The Twilight Zone: Season 1, Episode Twenty-Five “People Are Alike All Over”

Original Air Date: March 25, 1960
Writer: Paul Fairman/Rod Serling
Director: Mitchell Leisen

“You’re looking at a species of flimsy little two-legged animal with extremely small heads, whose name is Man. Warren Marcusson, age thirty-five. Samuel A. Conrad, age thirty-one. They’re taking a highway into space, Man unshackling himself and sending his tiny, groping fingers up into the unknown. Their destination is Mars, and in just a moment we’ll land there with them.”
-Rod Serling

Rod Serling was adamant that he wanted to adapt Paul W. Fairman’s short story entitled “Brothers Beyond the Void” which was first published in the March 1952 edition of Fantastic Adventures magazine. And after finally acquiring the story for a staggering $5,860.10, Rod Serling made a few changes from the story to the episode. It isn’t altogether clear why Serling made these changes, but “People Are Alike All Over” is still a wonderfully eerie science fiction episode all the same that holds up a mirror to humanity.

At some point in the not too distant future mankind is embarking on its maiden voyage to Mars –a rocket piloted by two men: Samuel A. “Sam” Conrad, age thirty-one (played by Roddy McDowall who appeared in the Planet of the Apes series among other classic films) and Warren Marcussen, age thirty-five (played by Paul Comi). Before they take-off, Conrad is apprehensive about what sorts of creatures they may find on Mars, but Marcussen remains optimistic. He thinks empathy and and compassion are common to all creatures –even interstellar beings.

When two men finally arrive on Mars, their ship crashes on the surface and Marcussen is seriously injured. After hearing a strange pinging sound coming from outside the ship, Marcusson pleads with Conrad to open the door so that he may see the red planet (he still holds out hope that people are empathetic on Mars) but Conrad refuses. He is worried about what they might find outside their door. Shortly thereafter Marcussen dies. Left with no alternative, Conrad opens the door and he quickly encounters a crowd of humanoid, toga-clad Martians. They seem friendly, particularly a woman named “Teenya” (played by Susan Oliver, known for her role as Vina in Star Trek’s original unaired pilot “The Cage” that was later reworked into the two-part episode “The Menagerie”). However, her hopeful glances seem to suggest something else is afoot. At least Conrad can easily communicate with the Martians via a mysterious form of telepathy, or “unconscious transference, you’d call it hypnosis of a sort.”

The seemingly friendly aliens then offer Conrad his own home on Mars which is modeled after an ordinary American suburban house. Pleased with himself, Conrad accepts their offer –but he soon discovers that his home is locked from the outside. He is, in fact, imprisoned in a cage, to be used by Martians for entertainment; his life is a living zoo. Conrad realizes he has become the star attraction in a zoo with a sign outside his window reading: “EARTH CREATURE IN HIS NATURAL HABITAT.” Perhaps his initial reservations were correct and indeed ‘people are alike all over.’

“Species of animal brought back alive. Interesting similarity in physical characteristics to human beings in head, trunk, arms, legs, hands, feet. Very tiny undeveloped brain. Comes from primitive planet named Earth. Calls himself Samuel Conrad. And he will remain here in his cage with the running water and the electricity and the central heat as long as he lives. Samuel Conrad has found The Twilight Zone.”
-Rod Serling

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My Thoughts On “People Are Alike All Over”

“People Are Alike all Over” shares a great deal in common with pessimistic alien first contact films like Planet of the Apes (1968) as well as the original pilot episode of Star Trek (“The Cage“), in which humans, the dominant species on earth, are suddenly dropped onto a foreign planet and held at the mercy of other creatures. Instead of fearing aliens for behaving unlike us, we are asked to examine a far more dangerous question –what if they are exactly like us? Who are the true barbarians –us or them?

As it turns out, Sam Conrad’s caution and skepticism toward strangers was the right view, but in a strange way, Warren Marcusson’s claim that ‘people are alike all over’ was proven darkly true, even if his neighborly Christian optimism was proven foolhardy.

