“I know, it’s an incredible story. I of all people know this. And you won’t believe me — no, not at first. But I’m going to tell you the whole thing. Then you’ll believe — because you must, you must believe.”
I think everyone who loves the Twilight Zone has a favourite episode – that quintessential story that strikes a chord. Maybe it’s the subject or the moral, a particular character that you identify with, or even its relevance to a social, political or historical event. Whatever the reason, every fan has that one episode he/she just can’t live without.
On November 4, 1960 — 52 years ago today — my favourite Twilight Zone episode, “The Howling Man,” first aired. Written by Charles Beaumont and flawlessly directed by Douglas Heyes, “The Howling Man” is the tale of a man who comes face-to-face with the Devil, and failing to recognize him, looses him upon the earth.
The prostrate form of Mr. David Ellington, scholar, seeker of truth and, regrettably, finder of truth. A man who will shortly arise from his exhaustion to confront a problem that has tormented mankind since the beginning of time. A man who knocked on a door seeking sanctuary and found instead the outer edges of the Twilight Zone.
The story is set just after the end of the First World War. David Ellington, played by H.M. Wynant, stumbles upon a monastery while on a hiking trip. He’s sick and exhausted and is looking for a place to rest. But the monks of the hermitage — “The Brotherhood of Truth” — are reluctant to offer him any assistance. He soon learns the cause of their hesitation — a prisoner they have locked in a cell. This “man”, who howls incessantly, turns out (unbeknownst to Ellington of course) to be the Devil.
“What you saw was no man, Mr. Ellington. It is the Devil himself!”
Robin Hughes is superb in his sympathetic portrayal of the Devil/Howling Man. He has Ellington, and the audience, hooked right from the very beginning. When Ellington comes face-to-face with him, the man begs for help.
“In the name of mercy, help me. You’re not one of them?”
“They’re mad, Mr. Ellington, all of them, raving mad.”
He weaves a very moving tale of how and why Brother Jerome (head of the Brotherhood) imprisoned him, and when he stares pitifully through the window of his cell and woefully asks, “Tell me, is it wrong to kiss?”, it melted MY heart.
Ellington buys the Devil’s story and goes to Jerome for answers. Jerome attempts to convince Ellington to leave the hermitage, saying that he is suffering from delirium. No man is imprisoned there, he insists. But Ellington sees through the charade and quips, “Honest men make unconvincing liars.”
In an effort to keep Ellington from going to the police, Brother Jerome (played brilliantly by the legendary actor John Carradine) decides to come clean and reveal the identity of the “howling man” he has locked in the cell.
“What you saw in the cell is Satan. Otherwise known as the Dark Angel, Ahriman, Asmodeus, Belial, Diabolus, the Devil. You asked for the truth. Now you have it. You do believe me, don’t you?”
Ellington says he believes, but Jerome knows he is lying. So Jerome tells him of how the “howling man” came to be captured and imprisoned at the hermitage.
Carradine, who looks not unlike Moses stepping off the set of “The Ten Commandments”, delivers a gloriously powerful performance, one full of energy and conviction. One of my favourite lines from the episode is spoken by Jerome as he explains what the Brotherhood of Truth is founded upon. “Truth is our dogma. We believe it to be man’s greatest weapon against the Devil, who is the father of all lies.”
When Ellington questions how they can keep the Devil locked up, wide-eyed Carradine lifts his staff above his head and dramatically exclaims: “With the Staff of Truth!” Interesting to note that in Beaumont’s original story the Brothers carried crosses, but director Douglas Heyes felt the symbol of the cross was decidedly too Christian and opted for a more broadly acceptable prop – the shepherd’s crook. Understandably, Beaumont was not pleased with the change, but much to my delight, the Staff of Truth is still evocative of Christianity and fits beautifully into the story.
Ellington wonders if perhaps Jerome has made a mistake.
Ellington: “How did you recognize him? He doesn’t look evil.”
