Night Gallery episode review — 3.6 — The Other Way Out

Original air date: November 19, 1972
Director: Gene Kearney
Writer: Gene Kearney (story by Kurt van Elting)

Rating: 4/10

Bradley Meredith (Ross Martin) arrives home from vacation with his wife only to find that he’s being blackmailed for his role in the death of a go-go dancer. He’s instructed to bring $10,000 to a specific location, but nothing really goes right. He gets a ticket before he can get to the bank, and he crashes his car on his way to the location, having to proceed on foot.

He comes across a house that he thinks is empty, so he goes in to try and use the phone. Eventually an old man (Burl Ives appears). The old man was the dancer’s grandfather, and he says something about the woman’s brother coming home soon, and he won’t take let Meredith go because he brought a gun even though he was instructed not to.

The old man then releases the hounds, and Meredith is able to fight them off, but he eventually runs out of ammo. He goes back inside, and is taunted with the old man promising that there is another way out.

Eventually Sonny comes home, and I guess it’s supposed to be a surprise that the boy is about ten years old. Anyways, Meredith gets trapped in some kind of basement cellar, and the old man reveals to him the way out that was promised when he tosses him one bullet.

It’s pretty weak despite a promising setup. I like the dark tone, but Meredith’s performance leaves much to be desired. Also, the ending…is it supposed to be a surprise or a twist?

I don’t feel we get enough about the go-go dancer herself, and this is the rare segment I think could have easily expanded to an hour in length, and been better.