Original Air Date: November 6, 1959
Writer: Rod Serling
Director: Mitchell Leisen
“You’re about to meet a hypochondriac. Witness Mr. Walter Bedeker age forty-four. Afraid of the following: death, disease, other people, germs, draft, and everything else. He has one interest in life and that’s Walter Bedeker. One preoccupation, the life and well-being of Walter Bedeker. One abiding concern about society, that if Walter Bedeker should die how will it survive without him?”
-Rod Serling
“Escape Clause” concerns a Faustian bargain between a paranoid hypochondriac and an amusing modern incarnation of the devil named Mr. Cadwallader. In this case, our protagonist-hypochondriac trades his soul in order to overcome his fear of death, only to discover the vanity of living an immortal life. Walter Bedeker (played by David Wayne) is a fearful man who spends his days in bed, bossing around his wife, terrified of the prospect of contracting a disease. We first encounter the disagreeable Walter Bedeker as he yells at a doctor, calling him a “quack” for claiming Walter’s complaints are merely psychosomatic. Walter is a hypochondriac, believing even the slightest breeze through a window might kill him. When his wife leaves the room, a strange overweight man appears beside his bed named “Mr. Cadwallader,” or at least that is the name he goes by today (his name bears striking resemblance to a 7th century Welsh king). Mr. Cadwallader is the personification of the devil (played by Thomas Gomez).
Mr. Cadwallader offers Walter Bedeker the opportunity to become immortal in exchange for selling his soul. Walter, being a vain man, negotiates one condition in the agreement –that he not age like a “prune.” The devil laughs and agrees as they sign the compact. However, there is a catch to their little agreement. The one chance to nullify the deal is called the “escape clause” wherein Walter may end his own life by summoning the devil. Of course, Walter agrees as Cadwallader maniacally laughs.
Immediately, Walter’s life changes. He begins a series of escalating, dangerous activities to test his newfound immortality. He burns his hands on a heater, breaks open his window, throws himself in front of a train and so on. He begins collecting insurance checks for his many accidents in a fraud scheme, but he quickly grows bored of this, so he tells his wife he will throw himself off the roof of his apartment building. In terror, she follows him to the roof and instead it is she who falls down to the ground. Walter calmly returns to his room and calls the police, turning himself in for the crime of killing his wife, hoping they will sentence him to the electric chair. However, he appears entirely un-remorseful at his trial and, instead, he is punished with life imprisonment. Naturally, Walter is shocked and dismayed.
The prospect of spending an immortal life locked away in prison is too much for Walter to take, so he exercises his “escape clause.” Cadwallader then promptly appears and mercifully grants Walter a heart attack, killing him alone in his cell.
“There’s a saying, “Every man is put on Earth condemned to die, time and method of execution unknown.” Perhaps this is as it should be. Case in point: Walter Bedeker, lately deceased. A little man with such a yen to live. Beaten by the devil, by his own boredom, and by the scheme of things in this, the Twilight Zone.”
-Rod Serling
My Thoughts on “Escape Clause”
The central theme of “Escape Clause” wrestles with the meaninglessness of life for a person who suddenly loses his fear of death. After making a faustian bargain, Walter Bedeker’s life becomes a monotonous, bore absent the threat of pain, suffering, and comeuppance. Ironically, at the start of this episode, Walter Bedeker desires to live solely in a sanitary room, secluded in his bed, safe from all the dangers of the world; but when he becomes immortal, he starts living inside an equally safe bubble, shielded from dangers and obstacles, even though he is exposed to every single danger known to man. “Escape Clause” suggests there is a certain degree of chaos and riskiness is essential to life itself, and Walter Bedeker has tragically learned this lesson all too late in life.
However, there is also a darker theme at play here. When Bedeker loses his fear of death, he immediately turns into a sociopath, delighting in suffering, scamming, and even killing his wife. The subtext is that the fear of death is the only thing keeping people ethical. Without it, people like Walter Bedeker become extraordinarily destructive. In a way, it reminds me of the “Ring of Gyges” mentioned in the writings of Herodotus and Plato. If given the assurance that we would face no consequences for our behavior, would we still act morally? “Escape Clause” offers a nice lesson with a troubling ethical conundrum, but this is not among my favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone. David Wayne and Thomas Gomez together deliver a delightful reciprocal performance as Walter Bedeker and Cadwallader respectively, but the episode’s tone all-too casually blends some bitterly dark themes with a whimsical, playful mood leading to a jarring sense of audience orientation, particularly as Walter Bedeker freely watches his wife die, feels no remorse for it, and even in the end faces no consequences. One could argue his deal with the devil was punishment enough, but is that really the case if he has his own “escape clause?”
