The Twilight Zone 1.22

The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

starring Claude Akins, Barry Atwater, Jack Weston

written by Rod Serling

directed by Ron Winston

The power goes out suddenly on Maple Street after an unknown object passes overhead. Nothing works including things that aren't plugged in like portable radios and cars. The residents don't suspect anything strange until really strange things start happening: cars starting by themselves, lights coming on in just one house. The residents of Maple Street grow increasingly paranoid as to whom they can trust.

The tension turns to hysteria when someone is spotted walking down the darkened street. One man brings out his shotgun. Another man takes it and shoots the approaching man, killing him. It turns out to be someone they all knew. Things get progressively worse as more weird things happen.

The episode ends with the reveal that aliens are behind the power outage, the self-starting cars, etc. It is part of a demonstration that one alien is putting on for another. As the one alien explains to another they don't need to kill the humans because with the right budges they can get the humans to kill one another.

Thoughts

I think its pretty clear that this episode was influenced by the fear of communism that in turn influenced the actions of many people and organizations during the 1950s.

I had heard about this episode but thankfully I didn't have it spoiled for me. I enjoyed this episode very much, both for the message and for the way it was told. Under different circumstances I think that the reveal at the end would be a bit too much but it this case I think it was very well handled and just what the episode needed.

Notes

I could explain whom each of the lead actors in this episode played but I don't like to go into too much detail. I don't see how singling out each of the lead actors in my description would help to improve what I have already written.

This is the first of two episodes of this show in which Claude Akins appeared. He's been in a few other things I have seen. Most recently I saw him in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), 1.22 Place of Shadows.

This is the only episode of this show in which Barry Atwater appeared. Most recently I saw him in an episode of The Outer Limits (1963), 1.09 Corpus Earthling.

This is the first of two episodes of this show in which Jack Weston appeared. I saw him most recently in A New Leaf (1971) but he was also in an episode of Tales of the Unexpected, 1.08 A Dip in the Pool.

This is the first of three episodes of this show that Ron Winston directed. He also directed an episode of Kraft Suspense Theatre.