TWILIGHT ZONE, THE: BACK THERE (TV)
Summary
One in this science fiction/fantasy anthology series hosted by Rod Serling. In this episode, a group of men play cards at a posh gentlemen's club in modern-day Washington D.C. and discuss the idea of time travel and whether one could, in theory, change the past and therefore affect the present. One of the men, Corrigan, is doubtful, and leaves the club, accidentally colliding with a butler on his way out. Once outside, he experiences a strange, dizzying sensation as the world seems to shift around him. He decides to head home, but once there, the landlady does not recognize him and is suspicious when he asks for a room, saying she only rents to “acceptable” boarders and asking about his personal history. A couple comes down the stairs on the way to the theatre and the landlady greets them, telling them to “applaud the president.” Corrigan asks her what she meant by the comment, and when he looks at the man’s antiquated military uniform, he realizes that he has traveled back to 1865, and that it is April 14, the night on which President Lincoln will be shot. He asks the couple about the play they are seeing, and they confirm that it is “Our American Cousin” at the Ford Theatre, where the assassination took—or will take—place. Shocked, he immediately runs to the theatre and shouts that the president is about to be murdered, and he is arrested and locked up, despite his protests. A man calling himself Mr. Wellington comes to the station, having heard about Corrigan’s arrest, and offers to take the man into his custody to help him. One of the policeman has doubts and wonders if they should take Corrigan seriously, but the sergeant brushes him off and releases Corrigan to Wellington.
Wellington takes the man to his room and pours him a drink, and informs him that he is a psychiatrist, although he is unfamiliar with the futuristic term. He asks about Corrigan’s claims, and Corrigan says that he is sure about what is going to happen, but he cannot explain why, knowing it sounds impossible. He suddenly starts to feel faint and ill, and realizes that Wellington has drugged him. Wellington lends him his handkerchief, telling him that he is ill and needs to rest, and departs. Corrigan struggles valiantly to the door to warn someone about the assassination, but he passes out. When he is discovered by a policeman and a chambermaid, he tells them what happened, but they tell him that no one named Wellington is staying in the house. He looks back at the handkerchief and sees the “J.W.B.” monogram and realizes, to his horror, that the man was in fact John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Lincoln, and that he drugged Corrigan to prevent him interfering. They suddenly hear a crowd outside spreading the news, and Corrigan realizes that he is too late and the murder has already taken place. He laments that no one listened to him and goes outside—and finds that he is back in the 1960s, as if nothing has happened.
When he goes back into the club, he finds the man with whom he collided previously sitting at the table with the other gentlemen, sharing stories about acquiring wealth. The man talks about how his great-grandfather became wealthy when he infamously tried to warn people of Lincoln’s assassination ahead of time, and though he failed, he gained notoriety and eventually became the chief of police and amassed a fortune. Stunned, Corrigan asks the man if he was ever an attendant at the club, and, taken aback, the man replies no, as he has always been a person of wealth. Corrigan states that he now believes it is possible to change some things in the past, although not everything. Reaching into his pocket, he discovers he still has the handkerchief. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: January 13, 1961 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:30:00
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:20060
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1959-1964
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Colgate toothpaste
- TV - Commercials - Palmolive facial soap
- TV - Commercials - Sanka coffee
- TV - Commercials - Wildroot cream oil hair product
- TV - Promos - "My Sister Eileen"
- TV - Promos - future episodes of "The Twilight Zone"
CREDITS
- Buck Houghton … Producer
- Del Reisman … Associate Producer
- David Orrick McDearmon … Director
- Rod Serling … Created by, Writer
- Jerry Goldsmith … Music by
- Russell Johnson … Cast, Pete Corrigan
- Paul Hartman … Cast, Police Sergeant
- John Lasell … Cast, John Wilkes Booth / Jonathan Wellington
- James Lydon … Cast, Patrolman
- Raymond Bailey … Cast, Millard
- Raymond Greenleaf … Cast, Jackson
- John Eldredge … Cast, Whittaker
- Jean Inness … Cast, Mrs. Landers
- Lew Brown … Cast, Lieutenant
- Carol Rossen … Cast, Girl
- Nora Marlowe … Cast, Chambermaid
- Pat O'Malley … Cast, Attendant