Jerome: “The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape.”
Ellington points out that there is still great suffering in the world: murders, robberies — even as they are speaking, he says, people are starving. Jerome replies, “The suffering man was meant to endure. We cause most of our own griefs. We need no help from him.”
Ellington convinces Jerome that he does indeed believe him, and a satisfied Jerome allows him to stay the night. Once in his room, Ellington waits for the monk who is sitting with him to fall asleep. Thoroughly convinced that the monks are indeed mad, he heads straight for the Howling Man’s cell to free him.
Devil: “You’ve come! Good!”
Ellington: “What do you want me to do?”
Devil: “Lift off the wooden bolt.”
Ellington: “Is this all that holds you in?”
Devil: “Yes, lift it off!”
Ellington: “Well, why haven’t you done it yourself?”
Devil: “Please, there’s no time for talk! Mr. Ellington, in the name of mercy. If you fail now, they’ll kill both of us. Don’t you understand that?”
As I’m sure many of us would do, Ellington removes the Staff of Truth from the cell door, and is promptly subdued by a no longer helpless Devil.
And here, at the climax of the episode, we see the genius of director Douglas Heyes at work – the Devil’s transformation from man to monster. This transformation is not the standard “cross dissolve transformation” used in movies and TV shows at the time. Heyes wanted the Devil to be moving, not standing still, while the makeup was changing.
The first stage of the transformation, though, was actually a very clever trick with light (one that would be impossible to achieve if the episode had been in colour). When Robin Hughes exits the cell, the camera zooms in on his face and there is a flash of light.
As explained by Heyes in an interview with Marc Scott Zicree, an infrared-sensitive makeup was applied under Hughes’ normal makeup. “We see a physical change in Hughes thanks to the flash of light.”
The full transformation was achieved by filming Hughes in each stage of makeup, walking quickly down the entire length of a long corridor, then splicing each shot together using the pillars Hughes was disappearing behind as the transition points.
This is, without a doubt, a very impressive and effective scene, but it’s one that Beaumont wasn’t entirely pleased with. Said Heyes,
“Beaumont just wanted an expression on Wynant’s face as he chased after him and reached up as the man went over a wall and all he wanted was to see the hand touching a cloven hoof just as it went over the wall. And when I did the literal translation of showing him visually turn into the devil, Beaumont didn’t like that. He liked the way he’d written it and that was what he wanted.”
And with that, the Devil vanishes in a cloud of smoke.
Ellington: “I didn’t believe you. I saw him and didn’t recognize him.”
Jerome: “That is Man’s weakness, and Satan’s strength.”
The story fast-forwards now to a much older David Ellington. After years of searching, he has finally recaptured the Devil and is making preparations to send him back to Brother Jerome at the hermitage. But unfortunately for Ellington and the rest of the world, his housekeeper is just as unbelieving as he himself once was, and the episode closes with her unlocking the door and letting the Devil out to roam the earth once more.
In the ending of the original short story, Beaumont leaves doubt in David Ellington’s mind as to whether or not he actually had this experience or simply dreamed it in his weak, sickened state. The story ends with Ellington receiving a card from one of the Brothers at the hermitage which simply reads: “Rest now, my son. We have him back with us again.”
While I can appreciate Beaumont’s original creation, I strongly feel that the ending of the TZ adaptation is better. It was Ellington’s unbelief and doubt that led to him releasing the Howling Man and in the episode it becomes his responsibility to recapture the evil he has let loose on the world. He dedicates his life to righting the wrong he has done and eventually his determination and perseverance pays off — he does indeed catch the Devil.
In the original, Ellington takes no responsibility whatsoever. He isn’t even certain anything happened, and it is the Brothers who must go out and essentially clean up the mess he has made. I don’t think that’s the right message to send — you make a mistake, don’t worry, someone else will look after it for you. That isn’t how it works, I’m afraid. Take responsibility for your own actions. Right your own wrongs. If you make a mistake, do your very best to fix it.
