4x01 "Cupid Is as Cupid Does"

We’re back! Love is in the air as Craig gazes seductively into the eyes of the first two Twilight Zone episodes he ever saw (“The Chaser” and “Jess-Belle”). Along the way he completely undermines his own efforts to be more “woke” when it comes to lusting after the opposite sex… just in time for Valentine’s Day (which was two weeks ago, so our perfect record of always being late remains intact). It’s a heady brew of Paley Center complaints, surprising Psycho tangents, and more cast connections than you can shake a silver hairpin at. Draw a warm bath, light some candles, and crack open the Courvoisier. Ooh la la!

Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards ballot: https://rondoaward.com/rondoaward.com/blog/?p=890

“I’m in the Mood for Love” performed by the Jackie Gleason & His Orchestra (from the album Music for Lovers Only, copyright 1953 by Capitol Records)


“Love Potion No. 9” performed by The Clovers (copyright 1959 by Capitol Records)


“Every Breath You Take” performed by The Police (from the album Synchronicity, copyright 1983 by A&M Records)


“The Ballad of Jess-Belle (single edit)” performed by Terrea Lea (copyright 1963 by CBS Music)


“I Wonder as I Wander” performed by Terrea Lea (from the album Folk Songs and Ballads, copyright 1958 by HiFi Records)


“The Ocelot” composed and conducted by Joseph Mullendore (from the album Honey West: Original Music from the Soundtrack, copyright 1965 by ABC Records)


“Love Potion No. 9 (instrumental)” performed by Enoch Light and The Light Brigade (from the album Discotheque Vol. 2, copyright 1965 by Command Records)

The Twilight Zone is a trademark of CBS, Inc.

Between Light and Shadow: A Twilight Zone Podcast is a nonprofit podcast. Music clips and dialogue excerpts used herein are the property of their respective copyright owners; we claim no ownership of these materials. Their use is strictly for illustrative purposes and should be considered Fair Use as stated in the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. section 107.

TZ Promo: "Jess-Belle" (2/14/1962)

Season 4, Episode 7 (#109 overall)

Cayuga Production # 4855

Originally aired 2/14/1963

Fair was Elly Glover

Dark was Jess-Belle

Both they loved the same man

And both they loved him well.

On Valentine’s Day exactly fifty years ago, The Twilight Zone returned to Appalachia to present a bewitching tale of lust, love and tragedy.

Earl Hamner Jr.’s “Jess-Belle” opens with good ol’ boy Billy Ben Turner popping the question to his sweetheart, Ellwyn Glover, during a barn dance.  Casting a bit of a shadow on the proceedings is Jess-Belle Stone (a previous conquest of Billy Ben’s), who suggests that Elly shouldn't buy that wedding dress just yet.  Yup, sounds like a triangle all right, and it sounds like Jess-Belle’s planning to stir up some trouble.

Bubble, boil, toil and trouble.

She visits Granny Hart, the resident witch of these back hills, looking for help. She trades her soul for a love potion that will make Billy Ben blind to every woman but her. It works all too well: he promptly dumps Elly and proposes to Jess-Belle instead. Jess-Belle has successfully landed her man, but now it’s time to pay the price: every night, she transforms into a leopard. Yes, you heard me right.  A LEOPARD.

Meeeeeeeeow.

The two women warring for Billy Ben’s affections are nicely contrasted:  Elly is blonde and affluent, sweet but somewhat dull, while Jess-Belle is dark-haired and troubled, unrefined yet complex.  Billy Ben’s quandary is easy to understand:  Elly represents wealth and status (and gosh, won’t their kids be gorgeous?), while Jess-Belle… well, she puts out.  Billy Ben’s got some wild oats, and he just wants to sow ‘em before he settles down.  Ellwyn is the long haul, while Jess-Belle is right now.

A literal roll in the hay.

In the hands of a less-capable actor, Jess-Belle could easily come off as villainous and conniving, but Anne Francis imbibes her with so much passion and pathos that she somehow emerges as the heroine of the piece (albeit a tragic one).  It’s pretty apparent that Billy Ben took advantage of her in the past, so her motivations seem sourced more in emotional damage than possessiveness.  We don’t really blame her for her actions, since her all-consuming, aching need for love is portrayed so utterly believably. 

