The Twilight Zone: Season 1, Episode Twenty-Four “Long Live Walter Jameson”

Original Air Date: March 18, 1960
Writer: Charles Beaumont
Director: Anton “Tony” Leader

“It’s death that gives this world its point. We love a rose because we know it will soon be gone…”

Enter into a college classroom where we meet Professor Walter Jameson (played by Kevin McCarthy of 1956’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers repute), a beloved professor delivering a lecture on the American Civil War. He holds an extraordinary, almost unbelievable, amount of intimate historical knowledge –many of Jameson’s students say his lectures are so powerful that it’s almost as if he has lived through them. In explaining the burning of Atlanta, and the character of William Tecumseh Sherman, Professor Jameson reads from the diary of a Major Hugh Skelton (a lawyer who happened to enlist in the 123rd Illinois Infantry and whose diary is dated September 11, 1864). Among the students in the classroom sits Jameson’s friend and colleague, Professor Sam Kittridge (played by French actor Edgar Stehli). He is impressed with Jameson’s unbelievably detailed knowledge and starts to suspect something dark is at play. He invites Jameson over to his house for dinner. Why? Ostensibly because Jameson is engaged to Sam’s daughter, Susanna (played by Dodie Heath).

“You’re looking at Act One, Scene One, of a nightmare, one not restricted to witching hours of dark, rainswept nights. Professor Walter Jameson, popular beyond words, who talks of the past as if it were the present, who conjures up the dead as if they were alive…In the view of this man, Professor Samuel Kittridge, Walter Jameson has access to knowledge that couldn’t come out of a volume of history, but rather from a book on black magic, which is to say that this nightmare begins at noon.”
-Rod Serling

Later at the Kittridge home, Walter and Sam engage in an extensive conversation while playing chess. Sam notices Walter’s hands have not aged a day lo these past twelve years. He tests Walter with a pressing question: “how old are you?” The question catches Walter off-guard (he says he is 44 years old, then quickly changes it to 51 years old). Sam then reveals a photo taken by one Mathew Brady of a Civil War soldier, Major Hugh Skelton, who looks exactly like Walter Jameson. The man is identified as one of General Sherman’s three staff officers. After much questioning, and the realization that Walter is still wearing the same ring on his finger, he relents. As it turns out, Walter is over 2,000 years old (he once knew the ancient Greek philosopher Plato). A long time ago he paid an alchemist to help him overcome his fear of death, and this mysterious experiment somehow granted him the inexplicable secret to immortality. Over thousands of years, he has watched his loved ones pass away, including his own children. He keeps a revolver in his desk drawer and every night he contemplates suicide, but he is too cowardly to pull the trigger.

Armed with this horrifying knowledge, Sam Kittridge forbids Walter from marrying his daughter Susanna. But the scene quickly grows out of control after Walter returns home to find an elderly woman waiting for him in his study named Laurette (played by Estelle Winwood). She reveals she is his former wife. She says she spotted Walter’s engagement announcement in the newspaper and she cannot let him go through with it. She grabs his revolver and shoots Walter. Moments later, Sam rushes over after hearing the gunshot. He then witnesses Walter rapidly aging right in front of him. Walter struggles to utter his final words: “Nothing lasts forever… thank God…” In horror, Susanna enters the study with her father to find Walter’s empty suit and a pile of dust where he once stood.

“Last stop on a long journey, as yet another human being returns to the vast nothingness that is the beginning and into the dust that is always the end.”
-Rod Serling

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My Thoughts On “Long Live Walter Jameson”

Exploring similar themes of immortality to the early Season One episode “Escape Clause,” in “Long Live Walter Jameson,” Walter Jameson pays the price of immortality and he learns the true value of death –“It’s death that gives this world its point.” Unlike the more playful tone of “Escape Clause,” “Long Live Walter Jameson” is a more weighty and powerful episode. For a man who is cursed to live forever, after some 2,000 years of Walter watching his loved ones die, death itself becomes a sweet release. Birth, growth, and death are all integral parts of life, and efforts to minimize or overcome these stages of life are unnatural. The fear of death is simply part of being human. Walter Jameson learns this lesson the hard way.

“Long Live Walter Jameson” is a a striking, atmospheric, unsettling urban folktale that blends together a modern academic setting with ancient magic and alchemy. Inexplicably, Walter Jameson was given the elixir of life, but he was still not immune to a bullet. In other words, it was possible for him to die, just not by natural causes. In the end, after being shot, Walter’s body is horrifyingly reduced to dust. The lesson of his unnatural longevity is that the pursuit of wisdom is better than the pursuit of simply living longer. In some ways, one might say the end of philosophy is learning how to die. As Sam Kittridge says, “I thought if a man lived forever, he’d grow wiser. But that isn’t true, is it?” To which Walter responds, “You just go on living, that’s all.”

