The Trade-Ins
- Episode aired Apr 20, 1962
- TV-PG
- 25m
An elderly couple shop for younger replacement bodies, then resort to desperate measures to cover the cost.An elderly couple shop for younger replacement bodies, then resort to desperate measures to cover the cost.An elderly couple shop for younger replacement bodies, then resort to desperate measures to cover the cost.
- Farraday
- (as Ted Marcuse)
- Gambler
- (as Terrence deMarney)
- Gambler
- (as Billy Vincent)
- Narrator
- (uncredited)
- …
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJoseph Schildkraut's second wife (of 29 years) died while he was filming this episode. Coming from a theatrical family, he insisted on finishing the production before he'd begin mourning. Here, he plays an elderly man who must choose between a new body for himself or living the rest of his life with his wife in a pain-wracked body.
- GoofsAs the lifeless "Cocktail Hour" models move out of frame in the showroom, the woman is seen moving her arm.
- Quotes
[opening narration]
Narrator: Mr. and Mrs. John Holt, aging people who slowly and with trembling fingers turn the last pages of a book of life and hope against logic and the preordained that some magic printing press will add to this book another limited edition. But these two senior citizens happen to live in a time of the future where nothing is impossible, even the trading of old bodies for new. Mr. and Mrs. John Holt, in their twilight years - who are about to find that there happens to be a zone with the same name.
- ConnectionsFeatured in American Masters: Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval (1995)
Serling's tender, beautifully written story of love and the sacrifices we make for it relies less on the sci-fi gimmick than on the exquisite relationship developed between the couple. The husband is wracked with pain, but possessed of a quiet, unflailing dignity and deep, rich love of his wife; Schildkraut's touching work does the part full justice, his gentle personality serving as the perfect defense against the ravages against his body. The wife, incredibly patient and possessed of the same dignity and love, is beautifully played by Platt -- the two do not seem like actors playing a long-married couple, but a couple that really have lived with and loved each other for half a century. The final twist is less a twist, than a wholly believable act growing out of the love these two people share for one another.
Additional mention must made of Theodore Marcuse's performance as a gambler that Schildkraut's character goes to, hoping to win enough money to pay for both substitutions. Rather than play the character as a cipher or a venal shark, Marcuse adds subtle strokes to the performance that make him far more interesting; his idle humming and expression at the end of the card game gives more insight into his character than pages of dialogue ever could.
All in all, one of the series' most charming and beautifully played episodes.
- chrstphrtully
- Aug 24, 2007
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1