Admittedly, I once held this episode in higher regard, it’s twist ending hits harder upon first viewing, and to be sure this is still a wonderfully foreboding, cynical science fiction episode, but after reading Paul W. Fairman’s original short story, “People Are Alike All Over” loses a bit of its luster in my eyes. There are a number of small but impactful differences between the episode and the story, and ultimately I prefer Paul Fairman’s original short story. For example, the convenient plot device in the episode that Sam Conrad can speak Martian simply by inexplicable means of telepathic “unconscious transference, you’d call it hypnosis of a sort” is just a bit too convenient. Plus their costumes appear to be silly rather than scary.

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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), and later made his directorial debut in 1933. He 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.”
  • Mitchell Leisen apparently regaled the cast and crew with stories of his time working in the early days of Holywood during the making of this episode.
• Written by: Rod Serling (based on “Brothers Beyond the Void” by Paul W. Fairman, originally published in March 1952 edition of Fantastic Adventures)
• Music: Nathan Van Cleave
  • Much of the music in this episode uses “Outer Space Suite,” a musical composition deliberately created for CBS’s music library. Bernard Herrmann did not compose every part of the suite but he has often been given credit for its authorship.
• Director of Photography: Harkness Smith
• Production Manager: Ralph W. Nelson
• Art Directors: George W. Davis and William Ferrari
• Film Editor: Fred Maguire
• Assistant Director: Edward Denault
• Set Decorations: Henry Grace and Rudy Butler
• Sound: Franklin Milton and Jean Valentino
• Casting Director: Mildred Gusse
• Starring:
  • Roddy McDowall…..Samuel A. “Sam” Conrad
    • Roderick “Roddy” McDowall (1928-1998) was a London-born child star who became a celebrated adult actor in Hollywood. His career spanned over 270 screen and stage roles across over 60 years. He achieved prominence for his starring roles in classic films like How Green Was My Valley (1941), My Friend Flicka (1943), and Lassie Come Home (1943). Unlike many of his contemporaries, McDowall managed to evolve from child star into an adult performer and appeared both on Broadway and in feature films. He won a Tony Award for his performance in Jean Anouilh’s The Fighting Cock. For portraying Octavian in the historical epic Cleopatra (1963), he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. McDowall played Cornelius and Caesar in the original Planet of the Apes film series (an early draft of which was written by Rod Serling), as well as Galen in the short-lived spin-off television series of the same name. He also appeared in shows like The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Batman, The Invaders, Mission: Impossible, Murder, She Wrote, and others. He appeared in the pilot episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery (segment: “The Cemetery”) and he was the narrater voice in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989). He later voiced animated shows like Darkwing Duck, Gargoyles, Pinky and the Brain, and Batman: The Animated Series. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died (perhaps of metastasized lung cancer) at the age of 70 in Studio City, California. He never married nor had any children. He was apparently gay, though he never discussed his sexuality during his lifetime. He had a romantic relationship with Montgomery Clift in the 1950s (he was rumored to have attempted suicide when they broke up).
  • Susan Oliver…..Teenya
    • Charlotte Gercke, better known as “Susan Oliver” (1932-1990) was an American actress, television director, aviator, and author. She led a privileged upbringing as the daughter of George Gercke, a political reporter and journalist for the New York World (he divorced his astrologist wife when Susan Oliver was three years old). She began her acting career on Broadway before moving to movies and television. Perhaps her most famous role was as the Orion slave girl Vina in the unaired pilot episode for Star Trek “The Cage” (footage from which was later made into the two-part episode: “The Menagerie“). She also appeared in episodes of Playhouse 90, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Rawhide, Wagon Train,Route 66, The Andy Griffith Show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, The Wild Wild West, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Peyton Place, Bonanza, The Virginian, Gunsmoke, Days of our Lives, Murder, She Wrote, and