The Twilight Zone: Season 1, Episode Twenty-Three “A World of Difference”

Original Air Date: March 11, 1960
Writer: Richard Matheson
Director: Ted Post

“Gerry, sometimes I’d like to escape, myself. Away from this turmoil… to some simpler existence.”

“A World of Difference” presents a disorienting, uniquely meta-episode of The Twilight Zone. It explores one man’s feeling of fraudulence and paranoia, realizing he’s being watched, as if his life is on a stage. The cinematography in this episode was completed by Harkness Smith (George T. Clemens declined to participate) and, in this case, Smith’s unique lens offers a compelling set of visuals as we surprisingly break the fourth wall and step offscreen into a completely different world. “A World of Difference” is a jarring but satisfying episode that forces us to question: what is Arthur Curtis’s true reality?

“You’re looking at a tableau of reality, things of substance, of physical material: a desk, a window, a light. These things exist and have dimension. Now this is Arthur Curtis, age thirty-six, who also is real. He has flesh and blood, muscle and mind. But in just a moment we will see how thin a line separates that which we assume to be real with that manufactured inside of a mind.”
-Rod Serling

Arthur Curtis (played by Howard Duff, husband of Ida Lupino who starred in “The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine” and directed “The Masks“) is a middle-class businessman who is planning a trip to San Francisco with his wife. He arrives at his office early so he can leave by 3pm. He talks to his secretary Sally (played by Gail Kobe). He hasn’t gotten a gift yet for his daughter Tina’s birthday party on Saturday afternoon, has a flight to catch to San Francisco in the evening for the “first real date” he and Muriel have had in years, and wonders about the Matson contracts that Sally finished the night prior. He then discovers that the phone in his office is not working. He turns toward the camera when he hears someone yell “cut!” Suddenly the ‘fourth wall’ of his office is blurred away and he discovers that his life is actually being filmed on a sound stage. Everyone on set refers to him as an actor named Gerald “Gerry” Raigan (“Arthur Curtis” is merely the character he has been playing). He is an actor who has been struggling with mental health problems, alcoholism, and a nasty divorce (his malicious ex-wife, Nora Raigan, is played by Eileen Ryan, widow of Leo Penn and mother of actor Sean Penn). Curtis insists he has no memory of this identity as Gerald Raigan.

Raigan’s agent angrily announces he is being dropped from the production after losing the part of Arthur Curtis due to his apparent nervous breakdown, and Raigan’s soon to be ex-wife is hunting down his money, threatening to ‘bleed him dry.’ In desperation, Raigan flees back to the film set where his staged office is being torn down. He cries out to return to his former life when his secretary suddenly arrives along with his wife and the plane tickets for their trip to San Francisco. Raigan/Curtis embraces his wife as the film crew in the background begins to fade. Raigan has chosen the life of Arthur Curtis, never again to return to life in the pathetic, miserable shoes of Gerald Raigan. His plane takes off and disappears. Which was the true reality? Arthur Curtis or Gerald Raigan? We are only left to wonder.

“The modus operandi for the departure from life is usually a pine box of such and such dimensions, and this is the ultimate in reality. But there are other ways for a man to exit from life. Take the case of Arthur Curtis, age thirty-six. His departure was along a highway with an exit sign that reads, “This Way To Escape”. Arthur Curtis, en route to the Twilight Zone.”
-Rod Serling

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My Thoughts on “A World of Difference”

Which is the real fantasy? Is it the busy but respected workingman who is looking forward to a much-needed vacation in San Francisco with his wife? Or the troubled alcoholic actor whose marriage and career is falling apart? If the actor Gerald Raigan is real, then this whole fantasy is just another case of The Twilight Zone exploring the psychological problem of modern escapism. But if Arthur Curtis is real, then this episode becomes something more like a malicious supernatural prank as through no fault of his own, Arthur Curtis has horrifyingly leapt into another reality, exposing himself to another life that might have been his own. The third possibility is that both realities are, in fact, true. And this poses all sorts of maddening questions. Either way, “A World of Difference” is a complicated, playful episode that willfully breaks the fourth wall and seems to lay a foundation for the forthcoming era of meta, mind-bending films like The Truman Show (1998).