In the promo for “The Howling Man”, Serling describes the story as being, “designed for the young in heart but the strong of nerve.” How would you feel if, like David Ellington, you let the Devil out of his cell? If you had to live with the knowledge that you are now responsible for his subsequent actions? And that it’s up to you to catch him and lock him up again? Yes, perhaps this tale is bordering on the extreme, but I find it very effective. That’s what makes the Twilight Zone such an exceptional program — it presents a far-out example that teaches a lesson which can be applied in many different ways and in various scenarios.
“Truth is our dogma. We believe it to be man’s greatest weapon against the Devil, who is the father of all lies.” Seek the Truth in everything you do. Had David Ellington taken the time to do this, he’d have run from that cell, not to it.
As Brother Jerome said, it’s difficult to recognize evil, which has the ability to assume many pleasing shapes. We’re all susceptible to being fooled if we refuse to pay attention and ignore what’s often right in front of us. The Truth can be found, if you’re willing to search for Him. Lesson to be learned, not only in the Twilight Zone, but in every corner of God’s earth.
Ancient folk saying: ‘You can catch the Devil, but you can’t hold him long.’ Ask Brother Jerome. Ask David Ellington. They know, and they’ll go on knowing to the end of their days and beyond – in the Twilight Zone.
Excellent episode, well-written post, Wendy! I love the transformation scene—it’s so powerful, kinetic, bullying. But…had I seen only a TINY stick of wood keeping a grown man “locked” in a cell…I would have (in famous Monty Python fashion) RUN AWAY! :-]]]
I also don’t go into dark rooms in haunted mansion at night, either. Without flashlights and an arsenal. ;-]
Thanks! And I’m going to have to agree with you — a tiny stick barring the door would at least cause me to pause and think about that for a second or two. ;)
As for the dark rooms in a haunted mansion . . . I’d be tempted to try the light switch first. Bugs me that no one ever thinks to do that!
Thanks so much for reblogging! :)
Right–light switches. I was thinking about them but somehow they didn’t make it into my comment! :-P And, you’re welcome!
Reblogged this on Reality Check and commented:
Great post about a great Twilight Zone episode!
Excellent post, Wendy! Great episode – I watched it today. Carradine is one of the greats, and he often plays the “heavy” (that voice!), so this was a great role-reversal for him too.
Thanks, Mandy! Carradine is a real treat to watch in any role, but I definitely have a soft spot for his portrayal of Jerome. At first he seems very demure, but inside him is a zealousness that’s almost tangible — simply magical to watch that transformation. “That voice!” is right!
Great episode: brilliant writing, spot-on casting, and something to be learned . . . it’s the Twilight Zone at its very best.
Spot-on analysis as usual, Wendy! Twilight Zone episodes often give us food for thought, but even by TZ’s generous standards, “The Howling Man” is a feast. It offers a clinic, really, in the art of deception and the gullibility of mankind. It’s easy to watch this episode and think, “I’d never fall for those tricks,” but that’s the very kind of pride that the Devil exploits to make victims of us all at one time or another.
And let’s face it. Beyond all the lessons to be learned? “The Howling Man” offers grand entertainment in the usual TZ fashion. The writing, the direction, the acting — all of it adds up to an outstanding half-hour of television. Thanks for lending your artistic and spiritual perspectives to this important episode. Well done!
Yes, Paul, but we—the “the Lucky Few”—have all these TWILIGHT ZONE episodes (and cool blog posts) to LEARN from! :-]]]
Thanks, Paul! Yes, this episode has so much to offer the viewer. I can remember watching it when I was very young and it had a huge impact on me. And every single time I’ve watched it since — including the three times I watched it in the days leading up to this post! — it’s left me with much to ponder.
