A Thing About Machines
- Episode aired Oct 28, 1960
- TV-PG
- 25m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
Bartlett Finchley's paranoia about the machines around proves true.Bartlett Finchley's paranoia about the machines around proves true.Bartlett Finchley's paranoia about the machines around proves true.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTo make the possessed car scenes work, the stunt drivers used various practical ways of disguising themselves so they would not been seen behind the wheel of the car. In some scenes they crouched down below the dash. In the scenes where the car was filled with dark shadows the driver dressed all in black from head to waist to blend in the shadows. For the brighter scenes the driver appeared to be wearing white canvass to match the convertible top's canvass covering.
- GoofsWhen Finchley is being chased by the car, there are two medium shots of his feet stopping in the dirt. Both times he stops by a cigarette butt, which was probably the mark that he was supposed to hit. Both shots also appear to be done in the same place and edited in two different places in the scene.
- Quotes
Ms. Rogers: Mr. Finchley, in this conspiracy you speak of, this mortal combat between you and the appliances, I hope you lose.
- ConnectionsEdited into Twilight-Tober-Zone: A Thing About Machines (2021)
Featured review
Model
This truly not one of the better episodes, but what is of interest is that Bartlett Finchley is almost certainly modeled after the humorist and movie personality Robert Benchley.
Benchley, who died in 1945 or thereabouts, became topical in 1960 as the result of the publication of a collection of his best humor by his son Nathaniel Benchley. Benchley fought an unending war against the inanimate objects around him, which he chronicled in a number of delightful and very funny pieces. Serling, who was hard up for ideas by that point, must have been as impressed as I was.
Or so I do believe. In any case, I have always thought the similarity between the characters name 'Finchley' and 'Benchley' is no coincidence.
Benchley, who died in 1945 or thereabouts, became topical in 1960 as the result of the publication of a collection of his best humor by his son Nathaniel Benchley. Benchley fought an unending war against the inanimate objects around him, which he chronicled in a number of delightful and very funny pieces. Serling, who was hard up for ideas by that point, must have been as impressed as I was.
Or so I do believe. In any case, I have always thought the similarity between the characters name 'Finchley' and 'Benchley' is no coincidence.
helpful•344
- fdbjr
- Jan 1, 2010
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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