Every weekday, we’re going to review an episode of Rod Serling’s classic sci-fi/horror TV series “The Twilight Zone“. We’re starting from the beginning and we will be working our way through every episode the series has offered, including the episodes from the 80’s. You can see all the reviews right here.
“The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine” – Directed by Mitchell Leisen
Broadcast date: October 23rd, 2959
The story of this episode follows Barbara Trenton (Ida Lupino), an actress who spends the majority of her time locking herself away in a screening room in her home where she watches her old films. She delights in seeing herself as she once was, a graceful, beautiful star who stood next to some of the greats. Alas, age has taken its toll on Barbara and she no longer is getting any roles. No roles, that is, until her agent Danny (Martin Balsam) stops by for a visit. He lets her know that the studio wants to meet with her about a part but he’s quick to make sure he mentions how much time has passed, almost like a warning that the part will be for an older character. Barbara chooses to remain oblivious to his warnings, hoping that she’ll get to star in a musical or, by chance, a love story.
When they arrive at the studio, it’s revealed that the part is for a mother, one that is jubilant but only a small part. Barbara blows up, saying she’s never played a mother and won’t start now as well as that she never plans on accepting bit parts. The studio head explodes at her seeming disrespect and tells her that she should accept her age as well as come to terms with the fact that studios can get anyone her age for a part by diving into the “community chest”. Heartbroken and obviously destroyed, Barbara leaves and immerses herself all the more in her screening room.
To try to bring her out of her shell, Danny finds a leading actor from one of her films, Jerry (Jerome Cowan), and brings him to her home in the hopes that she’ll recognize the reality of the situation she’s in. Thrilled to see her costar once again, Barbara flies into the room only to see him not as the suave actor that so enchanted her all those years ago but as an old man with thick glasses and white hair. She goes even further into denial, saying that he must have died and that this can’t be the man she remembers, telling him and Danny to leave.
She then goes back into her screening room where she watches her film that she did with Jerry. She pleads and ultimately wishes that she could join him in the film. The screen blurs and cuts away to Barbara’s maid, who wants to bring in a small snack. Not seeing Barbara anywhere in the room, her eyes cross the projection screen and what she sees causes her to scream in terror and drop the tray. She calls Danny, who comes at once to see what is the matter. He turns the projector back on to see all of the costars that Barbara worked with entering her real-life home, looking just as they did 25 years ago. She descends the stairs, welcomes everyone, and thanks them for coming to her party. As she takes a younger Jerry’s arm to walk through the back door to the patio, Danny calls out and begs her to come back to reality. She turns, blows a kiss, and tosses her handkerchief as a farewell before leaving. The movie ends and Danny is left stunned.
As he leaves the room, he notices that her handkerchief is on the floor, right where she’d tossed it in the film. He picks it up and smiles wistfully, saying, “To wishes, Barbie. To the ones that come true.”
For the fourth episode of this series, I’d rank it as probably second in terms of quality and message. It’s the one that’s perhaps the most relatable as we all have a fear of aging and becoming irrelevant. We see that every time our parents call to ask how we’re doing or to see if we want to come over for dinner. We see it in the joy our grandparents have when they get grandchildren. It’s understandable, although for many (hopefully most) of us it’s not something we will do ourselves. But we can empathize with Barbara’s distortion of reality as acting and being beautiful on the big screen was not just her job but her life. To admit that she lost that youthful appeal would be the same as cutting out a piece of her soul. It’s heartbreaking to see her inability to accept the situation she’s naturally come to and there is a bittersweet feeling when we see her with her old costars on that film reel. She has embraced her false reality at the cost of eschewing the real one. But I feel like she can’t be blamed.
Once again, the episode features cinematographer George T. Clemens, who wonderfully plays not only with the limited sets of the episode but also with the differences between the light of the world outside of the dark screening room. Additionally, the music of composer Franz Waxman (Bride of Frankenstein, Rear Window, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) is delightful.
Even though we’ve seen “The Twilight Zone” tackle a personification of Death in “One For the Angels”, the twist in “The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine” is the first time that I felt like something was really supernatural and otherworldly. Death is a part of our lives but wishing to enter a celluloid alternate reality? Now that’s where we’re really entering “The Twilight Zone”.