I must mention that Anne Francis is impossibly hot, even more so with that jet black hair (sigh).  We last saw her in season one’s “The After Hours.”  And hey, Forbidden Planet alert!  Francis was delicious to behold as Altaira in the 1956 sci-fi classic whose imagery and props frequently pop up on The Twilight Zone.

Laura Devon is certainly easy on the eyes as well, but the superficial character of Elly Glover doesn't give her a whole lot to work with as far as complexity of character goes.  She truly shines, however, in the all-too-brief scene in which she is possessed by Jess-Belle’s spirit.  She becomes lusty and aggressive, as if some carnal switch was suddenly flipped on inside her.

There’s a great scene in act three in which Jess-Belle encounters Elly in a meadow, picking flowers (I imagine birds and mice help her get dressed in the morning, like the Disney princesses she strongly evokes), and the claws come out:

Jess-Belle:

“Lots of wildflowers around here. Saw a patch of old maid’s fern up on the mountain.”

Elly:

“I notice a lot of vixenwort around here myself.”

Oh, snap.  Cat fight!

“Jess-Belle” is chock full o’ TZ alumni.  James Best (Billy Ben Turner) appears for his third and final episode (we saw him in season two’s “The Grave” and season three’s “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank”).   Jeanette Nolan, last seen in season three’s “The Hunt,” is excellent as Granny Hart.  The town minister is played by Jon Lormer in his fourth and final TZ appearance (we saw him in season one’s “Excecution,” season two’s “Dust,” and in season three’s “The Last Rites of JeffMyrtlebank”).  Luther Glover, Ellwyn’s father, is played by George Mitchell in his third of four TZ appearances (we saw him in “The Hitch-hiker” and “Execution” in season one, and we’ll see him again in season five’s “Ring-a-Ding Girl”).  Ossie Stone, Jess-Belle’s beleaguered mother, is played by Virginia Gregg, who will return for “The Masks” in season five.  And finally, Obed Miller is played by Jim Boles, who also appeared in season three’s “The Arrival.” 

Thank cue (groan).

Nathan Van Cleave contributes a perfectly serviceable score (some cues of which are reminiscent of his earlier “Perchance to Dream” and “A World of Difference” scores), but what’s really memorable is the original song (music by Van Cleave, lyrics by Earl Hamner, Jr.), gradually interwoven throughout the episode one verse at a time.  Note that each verse shares its title with the corresponding cue; however, I prefer to think of the collective song as, simply, “The Ballad of Jess-Belle.”  I've gone ahead and pieced the verses together for your listening enjoyment:  

“Jess-Belle” is one of the better offerings of TZ’s fourth season, elevated considerably by Anne Francis’s tortured performance in the lead.  And did I mention there’s a real live leopard?

Next week:  Robert Duvall finds a tiny little soul mate.

RIP Anne Francis (9/16/1930 - 1/02/2011)

The Twilight Zone is filled with women. Unfortunately, many of them are drab and forgettable. There are a few shimmering gems that shine through, however... Suzanne Lloyd, extolled in previous entries, and of course Inger Stevens and Julie Newmar (come to think of it, Gail Kobe was pretty tasty too). But for me, one beauty stands above all others as the preeminent Twilight Zone babe. Her name is Anne Francis. And yesterday, tragically, she passed away.

Publicity shot for Forbidden Planet. God, she was gorgeous.

We've already seen her in the unforgettable "The After Hours" from season 1, and we'll see her again in a much richer, nuanced performance in season 4's "Jess-Belle," but she's probably best known as the naive young beauty who distracts Leslie Nielsen's entire crew in Forbidden Planet, a film with many TZ connections. Come to think of it, Nielsen just passed away in November.

Ms. Francis in 2002, at the first Twilight Zone Convention in Hollywood.

I'm sad to say I never got her autograph. I know my friend Andrew Ramage did... in fact, he had the distinct privilege of actually being friends with her. My condolences go out to him, and to her family.