[Eerie music]
(Male presenter, off) There is a fifth dimension
beyond tha t which is known to man.
It is a dimension as vastas space
and as timeless as infinity.
It is the middle ground between lightand shadovl/,
between science and s upers ti tion.
And it lies between the pit of man's fears
and the summit of his knowledge.
This is the dimension of ima Gina tion.
It is anarea which we call the twilight zone.
[Engines whirring]
Parkinson, chemical warfare.
Amberley, hydrogen armaments.
Mills, germ warfare research.
Sturka, hydrogen armament.
You boys are pretty busy up there, aren't you?
Very.
(Man) Hold the light, will you, sturka?
Long days, huh?
Long days.
Your department is going full blast, isn't it?
It's coming, boy, it's really coming. And a big one, too.
While we're talking here, I'll bet the military is getting all set.
Got it all mapped out, I bet.
Talk is 48 hours.
You wait and see if I'm not right.
Forty-eight hours, we'll have them aloft.
Then, whoosh, up, over and whammo.
There goes the enemy.
Obliterated, finished.
What are they doing in the meantime?
What do you mean? Probably retaliating the best way they can.
[Chuckles] It's a big waste of time, let me tell you.
We get the first licks. So they can't do much.
They can go whoosh, up, over and whammo.
Absolutely.
But not so many. Not so properly aimed.
Not so skillfully carried out.
So instead of losing 50 million people, we lose only 35, huh?
You a defeatist, sturka?
That's dangerous thinking.
You better mind what you say.
And what I think, too, huh?
Yeah. And what you think.
Good night, carling.
See you tomorrow.
(Presenter) Ou/tting time a t the plant
time for supper noi/I/. Time for famil ies
time for a cool drink on a porch.
Time for the ouie t rus tle of leaf-laden trees
tha t screen out the moon.
And undernea th I tall, behind the eyes of the men
hanging invisible over the summer night
is a horror without words.
For this is the stillness before a storm.
This is the Eve of the end.
[Slow music playing]
Hello, dad.
Hello, baby. Where's your mom?
She's out in the back trying to urge the radishes out of the ground or something.
Oh, no, you don't. Not before we have our dance.
Some other time, honey.
[Music stops]
[Sighs]
Dad?
What, Jody?
What's the matter?
Nothing serious.
Just feeling my years, I guess.
You, my darling, your beautiful face and your maturing ways,
you suddenly remind me that my youth is upstairs in the attic
spread out over a few photo albums.
Is that all?
That's quite enough.
Dad?
Don't you like your job? Is that the problem?
The job.
It's all right. It's a job.
Oh, I mean just having to work on the kind of things that you do.
Fever bombs and hydrogen bombs and gas and things like that.
No, I'm just a cog in a wheel, Jody.
I mean, look at it this way.
In one bomb there are perhaps a thousand pieces,
and every piece requires a team of 50, 60, 70 people.
Looking at it like that, I'm not...
Quite as responsible as if I...
Hello, darling.
Everyone I've talked to lately they've been noticing it.
Noticing what, Jo?
That something's wrong.
That something's...
Something's in the air.
That something's going to happen.
And everybody's afraid.
Everyone, dad, why?
People are afraid because they make themselves afraid.
They're afraid because they subvert every great thing ever discovered.
Every fine idea ever thought, every marvelous invention ever conceived.
They subvert it, Jody.
They make it crooked and de vious.
And then too late,
far too late they ask themselves the question why.
And then it's too late. Everything is too late!
Invite Jerry riden and his wife over tonight, will you, Eve?
We'll have some cards or something.
Isn't Jerry out of town?
Isn't he testing some sort of aircraft up north?
No, he's back. He came back this morning.
I told him we'd phone them.
You'll be there, Jody, won't you?
He'd like to see you.
Oh, I'm sorry, I can't.
I've, uh, I've got a date. Maybe I could get in a little early.
Break it, will you, Jody?
I'd like you home tonight.
But dad, I can't...
Oh, all right, dad.
Jerry has some very interesting stories.
He has a fascina ting job. He flies those...
Bill?
I thought you'd might like to have some cards tonight.
I thought it might take your mind off things.
