THE TWILIGHT ZONE: SIZE IS RELATIVE

"Stopover in a Quiet Town"

"The Fear" with Mark Richman

Agnes Moorehead in "The Invaders"

"The Little People"

The classic "To Serve Man"

THE TWILIGHT ZONE: Size is Relative.

During its several years on the air, The Twilight Zone broadcast several stories that had to do with the size of human beings or other things. Some were memorable, and others were not.

The Invaders. Season 2, episode 15. Written by Richard Matheson and directed by Douglas Heyes. Agnes Moorehead plays a farm woman who comes across a tiny spaceship filled with equally small astronauts. At the end we learn that this ship is actually a "U.S. Air Force Space Probe" that the old lady has smashed. This is mostly a silly burlesque. C+

The Fear. Season 5, episode 35. Written by Rod Serling and directed by Ted Post. Police officer Mark Richman and resident Hazel Court encounter what appears to be a humongous space man in an isolated area. This has some suspense, even if it could be dismissed as silly "comic book" stuff. B-/C+.

The Little People. Season 3, episode 28. Written by Rod Serling and directed by William Claxton. Two astronauts come across microscopic people on a planet and one of them plays God, until he realizes to his horror that he's not the only one who's out of proportion. This is a bit hokey, like an old comic, but it boasts fine performances by Claude Akins and particularly Joe Maross. B-.

Stopover in a Quiet Town. Season 5, episode 30. Written by Earl Hamner Jr. and directed by Ron Winston. A couple who partied a bit too much wake up in a strange house and find themselves in a deserted town, then board a train that goes absolutely nowhere. A little girl's giggling voice can be heard everywhere. Although the episode is treated a bit lightly at the end (often the case with Serling's black comedy narration), it's actually quite horrifying, with this couple, whatever their flaws (including drunk driving), suffering a supremely and grotesquely horrifying fate. Possibly the influence for the show Land of the Giants. Barry Nelson and Nancy Malone give excellent performances. A.

To Serve Man. Season 3, episode 24. Written by Rod Serling (from a story by Damon Knight) and directed by Richard L. Bare. This episode qualifies if for no other reason than the alien who visits earth is 9 feet tall and weighs 350 lbs. This alien claims that he wants to help mankind and even gives scientists a book entitled "To Serve Man." Unfortunately one scientist has the book translated too late to save all of the people who are traveling to the giant's planet for supposed edification. Another supremely horrifying episode whose tension is almost dissipated by Serling's jokey narration. Lloyd Bochner, Susan Cummings, and Richard Kiel give good performances. I've always thought a great movie sequel could be made showing the earth people in the ship, slowly realizing what's about to happen to them, and fighting back. Probably one of the most fondly-remembered episodes of the series. A-.

POINT BLANK

Angie Dickinson, Lee Marvin, Carroll O'Connor

POINT BLANK (1967). Director: John Boorman.

"How'd we get into this mess?"

Walker  (Lee Marvin of The Big Heat) was betrayed by his associate, Reese (John Vernon) and his wife (Sharon Acker of The New Perry Mason) during a heist. Now Walker is on the loose and wants revenge on Reese, who is now trying to make time with his sister-in-law, Chris (Angie Dickinson). As part of his revenge Walker will take on top executives in the mafia-like group called the Organization. Point Blank is based on "The Hunter," the first of Richard Stark/Donald Westlake's Parker novels but it's much more confusing and less entertaining than the novel. In the early sections of the film the direction and editing are pretentious in that certain sixties style that was supposed to pass for being "cinematic" but only looks stupid. Parker/Walker is a stoic no-nonsense character but Lee Marvin still sort of walks through the movie, and Dickinson is badly miscast [the scene with Marvin and Dickinson in bed together has to be seen to be believed]. Vernon strikes a better note, as do Lloyd Bochner [The Night Walker] and Carroll O'Connor as other criminal bigwigs. Keenan Wynn plays an odd role and this is one of the rare times that the actor is unpersuasive. Transplanting the story from New York to L.A. doesn't help, although there are some interesting locations for the action.

Verdict: Some good scenes, but too illogical and silly at times. **1/2.

THE NIGHT WALKER

Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor

THE NIGHT WALKER (1964). Director: William Castle.

Irene Trent (Barbara Stanwyck) has an imaginary lover in her dreams, which doesn't sit well with her husband, Howard (Hayden Rourke), who thinks the lover is for real, and complains about it to his lawyer, Barry (Robert Taylor). But pretty soon Irene is having honest to goodness midnight rendezvous with a dark-haired stranger (LLoyd Bochner) but in the morning isn't certain whether or not she dreamed it all. Is there some plot perhaps afoot? Vic Mizzy's music seems to do most of the work, although sometimes it's so overdone it makes the picture seem worse instead of better. Stanwyck --- this is her entry in the "aging actress in a horror film" sweepstakes entered by Joan Crawford for Castle's superior Strait-Jacket the same year -- gets to scream a lot and look perplexed. Unfortunately Robert Bloch's obvious screenplay doesn't actually give her or anyone else a real character to play. Stanwyck and Taylor had once been married in real life, but had been divorced for many years when this picture was made. The acting is okay, but the movie is not even remotely scary.

Verdict: A distinctly minor suspense film that not even the stars can save. **.