Twilight Zone episodes based on short stories
List activity
13K views
• 7 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
36 titles
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsBurgess MeredithVaughn TaylorJacqueline deWitA henpecked book lover finds himself blissfully alone with his books after a nuclear war.This episode is based on the short story "Time Enough at Last" by Lynn Venable. This story was first published in If (January, 1953).
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsRichard ConteJohn LarchSuzanne LloydA fatigued man fights to stay awake as he explains to a psychiatrist that if he falls asleep it will trigger a nightmare, which will cause his heart to fail.This episode is based on the short story "Perchance to Dream" by Charles Beaumont. The story was first published in Playboy (November, 1958).
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsRod TaylorJim HuttonCharles AidmanThree astronauts return to Earth after seemingly having made an encounter that dooms them and their craft to erasure from existence itself.This episode is loosely based on the short story "Disappearing Act" by Richard Matheson. The story was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (March, 1953).
- DirectorAlvin GanzerStarsSteve CochranErnest TruexRead MorganA small time crook plans to exploit an old street peddler who has the uncanny knack of selling people exactly what they will shortly need.This episode is based on the short story "What You Need" by Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore. This story was first published in Astounding Science Fiction (October, 1945). Before the Twilight Zone, this story was adapted as an episode of the classic sci-fi anthology Tales of Tomorrow (under the same title).
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsHarry TownesPhillip PineRoss MartinA man who can change his face to look like other people uses his ability to improve his life, regardless of his effect on others.This episode was based on George Clayton Johnson's short story "All of Us Are Dying" which was unpublished at the time it was sold to Rod Serling for the show. It has been subsequently published in the May, 1982 issue of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine.
- DirectorRichard L. BareStarsFritz WeaverEdward AndrewsJoe MarossTwo families of Government employees plan to steal a spaceship and travel to another planet just prior to a nuclear war. They must also deal with a stooge who wants to stop them.This episode is based on the short story "Third From the Sun" by Richard Matheson. This story was first published in Galaxy (October, 1950).
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsCecil KellawayJeff MorrowDon DubbinsThree astronauts touch down on an asteroid, where they discover a world of people that appear to be frozen in time. Confused, they theorize as to why everyone is motionless, until a man springs to life and explains.This episode is based on the short story "Elegy" by Charles Beaumont. The story was first published in Imagination (February, 1953).
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsRoddy McDowallSusan OliverPaul ComiFearing the worst, the lone survivor of a crash-landing on Mars finds the native inhabitants, to his relief, very hospitable indeed, but there's a catch.This episode is based on the short story "Brothers Beyond the Void" by Paul Fairman. The story was first published in Fantastic Adventures (March, 1952).
- DirectorDavid Orrick McDearmonStarsAlbert SalmiRussell JohnsonThan WyennWhen a 20th-century scientist tests out his time machine he accidentally retrieves a murderer from 1880, saving him from the hangman's noose. Unaware of the man's history, the scientist attempts to acclimatize him to his new surroundings.This episode is based on a short story by George Clayton Johnson.
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsJohn CarradineH.M. WynantRobin HughesSeeking refuge from a storm, a traveler comes upon a bizarre abbey of monks, who have imprisoned a man who begs for his help. When he confronts the head monk, he is told that the man is the Devil, and he must decide whom to believe.This episode is based on Charles Beaumont's short story "The Howling Man" originally published in the November, 1959 issue of Rogue Magazine.
- DirectorBuzz KulikStarsDean JaggerCarmen MathewsRobert EmhardtAn old radio is taking bitter bachelor Ed Lindsay back to a happier time before what he considers worthless tripe on television when he starts picking up radio programs from the 1930's and 1940's.This episode is based on the unpublished short story "Static" by Ocee Ritch.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsDennis WeaverHarry TownesWright KingAdam Grant is trapped in a recurring nightmare, in which he is sentenced to death by execution. He tries to convince the people around him that they are imaginary and that they will cease to exist if the execution is carried out.This episode is based on Charles Beaumont's short story "Traumerei" originally published in the February, 1956 issue of Infinity Science Fiction Magazine.
