Fred Clark & Jean Carson play Chester & Paula Diedrich(How apt) who are a pair of small-time thieves whose latest haul of stolen loot proves disappointing until they discover a curio camera that seems to take pictures of events five minutes in the future, which gives them the idea of getting rich at the racetrack by seeing the winning horses. Her slow-witted brother Woodrow also shows up, but the three of them are in for a shock when they find out that the camera only gives ten pictures to a customer according to a most unethical French bellman... Amusing episode is mostly lightweight but remains fun and breezy, although has a most odd ending...
26 Reviews
Greed Is the Root of All Evil
claudio_carvalho26 May 2018
The clumsy smalltime thieves Chester and his wife Paula Dietrich heist an antique shop and find that they had stolen garbage only. However they find a mysterious camera and discover it takes picture from the near future. Out of the blue, Paula´s brother Woodward flees from prison and seeks shelter with his sister. The trio decides to go to the horse race and make fortune. Will their plan work?
"A Most Unusual Camera" is an episode of "The Twilight Zone" with a tale of greed and unintelligence. The ambitious and stupid trio of smalltime thieves is moved by greed and pay the high price in the end. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Uma Câmera Muito Incomum" ("A Most Unusual Camera")
"A Most Unusual Camera" is an episode of "The Twilight Zone" with a tale of greed and unintelligence. The ambitious and stupid trio of smalltime thieves is moved by greed and pay the high price in the end. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Uma Câmera Muito Incomum" ("A Most Unusual Camera")
Does crime ever pay?
cjevans14 June 2007
Warning: Spoilers
A neat morality tale played for laughs. Husband and wife crooks knock off an antique shop, finding in the haul of junk a magical camera that takes picture of the future. What do out crooks do? Take the camera to the races, of course, with the wife's dim bulb escaped con brother in tow. They rake in dough, but does crime ever pay on fifties television, even in the Twilight Zone? Nothing especially stylish about this episode, but the script is cute and the acting top notch from three steady pros. A standout is the wonderful Jean Carson, whom people should remember as the "fun girl" from that Andy Griffith episode who so intimidated Barney Fife ("Hello, doll!"). She's just as funny here. RIP Jean, thanks for the laughs.
Don't Take My Picture
dougdoepke27 March 2017
Three small-time crooks stumble upon a magical camera whose pictures foreshadow the future. Snap the shutter and the photo will show the next event to happen in that same spot. So how will these low-enders exploit their windfall.
What a marvelous cast trio. Despite the ending, there's a light comedic touch throughout, thanks mainly to dumb blonde Paula (Carson). The actress was so good at these type roles. And mustn't forget everybody's favorite curmudgeon, baldy Fred Clark, or utility actor Williams whose character is even dumber than Paula. Together, they're instant chemistry.
But please tell me where I can buy that prophetic camera the trio uses to bankrupt the racetrack. I've got big plans for it. And check out Carson's low-cut top. I expect they were pushing to a limit the dress code of the day. Also, judging from the way the camera develops its own pictures, I guess this was back in the old Polaroid days. Anyway, it's an amusingly interesting 30-minutes, though I could have done with a more imaginative ending from the one that seems a little extreme for what's gone before.
What a marvelous cast trio. Despite the ending, there's a light comedic touch throughout, thanks mainly to dumb blonde Paula (Carson). The actress was so good at these type roles. And mustn't forget everybody's favorite curmudgeon, baldy Fred Clark, or utility actor Williams whose character is even dumber than Paula. Together, they're instant chemistry.
But please tell me where I can buy that prophetic camera the trio uses to bankrupt the racetrack. I've got big plans for it. And check out Carson's low-cut top. I expect they were pushing to a limit the dress code of the day. Also, judging from the way the camera develops its own pictures, I guess this was back in the old Polaroid days. Anyway, it's an amusingly interesting 30-minutes, though I could have done with a more imaginative ending from the one that seems a little extreme for what's gone before.
One special camera
bkoganbing23 November 2018
This is one wonderful Twilight Zone story laced with some sardonic humor about
a husband and wife pair of crooks who in a heist latch on to A Most Unusual
Camera.