Each member of the cast delivers a wonderful performance in this episode, particularly Kevin McCarthy, though William Tuttle’s remarkable make-up effects and George T. Clemen’s striking camerawork really stand out here. “Long Live Walter Jameson” is another brilliant installment in the series and a triumph for Charles Beaumont.

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Credits:

• Director: Anton M. “Tony” Leader
  • Anton M. “Tony” Leader (1913-1988) was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He got his start directing radio dramas in New York in the 1940s before relocating to Los Angeles in 1948. Subsequently, he worked as a free-lancer for Universal Studios and Columbia Pictures. From the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, he directed many episodes of the popular television series of that era. He directed two episodes of The Twilight Zone (“Long Live Walter Jameson” and “The Midnight Sun“) and one episode of Star Trek (“For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky“). He also directed episodes of Playhouse 90, Perry Mason, Sugarfoot, The Virginian, Leave It To Beaver, Rawhide, Lost In Space, Daniel Boone, Gilligan’s Island, I Spy, Get Smart, Hawaii Five-O, and others. He died in 1988 in Los Angeles, California. He had two children, one of whom is Zachary Leader, emeritus professor of English Literature at the University of Roehampton.
• Written by: Charles Beaumont
• 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
• Makeup: William Tuttle
• Casting Director: Mildred Gusse
• Starring:
  • Kevin McCarthy…..Walter Jameson/ Tom Bowen/ Major Hugh Skelton
    • Kevin McCarthy (1914-2010) was born in Seattle, Washington (his cousin was U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy) and he served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II where he performed in the stage show “Winged Victory.” Today, he is best remembered as the lead in the horror science fiction film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). He appeared in television shows like The Rifleman, The Wild, Wild West, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, The Golden Girls, Murder, She Wrote, Batman: The Animated Series, Tales From The Crypt, and Hawaii Five-O among others. McCarthy gave his first credited film performance in Death of a Salesman (1951), portraying Biff Loman to Fredric March’s Willy Loman. The role earned him a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in comedic roles like Weird Al’s UHF (1989) and The Weird Al Show. He later appeared in 1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie as Uncle Walt (during the “It’s a Good Life” segment). Kevin McCarthy was married twice and had a total of five children. He died of pneumonia in 2010 on Cape Cod at the age of 96.
  • Edgar Stehli…..Professor Samuel Kittridge, Jameson’s colleague
    • Edgar Stehli (1884-1973) was a French-born American actor who got his start in old-time radio with shows like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. He then turned to film and television, appearing in shows like Suspense, Tales of Tomorrow, Dennis the Menace, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The Texan. He died in 1973 in New Jersey at the age of 89. At the time of his death, he was one of the oldest active members of Actors’ Equity Association.
  • Estelle Winwood…..Laurette Bowen, Walter’s now-elderly wife
    • Estelle Winwood (1883-1984) was an English actress who moved to the United States mid-career and became a celebrated actress on Broadway before moving to Hollywood. Known for her wit and longevity, she secured film and television roles well into her nineties. She was friends with many actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood including Tallulah Bankhead and Bette Davis. Viewers of the old Batman show from the 1960s will remember her as Aunt Hilda in several episodes and she apparently holds the distinction of playing the last client to be defended by Perry Mason on the television show. She died in her sleep in Woodland Hills, California in 1984 at age 101. She was married four times and had no children.
  • Dody Heath (credited as “Dodie Heath”)…..Susanna Kittridge, daughter of Samuel Kittridge
    • Dodie Heath (1926-2023) started her career in Broadway before turning to television and film, appearing in televisions shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and others. Per IMDB, she had 21 acting credits, her final credit being in 1973. She was married twice and died in 2023.
• Extras:
  • Geri Chatis…..student #1
  • Beverly Englander…..student #2
  • Charles Arrigo…..student #3
  • Brad Brown…..student #4
  • David Harrell…..student #5
  • Paul Denton…..student #6
  • Phil Kaufman…..student #7
  • Bob McCord…..bit part
    • 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.

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The Twilight Zone Trivia:

