Execution (The Twilight Zone)

“Execution”
The Twilight Zone episode
Albert Salmi in Execution
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 26
Written by	Rod Serling (story by George Clayton Johnson)
Directed by	David Orrick McDearmon
Guest stars	Albert Salmi : Joe Caswell Russell Johnson : Professor Manion Than Wyenn : Johnson Jon Lormer : Reverend
Original airdate	April 1, 1960
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List of Twilight Zone episodes

"Execution" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.

Rod Serling's opening narration

"Commonplace, if somewhat grim, unsocial event known as a necktie party. The guest of dishonor a cowboy named Joe Caswell, just a moment away from a rope, a short dance several feet off the ground, and then the dark eternity of all evil men. Mr. Joe Caswell, who, when the good Lord passed out a conscience, a heart, a feeling for fellow men, must have been out for a beer and missed out. Mr. Joe Caswell, in the last quiet moment of a violent life."

Synopsis

In 1880, a man named Joe Caswell is about to be hanged for murdering a civilian. But as the noose tightens around his neck, he suddenly appears in the modern lab of Professor Manion. Manion explains that he used a time machine to randomly pluck Caswell from the past. But when Manion sees Caswell’s rope burns around his neck, he attempts to send him back. The two men get into a fight, and Caswell ends up hitting Manion over the head with a heavy lamp. Caswell then tries to escape onto a busy street, but becomes so overwhelmed by the lights and the noise that he returns to the lab. Seeking the scientist’s aid, he realizes that his blow has killed Manion. Then a thief, Johnson, breaks into the lab. Caswell tries to wrestle Johnson’s gun from him, but Johnson ends up strangling Caswell. As Johnson tries to break into Manion’s safe, he accidentally activates the time machine—and is sent back to 1880, appearing in the noose intended for Caswell, just in time to be hanged.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• In The Twilight Zone episode "Back There", Russell Johnson portrays a man who travels through time in an attempt to stop the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
• Albert Salmi also plays the lead character in The Twilight Zone episode "Of_Late_I_Think_of_Cliffordville".
• Russell Johnson, who plays Professor Manion in this episode, plays The Professor on the series Gilligan's Island.
• Compare to An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, a short story by Ambrose Bierce and a Twilight Zone episode.

External links

• Execution at the Internet Movie Database