Night Call

I was 10 years-old when Twilight Zone ran it's first episode: "Where Is Everybody", and I was hooked!!! In it's time there was nothing like it on television. TZ remains the best show ever on network t.v. as far as I'm concerned. I was 15 in 1964 when "Night Call' aired, and it spooked the Hell out of me!! I watched it recently, late at night with the lights off and it still was scary to watch. The hair stands up on the back of my neck just thinking of this episode. If you like being frightened by your mind and not special effects, then this is the TZ episode for you!!! There will never be another writer like Sterling and his TZ pals or another show quite like the Twilight Zone. PS-This episode takes place in the state of Maine, New England, USA, and NOT in England across the pond.

I have seen almost ALL of the original TZ episodes, and this one "Night Call" is always the one I recommend.

Beautifully photographed: Embittered and lonely Elva Keane endures unending telephone night calls from her telephone; The phone becomes an instrument of terror-when Elva is trying to get some sleep you can actually SEE the shadow's of the branches on her face from the trees outside-a beautiful touch! Miss Finch: (The telephonist) "About those call's you say you've been receiving Miss Keane.." Elva: "SAY I've been?"... NO spoilers for those yet to see-the pace and suspense never let up until it's heartbreaking conclusion.

It's really hard for me to claim this or that as the best ever, or my favorite, simply because it's so limiting and something always pops up sooner or later, to prove me a liar. In this case, however, I MUST say, I have seen all of the "Twilight Zone" episodes, half and full hour-long and of any of them, this is the one I always recommend. Directed by the vastly underrated Jacques Tourneur (whose "Cat People" revolutionized horror films as we know them, and has resonance even today), this is a story which simply plays on our fears and messes with our minds. A crippled old woman sits in her lovely cottage home, aided only by a nurse. Alone and miserable, she begins getting strange nightly phone calls from somebody who makes odd sounds and leaves her terrified. Is she senile? Her maid seems to think so, but as you might expect, there's much more here than meets the eye. I won't go into details more than to say that the ending won't disappoint and Martine Bartlett, as the old woman, is likable and sympathetic. I saw this recently and yeah, it's still scary. Is it the best "Twilight Zone" episode, though? Well, if you like creepy irony, then yeah, this one is the best, ever.

...i would recommend "Consider Her Ways", an episode in season III of "Alfred Hitchcock Hour". I saw that episode maybe 20 years ago, but seeing Gladys in tonight's TZ episode reminded me of "Consider Her Ways". After 2 decades, I remember Gladys from a single Hitchcock Hour episode? yea, it is that good.

It was startling, frightening, and perverse.

and Gladys Cooper was amazing in that show, too, as in "Night Calls". She was very convincing.

im sorry, this is not a review as much as my trying to share a gem of classic television.

Perhaps not, but it has to be in the top three, if pure tension, terror and mystery are any measure of the best The Twilight Zone had to offer during its relatively short original run. Adapted from the tightly wound short story 'Long Distance Call', penned by the legendary Richard Matheson (who wrote 15 other TZ episodes, most notably 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet'), 'Night Call' packs a wallop of fear. Everyone knows how jarring a phone call can be in the wee hours; the quiet of the evening suddenly jangled out of rest by the ringing we normally find a minor annoyance in the daylight. Our nerves are shot for a moment, and then we begin wondering, before we've gotten out of bed to answer the ring... "Who could it be? Is everything alright?" But to find... no one? Silence? Then, a few rings later... an unearthly moaning? The full meaning of the story only becomes apparent in the last few minutes, as is typical for the average TZ episode, but it also packs a punch, turning fear to pathos. The acting is superb, Ms. Cooper really was a fine actress and was perfectly cast here. Her face is so expressive, her fear so palpable that we have no choice but to 'fear' right along, until we find out who... or what... has been calling. And why. This is my personal favorite, for its subtlety and atmosphere. No aliens, no monsters (well, not conventionally), no spaceships, no end of the world preaching, just a good story well told. One you'd hear (or if you were brilliant enough, tell) around a campfire. Simple, clean, and terrifying.