The 16mm... Shrine?

On March 11 of this year, Portland’s historic Hollywood Theatre hosted a rather unique program. Local film archivist Dennis Nyback presented three classic Twilight Zone episodes on 16mm film, from his private collection, called (appropriately enough) Twilight Zone! Twilight Zone! Twilight Zone!, complete with vintage commercials. The episodes shown were “A Penny for Your Thoughts,” “The Fugitive,” and “The Eye of the Beholder.” I found out about it… well, a day or two after that date. D’oh!

However, on April 8 (last Monday), Nyback presented another three episodes (“The Trade-Ins,” “The Prime Mover,” and “Five Characters in Search of an Exit”). This time I knew about it in advance, and this time I made damned sure I was there.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the Hollywood’s lobby was the selection of beers available. TZ and beer? Was this heaven? As I made my way into the actual theater, I was surprised to see Nyback himself setting up his 16mm projector in the back of the theater, out in front of the projection booth.Maybe somebody can chime in and educate me, but can’t 35mm projectors run 16mm film?

Note the projector shadow on the screen.

I was one of the first people to arrive. I sat in the fourth row. As he was setting up a large speaker at the front of the theater, Nyback smiled and thanked me for “coming to his show.” I told him that I missed the first one, but I wasn’t about to miss this one. I then asked him if any more of these events were planned, and was delighted to hear that there’d be one each month for the next six months. I was almost giddy at the prospect.

The place got pretty full as the magic hour (7:30 pm) approached. As a hardcore TZ fan who frequently feels a bit isolated within this particular passion, it was heartwarming to see so many people turn up. At 7:30, Nyback addressed the crowd, the lights dimmed, and the projector came to life.  I must’ve been grinning like a kid on Christmas as the 3-2-1 countdown appeared.

Unfortunately, the presentation left a great deal to be desired.  Either Nyback’s prints are in rough shape, or his projector is way past its prime.  I’m inclined to suspect the latter for several reasons: first, there was a pretty constant jitter throughout the entire program (particularly during “The Trade-Ins”). After a technical problem delayed the start of “Five Characters in Search of an Exit” by about ten minutes, much of the episode was distractingly blurry around the edges (I have no idea what would cause that). And finally, the audio was horrendous throughout all three episodes.  I mean really horrendous.  I feel sorry for anyone in that audience who wasn’t already familiar with these episodes, as much of the dialogue was unintelligible.

So what was good? “The Prime Mover” looked pretty decent by comparison, and the sight of the prologue’s shocking car accident up on the big screen was certainly impactful.  Happily, all three episodes were complete and uncut (so these weren't syndication prints). The single best thing about the evening, however, was the vintage commercials:  Crisco, Gleem toothpaste, Folgers, 9-Lives cat food and many, many others. It appears that Nyback spliced the vintage commercials in, so it’s highly doubtful that they were the actual commercials that originally aired with the episodes, which wouldn't be a problem except that, at one point, the ABC logo popped up (!).

Nyback’s next installment screens on May 20 (the episodes haven’t been announced yet), and I've gotta say, I’m seriously torn here. I want to support anything that draws attention to The Twilight Zone, and I really believe that the concept is sound (showing episodes on the big screen). But I can’t deny that the presentation left me pretty cold, especially since I can screen my blu-rays on my 60” plasma set at home and they look (and sound) stunning. And I can probably find an endless supply of vintage TV commercials on YouTube, so there’s really no reason for me to go back.

But... I still might, though.

Twilight Zone on the big screen!

If you're in the Portland area (which I am), you have a singular opportunity to see three episodes of The Twilight Zone on the big screen at the historic Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97212).

From their website:

On Monday April 8th at 7:30pm, local film archivist Dennis Nyback will be taking you to another dimension with TWILIGHT ZONE!  TWILIGHT ZONE!  TWILIGHT ZONE!  A night of classic Twilight Zone episodes on 16mm.  Lineup of episodes that will play (with classic commercials included)

The Trade-Ins – Starring Joseph Schildkraut and Alma Platt  – Written by Rod Serling

The Prime Mover - Starring Dane Clark and Buddy Ebsen – Written by Charles Beaumont (Masque of the Red Death)

Five Characters in Search of an Exit - Starring William Windom – Written by Rod Serling

The Hollywood is an awesome venue (I saw This Is Cinerama! there a few years back).  Five bucks gets you in.  Maybe I'll see a few of you there....?