• The original title for Charles Beaumont’s script throughout production was “Forever and a Day” (an allusion to William Shakespeare’s As You Like It). The title was later changed after filming was complete.
• For the aging effect of Walter Jameson, the original idea by makeup artist William Tuttle was to hire a second actor (Lloyd Rogers) with a progressive lap-dissolve effect that was used in other films such as Wolf Man (1941) but instead that idea was scrapped. The scenes of Walter Jameson’s aging was performed using an old movie-making trick. Red and green age lines were drawn on actor Kevin McCarthy’s face to be shot in black and white. During the beginning of the scene, red lighting was used, bathing the scene in red and hiding the age lines. As the scene progressed, the red lights were turned down and green lights were brought up. Under the green lights, the red age lines appeared more prominent. The lighting changes were unseen by the audience because it was filmed in black-and-white. A similar effect was used in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) and also The Twilight Zone episode “Queen of the Nile.” Martin Grams, Jr. includes a wonderful quotation from lead actor Kevin McCarthy about this unique special effect in his book Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic). Additionally, Marc Scott Zicree includes a wonderful quotation from director Anton Leader about working with lead actor Kevin McCarthy in The Twilight Zone Companion.
• The makeup for this episode cost $184, whereas William Tuttle apparently told lead actor Kevin McCarthy that it cost MGM $25,000 when they did it for Spencer Tracy in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931).
• The opening scene of this episode features stock footage of Collins University in Texas. The beautiful music playing in the background is “Gaudeamus Igitur” (Latin for “Let Us Rejoice”), a traditional “carpe diem” academic song and anthem used at university graduation ceremonies around the world. It is believed to have originated in a Latin manuscript from 1287, but later evolved into a drinking song for college students. Some of the lyrics reflect an attitude of celebrating youth and an acknowledgement that we all will die one day (an appropriate choice considering the theme of this episode). An abbreviated version of the same version of “Gaudeamus Igitur” also plays in the opening academic scene of the Season 3 episode “Changing of the Guard.”
• The exterior of Jameson’s house was filmed on the “Andy Hardy” street which features prominently in numerous Twilight Zone episodes. The exterior of Jameson’s house (“The Philadelphia House”) is the same one Howard Duff approaches but never enters in “A World of Difference.” It was also known as the “Lord Home.”
• The date of Major Hugh Skelton’s diary entry of September 11, 1864 is said to be on a Tuesday in the episode, but in reality it was a Sunday. Interestingly enough, Kevin McCarthy later died on this same date: September 11th (albeit in 2010).
• Professor Samuel Kittridge would have been born in 1889.
• This episode mistakenly implies that during the U.S. Civil War General William T. Sherman ordered the Union Army to set fire to the buildings in Atlanta in September 1864 and that he even started the fires himself. However, in reality Confederates accidentally started the fire in Atlanta after blowing up ammunition depots (it was correctly depicted in 1939’s Gone With The Wind). Numerous viewers wrote to Rod Serling as well as CBS pointing out the mistake. Serling responded: “The script in question was written by Charles Beaumont and very likely should have been checked for accuracy before a judgement like the one made was allowed to slip through. Since I don’t happen to be a Civil War buff, I’m not at all knowledgable in this area; but I’m disturbed that any misstatement of fact would occur on my show.”
• This episode was originally scheduled to be shot over three days, but the crew needed an extra day mainly because of the construction needed to make Jameson’s study appear more aged.
• In the Blu-Ray audio commentary, Kevin McCarthy revealed that he never met Rod Serling and that aside from the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), his appearance in this episode generated the most fan mail he ever received.
• The revolver Laurette uses to shoot Walter is a Colt 1862, appropriate for a man who fought in the Civil War. This gun was apparently first sold during the Civil War, and was a common side-arm for both Union and Confederate soldiers.
• When confronting Walter Jameson, Professor Samuel Kittridge pulls out a collection of Civil War photographs taken by a man named Mathew Brady. In reality, Mathew B. Brady (1822-1896) was a real Civil War photographer who studied under Samuel Morse. He took numerous photographs of battlefields, soldiers, and key figures and politicians on both sides of the war.
• Ironically, for an episode dealing with the theme of immortality, the entire cast of this episode all lived exceptionally long lives. Kevin McCarthy lived to be 96, Estelle Winwood lived to be 101, Edgar Stehli passed away shortly after turning 89, and Dodie Heath died at the age of 96.
• Twilight Zone writer Jerome Bixby (who wrote the classic episode “It’s a Good Life“) also wrote novels dealing with the subject of immortality, such as The Man From Earth and Requiem for Methuselah.
• Mary Shelley’s story “The Mortal Immortal” also explores the question of immortality as a man receives the gift of immortality from a mysterious alchemist, only to ultimately watch his loved ones die off.
• A great many ancient Greek busts appear in the background of this episode, featuring the likes of Plato and others.
• Once again, the grand staircase and banister set can be spotted in the background of this episode where Walter and Samuel speak in the hall outside Walter’s classroom. This staircase set also appears in several other episodes, including “The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine,” “The Purple Testament,” and “Elegy.”
• This is the only episode in which the phrase “The Twilight Zone” is not used in either the opening or closing narration.
• Five years after this episode aired, makeup artist William Tuttle became the first makeup artist to receive an Academy Award for The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao (which was also scripted by Charles Beaumont).
• Kevin McCarthy later appeared in a 1992 episode of Tales of the Crypt (“Curiosity Killed”) in which his character’s wife sought the secret of eternal youth and killed her husband via poison which caused him to disintegrate into dust, an obvious allusion to this Twilight Zone episode.

Click here to return to my survey of The Twilight Zone series.