Cell 227

Brian Keith plays a man on death row who is innocent. But he has come to realize the inevitability of his situation. He watches as others go to the gas chamber and realizes histrionics are of no use. He is a philosopher in his own right and stands tall. But there is something that gets to him that eventually takes him out. The script here is far superior to most of these that are sort of thrown together. There are some excellent conversations with a priest who doesn't cram religion down the throat of the man. He questions his passivity but it anger is under the surface and will out. Brian Keith is fantastic in this episode.

After watching the series randomly and incurring a bunch of light-hearted episodes, I finally got to this gem. Talk about an unexpected twist, although something tells me I may have read the original story sometime way back. The complexity of the central character is done so well in the half hour we have to know him. And what we learn about this philosophical prisoner gets more intriguing - and unexpected - as the story develops. I won't elaborate so I don't have to get into spoiler territory. Brian Keith is brilliant in the role. I'm not sure if it's intentional but the prison staff all seem to be big, burly characters, compared to the inmates. An excellent episode.

It is so rare that an AH PRESENTS episode brings so much emotion, in which the audience may fell so much empathy for a character. The Brian Keith one is outstanding here as a man full of pride and dignity. I felt so pain for him, what a terrific ending, in the pure AH PRESENTS line, which reminded another episode about a condemned prisoner, in death row, who just about to be executed, and...But no spoiler in my comment. Just enjoy.

One note about this classic episode, and it's very interesting. Written by Bill S. Ballinger, who wrote seven stories for Hitch, the episode was released not too long after the execution of convicted serial rapist Caryl Chessman, who long claimed his innocence, even writing books on the subject. One of his famous books was titled, "Cell 2455, Death Row," similar to the title of this story.

Brian Keith, definitely one of his finest tv roles, plays professor Herbert Morrison in the same predicament. He's been convicted of murdering one of his female students, though insisits he's totally innocent, however it looks like he's doomed and destined for the gas chamber. I agree with the last reviewer, Morrison plays it super cool, though scared deep inside, and has a not too chummy relationship with "smiling" guard Pops (James Westerfield), believing he gets his kicks watching guys lose it. Morrison ain't gonna' give him the benefit, even IF he is executed. Period.

An excellent character study, directed with style by Paul Henreid. James Best plays Hennessy, Liam Sullivan (famous for STAR TREK) plays Father McCann and look for Sal Ponti as De Baca. Sal was a songwriter and wrote for 50s teen sensation Fabian.

The ending (and what an ending!) will stick with you, thanks to the master of suspense. SEASON 5 EPISODE 34 Universal dvd box set. 16 hrs. All seven half hour seasons are on dvd in a single box. Released 2022.

"Cell 227" is set on death row in some prison. The opening scene is VERY powerful, as one of the doomed men is losing his mind waiting for a reprieve that never arrives. During this scene, most of the fellow inmates cheer him on...trying to get him to relax and hope for the best. But 'the Professor' isn't about to try giving the man false hope, as he's a fatalist and knows the man is likely going to die. This irritates the other death row inmates...and he tries to act cool and undisturbed about his own upcoming execution. But as the episode progresses, you can see that he's trying to fool himself and others...he clearly is scared but is acting cool to hide this. He also refuses to help his lawyer in any way to push for a reprieve or stay of execution.

The twist in this episode is quite frightening and sad....and it makes for an incredibly powerful show. It also makes you think twice about capital punishment! Well written and Brian Keith is excellent in the lead.