It's one of those old fashioned jobs and Fred Clark and Jean Carson don't know how to load and reload it. But this thing could have come from the Curious Goods shop on the Friday the 13th series.
The camera has an unusual ability to take pictures about 5 minutes in advance of when things happen. When Carson.s brother Adam Williams shows up who's basically dumb mob muscle the three decide to go to the track and take pictures of the results of the race before it's run.
Of course they clean up, but that's far from the end of the story. These three are like the 3 Stooges of crime, they really are incredibly dumb.
Only one other character is in this story, Marcel Hilliare as a waiter. The camera ain't real good to him in the end.
Let's hope the kids from Curious Goods got the camera in the vault.
It's one of those old fashioned jobs and Fred Clark and Jean Carson don't know how to load and reload it. But this thing could have come from the Curious Goods shop on the Friday the 13th series.
The camera has an unusual ability to take pictures about 5 minutes in advance of when things happen. When Carson.s brother Adam Williams shows up who's basically dumb mob muscle the three decide to go to the track and take pictures of the results of the race before it's run.
Of course they clean up, but that's far from the end of the story. These three are like the 3 Stooges of crime, they really are incredibly dumb.
Only one other character is in this story, Marcel Hilliare as a waiter. The camera ain't real good to him in the end.
Let's hope the kids from Curious Goods got the camera in the vault.
Careful of those selfies. It might just be the last picture you ever take.
mark.waltz20 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This highly quotable episode of the "Twilight Zone" tell you why she is one of those rare comic episodes that works on so many levels and may have you laughing and biting your nails at the same time. The wonderful Fred Clark (best known for playing snarky businessmen or attorneys) and the absolutely lovable Jean Carson are a shear delight as common thieves who rob a thrift shop and come across that most unusual camera which magically takes pictures shortly before the real events happen. It's prophetic, but also a "too late" warning that shows destiny as it destroys those desperately trying to change theirs on shady terms.
With lines like "Have you got a leak in your attic?", this delightfully funny episode shows for not so bright people thinking that they can change their world through the power of the camera and finding out too late that the camera is the one changing their world. Adam Williams plays Carson's escaped convict brother and Marcel Hillaire is a French hotel bellboy (well past the age of being a boy) thrown into the mix. The magical camera gives them all hope, victory, and then despair as hysterical twist after twist put a cork on their "chaumpagne" (as Carson pronounces it) and ends up being flat. This is certainly one of the most memorable episodes in the series, 1 I remember from "Twilight Zone" marathons in years gone by, and shows how a lighter touch in a serious series can leave a learned lesson behind.
With lines like "Have you got a leak in your attic?", this delightfully funny episode shows for not so bright people thinking that they can change their world through the power of the camera and finding out too late that the camera is the one changing their world. Adam Williams plays Carson's escaped convict brother and Marcel Hillaire is a French hotel bellboy (well past the age of being a boy) thrown into the mix. The magical camera gives them all hope, victory, and then despair as hysterical twist after twist put a cork on their "chaumpagne" (as Carson pronounces it) and ends up being flat. This is certainly one of the most memorable episodes in the series, 1 I remember from "Twilight Zone" marathons in years gone by, and shows how a lighter touch in a serious series can leave a learned lesson behind.
Fun morality play, but stops making sense near the end
Anonymous_Maxine28 June 2008
Two small time crooks, Chester and Paula, root through their latest haul in a shabby hotel room, lamenting the worthlessness of it all, until one of them stumbles upon one of their stolen items, a seemingly ancient and valueless camera without any apparent place to open it and put film in or take it out. They soon learn that the camera takes pictures of 5 minutes in the future, and do what any small time crook would do, they go to the races. It seems strange that they could go to the horse races and take pictures of the scoreboard and bet on the winners over and over without attracting any attention, but soon they find themselves with a huge pile of cash back at the hotel room, and then everything starts going wrong.
