"The Bewitchin' Pool" is an episode of The Twilight Zone, and the last ever episode of the original series.
Episode Details[]
Opening Narration[]
"A swimming pool not unlike any other pool, a structure built of tile and cement and money, a backyard toy for the affluent, wet entertainment for the well-to-do. But to Jeb and Sport Sharewood, this pool holds mysteries not dreamed of by the building contractor, not guaranteed in any sales brochure. For this pool has a secret exit that leads to a never-neverland, a place designed for junior citizens who need a long voyage away from reality, into the bottomless regions of the Twilight Zone."
Introduction[]
"Introduction to a perfect setting: Colonial mansion, spacious grounds, heated swimming pool. All the luxuries money can buy. Introduction to two children: brother and sister, names Jeb and Sport. Healthy, happy, normal youngsters. Introduction to a mother: Gloria Sherwood by name, glamorous by nature. Introduction to a father: Gil Sherwood, handsome, prosperous, the picture of success. A man who has achieved every man's ambition. Beautiful children, beautiful home, beautiful wife. Idyllic? Obviously. But don't look too carefully, don't peek behind the facade. The idyll may have feet of clay."
Episode Summary[]
Sport Sharewood and her brother Jeb live in a large, expensive house, but their mother is cold, insensitive, self-centered and yells at her children for everything they do. Their father is kinder, but he is a distant and preoccupied businessman.
While Sport and Jeb are sitting beside the swimming pool, a young boy named Whit, who wears a Huckleberry Finn-style straw hat, pops up from the deep end and invites them to follow him. The children follow him by diving underwater — only to resurface in a lake bordering a rustic, simple homestead. All around them are children swimming, fishing, and playing. In contrast to their lavish home of neglect and insults, Sport and Jeb are welcomed and loved from the moment they arrive at this children's paradise. There is only one adult here: Aunt T, a sweet and kind elderly woman who loves children. She explains that she has many children there, all of whom came from parents who didn't deserve them.
Sport and Jeb decide to go home, for fear that their parents will be worried about them, but when they return, they learn their mother and father have decided to divorce — and hadn't even missed the children while they were gone. When Mr. and Mrs. Sharewood tell Sport and Jeb the news, they give them the choice of either living with their mother or their father; and then berate them for not deciding quickly enough. Sport and Jeb have an epiphany that their parents do not genuinely love them, and never will. Their mother blames the children for having her and her husband being together much too long. Ignoring their parents' shouts, Sport and Jeb race back to the pool, dive in, disappear underwater and escape back to Aunt T.
Back on the poolside, the parents' anger turns to worry when they realize the children have been underwater too long. Mr. Sharewood jumps in, but can't find them; and he and his wife both shout Sport and Jeb's names in despair.
Meanwhile, Sport and Jeb are happily living with Aunt T, whose love is unconditional. Sport hears the increasingly distant parents'voices shouting her and Jeb's names, but she ignores them.
Closing Narration[]
"A brief epilogue for concerned parents. Of course, there isn't any such place as the gingerbread house of Aunt T, and we grownups know there's no door at the bottom of a swimming pool that leads to a secret place. But who can say how real the fantasy world of lonely children can become? For Jeb and Sport Sharewood, the need for love turned fantasy into reality. They found a secret place in the Twilight Zone."
Cast[]
- Rod Serling (Narrator) (uncredited)
- Mary Badham (Sport Sharewood)
- Dee Hartford (Gloria Sharewood)
- Tod Andrews (Gil Sharewood)
- Jeffrey Byron (Jeb Sharewood) (as Tim Stafford)
- Kim Hector (Whit)
- Georgia Simmons (Aunt T)
- June Foray (Sport's voice) (uncredited)
Notes and Annotations[]
- This was the final episode of the original series to air. However, the previous episode, "Come Wander With Me", was the last one produced.
Production Companies[]
- Cayuga Productions
- Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (in association with)
Distributors[]
- Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1959) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
Home media release[]
This episode is included on the Image Entertainment Vol. 42 DVD along with "The Bard" and "The Fear".
Memorable Quotes[]
- Main article: List of memorable quotes from the first series
Trivia[]
- "The Bewitchin' Pool" is often thought of as one of the weakest in the original series.
- Sport is dubbed in all her outdoor scenes by voice actor June Foray. There was noise interference on the MGM back-lot during filming of the pool sequences, which meant the cast had to be recalled for post-dubbing. As Mary Badham — who played Sport — wasn't available, as she'd already flown home to Alabama and it was deemed too expensive to fly her back to Los Angeles, Foray was brought in to dub Sport's lines. Unfortunately, the difference between Badham's and Foray's voices is all too obvious in the finished episode.
- The Sharewood family's swimming pool had previously featured in Season 5's earlier episode "Queen of the Nile", as well as in Season 2's "The Trouble With Templeton".
External Links[]