Twilight Zone episode review — 3.3 — The Shelter

Episode 3.3 “The Shelter”
Original air date: September 29, 1961
Writer: Rod Serling
Director: Lamont Johnson

Rating: 9/10

“The Shelter” is a wonderful time capsule of mid-century America. Thematically, it’s very similar to episode 1’s “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” but may even go further into showing the deteriorization of society.

The episode begins pleasant enough with a surprise birthday party for Dr. Bill Stockton (Larry Gates), who gets a toast from his neighbor, Jerry Harlowe (Jack Albertson, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). The neighbors tease him a bit over his construction project at odd hours of the night and morning, but all admit that they overlook it due to their appreciation for him.

As the party is wrapping up, Bill’s 12-year-old son comes down saying that the television went out and told them to tune in to the emergency broadcast station on the radio. They do just that, and find that the President has declared a state of emergency due to unidentified objects flying overhead that they think could be enemy missiles. The familes all scatter, trying to prepare for what’s about to come.

At the Stockton house, Bill and his wife, Grace (Peggy Stewart), collect as much water as they can before the water runs out. They move everything down to the shelter, which Bill says has enough food and water for two or three weeks.

After Bill locks the three of them inside the bomb shelter, Jerry shows up, begging for Bill to let him in. Bill feels bad, but he has to turn him away, saying that there is not enough room. As Jerry turns to leave, Marty (Joseph Bernard) shows up with his family incluing his infant child. They are also turned away.

All of Bill’s neighbors come together and argue. Jerry tries to explain that he won’t let anyone in, and Marty proposes that they draw lots to see if perhaps just one family could be let in, which pisses people off thinking he’d try and just save his family, causing him to be called a “wop,” and a “semi-American.”

After arguing outside Bill’s shelter, one neighbor mentions that someone on another street has a big flagpole that they could use as a battering ram. Someone else mentions that if they take it, that’ll get another family involved, and they don’t want to save them.

This causes Jerry to see how wrong they’re acting. Marty steps in to try and calm things down as well, but gets punched. The neighbors come back with the flagpole and use it to break down the door. As the door is broken down, the broadcast on the radio is heard, saying that the objects overhead have been identified as satellites, and that the state of emergency has been called off.

Everyone calms down, and people apologize to Marty. Jerry says that they should throw a block party and raise money to repay Bill for the damage to his shelter. Only Bill understands the seriousness of what has happened; while the bomb didn’t kill them, they destroyed themselves nonteheless.

It’s a very good episode, if a little preachy. I find some of the dialogue a little too on the nose. It’s remarkably similar to “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” but I don’t think it’s quite as good as that one.