The Twilight Zone: Season 1, Episode Fifteen “I Shot an Arrow into the Air”

Original Air Date: January 15, 1960
Writer: Rod Serling (based on a concept by Madelon Champion)
Director: Stuart Rosenberg

“I shot an arrow into the air, it landed I know not where.”

There is an amusing story behind “I Shot an Arrow into the Air.” Rod Serling was attending a party when he was approached by a woman named Madelon Champion who gave him the idea for an episode. She had written the basic framework and plot-twist about a space crew that crashes onto what appears to be a remote asteroid only to discover they have actually landed back on earth. Serling was so infatuated with the idea that he paid Madelon $500 on the spot and gave her a writer’s credit in the episode (the only such instance in The Twilight Zone). This episode was directed by Stuart Rosenberg who later became known for his Hollywood film partnership with actor Paul Newman, which included he film Cool Hand Luke (1967).

“Her name is the Arrow One. She represents 4 and a half years of planning, preparations and training, and a thousand years of science and mathematics and the projected dreams and hopes of not only a nation but a world. She is the first manned aircraft into space. And this is the countdown, the last 5 seconds before man shot an arrow into the air.”
-Rod Serling

The first manned space flight from a rocket known as “Arrow One.” But the eight astronauts onboard crash-land onto what they believe to be a barren asteroid. Four survive (one is in poor health and he dies shortly after the crash). The likelihood of survival for the three remaining astronauts is bleak. Their names are commanding officer Donlin (played by Edward Binns who appeared in a number of classic films including 12 Angry Men, North By Northwest, Patton and others), Corey (played by Dewey Martin) and Pearson (played by Ted Otis).

“Now you make tracks, Mr. Corey. You move out and up like some kind of ghostly billy-club was tapping at your ankles and telling you that it was later than you think. You scrabble up rock hills and feel hot sand underneath your feet and every now and then take a look over your shoulder at a giant sun suspended in a dead and motionless sky like an unblinking eye that probes at the back of your head in a prolonged accusation. Mr. Corey, last remaining member of a doomed crew, keep moving. Make tracks, Mr. Corey. Push up and push out because if you stop…if you stop, maybe sanity will get you by the throat. Maybe realization will pry open your mind and the horror you left down in the sand will seep in. Yeah, Mr. Corey, yeah, you better keep moving. That’s the order of the moment: keep moving.”
-Rod Serling

As time passes, Officer Corey disapproves of commanding officer Donlin’s decisions. He and Pearson venture out into the desert for some six hours but only Corey returns claiming that Pearson died. However, Donlin notices that Corey’s canteen is filled with additional water. He pulls out his gun and demands that Corey take him to Pearson’s body. When they arrive Pearson is barely alive drawing a diagram in the dirt. Corey then attacks and kills Donlin in order to confiscate more water and thereby increase his odds of survival. As he ventures onward, he spots something curious over the horizon: telephone wires. In horror he realizes they have actually landed back on Earth, and that Pearson was trying to communicate via diagram that he had actually seen telephone wires. Corey breaks down in hysterical tears: “we never left the earth… we just crashed back into it…” This episode provides the early seeds for the feature film Planet of the Apes (1968) for which Rod Serling helped to draft the initial screenplay.

“Practical joke perpetrated by Mother Nature and a combination of improbable events. Practical joke wearing the trappings of nightmare, of terror, and desperation. Small, human drama played out in a desert 97 miles from Reno, Nevada, U.S.A., continent of North America, the Earth and, of course, the Twilight Zone.”
-Rod Serling

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My Thoughts on “I Shot an Arrow into the Air”

The Twilight Zone crew returned to Death Valley to shoot this episode amidst the craggy and barren hillsides, but this time they learned their lesson after the miserable experience of previously shooting “The Lonely” in blistering heat. This time no one passed out due to heat stroke. With an iconic, unforgettable twist ending, “I Shot an Arrow into the Air” is a wonderful early episode of The Twilight Zone. This was one of the first episodes I remember seeing as a kid during one of the many epic Twilight Zone marathons on television. It shows us the frailty of human civility when people believe they are far removed from civilization, in this case on a remote, unknown asteroid. Corey is a contemptible human being who will likely face

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Credits:

