"The Incredible World of Horace Ford" is an episode in season four of the

American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...

anthology series ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

''. In this episode, a toy designer fixated on his childhood days finds that he travels back to those times whenever he revisits his old neighborhood.

Opening narration

Plot

Horace Ford is a 38-year-old toy designer whose life is dominated by blissfully happy memories of his childhood. His colleagues, wife, and mother have all become increasingly frustrated with his obsession. One day, he decides to revisit his childhood neighborhood. Ford discovers, to his amazement, that it has not changed. He recognizes the boys he played with in his childhood—who have not aged. Frightened, he returns to his apartment, but he visits his old neighborhood again on each of the next several nights. Each night the same scene plays out and he stays slightly longer, before returning to his apartment. On his last visit, he hears his old friends complaining that he did not invite them to his birthday party. He tries to talk to them, and suddenly turns into a boy again. His friends bully and assault him, as Horace realizes that his childhood was not as pleasant as he would nostalgically recall. After his wife finds him, he "grows up"—returning to his own time period and age group with a new-found appreciation for life as an adult.

Closing narration

Themes

This episode revisits themes used in the series in the episodes " The Trouble with Templeton" (season 2) and "

Walking Distance "Walking Distance" is episode five of the American television series ''The Twilight Zone''. It originally aired on October 30, 1959. The episode was listed as the ninth best episode in the history of ''The Twilight Zone'' by ''Time'' magazine. ...

" (season 1)—namely, a person's propensity to romanticize and try to relive a past that may not have been at all as good as they like to remember it.

Production notes

Reginald Rose originally wrote "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" as a teleplay for ''

Westinghouse Studio One ''Studio One'' is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948 and ended on Sept ...

'', which originally aired live on June 13, 1955, starring

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the si ...

in the title role, with

Leora Dana Leora Dana (April 1, 1923 – December 13, 1983) was an American film, stage and television actress. Education Dana was born in New York City and her elder sister was Doris Dana. Dana graduated from Barnard College and the Royal Academy of Dr ...

as Laura. The original ending was somewhat downbeat, and producer Herbert Hirschman asked Rose to create a slightly different (and happier) ending. Accordingly, the ''Twilight Zone'' version of the script is largely identical to the ''Studio One'' version, except that an epilogue has been added. In the ''Studio One'' version, the story ends at the Fords' apartment, with the audience invited to assume that Horace has been permanently transported back to his miserable past. In the ''Twilight Zone'' version, the story continues on: Laura leaves the apartment to find Horace, who magically transforms back into an adult and vows not to live in the past any longer.

Cast

Pat Hingle Martin Patterson Hingle (July 19, 1924 – January 3, 2009) was an American character actor who appeared in stage productions and in hundreds of television shows and feature films. His first film was '' On the Waterfront'' in 1954. He often pla ...

as Horace Maxwell Ford *

Nan Martin Nan Martin (July 15, 1927 – March 4, 2010) was an American actress who starred in movies and on television. Life and career Early life Born in Decatur, Illinois, and raised in Santa Monica, California, she attended Santa Monica High School. ...

as Laura Ford * Ruth White as Mrs. Ford * Phillip Pine as Leonard O'Brien *

Vaughn Taylor Vaughn Joseph Taylor (born March 9, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour. Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Taylor was raised in Augusta, Georgia, from infancy. After attending Hephzibah High Sch ...

as Mr. Judson *Jerry Davis as Hermie Brandt *

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

as Kid *

Mary Carver Mary Carvellas (May 3, 1924 – October 18, 2013), better known as Mary Carver, was an American actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. She may be best known for her role as matriarch Cecilia Simon on the series ''Simon & Simon'' appearin ...

as Betty O'Brien *Jim E. Titus as Horace as a boy

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:Incredible World Of Horace Ford, The 1963 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 4) episodes Television shows written by Reginald Rose Fiction set in 1935 Fiction set in 1963 Television episodes about time travel Television episodes directed by Abner Biberman