There is apparently no moral lesson to be gleaned in “A World of Difference.” Some things in The Twilight Zone are simply there to shake us out of our complacency, and force us look at the world from a different point of view. For now, Arthur Curtis will think twice about ever taking his blissful existence for granted again. “A World of Difference” is another triumph for the first season of The Twilight Zone. This unusual episode is filled with excellent performances from the likes of Howard Duff and Eileen Ryan, along with wonderful camerawork by Harkness Smith (his only work as cinematographer on The Twilight Zone), and pitch-perfect music by Nathan Van Cleave. Chalk this one up to another classic apparently-delusional, isolated man in a Richard Matheson script.

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Credits:

• Director: Ted Post
  • Ted Post (1918-2013) was born in Brooklyn, the son of Jewish emigrants from the Russian Empire. He served in the U.S. Army in Italy during World War II, before pursuing a career as a theater, film, and television director. He first developed a love of movies while working at Loew’s Pitkin Theater in Brooklyn in the late 1930s. He directed television episodes of Schlitz Playhouse, The Ford Television Theatre, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Peyton Place, as well as films like Hang ’em High (1968), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and others. He directed a total of four episodes of The Twilight Zone (“A World of Difference,” “Probe 7, Over and Out,” “Mr. Garrity and the Graves,” and “The Fear“). He and his wife Thelma had two children, one of whom is a renowned legal scholar and former dean of Yale Law School, Robert Post. Ted Post died in 2013 in Santa Monica, California.
• Written by: Richard Matheson
• Music: Nathan Van Cleave
  • The score for this episode re-uses music from the earlier episode “Perchance to Dream.” Other parts of Nathan Van Cleave’s score features an organ-like synthesizer.
• Director of Photography: Harkness Smith
  • Harkness Smith completed the cinematography for this episode after George T. Clemens declined to work with director Ted Post, fearing he would push too many complicated camera set-ups and variations.
• Production Manager: Ralph W. Nelson
• Art Directors: George W. Davis and William Ferrari
• Film Editor: Joseph Gluck
• Assistant Director: Edward Denault
• Set Decorations: Henry Grace and Rudy Butler
• Sound: Franklin Milton and Jean Valentino
• Casting Director: Mildred Gusse
• Starring:
  • Howard Duff…..Arthur Curtis/Gerald “Gerry” Raigan
    • Howard Duff (1913-1990) started his career in radio during World War II (he served with the U.S. Army Air Force’s radio service from 1941 to 1945). His most memorable radio role was as Dashiell Hammett’s private eye Sam Spade in “The Adventures of Sam Spade” (1946–1950) but he was continually dogged with accusations of being a communist so he left radio to work in Hollywood. He appeared in television episodes of Batman, I Spy, Bonanza, The Virginian, All My Sons, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Murder, She Wrote, Charlie’s Angels, and others. He appeared in one episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery (segment title “There Aren’t Any More MacBanes”). He was also a director of television episodes of shows like Felony Squad and Camp Runamuck. He had tempestuous relationships with actresses Ava Gardner and Gloria DeHaven, before marrying Ida Lupino in 1951 (who starred in The Twilight Zone episode “The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine” and later directed “The Masks“). They had one daughter together before separating in 1966 and eventually divorcing in 1984. They were both staunch Democrats. Duff was later remarried to Judy Jenkinson. Duff passed away in Santa Barbara in 1990 at the age of 76 of a heart attack.
    • After this episode of The Twilight Zone was complete, Ida Lupino loved Duff’s performance so much that she asked Rod Serling for a 16mm print of it so she could one day play it for their daughter, Bridget.
  • David White…..Mr. Brinkley, Gerry’s agent
    • David White (1916-1990) was a Marine Corps veteran during World War II before turning to an acting career. He is perhaps best known for playing Darrin Stephens’s boss Larry Tate on the comedy show Bewitched. He also appeared in shows like Perry Mason, Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, The Untouchables, One Step Beyond, The Fugitive, Mission: Impossible, My Three Sons, Father Knows Best, The Six Million Dollar Man, Bonanza, Have Gun – Will Travel, My Favorite Martian, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Odd Couple, Columbo, Wonder Woman, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Dick Tracy, among others. He played a philandering executive “Mr. Eichelberger” in Billy Wilder’s The Apartment (1960). He appeared in an episode of The Lieutenant (a show created by Star Trek founder Gene Roddenberry) and two episodes of The Twilight Zone (“A World of Difference” and “I Sing the Body Electric“). He was married twice and had two children. His wife, actress Mary Welch, tragically died of complications from pregnancy. Their son also later tragically died in 1988 at the age of 33 in the Lockerbie terrorist bombing over Scotland. White reportedly became embittered and reclusive over these harrowing tragedies in his life. He died of a heart attack in 1990 in North Hollywood.
  • Frank Maxwell…..Marty Fisher (“your friendly neighborhood movie director”)
