Valley of the Shadow
- Episode aired Jan 17, 1963
- TV-PG
- 51m
A reporter stumbles into a peaceful town where miracles seem to occur due to technology and the townsfolk won't let him leave.A reporter stumbles into a peaceful town where miracles seem to occur due to technology and the townsfolk won't let him leave.A reporter stumbles into a peaceful town where miracles seem to occur due to technology and the townsfolk won't let him leave.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn May 1963, several months after this program aired, Natalie Trundy (Ellen Marshall) suffered a ruptured disc in a car accident, which required a year's recovery in a back brace. This event broke the momentum of Trundy's promising return to acting.
- GoofsWhen Philip Redfield first pulls into the gas station, he gets out and opens the radiator cap to check the water level. Opening the cap on a car that has just been driven causes hot water to rush out, but this didn't happen. Also the cap itself would have been burning hot.
- Quotes
[opening narration]
Narrator: You've seen them. Little towns, tucked away far from the main roads. You've seen them, but have you thought about them? What do the people in these places do? Why do they stay? Philip Redfield never thought about them. If his dog hadn't gone after that cat, he would have driven through Peaceful Valley and put it out of his mind forever. But he can't do that now, because whether he knows it or not, his friend's shortcut has led him right into the capital of the Twilight Zone.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Twilight-Tober-Zone: Valley of the Shadow (2023)
Unlike the previous episode, The 30 Fathom Grave, which was a originally a 25-minute tale that was padded out to twice the length, Valley of the Shadows was specifically written to suit season four's 50 minute runtime. Meaning that as far as pacing is concerned, there's rarely a dull moment. Unfortunately, after much intrigue and suspense, the tale falls apart at the end with a resolution that doesn't make much sense: if the folk of Peaceful Valley had the technology to reverse time, why didn't they save all the bother of trying to control and contain Philip and just do that in the first place?
Ignoring this obvious plot-hole, Valley of the Shadows is a well directed effort with strong performances, and a particularly likeable turn from Natalie Trundy as pretty hotel owner Ellen Marshall, whose promising acting career was disrupted by a serious car accident the following year. Not a classic episode, but one that show's potential for the longer format.
- BA_Harrison
- Apr 8, 2022
Details
- Runtime51 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1