The Invaders
- Episode aired Jan 27, 1961
- TV-PG
- 25m
When a woman investigates a clamor in the attic of her rural house, she discovers a small UFO with little aliens emerging from it. Or so it seems.When a woman investigates a clamor in the attic of her rural house, she discovers a small UFO with little aliens emerging from it. Or so it seems.When a woman investigates a clamor in the attic of her rural house, she discovers a small UFO with little aliens emerging from it. Or so it seems.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was Rod Serling's favorite episode from an outside writer.
- GoofsThe isolated farm woman leads a meager existence with no luxuries in sight. Her hands, however, in several close ups, show Miss Moorhead's long, tapered, finely manicured and polished fingernails, something that wouldn't have been a consideration for the character.
- Quotes
[opening narration]
Narrator: This is one of the out-of-the-way places, the unvisited places, bleak, wasted, dying. This is a farmhouse, handmade, crude, a house without electricity or gas, a house untouched by progress. This is the woman who lives in the house, a woman who's been alone for many years, a strong, simple woman whose only problem up until this moment has been that of acquiring enough food to eat, a woman about to face terror, which is even now coming at her from - The Twilight Zone.
- ConnectionsEdited into Twilight-Tober-Zone: The Invaders (2021)
Moorehead's performance is a pantomime tour-de-force, using no words whatsoever, yet managing to make us feel for this poor, put-upon woman. She fully inhabits the character, showing us not only the character's fear, but also her resolution, fury, and -- in one touching moment -- a touch of wounded vanity mixed with pain. Although her gestures are somewhat broad, her dedication to the role make these gestures natural outgrowths of the character, not clumsy pantomime. Remarkably, an actress who repeatedly proved herself so adept at coiled up repression (e.g., "The Magnificent Ambersons", "Citizen Kane") lets herself go in compelling fashion here.
Further contributing to the energy and power of this episode is Matheson's script. Matheson's script is a model of economy -- no wasted dialogue, in fact, only minimal dialogue. Matheson's strength as a writer was always his skill for efficient and effective plotting, and this episode contains only those actions necessary to drive home the story. This, combined with Heyes' marvelous use of light and editing to heighten the mood and suspense, keep the story moving at a crisp pace.
Perhaps this episode lacks the deep moral truths of other "Twilight Zone" episodes (Matheson's episodes usually did), it more than makes up for it in suspense and brilliant character work.
- chrstphrtully
- Jul 3, 2007
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1