Adam Williams plays the part of Woodward, Paula's escaped con brother, possibly the dumbest character ever presented on the twilight zone. Soon a Frenchman shows up in their room and notices that the camera says, in French, that it only allows 10 pictures per owner, providing Rod Serling with a great opportunity to make one of his exploratory statements about the human psyche. Obviously, the only thing on the crooks' mind is greed, but Serling doesn't seem to know where else to go with this message.
The Frenchman gives us an antagonist to our antagonists, plotting to steal the money that they won unfairly and unsquarely. But the ending of the episode is just too goofy to take seriously, even for a twilight zone episode. After learning that the camera only takes ten pictures per owner, rather than consider the possibility of each of them taking turns being the owner (and thus getting at least another 22 pictures out of it), Chester and Woodward start fighting over it and end up falling out the window to the ground below.
Paula gives a weak attempt at grief until she realizes that now all of their prize money is hers to keep, and just for the hell of it, looks out the window and takes a picture of her brother and husband dead on the ground below. What the hell? Not only does she waste one of the two pictures left, but she takes a picture of something that surely she would never want to see in the first place.
But soon we realize that this is crucial to the plot, as the Frenchman immediately shows up ad calmly begins collecting the money, since he has an airtight insurance against her telling the police, as this would put her in a, ah, fantastic plight. He tells her that there are not just two bodies in the picture that the camera spit out after she snapped one out the window, and rather than going to look at it, she runs to the window with enough velocity to trip and fling herself out the window to the ground below. Come ON.
I can accept Chester and Woodward falling out the window while fighting over the camera, and I can accept Paula getting over their deaths immediately, as soon as she realizes that now all the money is hers, but then the Frenchman shows up and not only doesn't notice that there are four bodies in the photo that Paula took out the window and not three, but she manages to accidentally fall out the window herself.
Now, at this point, it's getting difficult enough to believe, but then the guy notices that, wait! There aren't three bodies, there are four! Oh no!! The camera then pans away and we hear the sound of the Frenchman falling out the window too. I'm guess we panned away because they had run out of ideas for how four people could accidentally fall out of the same window within a few minutes of each other.
The moral of the episode is clear enough, and it is an entertaining episode, but definitely has far more 'oh please' moments than I have come to expect from your typical twilight zone episode.
Adam Williams plays the part of Woodward, Paula's escaped con brother, possibly the dumbest character ever presented on the twilight zone. Soon a Frenchman shows up in their room and notices that the camera says, in French, that it only allows 10 pictures per owner, providing Rod Serling with a great opportunity to make one of his exploratory statements about the human psyche. Obviously, the only thing on the crooks' mind is greed, but Serling doesn't seem to know where else to go with this message.
The Frenchman gives us an antagonist to our antagonists, plotting to steal the money that they won unfairly and unsquarely. But the ending of the episode is just too goofy to take seriously, even for a twilight zone episode. After learning that the camera only takes ten pictures per owner, rather than consider the possibility of each of them taking turns being the owner (and thus getting at least another 22 pictures out of it), Chester and Woodward start fighting over it and end up falling out the window to the ground below.
Paula gives a weak attempt at grief until she realizes that now all of their prize money is hers to keep, and just for the hell of it, looks out the window and takes a picture of her brother and husband dead on the ground below. What the hell? Not only does she waste one of the two pictures left, but she takes a picture of something that surely she would never want to see in the first place.
But soon we realize that this is crucial to the plot, as the Frenchman immediately shows up ad calmly begins collecting the money, since he has an airtight insurance against her telling the police, as this would put her in a, ah, fantastic plight. He tells her that there are not just two bodies in the picture that the camera spit out after she snapped one out the window, and rather than going to look at it, she runs to the window with enough velocity to trip and fling herself out the window to the ground below. Come ON.
I can accept Chester and Woodward falling out the window while fighting over the camera, and I can accept Paula getting over their deaths immediately, as soon as she realizes that now all the money is hers, but then the Frenchman shows up and not only doesn't notice that there are four bodies in the photo that Paula took out the window and not three, but she manages to accidentally fall out the window herself.
Now, at this point, it's getting difficult enough to believe, but then the guy notices that, wait! There aren't three bodies, there are four! Oh no!! The camera then pans away and we hear the sound of the Frenchman falling out the window too. I'm guess we panned away because they had run out of ideas for how four people could accidentally fall out of the same window within a few minutes of each other.
