBI!
Because the actual fate of Reynolds and Bare was not then known at TPT's scheduled air time, producer Buck Houghton decided to minimize the possible stress on their families and pull it from being first broadcast that evening. Another classy act from a very classy series!