The Masks (The Twilight Zone)

The Masks is an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone.

Details

Episode number:145

Season: 5

Production code: 2601

Original air date: March 20, 1964

Writer: Rod Serling

Director: Ida Lupino

Maekup: William Tuttle

Music:stock

Cast

Jason Foster: Robert Keith

Wilfred Harper: Milton Selzer

Emily Harper: Virginia Gregg

Synopsis

On the verge of dying, Jason Foster summons his greedy family to help him celebrate Mardi Gras. He requires, as a condition of receiving his inheritance, that they all wear masks during dinner. Many hours go by during which the masks become very uncomfortable. Midnight approaches and Jason passes away, but as the family rips off their masks they discover that their faces have taken on the physical characteristics of the masks. They will have to live with their faces like the masks they wore until they die.

Trivia

Directed by Ida Lupino (star of The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine), making her the only person to both star in and direct a Twilight Zone episode and the only woman to direct a Twilight Zone. The fifth season also saw the first episode to be written by a woman, Caesar and Me by Adele T. Strassfield .

Themes

A diatribe against greed. Similar themes are explored in A Most Unusual Camera, Uncle Simon and A Short Drink From a Certain Fountain.

References

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

Back to: The Twilight Zone, Episode List, Season 5