The moral of the episode is clear enough, and it is an entertaining episode, but definitely has far more 'oh please' moments than I have come to expect from your typical twilight zone episode.
CLICK, CLICK AND YOU'RE DEAD!
tcchelsey31 March 2023
John Rich directed this episode (and one other) for the series, behind ALL IN THE FAMILY, GOMER PYLE, THAT GIRL, and so many more. He was the right choice. Every once in a while, Rod Serling would crank out a terrific dark comedy to add to his collection of the macabre. This may be the most unusal.
Fred Clark and Jeanne Carson are perfect as a desperate couple who stumble upon a camera that takes pictures of the future? Think about that one.
Greedy is as greedy does and the couple, along with Carson's brother (Adam Williams) get rich quick going to the racetrack. Complications naturally arise
Marcel Hillard, who played some super villains in his day, portrays the crafty hotel waiter and he's the proverbial cherry on the top. The acting is terrific, particularly Jeanne Carson, a staple in many classic tv shows. She is at her exasperated best.
Hilarious fluff, and yes I agree, a great insert during a TZ marathon between more serious episodes. A popular episode that all of us kids grew up on, and it just keeps on giving. SEASON 2 EPISODE 10 remastered.
Fred Clark and Jeanne Carson are perfect as a desperate couple who stumble upon a camera that takes pictures of the future? Think about that one.
Greedy is as greedy does and the couple, along with Carson's brother (Adam Williams) get rich quick going to the racetrack. Complications naturally arise
Marcel Hillard, who played some super villains in his day, portrays the crafty hotel waiter and he's the proverbial cherry on the top. The acting is terrific, particularly Jeanne Carson, a staple in many classic tv shows. She is at her exasperated best.
Hilarious fluff, and yes I agree, a great insert during a TZ marathon between more serious episodes. A popular episode that all of us kids grew up on, and it just keeps on giving. SEASON 2 EPISODE 10 remastered.
Smile and say cheese!
Coventry3 April 2018
Rod Serling was a genius in general for creating "The Twilight Zone", but also a truly gifted storyteller and someone bright enough to realize that a series such as this one requires sufficient variation and regularly a drastic change in tone. The last couple of episodes have been quite enduring, with stories about melancholic time-traveling and aristocrats sacrificing their own daughter, so Serling very well knew that it was time for a light-headed interlude when he came up with "A Most Unusual Camera". This easily could have been a grim tale as well, considering the basic plot line, but Serling and Company opted for a tongue-in-cheek approach instead, and I daresay this approach fits the story best. A couple of small crooks sits in their hotel room and overlooks the loot of an antique shop robbery. It's all worthless rubbish until they discover that the old camera develops pictures of situations that have yet to happen in the nearby future. Later they are joined by the wife's brother and the trio ingeniously establish that the camera can make them filthy rich when they use it to take pictures of the ranking board at the horse racetrack. Knowing that crime doesn't pay, and that this is "The Twilight Zone", you know they won't live happily ever after. The tone of this episode is determined by the relaxed performances of the lead actors Fred Clark and Adam Williams and actress Jean Carson, as well as the clever and comical dialogues. It's a very enjoyable (albeit not highly memorable) story that flies by quickly and leaves you with a big smile on the face.
Lightweight, but enjoyable story
Woodyanders18 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Three criminals seek to make a fast fortune after acquiring a camera that takes photos of events that transpire five minutes into the future.
Director John Rich keeps the entertaining story moving along at a snappy pace and maintains an amiable lighthearted tone throughout. Rod Serling's breezy script has lots of fun with the neat premise and milks several solid belly laughs at the expense of the bumbling small-time crook protagonists. Moreover, it's acted with flair by a game cast: Fred Clark as cranky ringleader Chester Dietrich, Jean Carson as ditsy dame Paula, Adam Williams as the dim-witted Woodward, and Marcel Hillaire as meddlesome French butler Pierre. Only the surprisingly grim ending feels out of place in this otherwise cute and amusing show.
