The Twilight Zone: Season 1 Episode 4 The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine
An actress has trouble accepting her fading star.
Series Index
Characters/Groups
Barbara Jean Trenton - Ida Lupino
Young Jerry Hearndan - John Clarke
Character thumbnails with links to profiles
Detailed Synopsis
A movie plays consisting of Barbara Jean Trenton and a young Jerry Hearndan. Barbara sits in her projection room watching her old film and reminiscing. Sally knocks on the projection room door and brings a tray of food and drink. She sees Barbara's chair empty and finds Barbara standing next to the projection screen. The doorbell rings and when Sally answers the door, Danny Weiss is waiting outside.. She lets him in and tells him that Barbara is in the projection room and is spending more and more time in there. Danny goes into the projection room and opens the drapes. Barbara tells him she just watched A Farewell Without Tears with Jerry, which Danny notes was from 1933, and A Night in Paris, which Danny notes was from 1934. Barbara gets upset with Danny for nagging her and he tells her that he set up a meeting with Marty Sall at International Pictures for an acting part. Barbara starts to imagine what roles she will be playing and Danny tries to temper her expectations of what role she might get.
They go to Marty's office and Marty describes the role that he had in mind for Barbara, that of the main star's mother. Barbara angrily tells Marty that she doesn't play mothers or take bit roles. She insults Marty, who in return insults Barbara and calls her an aging broad and a charity case. Barbara and Danny return to her home and Danny tries to comfort Barbara, who tells him she doesn't want any of the new world to come inside her house. She tells him that if she wishes hard enough, she can continue to live in the old world. She tells him to set up a party and invite former actors from her films. He tells her it wouldn't work as none of them work anymore and one of them had been dead for some time and then he leaves. Barbara goes back to her projection room and watches another film starring her and Jerry.
Danny goes back to Barbara's house and Sally tells him that she hasn't seen Barbara in days. Danny tells Sally that he invited Jerry to stop by and then tells Barbara, who is excited. Danny and Jerry go to Barbara's house and she looks at Jerry in shock. She tells him she thought he would walk in looking how he looked twenty years ago. She tells Danny and Jerry that she wanted the old Jerry to walk in the door, but he is dead now. She tells them to go away and Jerry tells her goodbye and he and Danny leave. Barbara goes back to her projection room and plays a film with her and Jerry in it. She then tells the screen she wishes she could be in the film. Later, Sally knocks on the projection room door, opens it and screams. Danny goes back to Barbara's house and goes into the empty projection room. He turns on the projector and watches as a current looking Barbara appears to be having a party at her house with past actresses and actors who played in films with her. He asks Barbara to come back, but she leaves after tossing a scarf towards him. He leaves the projection, finds the scarf in the location where she threw it and smiles.