Credits:
- Director: Mitchell Leisen
- Mitchell “Mitch” Leisen (1898-1972) had a lengthy career in Hollywood, starting out as a costume designer and an art director in the silent era. He was an uncredited worker on Cecil B. DeMille’s King of Kings (1927). He made his directorial debut in 1933 and followed this up with numerous screwball comedies, romances, and costume melodramas. He later went independent in 1951, leaving a lucrative contract at Paramount, and he began directing television shows. Twilight Zone cinematographer George T. Clemens remembered Mitch Leisen as an old-school director who struggled to adjust to the new age of television (he first met Leisen when he was a costume designer for Cecil B. DeMille). Clemens boasted that he was instrumental in getting Leisen his directing job on The Twilight Zone. Ironically, Clemens recalled that Leisen often lived in the past, Leisen hired himself a chauffeur to drive him to the lot in his rolls royce and insisting on having a lot pass and so on. He was said to be gay or possibly bisexual, having had a long-term relationship with a dancer, actor, and choreographer named Billy Daniel. Leisen died of heart disease in 1972 at the age of 74. He directed three episodes of The Twilight Zone: “The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine,” “Escape Clause,” and “People Are Alike All Over.”
- Written by: Rod Serling
- Music: Stock Music
- Director of Photography: George T. Clemens
- Production Manager: Ralph W. Nelson
- Art Directors: George W. Davis and William Ferrari
- Film Editor: Bill Mosher
- Assistant Director: Edward Denault
- Set Decorations: Henry Grace and Rudy Butler
- Sound: Franklin Milton and Jean Valentino
- Casting Director: Mildred Gusse
- Cast:
- David Wayne…..Walter Bedeker
- Born Wayne James McMeekan, David Wayne (1914-1995) was a native of Traverse City, Michigan. He served as an ambulance driver in Africa during World War II. He turned to acting after the war and appeared in a variety of movies like Adam’s Rib (1949), My Blue Heaven (1950), With a Song in My Heart (1952), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), Hell and High Water (1954), The Tender Trap (1955), The Three Faces of Eve (1957), The Andromeda Strain (1971), The Front Page (1974), and others. He appeared in television shows like Wagon Train, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Dallas, Gunsmoke, Murder, She Wrote, and many others. He was the star of the sitcom Norby in which he played the vice president of a small-town bank. It was the first series ever shot in color. He also played the Mad Hatter in four episodes of Batman. Wayne was paid $5,000 for his performance in “Escape Clause.” This was his only episode of The Twilight Zone. During his career, he won an Emmy award and two Tony awards. He died of lung cancer in 1995 in Santa Monica at the age of 81. He had three children.
- Thomas Gomez…..Mr. Cadwallader
- Born Sabino Tomas Gomez Jr., Thomas Gomez (1905-1971) was known as a character actor who often portrayed corrupt politicians and criminals. He had guest roles in such series as Route 66, Dr. Kildare, Mr. Ed, Burke’s Law, The Virginian, It Takes a Thief, Bewitched, The Rifleman, and Gunsmoke. He appeared in two episodes of The Twilight Zone (“Escape Clause” and “Dust“). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Robert Montgomery’s Ride The Pink Horse (1947). He later appeared in the television remake of the story in Robert Montgomery Presents in 1950 which marked his official pivot to television. Notably, the final film he appeared in was Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) as the orangutan minister. He died in 1971 shortly after being injured in a car accident which left in a coma for three weeks.
- Virginia Christine…..Ethel Bedeker
- Virginia Christine (1920-1996) was a film and television character actress, though she is often remembered as “Mrs. Olson” (or the “Folgers Coffee Woman”) in a string of television commercials for Folgers Coffee during the 1960s and 1970s.
