A Most Unusual Camera
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"A Most Unusual Camera" is episode 46 of the American television
anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...
''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'', and was the tenth episode of the second season. It originally aired on December 16, 1960 on CBS, and was an episode written by the show's creator,
Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...
. The episode starred
Fred Clark Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American movie and television character actor, often playing in authoritative roles. Early years Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended S ...
and Jean Carson. The episode was produced for season one of the show, but was delayed to season two.


Opening narration


Plot

Two thieves, husband and wife Chester and Paula Diedrich, have just robbed an antique shop and returned to the hotel suite they are using as a hideout. Chester dismisses most of the items they have stolen as junk, but finds a strange old
box camera A box camera is a simple type of camera, the most common form being a cardboard or plastic box with a lens in one end and film at the other. They were sold in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The lenses are often single ...
among them. When he takes a picture of Paula, it generates a self-developing photo of her wearing a fur coat. After she finds one inside a stolen chest and puts it on, the pair realize that the camera's pictures show the immediate future of its subjects. Its next picture accurately predicts the arrival of Paula's brother Woodward, who had just escaped from prison. A televised
horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
gives Chester the idea to take a picture of the blank winners' board at the local track before each of the day's races are run, then place bets based on the pictures' results. After winning thousands of dollars, they celebrate in their suite, where a waiter named Pierre takes notice of their camera and translates its French inscription "''dix à la propriétaire''" as "ten to an owner". Once Chester ushers Pierre out, he determines that the trio have taken a total of eight pictures. As they struggle over the camera, arguing about how to use the final two, they accidentally take a picture that shows a terrified Paula. Chester and Woodward continue their fight, but fall out an open window to their deaths. Paula reacts as in the picture, but calms down once she realizes that she can now keep all the money for herself. She snaps the tenth and final picture of the two bodies and prepares to leave, only to be interrupted by Pierre. Having learned of her status as a wanted criminal, he robs her and threatens to turn her in to the police if she calls them for help. Glancing at the picture, he remarks that it shows more than two bodies in the courtyard below. Paula rushes to the window to check, but trips on an electrical cord and falls out of it to her demise. Pierre counts the corpses in the picture, but notices that there are four instead of three. Shocked, he drops the camera and falls out the window as well.


Closing narration


See also

* List of ''The Twilight Zone'' (1959 TV series) episodes * The '' X-Files'' episode “ Unruhe” with a similar future-predicting camera * The '' Goosebumps'' children's novels, ''Say Cheese and Die'' and ''Say Cheese and Die–Again'' ** The '' Goosebumps HorrorLand'' novella ''Say Cheese–and Die Screaming'' * "Killer Camera", a short story from
Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the '' Alex Rider'' series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spi ...
's '' Horowitz Horror'' * " Treehouse of Horror XV's" " The Ned Zone" * The film ''
Time Lapse Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and th ...
''


References

*DeVoe, Bill. (2008). ''Trivia from The Twilight Zone''. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. *Grams, Martin. (2008). ''The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic''. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Most Unusual Camera 1960 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) season 2 episodes Television episodes written by Rod Serling