Director John Rich keeps the entertaining story moving along at a snappy pace and maintains an amiable lighthearted tone throughout. Rod Serling's breezy script has lots of fun with the neat premise and milks several solid belly laughs at the expense of the bumbling small-time crook protagonists. Moreover, it's acted with flair by a game cast: Fred Clark as cranky ringleader Chester Dietrich, Jean Carson as ditsy dame Paula, Adam Williams as the dim-witted Woodward, and Marcel Hillaire as meddlesome French butler Pierre. Only the surprisingly grim ending feels out of place in this otherwise cute and amusing show.
'What has humanity ever done for us?'
darrenpearce1113 December 2013
Very light but enjoyable entry about Paula and Chester (Jean Carson and Fred Clark) as small time crooks and big time losers. They have stolen a lot of stuff, mostly worthless, but a strange camera turns out to be a fantastical novelty. Paula's brother Woodward (Adam Williams, Sailor from 'The Hitch-Hiker', series one) gets involved and the unholy three think they're onto a good thing.
The self interested silliness of the three main characters makes this a nice one to sandwich between more serious Zones in a marathon or whatnot. Shallow characters who couldn't outwit a gnat let alone keep control of an TZ object with a special power. The voice, smile ,and posturing of Jean Carson are just right for the vain Paula. The ending is often criticized, but the time flies by with this one and it will have to do.
The self interested silliness of the three main characters makes this a nice one to sandwich between more serious Zones in a marathon or whatnot. Shallow characters who couldn't outwit a gnat let alone keep control of an TZ object with a special power. The voice, smile ,and posturing of Jean Carson are just right for the vain Paula. The ending is often criticized, but the time flies by with this one and it will have to do.
Great dark comedy
drystyx24 October 2023
Three, well actually four, characters deal with a magic camera of the Polaroid sort, which sends out pictures, but instead of the photos being what is there in the present, shows what will appear in about five minutes or so afterwards.
The characters, all being fairly likable rogues, go through a dark comedy with this camera. Being a horseman, I know what they will do first, lol.
It's what they do afterwards that makes for the fun. It isn't a "deep" story. This is a "fun story".
Being a fun story, the acting gears towards the roguish fun that comes with a story like this.
The fourth character is the only drawback to this one. He seems a bit forced into the show, but it's still a hoot.
The characters, all being fairly likable rogues, go through a dark comedy with this camera. Being a horseman, I know what they will do first, lol.
It's what they do afterwards that makes for the fun. It isn't a "deep" story. This is a "fun story".
Being a fun story, the acting gears towards the roguish fun that comes with a story like this.
The fourth character is the only drawback to this one. He seems a bit forced into the show, but it's still a hoot.
A great episode? No. But it sure was fun to watch.
planktonrules29 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Some idiot criminals happen upon a camera that can predict the future. After a while, it's certain that either the camera is cursed and the future it shows is only negative and twisted OR the guys are just idiots and make their own horrid futures. Either way, it's fun to watch the knuckleheads slowly ruin their lives.
This episode is rather "light weight" compared to some of the more serious or philosophical Twilight Zone shows. However, despite being a bit silly, it did score high marks in the category of fun. Seeing Fred Clark and the rest as they totally waste this "gift" is a kick and very reminiscent of another funny and twisted Twilight Zone episode ("WHAT'S IN THE BOX") which starred William Demarest and Joan Blondell.
This episode is rather "light weight" compared to some of the more serious or philosophical Twilight Zone shows. However, despite being a bit silly, it did score high marks in the category of fun. Seeing Fred Clark and the rest as they totally waste this "gift" is a kick and very reminiscent of another funny and twisted Twilight Zone episode ("WHAT'S IN THE BOX") which starred William Demarest and Joan Blondell.
A Real Silly Ending
Samuel-Shovel13 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
In "A Most Unusual Camera" a pair of crooks fresh of off an antique store robbery find themselves a camera that takes pictures 5 minutes into the future. The couple (along with the wife's dimwitted brother) try to figure out how to profit off this strange device successfully.
I really liked the initial premise of this episode. The camera trick is cool and for most of the episode they control it. But towards the end, when they find out its short shelf life, they begin to let it control them.