    • Charles Francis Maxwell (1916-2004) served as a navigator and bombardier with the 20th Air Force during World War II. He was blacklisted during the communist witch hunts of the McCarthy era before building an acting career on the New York stage and eventually in Hollywood. He appeared in episodes of television shows like Tales of Tomorrow, Gunsmoke, Playhouse 90, One Step Beyond, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Rawhide, I Spy, Gilligan’s Island, Mission: Impossible, Charlie’s Angels, M*A*S*H*, Perry Mason, and All In The Family, among others. He appeared in one episode of The Outer Limits (“The Man with the Power”) and an episode of The Lieutenant (a show created by Star Trek founder Gene Roddenberry). He later served as president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists during the 1980s where he was a tireless advocate for actors’ equity. He was married twice, had one child, and died of complications from heart disease in Santa Monica in 2004. His daughter, Chris Ann Maxwell, became a prominent Los Angeles attorney and high-ranking executive at a variety of Hollywood studios, particularly 20th Century Fox.
  • Eileen Ryan…..Nora Raigan, Gerry Raigan’s maniacal ex-wife
    • Eileen Ryan (1927-2022) was the wife of actor and director Leo Penn, and the mother of actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn, as well as the singer Michael Penn. Throughout her acting career, she had small appearances in shows like Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie. She appeared in films like Parenthood (1989), I Am Sam (2001), and Eight Legged Freaks (2002). She died at her home in Malibu in 2022 at the age of 94.
  • Gail Kobe…..Sally, Arthur Curtis’s Secretary
    • Gail Kobe (1932-2013) was an actress and producer. She appeared in shows like Peyton Place, Hogan’s Heroes, Gunsmoke, Have Gun – Will Travel, Mission: Impossible, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Wagon Train, as well as three episodes of The Twilight Zone (“A World of Difference,” “In His Image,” and “The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross“) and two episodes of The Outer Limits (“Specimen: Unknown” and “Keeper of the Purple Twilight”). She worked again with director Ted Post for over a year on Peyton Place. She was married twice and died in 2013 in Woodland Hills, California.
  • Peter Walker…..Sam, member of the film crew
    • Peter Walker (1927-present) appeared in over 30 films and television programs, shows like I Spy, One Step Beyond, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Perry Mason, and others, though he was primarily known for his appearance in this episode of The Twilight Zone (he has 40 acting credits to his name on IMDB). Amazingly, he is still apparently alive as of the time I write this review.
  • Susan Dorn…..Marion Curtis, Arthur Curtis’s wife
    • Susan Dorn (1928-2020) was born in the Bronx, New York. Her father owned several stores in the Los Angeles area, specializing in television and audio equipment. She had a handful of acting credits between 1958 and 1962 in television shows like Perry Mason, Dennis the Menace, and Dr. Kildare. She was twice divorced and died in Westlake Village, California in 2020. There are a number of internet rumors circulating around that Susan Dorn had her therapy license suspended when she disclosed Nicole Brown Simpson had told her about domestic abuse, but I was unable to independently verify this claim.
  • Bill Idelson…..Stagehand/Kelly
    • William “Bill” Idelson (1919-2007) was an American actor, writer, director and producer widely known for his teenage role as Rush Gook on the radio comedy “Vic and Sade” and his recurring television role as Herman Glimscher on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the 1960s. His parents were Russian immigrants; he joined the U.S. Navy in World War II and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals as a night fighter pilot. He later married actress Seemah Wilder with whom he had three sons and a daughter. He appeared in shows like M*A*S*H*, The Betty White Show, The Odd Couple, Bewitched, Get Smart, The Andy Griffith Show, The Flintstones, and others. He wrote an episode for The Twilight Zone (“Long Distance Call“) and he later performed in the Twilight Zone radio drama of the same name in 2007. He died of complications from a hip injury that same year.
• Extras:
  • Bob McCord…..camera crew member (uncredited)
    • Robert “Bud” or “Bob” Leigh McCord III (1915-1980) appeared in a variety of television shows, particularly in small uncredited roles in Westerns, in addition to The Twilight Zone. His first role was an uncredited appearance as an office clerk in the 1947 movie The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, and his first credited role was in an episode of the 1956 television series Schlitz Playhouse. After a couple more uncredited roles and minor appearances, he joined The Twilight Zone in 1959 (he was presumably hired by Cayuga Productions). In fact, he eventually set a record for most appearances on The Twilight Zone (75 times, mostly uncredited). He was also a stunt double on the show. He had a son named Robert IV (1938-2008) and a daughter named Penny. McCord died in 1980.
  • Chester “Chet” Brandberg…..technician (uncredited)
  • Michael Jeffers…..technician (uncredited)
  • Thomas Martin…..technician (uncredited)
  • Joel Norden…..film technician
  • Jerry Schumacher…..silent bit part