TZ Promo: “The Trade-Ins” (4/20/1962)

Season 3, Episode 31 (96 overall)
Cayuga Production # 4831

For a series whose stock in trade is suspense and fantasy, The Twilight Zone features a surprising number of stories steeped in sentimentality. Nostalgia and longing are recurrent themes, featured every bit as prominently as time travel, identity crises and alien invasions. A subdivision within said “nostalgia and longing” is the fear of growing old, of death itself. We witnessed a moving exploration of this theme earlier this season with George Clayton Johnson’s “Nothing in the Dark,” in which death is depicted as something to be embraced rather than feared. 50 years ago tonight, Rod Serling presented us with an enticing alternative.


“The Trade-Ins” introduces us to the New Life Corporation, a company in the not-too-distant future that can transfer the minds of the sick and/or old into new, youthful, semi-indestructible bodies. Their latest potential customers are John and Marie Holt, an elderly couple clearly nearing the end of their journey. John is crippled by pain; Marie dreamily imagines starting their lifelong courtship anew. They appear to be perfect clients for New Life; unfortunately, they only have half the money needed to undergo the transformation together.


In his promo for this episode (aired at the end of last week’s “Hocus-Pocus and Frisby”), Serling said the following: “It’s my personal feeling that of the various story areas we’ve tackled in The Twilight Zone, this has the most import, and carries with it the most poignance.” Thankfully Rod was putting his money where his mouth was: “The Trade-Ins” is a wonderfully sweet and moving entry, easily on par with the best from the show’s first (and best) season. You can’t help but love the Holts, particularly their evident and undying devotion to one another. The sacrifice that Marie is willing to make to save John from any further pain is heartbreakingly life-affirming, and the subsequent sacrifice that he makes for her is both devastating and beautiful.


Joseph Schildkraut, who stole the show earlier this season in “Death’s-head Revisited” as a spectral concentration camp custodian, is a revelation here. The age makeup is a bit obvious (particularly in high-definition; see the captures herein), but his interpretation of Holt is remarkable. Watch him as he speaks through pained sobs before the gangster who’s about to clean him out in a poker game, and contrast that with the warm, almost playful tenderness he displays when he strokes Marie’s cheek in the New Life showroom. This is expansive, nuanced work, pretty damned impressive for a three-day quickie stint on a TV show. Schildkraut’s wife died in the middle of production, and it’s a testament to his professionalism that he insisted on completing his scenes (it also makes watching his work here more than a little heartbreaking).


Elliot Silverstein directed “The Trade-Ins” and, for a brief moment, he appears to be giving us a sequel to season two’s “The Obsolete Man,” which he also directed:


Look at that huge dark room. Is there a chancellor on a perch somewhere just off camera…? Nope, it’s the New Life showroom, which houses several inert artificial humanoid bodies, on display.


The entire cast, save for Alma Platt (an endearing Marie Holt), is made up of TZ veterans. Edson Stroll, who played the hideous (by alien pig-people standards) Walter Smith in season two’s “The Eye of the Beholder,” is on hand here as the new-and-improved John Holt. He’s fine and all, but why doesn’t he sound like Holt? Even with new vocal cords, he should still possess Holt’s European accent… right?


And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention those stylin’ short shorts; there’s some manly eye candy if that’s your thing (we’ll see Robert Lansing in similarly-minimal trunks in season five’s “The Long Morrow”).


Theodore Marcuse is great as the card shark/frustrated musician Farraday. We last saw him twirling a pencil as Gregori, the Russian ambassador in “To Serve Man.”


Mr. Vance, the New Life rep, is nicely played by Noah Keen, who popped up in “The Arrival” as Bengston, the airline executive who deftly (okay, impossibly) figures out that the entire mystery is nothing more than a guilt-fueled hallucination. Here he's surprisingly effective as a sympathetic salesman.


“The Trade-Ins” is just plain lovely, hitting all the right notes without crossing the saccharine line. Highly recommended.

Next week, “The Gift” tries to tell a sensitive tale of a young Mexican boy and his newfound alien friend. It sounds like E.T. in a sombrero, but it’s actually a stale tortilla. ¡Ay, caramba!