Night Call
- Episode aired Feb 7, 1964
- TV-PG
- 25m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Late-night telephone calls begin to haunt disabled elderly Elva Keene at her sequestered home in rural Maine.Late-night telephone calls begin to haunt disabled elderly Elva Keene at her sequestered home in rural Maine.Late-night telephone calls begin to haunt disabled elderly Elva Keene at her sequestered home in rural Maine.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaElva's phone number is KL-5-2368. The K and the L are both the number 5 on the phone dial. "555" is an exchange number commonly thought to be reserved by the phone companies for use by TV and movies in order to prevent prank phone calls to real people. In fact, only 555-0100 through 555-0199 are now specifically reserved for fictional use, and the other numbers have been released for actual assignment.
- GoofsThe loose wire laying on the gravestone is not a telephone wire. The wording "type TW 600V" can be seen printed on it. This is used for regular house current circuits of 110 or 220v.
- Quotes
[closing narration]
Narrator: According to the Bible, God created the heavens and the Earth. It is man's prerogative and woman's, to create their own particular and private hell. Case in point, Miss Elva Keene, who in every sense has made her own bed and now must lie in it sadder, but wiser by dint of a rather painful lesson in responsibility transmitted from - The Twilight Zone.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Creepiest Twilight Zone Moments (2018)
Featured review
Probably the scariest TZ episode of all time
Unlike most of the creepier Twilight Zone episodes, Night Call terrifies me as much now as it did when I was much younger. I still can't watch this one late at night without feeling a little uneasy at what might be lurking just beyond the blinds in the window. Night Call is brilliant on several levels. First, it's a masterpiece of storytelling by the legendary Richard Matheson, who's written some of the most unnerving short stories ever published. The characters, the situation, and the final explanation are all superbly realized--I've seen the ending twist repeated in a number of short films or generic "scary tales for children"-esquire compilations. Jacques Tourneur's direction is extraordinarily atmospheric, the visual equivalent of a lonely wind rustling through a dark forest. We as viewers feel every bit as alone and frightened as the woman when she picks up the phone and hears nothing but moans from the other end. Watching the episode is a bit like lying in bed in the middle of the night and thinking you heard a noise downstairs. Yet, in spite of all this, the ending manages a complete 180, from terrifying to tragic, that works extraordinarily well. Kudos to the writer and director for giving the Twilight Zone an ingenious entry for its final season.
helpful•514
- Pythe
- Feb 1, 2008
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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