Bill?
What is it? What's happening?
What do you feel is happening?
I have so much fear inside me I...
I can't give it words.
Eve, it's too late for subterfuge now. It's too late for anything.
It's coming. It's coming probably within 48 hours.
Will it be bad?
It'll be a holocaust. It will be hell. It'll be the end of everything.
People, places, ideas, everything. It will all be wiped out.
In 48 hours?
Maybe sooner.
What can we do?
Sit down on the bed a moment, Eve. I want to tell you something.
We're leaving.
You and Jody and I and Jerry and Ann.
We're leaving tonight.
Leaving? Leaving for where?
I can't tell you that. I can only tell you that between midnight and 1:00
we've got to be out of here and gone, and no one is to know.
I mean no one, not neighbors, not relatives, not even Jody.
She's not to knoi/I/, and we won't be able to tell her
until we're already on our way.
Dad? Jerry riden is down here. He 'd love to talk to you.
I'm coming down, Jody.
What's it mean? Why is he here?
That's what I want to find out.
You better tell some funny stories tonight, Jerry. I had to break a date for you.
Hi, bill.
You've come to tell me that you won't be able to make it for cards.
Are you kidding? It's high stakes tonight
because I've been very hot at cards the last couple of weeks.
I just dropped by to talk to you about that, uh...
Your watch's giving you trouble again?
Uh, yeah.
Probably that mainspring. It looked like it had some rust on it.
Here, let me see it.
Now, let's see what we can do.
Bill, we've got to change our plan.
Not yet, not yet. Wait a minute.
[Electric engine whirring]
Now, there's your trouble, Jerry, right there.
Tell me, what's happened?
They've put a different guard on the ship, on the 1:00 A.M. shift.
The one I know, the one I've paid gets off at 11:00.
Then we have to leave before 11:00.
That will be a lot tougher. There are more men on the field then.
It doesn't make any difference. We're only your relatives with permission to look at the ship.
That's what our credentials will show.
Just the same. The fewer who know, the better.
Does Ann know, yet?
Not everything. Only that we're in danger and we've got to get out.
I didn't tell her where or when. What about Eve and Jody?
Eve knows now. Jody will stay home tonight.
I told her you were coming over. You and Ann to play cards.
You can come around 7:00, can't you?
Yeah.
I think that that does it, Jerry. Just a little mainspring problem.
You might wanna have it checked by a jeweler in a month or so.
I couldn't get all the rust out of it.
Thanks, bill, very much.
Sixteen.
Four.
Twelve.
Eight.
Seven.
You are lucky tonight.
How about some lemonade and homemade cake, everyone?
Sounds wonderful.
Well, I'll get a tray.
I'll help you with it.
Come along, young woman, lend a hand.
I know our destination now. Right there.
How far?
Eleven million miles.
In a ship we don't even know will leave the atmosphere.
Or whether or not its pilot can either take off or get you down in one piece.
That's the risk, bill. That's the risk we've been talking about for months now.
It's a good risk when you consider the alternatives.
Now, this place we're going to.
It's populated, bill. It has people on it.
We've picked up radio waves.
Even some snatches of a language not dissimilar to ours.
We've been able to decipher a lot of it.
[Doorbell rings]
With a little help, a couple of breaks,
and god, we might even make it there.
(E ve) Bill, Mr. Carl/no is here.
Well, sturka, a little cards tonight, eh?
A little cards, carling.
We're just about to cut into a cake. You care to join us?
Thank you. Just a little lemonade for me.
I was just telling your wife that she makes wonderful lemonade.
Hot night, too, huh?
This is a night for a front porch,
or sleep. But nothing else.
How right you are.
We'll be Lea ving in a couple of minutes.
I've been up north testing an aircraft.
Haven't had much sleep the last couple of weeks.
Yes, I know the aircraft.
They say it's capable of leaving our atmosphere.
Talk is it could go to another planet
if the right man flew her.
Well, not for awhile, yet.
It needs a lot more testing.
May I have a cigarette?
The way I figure it, Mr. Sturka, you owe Ann and me a little money here.
Marvelous scientist. Very bad card player.
I would have believed that.
