NIGHT GALLERY: CLASS OF '99 / WITCHES' FEAST / DEATH IN THE FAMILY (TV)
Summary
One in this supernatural anthology series hosted by Rod Serling.
This episode consists of four stories: “Death in the Family”; “The Merciful”; ”Class of ‘99”; and “Witches’ Feast.”
“Death in the Family” opens with Jared Soames, sole occupant and director of a funeral home, receives the body of an old man to be buried using a charity fund. The man has no relatives or friends to speak of and will be buried unmourned; Soames takes pity on the man. Later, an escaped felon breaks into the funeral home looking for a place to rest. He heard Soames singing and, upon further investigation, finds him singing to the body of the old man, seated in a chair. Perturbed but unmoving, the felon rests in the home for a time. Later, he finds Soames with several preserved dead bodies seated around a dinner table; Soames says he is having a “party” with his “family” and invites the felon to join. The police track down the felon and break into the funeral home, only to find the “party” and its grisly conclusion.
In “The Merciful,” an old woman is finishing the process of building a brick wall on the entrance of a room that has her husband in it. She indicates that it is the husband’s time to die and that it will all be over soon. When the last brick is in place, the husband hears the doorbell ring and gets up to answer it; the wife has sealed herself in a room instead of her husband.
“Class of ‘99” opens in a university as a professor prepares to give his students the oral portion of their final exam. The first portion concerns the topic of propulsion; all the students answer correctly except for one, Johnson, who seems to have slight trouble with his question. The professor lectures him on his disobedience. The test then moves to social sciences, as students are called up and asked to exercise their prejudices and bigotry on one another, partially escalating to physical violence. All obey without protest until one student, Elkins, is asked to shoot another student for being an “enemy.” Elkins cannot bring himself to do it, so the professor activates a series of buttons and the students freeze in place. He unfreezes Johnson and Elkins is branded a “traitor”; Elkins shoots Johnson and redeems himself in the professor’s eyes. It is revealed that the students are robots, built in the image of man and modeled after the behavior of mankind.
“Witches’ Feast” details a trio of witches cackling about their cauldron as they prepare a meal. They are quite hungry, but must wait for a fourth witch so they may eat. The fourth witch finally appears and brings them their meal: a ham sandwich. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: September 22, 1971 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:50:57
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:01960
- GENRE: Fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy, science fiction
- SERIES RUN: NBC- TV series- 1970-1973
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jack Laird … Producer
- John Lewis … Music by
- Gil Mellé … Theme Music by
- Rod Serling … Host
- For "Death in the Family"
- Jeannot Szwarc … Director
- Rod Serling … Writer
- Miriam Allen DeFord … Based on a story by
- E. G. Marshall … Cast, Jared Soames
- Desi Arnaz Jr. … Cast, Doran
- Noam Pitlik … Cast, Driver
- James B. Sikking … Cast, State Trooper
- John Williams Evans … Cast, 2nd Trooper
- Bill Elliott … Cast, 3rd Trooper
- Bud Walls … Cast, Grave Digger
- For "The Merciful"
- Jeannot Szwarc … Director
- Jack Laird … Writer
- Imogene Coca … Cast, Wife
- King Donovan … Cast, Husband
- For "Class of '99"
- Jeannot Szwarc … Director
- Rod Serling … Writer
- Vincent Price … Cast, Professor
- Brandon de Wilde … Cast, Johnson
- Randolph Mantooth (see also: Randy Mantooth) … Cast, Elkins
- Frank Hotchkiss … Cast, Clinton
- Hilly Hicks … Cast, Barnes
- Suzanne Cohane … Cast, Miss Fields
- Barbara Shannon … Cast, Miss Peterson
- Richard Doyle … Cast, Bruce
- Hunter von Leer … Cast, Templeton
- John Davey … Cast, McWirter
- Lenore Kasdorf … Cast, Miss Wheeton
- For "Witches' Feast"
- Jerrold Freedman … Director
- Gene Kearney … Writer
- Agnes Moorehead … Cast, Head Witch
- Ruth Buzzi … Cast, Hungry Witch
- Allison McKay … Cast, 4th Witch
- Fran Ryan … Cast, 3rd Witch