Patrick O'Neal stars as Mitchell Campion, an American visiting a small island near Spain after recovering from a near-fatal accident. Upon arrival at his hotel, he is at first amused, then annoyed by the reactions of the staff and locals who insist that he had been there before, and even had a romance with a native woman, but the inexplicable thing is that Mitchell has no memory of this at all, and indeed can prove he was in the hospital at the time he was supposedly on the island! How can this be? Intriguing episode has a fine performance by O'Neal and a nice island atmosphere as it tackles the theme of astral projection.
8 Reviews
He Blew His Mind Out in a Car
wes-connors4 July 2009
After an automobile accident, Ohioan Patrick O'Neal (as Mitchell Campion) goes to visit a tiny Mediterranean island, for a little rest and relaxation. Strangely, upon arriving at his hotel, everyone on the staff recognizes him - but, Mr. O'Neal has never been to the "Hotel du Sud" before. In fact, he has never even traveled outside the United States. O'Neal is further frustrated when hotel workers seem know his name and meal preferences. It's "love at first sight" when beautiful Lilyan Chauvin (as Francesca) enters the picture - but, in Ms. Chauvin's eyes, the relationship had already begun
O'Neal's characterization really carries the half-hour; he did not get the amount of leading actor roles he deserved, as is obvious herein. For example, note how all the required emotions register on his face when he encounters "Francesca". The direction, by John Newland, is strong; probably, producer-writer Merwin Gerard deserves some of the credit. The story's conclusion, and the typically preposterous bracketing narration, drags it down somewhat.
****** The Return of Mitchell Campion (4/7/59) Merwin Gerard ~ Patrick O'Neal, Lilyan Chauvin, Richard Angarola
O'Neal's characterization really carries the half-hour; he did not get the amount of leading actor roles he deserved, as is obvious herein. For example, note how all the required emotions register on his face when he encounters "Francesca". The direction, by John Newland, is strong; probably, producer-writer Merwin Gerard deserves some of the credit. The story's conclusion, and the typically preposterous bracketing narration, drags it down somewhat.
****** The Return of Mitchell Campion (4/7/59) Merwin Gerard ~ Patrick O'Neal, Lilyan Chauvin, Richard Angarola
"Of course, now I understand. You have never been here before."
classicsoncall27 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This story is presented as one of those unexplained and unexplainable occurrences in the life of a man who vacations on an island off the coast of Spain, and upon checking in to his hotel, is greeted by virtually everyone he meets who know him by name. Series host John Newland poses the question - "Who knows what time really is?" at the conclusion of the story, but if taken as given, the story isn't as mysterious as it might initially seem.
It all has to do with the time frames mentioned in the episode. Mitchell Campion (Patrick O'Neal), known as Miguel on the island, was apparently involved in a serious automobile accident in Paxton, Ohio a month earlier. This would have corresponded to the time people on the island would have seen him there. Which is entirely possible, one day there no matter how long his stay, and the next day back home. His medical information from the hospital indicates that for a four minute period during an operation, his heart and respiration stopped, in effect, he was clinically dead. However his heart was revived, and after recovering from his head and chest injuries, Campion was released from the hospital 'three weeks ago'. His doctor recommended he seek a lengthy period of rest.
The key to the mystery seems to be the part that amnesia played in Campion's faulty memory due to his head injury. Entirely possible as the elderly gentleman Alexis explains. The trigger to getting his memory back was the sight of the woman he fell in love with on his previous visit to the island, along with a picture Alexis presents that shows the three of them together.
The unexplainable part of the story to me would be the hotel register that does not have his signature from the prior visit. Even the passport issued ten days earlier would be possible if while under amnesia, Campion had applied for a new passport to take his vacation. In his summation, Newland offers up a potential teleportation theory to go along with the time paradox, but I didn't see that as believable or necessary. Strictly speaking, the events of the story could have happened without taking that one step beyond.
It all has to do with the time frames mentioned in the episode. Mitchell Campion (Patrick O'Neal), known as Miguel on the island, was apparently involved in a serious automobile accident in Paxton, Ohio a month earlier. This would have corresponded to the time people on the island would have seen him there. Which is entirely possible, one day there no matter how long his stay, and the next day back home. His medical information from the hospital indicates that for a four minute period during an operation, his heart and respiration stopped, in effect, he was clinically dead. However his heart was revived, and after recovering from his head and chest injuries, Campion was released from the hospital 'three weeks ago'. His doctor recommended he seek a lengthy period of rest.
The key to the mystery seems to be the part that amnesia played in Campion's faulty memory due to his head injury. Entirely possible as the elderly gentleman Alexis explains. The trigger to getting his memory back was the sight of the woman he fell in love with on his previous visit to the island, along with a picture Alexis presents that shows the three of them together.
The unexplainable part of the story to me would be the hotel register that does not have his signature from the prior visit. Even the passport issued ten days earlier would be possible if while under amnesia, Campion had applied for a new passport to take his vacation. In his summation, Newland offers up a potential teleportation theory to go along with the time paradox, but I didn't see that as believable or necessary. Strictly speaking, the events of the story could have happened without taking that one step beyond.
The Return of Mitchell Campion
Prismark1020 September 2021
Mitchell Campion (Patrick O'Neal) is an American who visits a small island off the coast of Spain.
When he checks in at the hotel, everyone knows him well. Mitchell apparently visited the island a few weeks earlier. He even had a love interest.
The problem is that this is the first time Mitchell Campion has visited the island.
Mitchell is frustrated and looks for answers. His medical records suggest that Mitchell was involved in a car accident in America. He had a cardiac arrest in the operating theatre and was dead for a few minutes.
