There's not much to say about this classic episode that hasn't been said, but I would like to make one observation.
The character Les Goodman ( Barry Atwater)comes under suspicion for his supposedly unusual behavior. The person who seems most eager to denounce Les and egg on the neighbors is Charlie,( Jack Weston) the loudmouth bully. Near the end, there's a total reversal, when the panicky Charlie grabs a shotgun and shoots an approaching figure in the dark, hollering about how he's going to defend himself against the monster. When the shocked neighbors gather around the body to realize it's one of their friends, the crowd slowly begins to turn against Charlie, who had been essentially the ringleader, opposing Claude Akins as Steve, the voice of reason.Les Goodman is absolutely gleeful at how the tables are now turned, as he snarls at the sweating, whining Charlie, " Why did you shoot him, Charlie? You were so quick to kill.Well, maybe you had to kill. Maybe it was because Pete there found out something you didn't want him to tell the rest of us!" Suddenly, the terrified Charlie is running from the stone throwing mob, screaming that it's not him.
Just one small detail of why this episode is one of the all time greatest of any Twilight Zone stories.
The character Les Goodman ( Barry Atwater)comes under suspicion for his supposedly unusual behavior. The person who seems most eager to denounce Les and egg on the neighbors is Charlie,( Jack Weston) the loudmouth bully. Near the end, there's a total reversal, when the panicky Charlie grabs a shotgun and shoots an approaching figure in the dark, hollering about how he's going to defend himself against the monster. When the shocked neighbors gather around the body to realize it's one of their friends, the crowd slowly begins to turn against Charlie, who had been essentially the ringleader, opposing Claude Akins as Steve, the voice of reason.Les Goodman is absolutely gleeful at how the tables are now turned, as he snarls at the sweating, whining Charlie, " Why did you shoot him, Charlie? You were so quick to kill.Well, maybe you had to kill. Maybe it was because Pete there found out something you didn't want him to tell the rest of us!" Suddenly, the terrified Charlie is running from the stone throwing mob, screaming that it's not him.
Just one small detail of why this episode is one of the all time greatest of any Twilight Zone stories.