As you said, it’s easy to watch “The Howling Man” and think we would never fall for such trickery. But pride is a mocker. It would be so easy to dismiss Ellington as a fool for doing what he did. So automatic to say, “I’d never have let him out.” But perhaps this is the lesson Serling was hoping we’d learn from the episode. Don’t be blinded by your pride. Don’t judge Ellington, learn from his mistake. Guard yourself that you not fall into one of the Devil’s traps — and he has set many, many traps.
A lot to be learned from this remarkable episode. It has withstood the test of time — 52 years — and it never fails to put a smile on my face.
Terrific analysis of my favorite episode.
There’s nothing I could add to anything Wendy already wrote.
The only thing that might be of interest is the original air date
of “The Howling Man” was Friday Novcember 4, 1960.
I wondered if there was any significance that it was four days
before the election of Sen. John F. Kennedy as President..
It may have been a coincidence or could it have been a subtle
message about what the world face if the wrong man was chosen.
Less than two years after, the world came closer to destruction than
it ever did or probably will.
Hmm, you bring up an interesting point, one that I’ve never thought of. Certainly something to think about . . . and isn’t that exactly what The Twilight Zone always did? Make us think? ;)
Another episode that could be said made many people think would
be “He’s Alive.”
I’m sure you’re familiar with the episode starring Dennis Hopper as
Peter Vollmer a Neo-Nazi who gets some unexpected help.
It was one an hour long and first broadcast Jan. 1963.
CBS received 4,000 hate mail letters.
Many people were thinking but what were they thinking?
Pingback: My Top 25 Twilight Zones « Shadow & Substance
Wendy, I really enjoyed your perspective on this episode. Good stuff on the production of the program and the spiritual significance that the story holds for us all. I once wrote a number of Sunday School discussion guides for several Twilight Zone episodes with moral/spiritual lessons. (Unfortunately, my hard drive crashed and I learned a lesson in the importance of having back-ups!) In any event, I was wondering if you have done something of a similar nature, or if you are aware of someone else who has.
Thanks, Roger, I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed this. That sounds like a wonderful idea, studying the moral and spiritual lessons taught in the Twilight Zone. I haven’t done anything like that personally, but I’d definitely recommend that you head over to my best friend Paul’s blog (which explores the works of Rod Serling), “Shadow and Substance”, specifically for his marvellous post “Conformity’s Critical Eye”, which is an indepth look at the Twilight Zone episode, “Eye of the Beholder” — http://thenightgallery.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/conformitys-critical-eye/
You’ll find a plethora of wonderful, informative posts over there. Paul is an amazing writer and a really great guy too. I know you’ll find something you like.
Many thanks for the recommendation, Wendy! Means a lot coming from MY best friend. :)
Pingback: One Year Later . . . | Seeker of Truth
Pingback: The Apocalyptic Zone | Shadow & Substance
Pingback: The Writing Man | Shadow & Substance
Pingback: The Artist’s Studio | Seeker of Truth
Pingback: Terror Tuesday: Poe & Price | Seeker of Truth
Pingback: “The Howling Man”: The Script | Seeker of Truth
Pingback: “The Howling Man”: The Short Story | Seeker of Truth
Pingback: The Thread of Imagination | Shadow & Substance
Pingback: Fun in the Fifth Dimension: My Twilight Zone Funko Pop! Figure Designs | Seeker of Truth
Pingback: Your Next Stop: The 5 Best Episodes of The Twilight Zone | Seeker of Truth
Throughout the awesome scheme of things you receive a B- just for effort and hard work. Where exactly you confused me was first in your details. You know, it is said, details make or break the argument.. And it couldn’t be much more accurate at this point. Having said that, let me tell you what exactly did do the job. Your text is actually incredibly powerful and this is probably why I am taking the effort in order to opine. I do not really make it a regular habit of doing that. Second, whilst I can certainly notice a jumps in reason you come up with, I am not necessarily sure of just how you seem to unite the points that produce the actual final result. For right now I shall yield to your point however wish in the foreseeable future you actually connect the facts much better.