tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post9073186974961060048..comments2024-03-20T15:28:13.030-05:00Comments on The Twilight Zone Vortex: "A Passage for Trumpet"JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-7018201724884881952019-12-18T14:02:00.926-06:002019-12-18T14:02:00.926-06:00I am a little late to the party on this one. I do...I am a little late to the party on this one. I do like this one from a "feel good" perspective. Joey Crown gets a second chance from Ark-angel Gabriel played by the character actor John Anderson. I like the way Anderson is gentle and encouraging to Joey and not overly preachy or accusatory with him. The late Jack Klugman, as been commented on from numerous posters on this board, was a great actor and always played the "every man" type of role. Jack Klugman's role in "12 Angry Men" was very believable and his diversity of characters covered a lot of ground. As for the TZ, my favorite episode as the ship's captain in "Death Ship" seconded in "A Game of Pool". Of course, the beloved "Oscar Madison" is my favorite character that Jack Klugman nailed down perfectly and every time I watch an "Odd Couple" episode, I think of my dad who past way some years back, of the times when I was a kid back in the early 70's and life was good..I also like the final scene where Joey Crown meets a nice woman on the roof while playing his horn and the start of a beautiful relationship is about to happen!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08314582582238025846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-1398349092251867282018-12-23T14:31:10.957-06:002018-12-23T14:31:10.957-06:00I'm a freelance musician myself (harmonica), a...I'm a freelance musician myself (harmonica), and as I myself have had limited breaks from God, like Joey Crown, I have sort of kept Crown with me, searching for that great turnaround to come to me in my life. Joey Crown is probably THE single most TZ character I can identify with.naruto65https://www.blogger.com/profile/12170480906969053086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-64283695619529983502018-12-23T14:22:18.447-06:002018-12-23T14:22:18.447-06:00Perhaps, and surely I don't know the reasons w...Perhaps, and surely I don't know the reasons why, this episode is considered non-classic; not in with that of The Invaders or Living Doll, but it should be. It marked THE debut of one of TZ's most intense actors, Jack Klugman, and this first one was a showcase for Klugman. His performance is superlative, and that of John Anderson(Gabriel) in a supporting role, is what makes this a should-be series milestone. Then, between the general direction (Don Medford) and George Clemens' usual ingenious camera work,and certainly Serling's tight script, this is a masterpiece if I do say so myself. The single most stellar part of the script is when Gabriel explains to Joey that he's fallen into a strange limbo between the reality and the shadow. Think about it; that line as well as of course what's happened, clearly makes the definition, and more than anything, what Twilight Zone absolutely is, and it couldn't be better said or proven like in this episode. Let's begin to recognize the more underrated TZ works such as this, and cool on the more over celebrant episodes like "To Serve Man".naruto65https://www.blogger.com/profile/12170480906969053086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-55919593532836487102018-02-06T23:38:29.200-06:002018-02-06T23:38:29.200-06:00I can definitely appreciate your take on Klugman&#...I can definitely appreciate your take on Klugman's performance. His mopey, self-defeating attitude does dominate most of the episode. If I'm being honest, I'm not as emotionally connected with this episode as I was when I originally wrote this review. I still think it's a great episode and I think Klugman delivers a great performance but I have come to prefer his darker characters like the ship captain in "Death Ship" and especially Jessie Cardiff in "A Game of Pool" to his more benevolent characters in this episode and in "In Praise of Pip." All great performances but for me those first two are more interesting.Brian Duranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02724290376009803159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-41516561439684539862018-02-06T10:20:02.510-06:002018-02-06T10:20:02.510-06:00Not a great fan of Klugman's performance here....Not a great fan of Klugman's performance here. It's in no way terrible, but at times, I couldn't help but saw him as somewhat forced and trying too hard to convey a certain emotion. I guess it's a matter of one's subjective idea of how acting is supposed to be.Armchairmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12366496053129076853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-59544505791324735572016-05-29T00:10:30.378-05:002016-05-29T00:10:30.378-05:00I agree, John. This episode does manage to incorpo...I agree, John. This episode does manage to incorporate many of the familiar Twilight Zone tropes from the noir-influenced atmosphere to Serling's astute ability to turn a phrase to the lovable loser protagonist that he felt so much empathy for. If I were introducing someone to the show for the first time I think this would a great place to start. But I would also suggest a grittier, angrier episode like "Monsters Are Due..." to accompany it. I think these two episodes