- Dick Wilson…..insurance man #1 (Jack)
- Dick Wilson (1916-2007) was a character actor who was perhaps best known as grocery store manager Mr. George Whipple in more than 500 Charmin bathroom tissue television commercials.
- Joe Flynn…..insurance man #2 (Steve)
- Joseph Anthony Flynn III (1924-1974) was best known for playing Captain Wallace Binghamton in the 1960s ABC television comedy McHale’s Navy. He was also a frequent guest star on shows like Batman and several Walt Disney film comedies.
- Wendell Holmes…..Bedeker’s lawyer
- Wendell Holmes (1914-1962) was a radio, television, Broadway, and film actor.
- Raymond Bailey…..Bedeker’s doctor
- Raymond Thomas Bailey (1904-1980) was best known for his role as the greedy banker Milburn Drysdale in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies.
- George Baxter…..Judge Cummings
- George Baxter (1905-1976) was a French actor who appeared in a variety of film and television shows ranging from silent films to American Westerns.
- Nesdon Booth…..Prison Guard
- Nesdon Booth (1918-1964) appeared in over 100 films and television programs, and was known for his recurring role as Frank the bartender in the American western television series Cimarron City. He was the father of art director and property master Nesdon Foye Booth and Dena Lynn Booth. In the credits for this episode, his name is mispelled as “Nesden Booth.”
- Allan Lurie…..the Subway Guard
- Allan Lurie (1923-2015) was primarily known as an American voice actor. He was the father of Peter Lurie who also became a voice actor.
- Bob McCord…..Man in Subway
- Robert “Bob” McCord III (1915-1980) appeared in a variety of Westerns in addition to The Twilight Zone. He set a record for appearing on The Twilight Zone 75 times (mostly uncredited). He was known as “Bud McCord.”
- David Wayne…..Walter Bedeker
The Twilight Zone Trivia:
- There was a medieval Welsh king of Gwynedd (Wales) named Cadwaladr (also known as Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon) who lived in the 7th Century and was rumored to have certain powers used for dealing with the dead.
- The title of this episode is a reference to a legal term –a clause in a contract.
- The cast of this episode includes two actors who were best known for starring in their own long-running TV commercials: Virginia Christine (Mrs. Olson for Folgers Coffee) and Dick Wilson (Mr. Whipple for Charmin Bathroom Tissue).
- “Escape Clause” was one of the three episodes-in-production mentioned by Rod Serling in his 1959 promotional film pitching the series to potential sponsors, the others being “The Lonely” and “Mr. Denton On Doomsday” (referred to as “Death, Destry, and Mr. Dingle”).
- This episode was directed by Mitchell Leisen, who also was the director of the original Death Takes a Holiday (1934) film, which contains some thematic similarities to the Twilight Zone episode “One for the Angels” aired earlier in the season.
- There is apparently an inspection plate at Disney’s Tower of Terror ride at Walt Disney World Resorts that is signed by Cadwallader.
- Notably, even the devil, who typically resides in a very hot climate, comments on how warm Walter Bedeker likes to keep his room!
- Initially, there was a planned scene in this episode in which the janitor was to come into Mr. Bedeker’s room and comment on the heat, but this was cut. There were apparently a variety of revisions to the script.
- When Walter Bedeker mocks his doctor and calls him a “quack,” he mocks his educational background: “Four years pre-med, four years medical school, two years internship, two years residency.”
- Walter claims there are 8,900,000 germs in a cubic foot of air.
- Some signs in the background of this episode advertise Coney Island, the Viceroy Theater, and Gaby Desly’s “Revue of Revues.”
- Many of Serling’s scripts for The Twilight Zone resemble his earlier radio scripts. He penned a similar story to “Escape Clause” about a man who is given immortality only to be sentenced to life in prison. It was featured in Inner Sanctum Mystery, a radio crime thriller broadcast from 1941-1952.
- The rooftop stage for this episode was also used in “The Big Tall Wish” as well as “A Passage for Trumpet” in addition to a 1958 episode of The Thin Man entitled “Plague of Pigeons.”
Click here to return to my survey of The Twilight Zone series.
Click here to read my reflections on Rod Serling’s short story “Escape Clause.”