An intriguing story, well acted by O'Neal. The only plausible solution that is suggested that in those few dead minutes, maybe Mitchell had an out of the body experience and teleported to the island.
When he checks in at the hotel, everyone knows him well. Mitchell apparently visited the island a few weeks earlier. He even had a love interest.
The problem is that this is the first time Mitchell Campion has visited the island.
Mitchell is frustrated and looks for answers. His medical records suggest that Mitchell was involved in a car accident in America. He had a cardiac arrest in the operating theatre and was dead for a few minutes.
An intriguing story, well acted by O'Neal. The only plausible solution that is suggested that in those few dead minutes, maybe Mitchell had an out of the body experience and teleported to the island.
Well worth seeing...and a bit creepy.
planktonrules23 February 2014
An American, Mitchell Campion (Patrick O'Neal) has freshly arrived on an obscure Spanish island. However, everyone there knows him by name! Yet, he's never, up until now, been out of the United States. In fact, during the time that EVERYONE insists he was there, he was laid up in the hospital recovering from a serious traffic accident. There really is no explanation for any of this, but the acting is so good that I didn't mind.
I've seen a few episodes of "One Step Beyond". This old show claims that the stories are all true and are based on real examples of psychic phenomenon--something I strongly believe is a lot of nonsense. However, nevertheless, this particular episode, "The Return of Mitchell Campion" is well worth seeing.
I've seen a few episodes of "One Step Beyond". This old show claims that the stories are all true and are based on real examples of psychic phenomenon--something I strongly believe is a lot of nonsense. However, nevertheless, this particular episode, "The Return of Mitchell Campion" is well worth seeing.
Back from the (clinically) dead
Goingbegging14 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
One of the weaker episodes in this series shows a man having a recurring dream about a beautiful woman, eventually meeting her in real life, to discover that she has been sharing his dream all along. In the present episode, the same effect happens on a bigger scale, when an American, Mitchell Campion (Patrick O'Neal), narrowly survives an operation, and is advised to go abroad for a good rest. Arriving on a tiny, remote Spanish island, he is greeted everywhere like an old friend, though he has never been out of the United States before. (Even the hotel waitress remembers how he likes his breakfast.) Increasingly baffled by these paranormal happenings, he suddenly recognises a familiar face - the lovely Francesca (Lilyan Chauvin), who abruptly accuses him of deserting her. He is even more baffled when he is shown a snapshot of the two of them together.
Impatient to establish the truth, he demands to look through the hotel register, where there is mysteriously no sign of his name. It is when he shows his medical records to the local wise man, played convincingly by Anatol Winogradoff, that we get the nearest thing to a solution. It turns out that the patient had been declared clinically dead for a (very long) four minutes. As your host John Newland points out, an awful lot of dream-travelling can be packed into a couple of seconds. So who knows what adventures a man might experience in four minutes?
This is better than most of the One Step Beyond episodes, though they conveniently don't quite claim that they're drawn directly from real life, so we don't know whether there was a real Mitchell Campion. There is one totally unexplained incident when an aggressive young man marches into the hotel without a word and punches Campion hard in the face - presumably a jealous suitor of Francesca's (or maybe the explanation is still on the cutting-room floor). Also why is the hotel called Hotel du Sud (French), when the Spanish would be Hotel del Sur?
Impatient to establish the truth, he demands to look through the hotel register, where there is mysteriously no sign of his name. It is when he shows his medical records to the local wise man, played convincingly by Anatol Winogradoff, that we get the nearest thing to a solution. It turns out that the patient had been declared clinically dead for a (very long) four minutes. As your host John Newland points out, an awful lot of dream-travelling can be packed into a couple of seconds. So who knows what adventures a man might experience in four minutes?
This is better than most of the One Step Beyond episodes, though they conveniently don't quite claim that they're drawn directly from real life, so we don't know whether there was a real Mitchell Campion. There is one totally unexplained incident when an aggressive young man marches into the hotel without a word and punches Campion hard in the face - presumably a jealous suitor of Francesca's (or maybe the explanation is still on the cutting-room floor). Also why is the hotel called Hotel du Sud (French), when the Spanish would be Hotel del Sur?
"I have never been here before"
lucecito19 April 2020
Excellent episode. Dashing and handsome MItchell transports himself to this island while he becomes unconscious during surgery after a car accident...after he awakens his doctor tells him to go on vacation and he ends up in the same island he had transported himself to a few weeks before...my only query is...Mitchell did not remember anyone except his former fiance....
A thought provoking mystery.
Sleepin_Dragon29 May 2024
Mitchell Campion arrives on a small Mediterranean Island, he gets annoyed when the locals recognise him, nothing seems or feels familiar to him, until he encounters a beautiful young woman.
Another thoroughly enjoyable episode, there's a degree of mystery about this one, you'll keep watching to learn if it's a case of amnesia or a blow to the back of the head, could it be that the locals are colluding in an outlandish deception. It's definitely a curios tale, you'll sympathise with Mitchell.
That twist at the end worked perfectly, once again it's evidence that this show was way ahead of its time.
Patrick O'Neal absolutely smashes it as the bemused and muddled Mitchell, he plays the part with true integrity, he's perfectly believable.
Knockout episode, one of the best so far.
8/10.
Another thoroughly enjoyable episode, there's a degree of mystery about this one, you'll keep watching to learn if it's a case of amnesia or a blow to the back of the head, could it be that the locals are colluding in an outlandish deception. It's definitely a curios tale, you'll sympathise with Mitchell.
That twist at the end worked perfectly, once again it's evidence that this show was way ahead of its time.
Patrick O'Neal absolutely smashes it as the bemused and muddled Mitchell, he plays the part with true integrity, he's perfectly believable.
Knockout episode, one of the best so far.
8/10.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
