A Stop at Willoughby
| "A Stop at Willoughby" | |||
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| The Twilight Zone episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 30 |
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| Directed by | Robert Parrish | ||
| Written by | Rod Serling | ||
| Featured music | Nathan Scott | ||
| Production code | 173-3629 | ||
| Original air date | May 6, 1960 | ||
| Guest actors | |||
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James Daly: Gart Williams |
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| Episode chronology | |||
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"A Stop at Willoughby" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling cited this as his favorite story from the first season of the series.
Contents |
Plot [edit]
Gart Williams is an overstressed New York media buyer who has grown exasperated with his career. His overbearing boss, Oliver Misrell, angered by the loss of a major account, lectures him about this "push-push-push" business. Unable to sleep properly at home, he drifts off for a short nap on the train during his daily commute through the November snow.
He wakes to find the train stopped and changed into an 1880s railcoach, deserted except for himself. The sun is bright outside, and as he looks out the window, he discovers that the train is in Willoughby and that it's July 1888. He learns that this is a "peaceful, restful place, where a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure." Being jerked back awake into the real world, he asks the conductor if he has ever heard of a town called Willoughby, but the conductor replies, "Not on this run...no Willoughby on the line."
That night, he has another argument with his shrewish wife, Jane. Selfish, cold and uncaring, she makes him see that he is only a money machine to her. He tells her about his dream and about Willoughby, only to have her ridicule him as being "born too late," declaring it her "miserable tragic error" to have married a man "whose big dream in life is to be Huckleberry Finn."
The next week, Williams again dozes off on the train and returns to Willoughby where everything is the same as before. As he is about to get off the train carrying his briefcase, the train begins to roll, returning him to the present. Williams promises himself to get off at Willoughby next time.
Experiencing a breakdown at work, he calls his wife, who abandons him in his time of need. On his way home, once again he falls asleep to find himself in Willoughby. This time, as the conductor warmly beckons him to the door, Williams intentionally leaves his briefcase on the train. Getting off the train, he is greeted by name by various inhabitants who welcome him while he tells them he's glad to be there and plans to stay and join their idyllic life.
The swinging pendulum of the station clock fades into the swinging lantern of a train engineer, standing over Williams' body. The modern-day conductor explains that Williams "shouted something about Willoughby", just before jumping off the train, and was killed instantly. "Poor fella", the engineer mumbles, as the conductor nods in agreement. Williams' body is loaded into a hearse. The back door of the hearse closes to reveal the name of the funeral home: Willoughby & Son Funeral Home.
Production notes [edit]
The 2000 TV movie For All Time starring Mark Harmon was based on this episode.[1]
The "Stamford" and the "Westport/Saugatuck" stops called out by the conductor in the episode exist in real life – Metro-North Railroad stops in Fairfield County, Connecticut include Stamford, Connecticut and the Westport station serves the town of Westport, Connecticut where series creator Rod Serling once lived.[citation needed]
Gart Williams' home phone number of Capital 7-9899 is also a legitimate telephone exchange in Westport.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Erickson, Hal. "For All Time (2000)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
Further reading [edit]
- Zicree, Marc Scott: The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition)
- DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-136-0
- Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9703310-9-0
