The horroranthology seriesNight Gallery began on December 16, 1970 (after the television pilot for the series was aired on November 8, 1969) and ended on May 27, 1973, with three seasons and 43 episodes. It was created by Rod Serling and broadcast on NBC. This list does not include the 25 episodes of The Sixth Sense which were edited into Night Gallery for syndication.
A dabbler in black magic (Larry Hagman) attempts to improve his marriage by transferring the soul of his housekeeper into his cold-hearted wife's body.
A wealthy invalid (Joseph Wiseman) uses his unwitting nurse (Diane Keaton) to help with his revenge against his unfaithful gold digger wife. Note: Based on a short story of the same name by Hal Dresner
The shadow of a recently deceased woman (Agnes Moorehead) remains cast on the parlor wall to haunt her sinister brother. Note: Based on the short story "The Shadows on the Wall" by Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman
In 1915, a man (John Colicos) adrift in a lifeboat labeled Titanic is picked up by the RMS Lusitania. 30 years later, a lifeboat labeled Lusitania is picked up by the Andrea Doria.
A has-been salesman (William Windom) tries desperately to return to the past. Note: Episode nominated for an Emmy for "Outstanding Single Program" (1971).
A man (George Maharis) discovers that one of his hands has a murderous mind of its own. Note: Based on the short story "The Other Hand" by George Langelaan
A wounded killer takes refuge in a funeral home where the undertaker has an unusual compassion for his charges. Note: Based on a short story by Miriam Allen deFord
A woman's (Imogene Coca) effort to end her husband's (King Donovan) misery is not what it seems at first. Note: Based on a short story "Soft, Sweet Sleep" by Charles L. Sweeney, Jr.; twist on "The Cask of Amontillado"
A group of witches goes through a menu. Note: This segment was replaced by "Satisfaction Guaranteed" on the episode's repeat broadcast on March 22, 1972.
A college professor (James Farentino) suspects his wife's (Michele Lee) aunt (Jeanette Nolan) of being a witch. Note: Based on a short story "The Witch" by A. E. van Vogt
A murderous disc jockey (Arte Johnson) confronts his past in an old abandoned radio station and gets the "shock" of his life. Note: Based on a short story by Hal Dresner
Mr. Holston, a widower (played by Pat Boone) investigates a military school, Glendalough Military Academy, he wishes his son to attend. It becomes clear that the cadets never leave the school, staying their whole lives, but the man still wants his son to go there. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by David Ely
A psychiatrist (David McCallum) falls for a mysterious woman (Linda Marsh) when one of his patients (David Carradine) tempts him into visiting her. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Seabury Quinn
A boy's (Radames Pera) fascination with snow lures him into a fantasy world. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Conrad Aiken; narrated by Orson Welles
An adventurer (Leslie Nielsen) accepts a bet that he can stay overnight in a haunted house for $15,000. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Bryan Lewis.
A Nazi general (Helmut Dantine) receives a strangely warm welcome at a Balkan castle. Notes: Based on a short story of the same title by Manly Wade Wellman. Francis Lederer reprises his role as Dracula from The Return of Dracula.
A woman (Susan Strasberg) experiences déjà vu when she picks up a marine hitchhiker (Robert F. Lyons). Note The conclusion of this episode is foreshadowed by the painting, which shows a confused Rod Serling.
A mentally deranged girl (Laurie Prange) falls in love with a slimy creature she traps in a quarry. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Margaret St. Clair
Count Dracula (Cesar Romero) comes to a blood bank. Note: Actress E.J. Peaker has said that she remembers the director of "A Matter of Semantics" to be Steven Spielberg. However, Jack Laird is the officially credited director.[2]
A strange old man (John Carradine) persuades a group of boys to dig for a big surprise. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Richard Matheson
42
8d
"Professor Peabody's Last Lecture"
Jerrold Freedman
Jack Laird
Carl Reiner, Johnnie Colline III, Richard Annis, Louise Lawson, Larry Watson
November 10, 1971 (1971-11-10)
A professor (Carl Reiner) gives a lecture on ancient cults that turn out to be real.
A philandering husband (Bob Crane) and his unsuspecting wife (Jo Anne Worley) move into a haunted house. Note: Based on a short story by August Derleth
A woman (Louise Sorel) of Victorian Boston develops a relationship with an artist (Bradford Dillman) obsessed with ghouls. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by H. P. Lovecraft
A fake medium (Steve Lawrence) has an affair with his assistant's unfaithful wife (Maureen Arthur). Note: Based on a short story of the same name by Alice-Mary Schnirring
51
11c
"An Act of Chivalry"
Jack Laird
Jack Laird
Deidre Hudson, Ron Stein, Jimmy Cross
December 1, 1971 (1971-12-01)
A living skeleton gets a lesson in elevator manners.
