Five Characters in Search of an Exit (The Twilight Zone)

Five Characters in Search of an Exit is an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone.

Details

Episode number: 79

Season: 3

Production code: 4805

Original airdate: December 22, 1961

Writer: Rod Serling from the story "The Depository" by Marvin Petal

Director: Lamont Johnson

Makeup: William Tuttle

Music: stock

Cast

Major: William Windom

Clown:Murray Matheson

Ballerina:Susan Harrison

Tramp: Kelton Garwood

Bagpipe player:Clark Allen

Synopsis

An army major, a clown, a hobo, a dancer, and a bagpipe player find themselves in a giant cylinder with no memory of how they got there or who they are. Although the army major is able to escape the cylinder, he is put back in the cylinder by a little girl because he is nothing more than a toy doll.

Trivia

• The little girl who appears at the end of this episode was portrayed by the daughter of longtime Twilight Zone producer Buck Houghton.

• The title of this episode is a reference to the classic play Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello

References

• Zicree, Marc Scott: The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition)

Back to: The Twilight Zone, Episode List, Season 3