NIGHT GALLERY: THE CEMETERY / EYES / ESCAPE ROUTE {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
This special consisting of three eerie tales served as the prototype for the supernatural anthology series of the same name hosted by Rod Serling. The first tale concerns a young man, Jeremy, who murders his uncle in order to inherit his estate. Afterward, Jeremy notices that a painting of the family graveyard has changed. A fresh, empty grave appears in it and soon after a coffin standing upright appears in the grave. Little by little the painting depicts the return of his uncle from his burial site, moving closer and closer, or so Jeremy believes. The second story concerns a wealthy blind woman, Miss Menlo, who desperately wants to be able to see. A man who owes money to loan sharks agrees to donate his optic nerves to her for a price. Her doctor, whom she blackmails into performing the surgery, warns her that her vision will only last for about eleven hours. After the surgery, she removes the bandages from her eyes, and by a quirk of fate, there is a blackout seconds later. She awakens the next day to see the sunrise, but she panics when her sight quickly begins to fade. The third tale deals with a Nazi named Strobe, who is constantly on the run from the authorities and his nightmares about the past. One day, while fleeing from imaginary pursuers, he finds himself in a museum where he meets Bleum, a survivor of the same concentration camp where Strobe made the decisions about who would live or die. Bleum does not recognize him, but points out a painting that depicts a man being crucified in a concentration camp. Strobe turns away; he is drawn to a painting of a fisherman, and imagines himself in the painting. When Strobe returns to the art gallery the next day, Bleum recognizes him as a Nazi, and later, outside a bar, Strobe kills him to ensure his own anonymity. Once again, Strobe must hide from authorities. In a state of desperation he returns to the museum and prays to become the fisherman in the painting, but with dire consequences. Commercials deleted.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by Michael Finkelstein and Sue-ann Friedman, 1996.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 8, 1969 Saturday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:38:04
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:02521
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1970-1973
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- William Sackheim … Producer
- Boris Sagal … Director
- Steven Spielberg … Director
- Barry Shear … Director
- Rod Serling … Writer, Host
- Goldenberg, William (See also: Goldenberg, Billy) … Music by
- Joan Crawford … Cast, Miss Menlo
- Ossie Davis … Cast, Portifoy
- Richard Kiley … Cast, Strobe
- Roddy McDowall … Cast, Jeremy
- Barry Sullivan … Cast, Dr. Heatherton
- George Macready … Cast, Hendricks
- Sam Jaffe … Cast, Bleum
- Norma Crane … Cast, Gretchen
- Barry Atwater … Cast, Carson
- George Murdock … Cast, the First Agent
- Tom Bosley … Cast, Resnick
- Tom Basham … Cast, Gibbons
- Byron Morrow … Cast, Packer
- Garry Goodrow … Cast, Louis
- Shannon Farnon … Cast, the First Nurse
- Richard Hale … Cast, the Doctor