A young woman (Barbara Rush) falls for her father's late colleague (Henry Darrow)—a man who can't stand warmth. Note: Based on a short story of the same name by H. P. Lovecraft
A moneylender (Rene Auberjonois) gets his due thanks to a client's (Ross Martin) unusual telescope. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Basil Copper
An elderly antique dealer (Arthur O'Connell) uses a magic mirror portal reflecting a prehistoric world landscape to get rid of his hateful business partner (Zsa Zsa Gabor). Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Donald Wandrei
A British major (Patrick Macnee) encounters an African witchdoctor (Brock Peters) suspected of murder. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by August Derleth
A tycoon (Cameron Mitchell) takes drastic steps to force a widow (Elsa Lanchester) off her land, only to discover her strange gardening talent. Note: Based on a short story by R. C. Cook
A song linked to a tragic romance gives a bickering couple (Pernell Roberts, Susan Oliver) a second chance. Note: Based on a short story by Shamus Frazier
An insurance agent (Harry Guardino) seeks to expose a swindler (Ray Danton) who plans to stage a cure for his fake paralysis at a Mexican shrine. Note: Based on a short story by C. B. Gilford
An American tourist (Richard Kiley) protects a Scottish widow (Jill Ireland) from the ghost of her husband. Note: Based on the short story "Sorworth Place" by Russell Kirk
A wife (Geraldine Page) believes her husband is attempting to worry her to death, and seeks the help of a police sergeant (James Gregory). Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Hal Dresner
An exporter (Jack Albertson) who helps gangsters on the lam has a client (Bobby Darin) like no other. Note: Based on the short story "Out of the Country" by Jeffry Scott
A wife (Lois Nettleton) uses witchcraft to murder her husband (Royal Dano), whose spirit goes on and on. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Rene Morris
A student (Joel Grey) of sorcery summons an ancient spirit to get rid of his bothersome uncle (Howard Duff). Notes: Based on the short story "By One, By Two and By Three" by Stephen Hall; features a brief, early appearance by Mark Hamill.
Mrs. Evans' (Geraldine Page) son Ian (Richard Thomas) must take on his dying father's sins by feasting on food placed in front of his father's corpse. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Christianna Brand.
A British expatriate (Laurence Harvey) in Borneo plots a gruesome assassination of a romantic rival (Tom Helmore). Note: Based on the short story "Boomerang" by Oscar Cook
A scientific genius is troubled by the death of his daughter. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Edwin Charles Tubb. The running time as broadcast is 16:35. The Complete Series DVD set includes an extended version (running time 22:52) as a bonus feature. The episode also re-uses scenes from the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project.
A well-dressed gentleman (Victor Buono) presents himself at a secretarial agency that hasn't failed to satisfy a client in twenty-five years. Note: This segment was a replacement for "Witches' Feast" when episode 2-02 was repeated.
Season 3: 1972–73
Season 3 changed to a 30-minute format. Previously, Night Gallery was a 60-minute program.
A sorcerer (Vincent Price) hires a translator (Bill Bixby) to decode an ancient Arabic manuscript connected to his twin brother's death. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Clark Ashton Smith
A photographer (James Farentino) hires a model (Joanna Pettet) whose eyes burn with a mysterious glow. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Fritz Leiber
In 1945, a gangster named August Kolodney (Mickey Rooney) targeted for death meets a specialist (Raymond Massey) who guarantees him sanctuary...at a very high price.
An inventor (Ozzie Nelson) and his wife (Harriet Nelson) trade in their clumsiness for an experiment in immortality. Note: Based on the short story "The Secret of the Vault" by J. Wesley Rosenquist
A boxing champ (Gary Lockwood) learns he has one more bout before he can claim the title. Note: Based on a short story of the same title by Edward D. Hoch
An alcoholic woman (Geraldine Page) asks a reluctant ghost for help in her plot for revenge against her ex-husband (Leif Erickson). Note: Based on the short story "Housebound" by R. Chetwynd-Hayes
A fishmonger ignores his friends' warnings when he falls for a vampire (Lesley Warren). Note: Based on the short story "The Canal" by Everil Worrell; Nimoy's directing debut
Irene, a young woman (Sally Field), listens to the voices of the dead. Charlie (Dean Stockwell) is her husband and caretaker. Note: Based on a short story by Martin Waddell
An undertaker (Will Geer) slashes funeral prices at a January clearance sale. Note: This segment was produced for the second season but never aired during the series' original broadcast.
