The Outer Limits (1963) 1.05

The Sixth Finger

starring David MacCallum, Jill Haworth, Edward Mulhare

directed by James Goldstone

Gwyllim (David MacCallum), following advice from Kathy (Jill Haworth) who has a crush on him, accepts a job working for Professor Mathers (Edward Mulhare), rather than return to working in the mines. Gwyllim allows the professor to experiment on him. Gwyllim’s appearance and abilities are transformed by the experimentation. He becomes smarter and gains the ability to read the professor’s mind.

Gwyllim is satisfied at first to read and learn but he continues to evolve. He becomes smarter and smarter and gains other mental abilities. Mrs. Ives, the professor’s housekeeper, freaks out when she sees what has become of Gwyllim. He tries to stop her with his mind but instead he stops her heart.

Word spreads following the death of Mrs. Ives that something strange is going on in the mansion where the professor and Gwyllim are working. Kathy rushes to warm Gwyllim but he already knows. He senses that the police are coming for him.

Gwyllim rushes off into the woods. He seems to have decided that the town needs to destroyed but then, after an encounter with a couple of policemen, he has a change of heart.

Gwyllim returns to the lab. He asks Kathy to help him complete the evolutionary journey. He steps into the machine that Professor Mathers used on him. Kathy turns on the machine but, wanting Gwyllim back the way he was, she pulls the lever in the opposite direction.

Thoughts

The title of this episode is a reference to the sixth finger that Gwyllim develops after the professor experiments on him. I guess that it is an indicator that he has evolved although it isn’t the only thing about his appearance that changes. He looks very bizarre and inhuman once he starts to evolve.

I like this story very much but mostly for the performances. The story itself doesn't seem terribly new or innovative. It reminds me in different ways of the previous couple episodes, 1.03 The Architects of Fear and 1.04 The Man with the Power. The ending seems unclear to me. Did Gwyllm survive or was he killed by Kathy's attempt to undo what the professor's experimenting brought about. I guess that the moral to this episode is to be careful when messing with science or the forces of nature. 

Notes

I know David MacCallum best from a few movies and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I know Edward Mulhare best from Knight Rider but I've also seen him in Von Ryan's Express (1965).