others. She appeared in one episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery (segment: “The Tune in Dan’s Cafe”). She directed episodes of M*A*S*H and Trapper John, M.D. In addition to acting, Susan Oliver was also an accomplished pilot. However, she was a passenger aboard Pan Am Flight 115, a Boeing 707 on a transatlantic flight from Paris to New York City when it suddenly plummeted thousands of feet, from 35,000 feet to 6,000 feet, after the pilot left the plane on autopilot and roamed about the cabin while his co-pilot was not paying attention to the controls. It was February 3, 1959, the same day that Buddy Holly died in an airplane crash. This terrifying event gave Susan Oliver a crippling fear of flying and required hypnosis treatment to overcome. She did not fly for the next year after it but later acquiring her own pilot’s license for which she became an accomplished flyer, winning Pilot of the Year in 1970. She never married and had no children. In her waning years, she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer that later metastasized to her lungs (she was a heavy smoker). She died on May 10, 1990 (aged 58).
  • Paul Comi…..Warren Marcusson
    • Paul Comi (1932-2016) was an American film and television actor. After graduating from high school in 1949, he joined the United States Army and was awarded three Purple Hearts during the Korean War where he served as a sergeant. Comi’s professional acting career began in 1957, when, as an apprentice at the La Jolla Playhouse, he was given a small part in the play “Career” that starred Don Taylor and Una Merkel. He went on to appear in numerous television shows like Wagon Train, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Rawhide, Perry Mason, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Virginian, Get Smart, The Wild Wild West, The Bill Cosby Show, and others. He appeared in three Twilight Zone episodes (“People Are Alike All Over,” “The Odyssey of Flight 33,” and “The Parallel“), and he played navigator Lt. Andrew Stiles in the classic Star Trek episode “Balance of Terror.” He later joined together with Roddy McDowall again in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). He and his wife Eve had three children. He died in 2016 in Pasadena, California due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Byron Morrow…..First Martian
    • William Byron Morrow (1911-2006) served in the U.S. Army during World War II where he began performing in theatrical productions while stationed in the Pacific Theater. He appeared in episodes of Perry Mason, Wagon Train, The Lieutenant (the show created by Star Trek founder Gene Roddenberry), Peyton Place, I Spy, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., I Dream of Jeannie, Get Smart, Lost in Space, Bewitched, The Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible, The Virginian, Bonanza, and others. He appeared in two episodes of Star Trek (“Amok Time” as Admiral Komack, and “For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” as Admiral Westervliet, the first appearance of an admiral in the original series), as well as the pilot episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery (segment: “Eyes”). He made an uncredited appearance as “Mr. Jameson,” one of the poker players in the train scene of the classic Robert Redford film The Sting (1973). Morrow died at the age of 94 on May 11, 2006 in Woodland Hills, California.
  • Vic Perrin…..Second Martian
    • Victor Herbert Perrin (1916-1989) was perhaps best remembered for providing the “Control Voice” in the original version of the television series The Outer Limits (1963–1965). He appeared in many television shows like The Adventures of Superman, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Perry Mason, Have Gun – Will Travel, and he voiced multiple characters on the Hanna-Barbera animated television series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! as well as numerous other Hanna-Barbera cartoons. He was married three times (twice to the same woman) and had one son. Perrin died of cancer in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 73 in 1989.
  • Vernon Gray…..Third Martian
    • Vernon Gray (1928-2021) had a brief but not uneventful acting career in Hollywood (against the wishes of his family). He has only ten acting credits, per his IMDB page, including an appearance in the film The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957) as well as this episode of The Twilight Zone which became his final credited performance.
• Extras:
  • Herbert Winters…..martian observer (uncredited)

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The Twilight Zone Trivia:

