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Exploring The Twilight Zone, Episode #85: "Showdown with Rance McGrew"

by Peter Martin, October 14, 2011 6:06 PM


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Christian Nyby, director of The Thing From Another World, is at the helm for a Western that finds a modern-day TV gunslinger transported magically to the Old West, facing down the real Jesse James.


The Twilight Zone, Episode #85: "Showdown with Rance McGrew" (original air date February 2, 1962)

The Plot: It's a classic Western set-up: an isolated, one-street small town in the Old West, with two cowboys waiting for the Marshal to ride into town. And ride he does ... only it's in a big honking' convertible, and the brave, indomitable Marshal is, in reality, an actor named Rance McGrew (Larry Blyden).

Rance complains about everything, including "these miserable emotional scenes." He's clumsy and cowardly; whenever the physical action heats up just a touch, he yells out: "Stunt man! Stunt man!" Among his other sins, he has no problem with the portrayal of legendary characters in a negative light, even to the point of vetoing a bit player's complaint that Jesse James would never shoot a man in the back. But he's the star, so the rest of the cast and crew pay him outward obeisance even as they inwardly recoil at his self-involved antics.

Others are noticing, however, and, with a little shimmer in the screen, Rance is magically transported back to the Old West and must confront the real Jesse James (Arch Johnson), who towers over the actor as he informs him that his buddies in the cowboy afterlife are not pleased with how they are depicted in his show.

tz-85-250-2.jpgThe Goods: In the 1950s, television Westerns, were incredibly popular. In their peak year, 1959, some 26 Westerns dotted the prime-time broadcast schedule in the U.S., and several of the regular TZ writers also contributed scripts for the Westerns, so there's no doubt that they were ripe for a takedown. (Interestingly, after TZ was cancelled, Serling created his own Western, The Loner, that may have been too adult or realistic for its time; it ran for just 26 episodes.) 
 

Based on an idea by Frederic L. Fox, Rod Serling's script pokes fun at the spoiled, overpaid star who doesn't know a saddle from a burr, the kind of adult brat who demands ginger ale rather than cola to drink in a glass that's supposed to be whiskey. By extension, of course, he's also mocking all the pale imitations, the "horse operas" that flooded the airwaves with unrealistic, inauthentic characters and scenarios.

Rod Serling is not particularly gifted at writing comedy, but the contrast between his uber-dramatic, poetic scripts and his more lighthearted tales make the latter refreshing to watch; it's as though Serling has decided to take a piss out of his own reputation. His sense of humor is as broad as his morality lessons are precise, but the episode is certainly still amusing.

In the director's chair, Christian Nyby proves he can direct comedy, with great staging and set-ups for the gags. The episode is bolstered by the performances of Blyden, as the shallow actor, and Johnson, as the menacing outlaw.

The Trivia: Nyby earned an Academy Award nomination as an editor for Howard Hawks' Red River in 1948. He moved into the director's chair for 1951's The Thing From Another World; with Hawks as producer, there's still some contention as to who was responsible for what on the finished product. Nyby then moved into directing for television, racking up dozens of episodes.

Nyby had extensive experience with Westerns, first as an editor (not just Red River, but also Pursued and The Big Sky) and then as a director, helming multiple episodes of The Roy Rogers Show, Zane Grey Theater, Wagon Train, Rawhide with Clint Eastwood, Gunsmoke, and Bonanza. He must have relished the opportunity to make this send-up. He returned later in the season to direct one more TZ episode, the non-Western "Cavender is Coming." 

Nyby also works in a sly little self-reference -- or else allowed the prop department to keep a joke sign they may have made -- with a building in the background of the showdown identified as "C. Nyby Funeral Parlor."

Blyden kept busy on the stage and television, later hosting the syndicated "What's My Line?" game show in the 70s. Tragically, he was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 49.

This was the second TZ appearance for Johnson; he'd previously shown up in Season 2's "Static" as one of the residents of a boarding house who doubts that an old man is actually hearing radio shows from the past. Johnson was a familiar face in movies and television from the early 50s through the late 90s. He really was tall, too -- 6 foot 4 inches.

On the Next Episode: One of the best-remembered shows of the series will be covered by our friends at Film School Rejects, as an old man becomes young in a children's game of "Kick the Can." Tune in at FSR on Monday!

Catching up: Episodes covered by Twitch | Episodes covered by Film School Rejects

We're running through all 156 of the original Twilight Zone episodes, and we're not doing it alone! Our friends at Film School Rejects have entered the Zone as well, only on alternating weeks. So definitely tune in over at FSR and feel free to also follow along on Twitter accounts @twitchfilm and @rejectnation.

tz-85-650-2.jpg

Related Links

Wikipedia - Westerns on Television
Wikipedia - The Loner
Filmfax Magazine - Cowboy With a Conscience - by Tony Albarella

More from Exploring The Twilight Zone


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