• Director: Stuart Rosenberg
• Written by: Rod Serling (based on a concept by Madelon Champion)
• Music: Stock from “And When the Sky Was Opened” by Leonard Rosenman
• 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 Jerry Wunderlich
• Sound: Franklin Milton and Jean Valentino
• Casting Director: Mildred Gusse
• Starring:
  • Dewey Martin…..Flight Officer Corey
    • Dewey Martin (1923-2018) joined the Navy in 1940 and served as a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. In addition to The Twilight Zone episode “I Shot an Arrow Into the Air,” he also appeared in The Outer Limits episode “The Premonition” (1965), co-written by Ib Melchior. He played Daniel Boone in four episodes of Walt Disney Presents.
  • Edward Binns…..Colonel Donlin
    • Edward Binns (1916-1990) had a wide-spanning career in film and television, often portraying competent, hard working and purposeful characters in his various roles. He is best known for his work in such acclaimed films as 12 Angry Men (1957), North by Northwest (1959), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Fail Safe (1964), The Americanization of Emily (1964), Patton (1970) and The Verdict (1982). He married twice and had one daughter. He appeared in two Twilight Zone episodes “I Shot an Arrow into the Air” and “The Long Morrow.”
  • Ted Otis…..Flight Officer Pearson (whose name I’ve also seen spelled Pierson)
    • Ted Otis, Sr. (1936-?) was known for appearances in The Twilight Zone, The Rifleman, The Rifleman, and One Step Beyond. This episode was his only Twilight Zone appearance.
  • Harry Bartell…..Langford
    • Harry Bartell (1913-2004) was an American actor and announcer in radio, television and film. With his youthful sounding voice, Bartell was once one of the busiest West Coast character actors from the early 1940s until the end of network radio drama in the 1960s. He appeared in television shows like Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, Get Smart, Gunsmoke, I Love Lucy, The Wild Wild West, The Untouchables, The Fugitive, and The Twilight Zone. Apart from his acting work, Bartell was an active photographer (many of his photos of the Gunsmoke cast appeared in the 1990 book on the series Gunsmoke: A Complete History). In his later years, he was a frequent presence at old-time radio conventions and recreations, wrote online articles about the medium and his experiences, and even participated in radio-themed chat rooms.
  • Leslie Barrett…..Brandt
    • Leslie Barrett (1919-2010) led an extensive career in Broadway, feature films and television. This was his only Twilight Zone appearance.
  • Bob McCord…..stunt man
    • 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.” He was originally set to play a stand-in for the control room in this episode but he was eventually moved to stunt man for a scene with Colonel Donlin rolling down a hill and a scene of Pearson falling down a hill (which never made it into the final cut).
  • Paul Denton…..wounded, dead man
  • Kenneth DuMain…..dead man
  • Boyed Cabeen…..man charting or writing on a board at mission control center
  • John Clarke…..man at mission control center
  • Tom Murray…..man at mission control center

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The Twilight Zone Trivia:

• Marc Scott Zicree’s The Twilight Zone Companion was highly critical of the science in this episode: “Any astronaut who crash lands on a body within our solar system that has the same atmosphere and gravity of Earth and doesn’t immediately realize he is on Earth had better go back to astronaut school.”
• The Cayuga Productions crew revised their procedure for filming in Death Valley after all the problems they experienced when filming “The Lonely” –this included the addition of a two hour lunch and packing copious amounts of water.
• Some credit listings for this episode list “Alan Smithee” as director. Stuart Rosenberg did use that pseudonym name sometimes. Typically, the name “Alan Smithee” is used by directors who do not want their name associated with a piece of work.
• This episode marked the only time Rod Serling purchased a random story from a stranger. “I got 15,000 manuscripts in the first five days. Of those 15,000, I and members of my staff read about 140. And 137 of those 140 were wasted paper; hand-scrawled, laboriously written, therapeutic unholy grotesqueries from sick, troubled, deeply disturbed people. Of the three remaining scripts, all of clearly poetic, professional quality, none of them fitted the show.” —Rod Serling quoted in The Twilight Zone Companion.
• Madelon Champion was the wife of a friend of Rod’s. According to Rod’s brother, she proposed this story during a dinner at Rod’s house. He paid her back with a new refrigerator, so to speak. Cayuga Productions acquired the story as an agreement between Rod Serling and John Champion for $750, no agents were involved (conflicting accounts suggest the story was purchased for $500).
• De Forest Research noted that there was already a Captain William E. Donlon in the U.S. Air Force, but instead of changing the character’s name, his rank was simply moved from captain to colonel.
• Permission to shoot in Death Valley for three days was granted by Mr. Danielson, assistant superintendent. Cayuga paid a fee of $1,740 to the government. The cast and crew stayed nearby at the Furnace Creek Ranch.
• The title of this episode comes from the opening line of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Arrow and the Song”: “I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to earth I knew not where.” The title was one that Rod Serling considered for a screenplay that would later air as “The Gift” which was almost the pilot episode.
• Props used in the background of the Space Agency were borrowed from “Third From The Sun.” One sign reads: “Project X X 2.”
• Navigator Jim Hudack is the crewman who has been seriously injured in this episode (he dies shortly thereafter).
• This was the first episode of the season not to feature Rod Serling on the set for filming.
• At the end of the episode, one of the signs reads: “Nelson’s Motel: Eats, Gas & Oil” –a nod to production manager, Ralph W. Nelson. The other two signs read: “Reno 37 Miles” and “Nevada 383.”
• A man named Col. Gordon claimed to have written a script identical to this story and submitted it for consideration to The Twilight Zone. His attorney Martin Stolzoff leveled accusations of plagiarism, but there was actually very little in common between the script and the episode, and after Cayuga confirmed they had never received this submission, the matter was dropped.
• The plot idea of astronauts thinking they had crashed onto an unknown planet, only to discover that in fact they had been on Earth all along, would be adapted by Rod Serling in his draft work on the initial screenplay of the 1968 film Planet of The Apes.

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