I would've guessed that sturka here was a good gambler.
I'd guess he'd gamble on mos tan ything.
(E ve) Here we are.
Lemonade, everyone?
I'll cut the cake, Eve.
Hey, you're a little nervous, Mrs. Sturka.
You're very nervous.
You've lost quite a bit according to this, sturka.
We won't settle tonight, uh...
Next week, next week we'll give you another chance.
Next week?
You do plan ahead.
You plan way ahead.
A week?
A lot can happen in a week.
A lot can happen in 48 hours.
Well, I'll get on home now.
I like to take a walk on warm evenings.
It makes me sleep better.
I'll see you to the door, Mr. Carling.
Thank you.
I'll probably see you at the office tomorrow.
Yes, of course.
Pretty night.
Clear as a bell. Nothing but stars.
You ever think, sturka, that
there may be people on those stars, too?
Maybe people just like us.
That thought has crossed my mind.
Ever think maybe you'd be happier on one of those than you are here?
That thought has crossed my mind, too.
Yeah.
Yeah, I have no doubt.
The time is now. Jody, I've got something to tell you. We're leaving tonight.
There's a ship at the government field. We're all gonna drive over there now.
We've bribed a lot of people and the ship's loaded with supplies.
You've been planning this!
For three months noi/I/. But tonight has to be it, Jody.
Tonight's the last chance. We've got to leave here tonight.
Why tonight, Jerry?
Because this world as we know it won't exist much longer.
It's about to blow itself up and that may happen by morning.
Well, in the morning where will we be?
We'll be out in space, Jody. Far out.
All right, let's get ready, everybody.
I'll back the car out of the garage. Ann, is your bag ready?
It's in our bedroom. I'll go get it.
[Phone ringing]
Bill.
[Ringing]
I've got to answer it.
[Ringing]
Yes?
Tonight?
Well, I, uh, I'm in bed.
[Caller hangs up]
That was my division head. They're working tonight.
They're sending a car over for me.
Then we better get out of here right now.
I'll get our bags.
This is silly, isn't it?
We aren't ever coming back here again.
That's it. There it is.
Mother, it's going to be all right, isn't it?
Is that our contact?
Yeah, that's him.
Eve, flash the lights, just once.
Good evening, sturka. You're a long way from home, aren't you?
Now, you two stand there very quietly
and breathe through your nose
very, very ouie tl y.
Get back in the car, please.
Would you two get in the front seat, please?
Would you three ladies mind getting out?
These two gentlemen and I have an engagement
with the authorities.
The gate.
(Man) Unauthorized vehicle on field! Unauthorized vehicle on field!
Guard unit seven approa ch una u thor/z ed vehicle.
Approa ch una u thor/z ed vehicle and request it to hal t.
[Spaceship engine throbbing]
[Machinery beeping]
Everything all right?
12:00 and all is well.
[Sighs]
The stars look far away.
They are far away.
But the one we want, that's not so far, bill.
See it there?
I t's the shin y one.
The bright one over on the right.
It's hard to believe there are people there. People like us.
People like us.
It's the third planet from the sun, bill.
It's called
earth.
That's where we're going.
To a place called earth.
(Male presenter) Behind a tin y ship hea ding into spa oe
is a doomed planet on the verge of suicide.
Ahead lies a place called earth,
the third planet from the sun.
And for William s turka and the men and women with him,
I t's the Eve of the beginning
in the twil igh t zone.
(Male presenter, off) Rod serl ing, the orea Tor oftwilight zone
will tell you about next week's s Tor yafter this word from our al terna te sponsor.
And noi/I/, mr serl/ng.
There's a longfellow poem.
"I shot an arrow into the air. It fell to earth I know not where."
In our story next week, we shoot a spaceship into the air,
and where it fell only you and I will know.
Starring will be Mr. Dewey Martin and Mr. Edward binns.
Next week we promise you a most exciting journey into space.
Don't miss the take off. Thank you, and good night.
[Eerie music]
(Male presenter, off) Be sure to see the fun-filled famil ylife of one of america's grea test enter ta iners,
the Danny Thomas show. Monda ynigh ts over most of these sta tions.
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