A Hundred Yards Over the Rim

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AMG AllMovie: TV Guide:

The Twilight Zone: A Hundred Yards Over the Rim

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Plot

After briefly experimenting with the videotape format, The Twilight Zone wisely returned to film with this episode, which originally aired April 7, 1961. The story begins in the California desert in 1847; Chris Horn (Cliff Robertson), leader of a bedraggled wagon train, sets out to search for food, water, and medicine for himself, his ailing child, and the rest of his party. Upon climbing "over the rim," Chris finds himself in a roadside diner -- in the year 1961. The supporting cast includes future TV-series stars Ed Platt (Get Smart) and John Astin (The Addams Family), as well as actress Evans Evans, who later played Gene Wilder's wife in the 1967 film classic Bonnie and Clyde. Written by Rod Serling, "A Hundred Yards over the Rim" benefits immeasurably from a driving musical score by Fred Steiner, which would pop up in truncated form in dozens of films and TV series throughout the '60s and '70s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

A Hundred Yards Over the Rim

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"A Hundred Yards Over the Rim"
The Twilight Zone episode
A Hundred Years Over the Rim.jpg
Cliff Robertson in "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim"
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 59
Directed by Buzz Kulik
Written by Rod Serling
Featured music Fred Steiner
Production code 173-3654
Original air date April 7, 1961
Guest stars
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Long Distance Call"
Next →
"The Rip Van Winkle Caper"
List of Twilight Zone episodes

"A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.

Contents

Plot

In the year 1847, Chris Horn (Cliff Robertson) is one of the leaders of a small wagon train from Ohio attempting to reach California. Horn's wife and young son Christian are in one Conestoga wagon of the group. When his son becomes dangerously ill, he sets off alone in a desperate search for water.

Horn crosses over a high sandy hill rim and suddenly finds himself in 1961 Arizona. He is stunned to see power lines, a seemingly endless hard black road, and a loud, fast-moving "monster" with a face coming at him. As the truck zooms past the unnerved Horn, he stumbles, accidentally firing his rifle and slightly wounding his arm.

He comes to a small café with gas pumps in front. The friendly couple inside offer him water and help him with his injury. They ask where he is from, curious about his old-fashioned clothes and his "antique" rifle. When Horn is shocked to see the year 1961 showing on the wall calendar, the couple assume that the desert heat has made him mentally unstable. Exploring the café, Horn finds an encyclopedia containing a brief biographical entry for "Christian Horn, Jr.", a physician who achieved good works in late 19th-Century California. Horn realizes that this must be his son who is sick, and that it must be his son's destiny to recover from the illness and go on to help many others.

However, during his time in the café, Horn arouses too much curiosity. A local doctor alerts the sheriff, but before the authorities can arrive, Horn runs back to the rim, narrowly escaping back to the wagon party and his son, holding in his hand a bottle of penicillin from 1961 that can cure his son's illness. He notices that he is no longer being chased and looks back over the rim to find unsettled territory, the power lines and highway vanished. After giving his son the medicine, he leads the party on toward California.

The café owner had chased Horn to the top of the rim but had found only Horn's rifle lying on the ground. He returns to the café to report that Horn unexplainably vanished but that he brought back the rifle that Horn dropped.

The rifle, now aged more than 100 years in the sun, falls apart at his touch.

See also

References

  • DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-136-0
  • Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9703310-9-0

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