The Rip Van Winkle Caper

I was just doing a review of the show in general And listed in it my dozen favorite episodes. I did not include this one, But it was close. This to me is an episode that like some others falls just just outside that elite group. It's a very fine episode. The plot is good, intriguing, suspenseful, a good science fiction idea. The characters-Really just two-Are interesting ones. I want to know what happens to them, and Their interaction is very watchable. The cast as usual is taken from the best that was available, quality "character" actors when not outright stars. Key to the show is the ending twist, And this one does not disappoint. I'd have no problem including this one in my second dozen best episodes of the series :)

This is one of my favorite Twilight Zones because of the thought of jumping ahead 100 years is a wonderful daydream. However, there are silly plot holes as others have mentioned, but it still makes for a fun 30 minutes. It's clear these guys don't trust each other, and how did the genius leader get mixed up with the other three losers? So - here's what I would have done. If I were one of the four people involved at the beginning, the instructions were to count to ten and then press the button to release the sleeping gas. I would be the only one NOT to press my button. Then wait ten minutes or so, and then jump out of my box. Now I have all the gold, the truck, and goodbye to those other three dopes.

Simon Oakland, Oscar Beregi, Lew Gallow, and John Mitchum play four thieves who have successfully made off with 1 Million dollars worth of gold bullion, and one of them has invented four suspended animation capsules for them to hide in for about a hundred years, where they will no longer be wanted men(So they think). The plan works, and they do wake up a century in the future, but one of them has died in an accident, and the other three learn that there is no honor among thieves... Entertaining episode despite some glaring plot holes and oddities(like why they didn't get rich from selling the suspended animation technology itself!) Still, a good cast makes a big difference.

The above poster displays a fundamental misunderstanding about the value of gold and how inflation works. Gold has a static "value" - you invest in gold during times of inflation because when you cash back out, that gold will have the same amount of buying power it started with. It's the dollar that loses value, not the gold.

The plan in the episode is sound. The million dollars worth of gold would have bought the criminals roughly the same amount of stuff in 2061 as it would have in 1961.

It is of course still a plot hole in that suspended animation technology would be worth far more than $1M of gold, but it's a TV show, one that has a specific story and point to it, like all Twilight Zones had. It's simply a plot device.

Mastermind Beregui leads three other crooks in gold bullion heist, planning to come back 100 years hence through use of suspended animation.

Interesting episode with several nice twists. Still and all, why would anyone risk life and limb in a gold bullion heist when he's got a blueprint for suspended animation that's easily worth millions. Oh well, this is the twilight zone. Episode benefits from Death Valley locations and expert make-up that makes mastermind Beregui's face almost crack open with thirst. Futuristic car lends authenticity to time passage; however more imagination should have gone into the futuristic humans. They look too much like suburbanites from the 1960's. Even so, it's an entertaining half-hour with a nice slice of economic wisdom included.