The last 5 minutes of this unfortunately turns into a Three Stooges sketch with all their bickering and clumsily falling out windows and whatnot. It really detracts from what otherwise would have been a solid little episode.
I really liked the initial premise of this episode. The camera trick is cool and for most of the episode they control it. But towards the end, when they find out its short shelf life, they begin to let it control them.
The last 5 minutes of this unfortunately turns into a Three Stooges sketch with all their bickering and clumsily falling out windows and whatnot. It really detracts from what otherwise would have been a solid little episode.
Take My Picture!
Hitchcoc13 November 2008
Three small time criminals find an old camera among the booty that they have taken from a curio shop. The camera has the ability to show a picture of something happening five minutes in the future. One crook takes a picture of his wife and the photo shows her wearing a mink coat. A few minutes later, they find a mink coat in a box. They try to figure out how to work this to their benefits, but are too stupid to figure anything out. Then it dons on them that they can see the results of horse races before they are run. Down to the track they go and have the world by the butt. It's what they do afterward that this story is all about. It's about stupidity, carelessness, haphazard actions. The whole thing is pretty predictable, but has a few choice moments.
Some Things Man Was Never Meant To Know.
rmax30482313 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Fred Clark, Adam Williams, and Jean Carson are small-time burglars who return from a job, dump the goods on the table, and discover the pawn shop only carried junk. Except for an odd-looking, old-fashioned camera that can't be opened. They soon discover that the camera pops up pictures of an object -- but only as the object will appear five minutes in the future. Overjoyed, the visit the race track and take pictures of the tote board (or whatever it's called) just before the race begins. The picture that emerges shows the winners. So they make a fortune but when they get back to their room, an argument follows, and the two men fall out of the window. In short order, the wife falls out of the window, followed by a French waiter who was blackmailing them. The owner's allotment of ten pictures is now used up. End of story.
I always enjoy it. It has no message, no drama. It's just an entertaining divertimento. Especially likable is Adam Williams' incredibly dumb refugee from the slams. He seems to have the intelligence of a rather mature eggplant. And, as Clark's wife, Jean Carson has a voice that sounds as if it were cured by ten thousand packs of Camel cigarettes. The French waiter, Marcel Hillaire, was a dead ringer for Fritz Lang in Woody Allen's "Take The Money And Run." It was written by Rod Serling. You can usually tell when Serling is responsible for the script because his stories almost always have a line like, "It's a GAG. Sure, that's what it is -- a GAG." This particular gag is an undemanding success.
I always enjoy it. It has no message, no drama. It's just an entertaining divertimento. Especially likable is Adam Williams' incredibly dumb refugee from the slams. He seems to have the intelligence of a rather mature eggplant. And, as Clark's wife, Jean Carson has a voice that sounds as if it were cured by ten thousand packs of Camel cigarettes. The French waiter, Marcel Hillaire, was a dead ringer for Fritz Lang in Woody Allen's "Take The Money And Run." It was written by Rod Serling. You can usually tell when Serling is responsible for the script because his stories almost always have a line like, "It's a GAG. Sure, that's what it is -- a GAG." This particular gag is an undemanding success.
"You got a leak in your attic?"
classicsoncall12 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Four hundred pounds of curio shop junk, a fortune telling camera, and three shysters who could just barely tell time with a broken watch twice a day. Rod Serling must have been on a severe time constraint when he came up with this one, because even though the plot has the germ of a good idea, the execution is utterly dismal. Then again, maybe it was supposed to come across as absurd. I mean really, are we supposed to believe that four people could all fall out of the same high rise window over a dumb camera? I like my twist endings and I like my irony, but this was screwball that just didn't quite work for me. Maybe if the story had gone on for another five minutes...