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The Twilight Zone Trivia:

• The entire scene at the beginning of this episode with Curtis in his office was shot in one take. The wall of his office was apparently on wheels and was thus able to ‘disappear’ in an easy way.
• The tune Curtis whistles in this episode is apparently an instrumental rendition of “Comin’ Thro’ the Rye.” The songs’ lyrics are by Scottish poet Robert Burns.
• This episode offers a fantastic tour through various MGM backlot sets, such as the Lord Home set on Lot 2, which is also known as the “Philadelphia Story House” (Howard Duff walks right up to the door where Cary Grant pushed down Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, though the house has been slightly revised by the time it was used in this episode).
• The stairway that Gerry runs down was located at Stage 9 (the same stairway and living room set was featured in “Elegy“).
• There are also many classic cars featured in this episode, such as a 1959 Ford Thunderbird Convertible (Nora Raigan’s car), a 1959 Chrysler sedan (the car Arthur/Gerry steals), and others including a jaguar and a corvette.
• The Thunderbird used in this episode was a studio car rental costing $5.00 for an hour of shooting.
• The painting hanging on the wall in the Raigan house can also be spotted hanging on the wall in “Third From The Sun” and in Mr. Penell’s office in the episode “The Four of Us Are Dying.”
• At one point, Curtis comments to his secretary about going on vacation with his wife on Saturday night to San Francisco. This is an in-joke and a nod to Howard Duff’s role as the private detective Sam Spade on The Adventures of Sam Spade which takes place in San Francisco.
• After this episode aired, several letters were sent to Rod Serling from fans who did not understand the ending. Serling forwarded them along to Richard Matheson.
• This episode was later parodied on Saturday Night Live with the skit showing the Star Trek crew in denial of their shows cancellation.
• Arthur Curtis apparently lives at 22437 Ventner Road in Woodland Hills, California with his wife and daughter. In reality, 22437 Venter Road, Woodland Hills is a fictitious address.
• Arthur Curtis says he has worked for the last seven years at The Davis Morton Company located at 189 Brand Street, Los Angeles, CA. At the start of the episode, he asks his secretary about the Matson account (Matson is a long-standing American shipping company).
• Arthur Curtis is said to be 36 years old, though actor Howard Duff was actually 47 at the time.
• When Gerry’s ex-wife demands he give her a check, she spells out his last name as “R-A-I-G-A-N”. This isn’t the anticipated spelling of the name, but this may have been deliberate, so as to not associate the character with Ronald Reagan, the then-President of the Screen Actors Guild.
• While driving around Los Angeles in search of his home, Arthur/Gerry mistakes a young girl for his own daughter Tina. The actor who played this young girl was uncredited and, as far as I know, her identity remains unknown, though she very well may still be alive today. If anyone has any further information on who this actor was, please feel free to drop me a comment below.
• According to the script for the film starring Gerry in this episode, the film is called “The Private World of Arthur Curtis.”

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