A creature teaches an elevator operator some manners. Note: This segment was produced for the second season but never aired during the series's original broadcast.
Unproduced scripts
Throughout the run of the series, several scripts and stories (most of which were written or adapted by Serling) were considered and were either rejected or left unproduced for various reasons.
"A Gentleman from Prague"
Based on a short story by August Derleth, the story involves a man named Simon Dekrugh. Arriving home in Britain after traveling on the continent, he calls his business associate, Abel Speers. When the latter arrives, the two examine and discuss a gold chain that Dekrugh stole from a grave in Europe; then, the occupant of the grave turns up.
"No Such Thing as a Vampire"
Based on a short story by Richard Matheson, the story takes place in a small town in Transylvania. A doctor's wife discovers puncture marks on her neck, and fears abound that she is being attacked by a vampire. (Note: The story was later adapted as a segment in the 1977 film, Dead of Night).
"Does The Name Grimsby Do Anything to You?" - Written By Rod Serling
This story delves into the delicate psyche of an astronaut, driven by his Type-A zeal to be the first man to walk on the lunar surface. He unravels when he finds, and destroys, evidence during his Moon walk that he was, in fact, second to an obscure and discredited scientist from a century earlier. (Note: Although presented during the early planning stages for the show, the idea was jettisoned. However, Serling later developed it into a short story and included it in the 1971 book, Night Gallery).
"Let Me Live in a House"
Based on a story by Chad Oliver, this story dealt with questions of existence and identity, the Kafka-esque "puppets on a stage" concept, previously explored on The Twilight Zone.
"Nightmare Morning"
An adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's "They", the story revolves around a delusional patient in a New York hospital who believes his reality has been manufactured by an alien culture as a zoo environment for him as Earth's last survivor; his delusion turns out to be real.
"Reflections"
A retread of "The Cemetery".
"Let Me Tell You about the Dead"
Based on Graham Greene's "A Little Place off the Edgware Road", it tells of a man named Craven, who tries to convince others of his delusion that the dead have been rising from their graves; in a second story thread, there is a ripper-type killer on the loose. Both story threads merge when Craven meets one of the ripper's victims, zombified, in a darkened movie theater.
"Quartette Doomed"
A thinly disguised take on Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None", stocked with characters out of a poor radio drama: the loudmouthed Texas Oil Man, The Effete Society Columnist, The Obsequious Backstabbing Assistant, and The Gold-Digging Ex-Chorus Liner. They are invited to witness the reading of a dead mystic's will, and instead of bequeathing to them his riches, he hands them all death sentences for their part in ruining his life. For the rest of the play, the four characters try to avoid the circumstances of their demise.
"The Onlooker" - Written By Rod Serling
This story follows the story of a cold-eyed hit man who loses his professional cool, then his life, when he tries to escape a mysterious man who dogs his trail, Death.
"How Does Your Garden Grow"
An adaptation of John Collier's short story "Green Thoughts," a character study involving an old gardener, his cat, a pair of dotty neighbors, a young girl claiming to be the widow of the old gardener's dead son, and a man-eating plant.
"The View Of Whatever" - Written By Rod Serling
This story tells of Joe Sprague, who suffers the loss of his only son during the Vietnam War. In deep depression, he develops a desperate desire to escape from a present he hates. Taking form as a strange delusion, he claims that his childhood past can be viewed from his bedroom window, which is a portal into 1930s Binghamton, New York. The despairing Sprague takes his chance and steps through the window, to find himself ten years old and in that summer. Ultimately, he looks pensively into the camera as the viewer dissolves to the present from which he escaped. Sprague's family is distraught at finding him missing. Sprague's family doctor, Ike Colby, tries to console them, but as he looks out Sprague's bedroom window, the portal shows him his own past: a wave-lapped shore in a tropical setting and a familiar, dark-haired woman beckoning. As the vision fades, Colby finds comfort in knowing that Joe Sprague has finally gone home.
"Where Seldom Is Heard" - written by Gene Kearney
This story is a vignette, an extended sketch with its punch line turning on hunchbacked bell ringer Quasimodo's deafness.