are good representations of Serling's struggle with humanity. I have always felt that Serling the man was perhaps as sugary sweet as he appears to be here or in "Walking Distance" or "One for the Angels" but Serling the writer was far more cynical about society and episodes like "The Shelter" and "The Mirror" are great representations of that part of his personality and of the show in general. That being said I have always enjoyed this one. And I agree, it has an atmosphere that is immediately recognizable as the Twilight Zone. It's such a simple story but I don't think it would have worked as well on another show.Brian Duranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02724290376009803159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-5900245482591190772016-05-28T02:24:01.138-05:002016-05-28T02:24:01.138-05:00Beautiful episode, one of the best of the series, ...Beautiful episode, one of the best of the series, and maybe, were one to make a time capsule of The Twilight Zone (as in, for eternity) A Passage For Trumpet might be the best one of all to put into it, assuming that one had choose just one.<br /><br />One of the things that makes it great,--and I agree wholeheartedly with the review and other comments here--is that Passage is echt-Twilight Zone, could only be a Twilight Zone. One could use it as an example of what the series was like in a classroom, then give each member of the class a DVD of the entire series and they'd probably come back after they've watched them all and say something like "yup, this is the ULTIMATE Twilight Zone. The perfect introduction to the series".john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-16768353783686565922012-07-03T00:59:14.839-05:002012-07-03T00:59:14.839-05:00I also wanted to add that I agree with your assess...I also wanted to add that I agree with your assessment - quite scholarly actually; and, also, agree on Anderson's portrayal of Gabriel - understated and masterful.PShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01842662388018354371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-88667041076392631332012-07-03T00:55:13.730-05:002012-07-03T00:55:13.730-05:00Thank you Brian . . . I also tried Soundhound and ...Thank you Brian . . . I also tried Soundhound and Shazam, the two competing 'music identifiers' android apps, but no luck. Though Soundhound did direct me to an interesting TZ inspired CD: http://precipitaterecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-twilight-zone-ep<br /><br />I note that Lyn Murray is the credited music director; likely, if it was an original piece written specifically for the episode, it is unavailable. Initially the piece sounded a gread deal like Harry James . . . I have been trying to find this piece for a few years now (on and off), and still searching.PShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01842662388018354371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-22605979565833765082012-07-01T23:19:17.662-05:002012-07-01T23:19:17.662-05:00Good question. Not exactly sure about this one. ...Good question. Not exactly sure about this one. I don't think it is Tommy Dorsey because he does not receive any on screen credit and none of the reference books that I skimmed through mention purchasing his music for this episode. According to Martin Grams, Jr. in his book, THE TWILIGHT ZONE: UNLOCKING THE DOOR TO A TELEVISION CLASSIC (OTR Publishing, 2008) there are several tracks credited to the composer Jeff Alexander (who also scored the episodes "Come Wander with Me" and "The Trouble with Templeton"). Hope this helps and thanks for stopping by!Brian Duranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02724290376009803159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-34696541158014246872012-07-01T03:35:50.145-05:002012-07-01T03:35:50.145-05:00This is one of my favourite TZ episodes (I have th...This is one of my favourite TZ episodes (I have the DVD). I have a question that I hope you can answer: in the scene where Joey Crown (Klugman) leans on the jukebox and recalls 'nice guy Charly' for putting one of his recordings on the jukebox, a haunting music plays in the background. I thought it was Tommy Dorsey (as Joey mentions that he played with Dorsey), but I am not sure. I have tried various sources, but no luck. Can you help - it really is a beautiful and quite haunting snippet of music. Thank you.PShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01842662388018354371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-5793859386977647522012-06-16T06:49:39.791-05:002012-06-16T06:49:39.791-05:00Hey thanks, Jack. I have to say that while I thin...Hey thanks, Jack. I have to say that while I think Klugman is great in the Odd Couple, I'm not really a fan of the show. But his dramatic work in the 50's and 60's is right on the money. Thanks for stopping by!Brian Duranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02724290376009803159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-55769363622388996672012-06-15T22:10:19.209-05:002012-06-15T22:10:19.209-05:00I completely agree with your assessment of this ep...I completely agree with your assessment of this episode and Klugman's performance. I did not really appreciate his skill as an actor until I was an adult. He makes it all look so easy. Thanks for this great series on a great show!Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.com