"A Most Unusual Camera" is better-than average TZ episode
chuck-reilly26 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
"A Most Unusual Camera" (1960) is one of the better Twilight Zone episodes of that year. Fred Clark and Jean Carson play two small-time crooks who end up with a strange camera after one of their petty robberies. The camera seems to take pictures of events that haven't occurred yet, but it takes these two dim-witted thieves a while to figure that out. Actually, the camera gives a vision of the future five minutes in advance. When Ms. Carson's equally clueless brother Woodward (Adam Williams) arrives on the scene after escaping from prison, old Fred finally realizes the true potential of the camera. "We take it to the racetrack and take a picture of the board. It'll show all the winners beforehand and then we place our bets," he explains. But as in all Twilight Zone episodes, too much of a good thing always ends up with decidedly mixed results. Despite winning millions, it doesn't take long for the three intrepid gamblers to go at each other's throats, and all because of that mysterious camera.
"A Most Unusual Camera" is played mostly for a few cheap laughs but its execution is first-rate. Fred Clark, who made a career out of playing shady characters, is at his amoral best; Ms. Carson (with her phony heart palpitations) is a perfect foil for him. Adam Williams, who could portray a psychotic as good as anyone, has a field day as Woodward. Marcel Hillaire, as a conniving French waiter, nearly steals the whole show in the last five minutes as he attempts to "clean out" the unsuspecting trio. Alas, poor Marcel suffers the same fate as his greedy adversaries. Having the keys to the Magic Kingdom, and not knowing what to do with them, was a familiar theme from writer/creator Rod Serling. He makes his point perfectly clear once again with his "Unusual Camera."
"A Most Unusual Camera" is played mostly for a few cheap laughs but its execution is first-rate. Fred Clark, who made a career out of playing shady characters, is at his amoral best; Ms. Carson (with her phony heart palpitations) is a perfect foil for him. Adam Williams, who could portray a psychotic as good as anyone, has a field day as Woodward. Marcel Hillaire, as a conniving French waiter, nearly steals the whole show in the last five minutes as he attempts to "clean out" the unsuspecting trio. Alas, poor Marcel suffers the same fate as his greedy adversaries. Having the keys to the Magic Kingdom, and not knowing what to do with them, was a familiar theme from writer/creator Rod Serling. He makes his point perfectly clear once again with his "Unusual Camera."
Kind of goofy
Calicodreamin4 June 2021
Weak, one of TZ's "dumb criminals" episodes
bgaiv20 April 2023
I wonder if TV shows of this era were required to depict criminals as utter fools, lest everyone would decide to go out and become criminals.
That these criminals are able to carry out ANY type of burglary is so improbable, they are effectively the Twilight Zone version of Twilight Zone criminals.
The premise here with these silly cat burglars is played as a silly comedy, and all but completely squanders the potential of the premise.
There are plenty of stupid burglars in the real world, but they would never be as "successful" as these two are.
And why do I have to write a six hundred character review? That is an awful lot and results in a lot of filler words, extra spaces here and there, fewer contractions, and dumb comments like this as a part of reviews.
That these criminals are able to carry out ANY type of burglary is so improbable, they are effectively the Twilight Zone version of Twilight Zone criminals.
The premise here with these silly cat burglars is played as a silly comedy, and all but completely squanders the potential of the premise.
There are plenty of stupid burglars in the real world, but they would never be as "successful" as these two are.
And why do I have to write a six hundred character review? That is an awful lot and results in a lot of filler words, extra spaces here and there, fewer contractions, and dumb comments like this as a part of reviews.
Watch the birdie. And mind the open window!
BA_Harrison5 March 2022
After knocking off a curio shop, criminal Chester Dietrich (Fred Clark) and his wife Paula (Jean Carson) find an old camera amongst the stolen goods and discover that it is able to take pictures of the near future.
A light-hearted tale with broad comedic characters, this is one of The Twilight Zone's more amusing episodes, with an absurd ending that sure takes some swallowing.
Having realised what the camera is capable of, Chester and Paula go to the races to make their fortune, accompanied by Paula's none-too-bright brother Woodward (Adam Williams), who has recently broken out of jail. When the trio find out that the camera is limited to 10 pictures per owner, they argue about what to do next with dreadful consequences.