• As early as March 1959, Rod Serling expressed an interest in the short story “Brothers Beyond the Void.” Fred Engel of Ashley-Steiner reported that the story was owned by Dudley Pictures. Carl Dudley returned to the United States from a vacation and began asking for a very high price for the story. Buck Houghton suggested that Cayuga Productions drop the idea but Rod Serling was adamant that The Twilight Zone should acquire the story. The screen rights were eventually purchased for $2,500 –the most expensive acquisition of the season. Additional script costs, such as Rod’s payment for the teleplay, totaled $5,860.10 (the second most expensive script acquisition was “The Hitch-Hiker” for $5,204).
• Writer Paul Warren Fairman (1909–1977) was a prolific pulp fiction writer of science fiction and detective stories. He often published under a series of pseudonyms and became a founding editor of If magazine, and later editor of both Fantastic magazine (which merged with Fantastic Adventures magazine) and Amazing magazine from 1956-1958. Some of his other short stories made it onto the big screen, aside from just “Brothers Beyond the Void,” including “Deadly City,” which appeared in the March 1953 issue of If magazine under the pseudonym Ivar Jorgensen (it was later made into the 1954 science fiction alien invasion post-apocalyptic film Target Earth), and his story “The Cosmic Frame” was published in the May 1955 Amazing Stories and later adapted into the 1957 science fiction movie Invasion of the Saucer Men and then remade, uncredited, in 1965 as The Eye Creatures. His short story “Beast of the Void” was published in 1956, and apparently introduced the science fiction concept of amorphous intelligent matter in space capable of re-forming as perfect living copies of creatures from the memories of human explorers, including the protagonist’s lost wife. A similar theme was expanded upon in Stanislaw Lem’s classic 1961 novel Solaris which was later made into a film by Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 and again by Steven Soderbergh in 2002.
• Rod Serling made a handful of script changes that deviate from the original short story. For example, in the short story Marcusson’s first name is Charles, not Warren; and only Marcusson travels to Mars, not Conrad (Marcusson and Conrad merely share drinks and conversation with each other the night before his voyage; and also in the short story Marcusson struggles to communicate with the Martians, using a series of drawings, unlike the “unconscious transference” telepathic communication which is depicted in the episode. Lastly, Rod Serling created most of the dialogue, himself, for the episode since the short story is fairly light on dialogue. Click for my review of Paul Fairman’s original short story.
• An early working draft of the script was titled “Human Beings Are Alike All Over” and it featured some notable changes from the final episode that aired, such as that a humanities professor was intended to be the only passenger on the spaceship. Serling also changed the climactic final words from the story which initially read “People are the same everywhere” to the more alliterative “People Are Alike All Over.”
• The opening scene of Marcusson and Conrad discussing their impending voyage to Mars uses the same military base set from the episode “Third From The Sun.”
• The Martian exteriors used in this episode were taken from the oversized painted background cycloramas from the science fiction film Forbidden Planet (1956), one of many Twilight Zone episodes to borrow from the movie. Also borrowed were various props and the astronauts’ interior spaceship set, as well.
• The insignia for XO rocket can be spotted on its crashed hull.
• In this episode, Marcusson mentions they have traveled 35 million miles to Mars, though this is not quite accurate since the distance between Earth and Mars typically ranges between 36 million and 250 million miles due to elliptical orbits timespans.
• In the opening monologue, Mark Marcusson (Paul Comi) is described as 35 years old and Sam Conrad (played by Roddy McDowall) is described as 31 years old. At the time, Roddy McDowall was indeed 31 but Paul Comi had just turned 28.
• Many of the actors in this episode also appeared in multiple episodes of Star Trek: Susan Oliver played Vina in the unaired pilot “The Cage” (scenes of which were later edited into the two-part episode “The Menagerie“); Vic Perrin played Tharn in the episode “Mirror, Mirror” (which was written by frequent Twilight Zone writer Richard Matheson). Perrin also did the voice acting of the Metron in “Arena,” Nomad in “The Changeling,” and The Keeper Talosian in “The Menagerie: Part II.” Paul Comi appeared as Lieutenant Stiles in “Balance of Terror.” And lastly, Byron Morrow appeared in two episodes of Star Trek, as Admiral Komack in “Amok Time” and Admiral Westervliet in “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky.”

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