- DirectorJames SheldonStarsJohn LarchCloris LeachmanDon KeeferOn an isolated family farm, a young boy with vast mental powers, but lacking emotional development, holds his terrified family in thrall to his every juvenile wish.This episode is based on the short story "It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby. The story was first published in the Frederik Pohl edited anthology Star Science Fiction Stories #2 (1953).
- DirectorJames SheldonStarsGary MerrillVaughn TaylorMark TapscottIn June 1863, Confederate soldiers come across a warlock who can help bring victory to the Southern cause.This episode is based on the short story "The Valley Was Still" by Manly Wade Wellman. This story was first published in Weird Tales (August, 1939).
- DirectorWilliam F. ClaxtonStarsJohn DehnerWalter BrookeJay AdlerA businessman who has recently returned from Africa is plagued by superstitions and the dire warnings of a native witch doctor.This episode is based on the short story "The Jungle" by Charles Beaumont. The story was first published in If (December, 1954).
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.5 (3.9K)TV EpisodeDirectorLamont JohnsonStarsSusan HarrisonWilliam WindomMurray MathesonAn Army major awakens in a small room with no idea of who he is or how he got there. He finds four other people in the same room, and they all begin to question how they each arrived there, and more importantly, how to escape.This episode is based on the short story "The Depository" by Marvin Petal.
- DirectorRichard L. BareStarsLloyd BochnerSusan CummingsRichard KielAn alien race comes to Earth, promising peace and sharing technology. A linguist and his team set out to translate the aliens' language, using a book whose title they deduce is "To Serve Man."This episode is based on the short story "To Serve Man" by Damon Knight. The story was first published in Galaxy (November, 1950).
- DirectorPaul StewartStarsSarah MarshallRobert SampsonCharles AidmanAwakened in the middle of the night by the cries of his daughter, a father enters the girl's room to find that she has vanished - even though he can still hear her crying out for help.This episode is based on the short story "Little Girl Lost" by Richard Matheson. The story was first published in Amazing Stories (November 1953).
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsTheodore BikelPhyllis LoveLinden ChilesA very obsessed man wants to expose evil in the world, investigating people he sees as murderers, subversives, perverts and communists, then attempting to ruin their lives.This episode is based on the short story "Four O'Clock" by Price Day. This story was first published in Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 14 of My Favorites in Suspense (1959).
- DirectorWilliam F. ClaxtonJames SheldonStarsJosephine HutchinsonDavid WhiteVaughn TaylorA recent widower, needing loving care for his three young children, orders a cybernetic "grandmother". While two of the children accept her, one of his daughters fiercely rejects her, with near tragic consequences.The script, written by Ray Bradbury, later became the basis for his short story of the same name, published in 1969.
- DirectorPerry LaffertyStarsGeorge GrizzardGail KobeKatherine SquireA young man grapples with an urge to kill and confusion about his origins.This episode is based on the short story "In His Image" by Charles Beaumont. The story was first published in Imagination (February, 1957).
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsBarbara BaxleyFrank OvertonIrene DaileyIlse, the orphaned daughter of telepathic parents must learn to speak and deal with a world she cannot communicate in.This episode is based on the short story "Mute" by Richard Matheson.
- DirectorDon MedfordStarsJack KlugmanRoss MartinFred BeirAn interplanetary expedition from Earth finds an exact duplicate of their ship and themselves crashed on the planet they were surveying. Should they stay or risk taking off and crashing?This episode is based on the short story "Death Ship" by Richard Matheson. The story was first published in Fantastic Story Magazine (March, 1953).
- DirectorRalph SenenskyStarsRobert SterlingPat CrowleyBurgess MeredithA man sells his soul to the Devil to save his failing newspaper and gets more than he bargained for.This episode is based on the short story "The Devil, You Say?" by Charles Beaumont. The story was first published in Amazing Stories (January, 1951).
