The Outer Limits (1963) 1.12

The Borderland

starring Philip Abbott, Gladys Cooper, Nina Foch, Barry Jones, Gene Raymond, Peter Mark Richman, Alfred Ryder

directed by Leslie Stevens

Dwight Hartley (Barry Jones), desperate to make contact with his son who was killed in a car accident, hires a couple psychics Mrs. Palmer (Gladys Cooper) and Mr. Price (Alfred Ryder). Their attempts to make contact with Hartley's son are shown to be fraudulent by scientist  Lincoln Russell (Philip Abbott). Hartley, still desperate to make contact with his son, bankrolls the experiments of Russell and his partners Ian Fraser (Peter Mark Richman) and Eva Fraser (Nina Foch).

Mr. Sawyer (Gene Raymond), the power hungry executive director of Hartley's company, supports his employer's ambitions but primarily because he hopes that the scientific research will produce something of financial value. Sawyer leans heavily on Ian Fraser to play ball and not withhold anything from him. Sawyer and Hartley watch as the scientific team conduct experiments which ultimately lead to Ian being the test subject as he attempts to crossover to another realm.

Palmer and Price, despite being discredited, hang around and observe what is going on as Russell and the Frasers conduct their experiments. Palmer watches respectfully but Price, still angry over getting dismissed, damages the one of the generators that is powering the experiment, putting Ian's life in danger.

Thoughts

I didn't mention it in my summary, because I couldn't figure a satisfactory way to work it in, but Ian was injured in an experiment at the very beginning of the episode. His left hand now looks just like his right hand. Part of his reason for wanting to be experimented on is that he hopes to have his left hand restored to normal.

This episode is a wild ride. I wasn't so crazy about it at first. It is kind of crazy how many elements have been thrown into the blender that is this story. The further I got into this episode the more I enjoyed it.

Notes

This is the first of two episode of this show in which Philip Abbott appeared. He also appeared in episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), The Twilight Zone (1959), Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, and The Incredible Hulk.

This is the only episode of this show in which Gladys Cooper appeared. I have also seen her in Now, Voyager (1942). She also appeared in episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

This is the only episode of this show in which Nina Foch appeared. She also appeared in episodes of Kraft Suspense Theatre and Kolchak: The Night Stalker. I've seen a few movies that she was in but not recently.

This is the first of two episodes of this show in which Peter Mark Richman appeared. He appeared in two episodes of The Invaders, the first of which was 1.04 The Leeches, He also appeared in episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), The Twilight Zone (1959), The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, and Star Trek: The Next Generation (1.25 The Neutral Zone).

This is the only episode of this show in which Alfred Ryder appeared. He appeared in one episode of Star Trek (1966), 1.01 The Man Trap, and three episodes of The Invaders, the first of which was 1.06 Vikor. He also appeared in episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Six Million Dollar Man and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Leslie Stevens, the creator of The Outer Limits, wrote and directed this episode but he was mainly known as a writer. This is the second of four episodes of this show that he directed. The first was 1.01 The Galaxy Being. He was also one of the producers of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.