Perchance to Dream
- Episode aired Nov 27, 1959
- TV-PG
- 25m
A fatigued man fights to stay awake as he explains to a psychiatrist that if he falls asleep it will trigger a nightmare, which will cause his heart to fail.A fatigued man fights to stay awake as he explains to a psychiatrist that if he falls asleep it will trigger a nightmare, which will cause his heart to fail.A fatigued man fights to stay awake as he explains to a psychiatrist that if he falls asleep it will trigger a nightmare, which will cause his heart to fail.
- Girlie Barker
- (uncredited)
- Narrator
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Man on Street
- (uncredited)
- Rifle Range Barker
- (uncredited)
- Roller Coaster Operator
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Charles Beaumont
- Rod Serling(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe title of the episode, and the Charles Beaumont-written short story that inspired it, is taken from William Shakespeare's Hamlet's "to be or not to be" speech. "To sleep, perchance to dream-ay, there's the rub." The very next line, "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come," was used by fellow The Twilight Zone (1959) writer Richard Matheson as the title of his novel/movie What Dreams May Come (1998).
- Goofs(at round 1 min) During Rod Serling's monologue, people come and go through a revolving door. One lady exiting the building slows the revolving door by putting her hand through where the glass pane should be.
- Quotes
Edward Hall: You mind if I walk around a bit? It's the only way I can stay awake.
Dr. Rathmann: Stand on your head, if you think it'll help.
[Hall laughs]
Dr. Rathmann: What's funny?
Edward Hall: You are. Are you sure you're a psychiatrist?
Dr. Rathmann: Why do you ask?
Edward Hall: I don't know. I guess I expected something different.
Dr. Rathmann: Like an old man with a white beard and a German accent?
Edward Hall: Maybe.
Dr. Rathmann: I know. It's what everybody expects, and they're always disappointed.
- ConnectionsEdited into Twilight-Tober-Zone: Perchance To Dream (2020)
A fascinating study of a man with a heart condition who dreams in sequence and dare not go to sleep because his last dream left him in such a dangerous position, 'Perchance to Dream' has two distinct acts. The first half mainly consists of a dialogue between a man and his psychiatrist. However, unlike the dull ramblings of 'Escape Clause's' dialogue heavy first act, 'Perchance to Dream' offers an incredibly interesting theme for discussion. Act two consists of recounted dream experiences and introduces us to a creepy fairground and its inhabitants. Among these inhabitants is Suzanne Lloyd as Maya the Cat Woman. She strikes the exact right chord, managing to be very sexy and utterly repellent at the same time. Richard Conte gives an intense performance in the lead role and John Larch is amusingly laid back as his psychiatrist but neither are as good as Lloyd, whose cackling, devilish minx personifies the threat that awaits if Conte nods off.
'Perchance to Dream' works so well because of its contrasting acts. Act one is involving and intelligent, drawing us into the concept by carefully explaining it. Act two is let off the leash completely, running amok with tremendous pace into the effectively creepy world of the nightmare fairground. The final twist is also very fine, requiring us to back track and work out exactly when in the episode Conte fell asleep. There is plenty more to think about, such as the amount we can dream in a short time and how tricky our subconscious can be. After all, Conte's didn't place him back in the fairground as he had imagined it would. Instead it merged his waking nightmare with his unconscious one, borrowing images he had just seen on his way into the building and creating a whole world from them. 'Perchance to Dream' is an unjustly overlooked classic which leaves the viewer with much to consider.
- phantom_tollbooth
- Feb 21, 2007
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1