- 1959–196451mTV-147.2 (1.8K)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid Lowell RichStarsAlbert SalmiJohn AndersonWright KingAging tycoon William Feathersmith is bored with life and makes arrangements through a devilish travel agency to return to the Cliffordville of his youth and start all over again.This episode is based on the short story "Blind Alley" by Malcolm Jameson. The story was first published in Unknown Worlds (June, 1943).
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsGladys CooperWilfrid Hyde-WhiteCecil KellawayA young American couple, the Ransomes, who are trying to salvage their troubled marriage, insist on booking passage on an old trans-Atlantic cruise liner. But other passengers try to persuade them to disembark immediately.This episode is based on the short story "Song For a Lady" by Charles Beaumont. The story was first published in Beaumont's collection Night Ride and Other Journeys (1960).
- DirectorDon WeisStarsLee MarvinJoe MantellChuck HicksIn 1974, boxing has been outlawed and is performed by mechanical robots. With his next and possibly last fight approaching and his robot in need of repair, he resorts to one last desperate gamble.This episode is based on the short story "Steel" by Richard Matheson, originally published in the May, 1956, issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsWilliam ShatnerChristine WhiteEd KemmerA man, newly recovered from a nervous breakdown, becomes convinced that a monster only he sees is damaging the plane he's flying in.This episode is based on the short story "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" by Richard Matheson. The story was first published in the anthology Alone by Night (1961).
- DirectorAlan Crosland Jr.StarsJames CoburnJohn AndersonJosie LloydIn a post-apocalyptic settlement in 1974, the inhabitants' survival is dependent on the advice of an unseen man living in a nearby cave. This dependence is tested when a band of soldiers descends on their town.This episode is based on the short story "The Old Man" by Henry Slesar. The story was first published in The Diners Club Magazine (1962).
- 1959–196425mTV-PG7.5 (1.9K)TV EpisodeDirectorDon SiegelStarsDon GordonGail KobeVaughn TaylorSalvadore Ross has a unique talent where he can trade physical characteristics with other people and will do anything to get the love of Leah Maitland.This episode is based on the short story "The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross" by Henry Slesar. This story was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (May, 1961).
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.1 (2.7K)TV EpisodeDirectorAbner BibermanStarsCollin Wilcox PaxtonRichard LongPamela AustinIn a future society, everyone must undergo an operation at age 19 to become beautiful and conform to society. One young woman desperately wants to hold onto her own identity.This episode is based on the short story "The Beautiful People" by Charles Beaumont. The story was first published in If (September, 1952).
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsGladys CooperNora MarloweMartine BartlettTelephone calls begin to haunt a disabled elderly woman.This episode is based on the short story "Sorry, Right Number" by Richard Matheson. The story was first published in Beyond Fantasy Fiction (November, 1953).
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.3 (2.7K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert EnricoStarsRoger JacquetAnne CornalyAnker-Spang LarsenDuring the American Civil War in 1862, a condemned Confederate prisoner, Peyton Farquhar, is due to be hanged by Union troops.This episode is based on the short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce. The story was first published in Bierce's story collection Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891).
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsAndy DevineMilton SelzerHoward McNearA rural gas station attendant given to telling tall tales about himself is kidnapped by aliens who believe him to be one of Earth's leading intellects.This episode is based on an unpublished story by Frederic Louis Fox.
- DirectorAbner BibermanStarsCliff RobertsonFrank SuttonGeorge MurdockVentriloquist Jerry Etherson is convinced that his dummy, Willie, is alive and evil. He locks Willie in a trunk and makes plans for a new act with a new dummy. Too bad he didn't clear those plans with Willie first.This episode is based on an unpublished story by Lee Polk.
- DirectorJohn RichStarsRichard ErdmanHerbie FayeLeon BelascoA man is given a stopwatch that halts time.This episode is based on an unpublished story by Michael D. Rosenthal.