In the episode's bonkers finalé, both Chester and Woodward fall to their death out of the hotel window while squabbling over the camera. Paula quickly gets over her shock when she realises that the money they have made is now all hers, but her delight is short lived when a sneaky French waiter (Marcel Hillaire) helps himself to her ill-gotten gains. In a series of silly contrivances, Paula ends up falling out of the window, quickly followed by the waiter. It doesn't make much sense, and there is definitely no deep meaning or philosophical message to be had (except, perhaps, that old adage 'crime doesn't pay'), but it's still quite a lot of fun.
A light-hearted tale with broad comedic characters, this is one of The Twilight Zone's more amusing episodes, with an absurd ending that sure takes some swallowing.
Having realised what the camera is capable of, Chester and Paula go to the races to make their fortune, accompanied by Paula's none-too-bright brother Woodward (Adam Williams), who has recently broken out of jail. When the trio find out that the camera is limited to 10 pictures per owner, they argue about what to do next with dreadful consequences.
In the episode's bonkers finalé, both Chester and Woodward fall to their death out of the hotel window while squabbling over the camera. Paula quickly gets over her shock when she realises that the money they have made is now all hers, but her delight is short lived when a sneaky French waiter (Marcel Hillaire) helps himself to her ill-gotten gains. In a series of silly contrivances, Paula ends up falling out of the window, quickly followed by the waiter. It doesn't make much sense, and there is definitely no deep meaning or philosophical message to be had (except, perhaps, that old adage 'crime doesn't pay'), but it's still quite a lot of fun.
Good premise, poor script.
fedor82 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The characters are uber-corny. For example, the blonde fails to notice that the photo shows her with a fur coat that she'd never seen before.
The crooks are so careless they let a hotel attendant enter the room full of cash, which is utterly absurd. It would make more sense for them to turn on each other - but only if they were not related or were strangers to each other, hence the ending comes off as way too cartoonish, with several dumb plot-twists.
The blonde's decision to take a 10th pic is absurd, so is the hotel worker robbing a woman whose husband and brother just fell out of a window.
Awful dumb dialog, cardboard characters, but some elements of fun too. In "Escape Clause", "The Fever", "The Mirror", and "What's in the Box" one person falls through a window, which is dumb enough, but here it's four. Count 'em, four. One of the stupidest endings in the show.
The crooks are so careless they let a hotel attendant enter the room full of cash, which is utterly absurd. It would make more sense for them to turn on each other - but only if they were not related or were strangers to each other, hence the ending comes off as way too cartoonish, with several dumb plot-twists.
The blonde's decision to take a 10th pic is absurd, so is the hotel worker robbing a woman whose husband and brother just fell out of a window.
Awful dumb dialog, cardboard characters, but some elements of fun too. In "Escape Clause", "The Fever", "The Mirror", and "What's in the Box" one person falls through a window, which is dumb enough, but here it's four. Count 'em, four. One of the stupidest endings in the show.
Click
safenoe28 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The concept of A Most Unusual Camera is quite intriguing for sure, and deals with alienation and how one can see the future supposedly and how this can overcome alienation because we know what's going to happen supposedly. A reboot of this would be amazing with cameras galore.
This episode plays upon alienation, and Marc Scott Zicree, in his superb Twilight Zone book, theorizes that The Twilight Zone's appeal was that it dealt with themes of alienation, particularly after world war two when the triumphant defense personnel returned and married and moved their families to tracts in the suburbs, where people kept themselves to themselves.
This episode plays upon alienation, and Marc Scott Zicree, in his superb Twilight Zone book, theorizes that The Twilight Zone's appeal was that it dealt with themes of alienation, particularly after world war two when the triumphant defense personnel returned and married and moved their families to tracts in the suburbs, where people kept themselves to themselves.
A future and some pictures.
AvionPrince1611 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
An interesting story even if now it can seemed a little bit classic because we are more advanced in photography and we already seen that. But the talks about humanity from some burglars. We see also the greediness about money and things get more complicate when they know it left only 10 pics. We are still wondering how they will deal with this. And the brother and the husband will get more complicate and will died. The woman will survive anyway but the french will get the money. And will take advantage of the situation of the woman. So the burglars will have nothing and the french will die also? It was a kind of a weird ending. But good anyway.
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