User Reviews

An exceptionally touching episode written by Charles Beaumont, about Robert Duvall, a recessive office worker who lives with his dying mother and has no life of his own. He's never unpleasant, always polite, but he never smiles and tiptoes through his activities like an automaton. Others pester him and urge him to be normal. He's fired from his job because, as his boss explains, he's a square peg in a round hole, not a team player.

He finds a quiet room in a museum where he can be by himself and discovers an exquisitely carved doll house in which a girl is sitting at the harpsichord. For the first time, his eyes open with interest and a slight smile creeps across Duvall's features. Duvall gives an excellent performance throughout. He's so robotic he doesn't even swing his arms when he walks. Maybe he took acting lessons from Jack Webb.

Well, to make an hour-long episode short, the pretty girl in the 19th-century doll house begins to play a tuneful and pretty Mozart Sonata -- the first movement of Number 11 in A Major. Mozart's delicate theme is hinted at in the musical score almost insensibly, by a solo clarinet or other wind instrument.

This doll moves around. She has a maid. She has a villainous suitor, and by the time the suitor assaults her, Duvall is hallucinating to beat the band and he breaks the glass front of the doll house to prevent the rape of his beloved.

After he's released from the psychiatric hospital, Duvall returns to his family and exhibits a wide and fatuous grin, obviously phony, and pretends to be just like everyone else. Hah! He fools them all and takes up permanent residence with Claire Griswold in the doll house, where they look at stereopticons together and are devoted to each other -- whether chastely or not we never know because the museum closes at 10 PM and the lights go out.

Lucky Duvall. Claire Griswold is lovely. She married Sidney Pollack. And Duvall's mother! What Hitchcock could have done with her! That voice alone is indescribable. If you crinkled up a cellophane package full of nachos vigorously in both hands it might sound like that.

The story is as fragile as Mozart's music and the tiny but exquisite doll house, although there are touches of subtle humor. No monsters. No message. No space ships. Just a shy man who finds a home where there should be no home, and a mechanical doll with a spirit inside.

Robert Duvall is excellent as Charley Parkes, a lonely ordinary fellow who is searching desperately for love, but doesn't know it yet. While having his usual boring lunch at a local museum, he notices that one of the small carefully crafted wooden figures in an exhibit seems to have a life of her own. As time goes on, Charley begins to communicate with her on a daily basis---at least in his own mind. It's a love match made in heaven, that is until he tells his family about his new girlfriend. It doesn't take long before Charley is involuntarily under the psychiatric care of Doctor Wallman (William Windom). The good doctor convinces Charley that his figurine girlfriend is just a figment of his lively imagination and after a brief stay in a sanitarium, Charley is released back to his family and his overbearing mother. All seems well for a time until Charley disappears right before he's to meet one of his sister's girlfriends. Doctor Wallman is called back into the picture and he immediately surmises where Charley has run off to: the museum.

Charles Beaumont wrote the story and it was one of the more original and inventive ones in the series. There are quite a few underlining issues in the plot (e.g. mental illness, family stress) and Beaumont's script doesn't merely gloss over them. Since "Miniature" is one of the hour-long episodes, there's enough time to develop the characters and plot to a satisfying level without the usual restrictions. This is also an early example of Robert Duvall's acting skills. His portrayal of Charley Parkes comes across in a very sympathetic light and he avoids turning the character into a misanthrope. Of course, Duvall went on to more famous roles after this one, but this was a great starting point for him. Barbara Barrie is also effective as his doting sister who just doesn't understand the depth of her brother's loneliness. William Windom does a fine job as Charley's sensible psychiatrist. He's positive that his patient is cured through the usual conventional means...until the very end.

Robert Duvall stars as Charley Parkes, a quiet, withdrawn man who still lives with his mother, though well into his thirties. His married sister tries to match him up with women, and his mother despairs of him ever marrying, but Charley just goes on his way, passively accepting whatever happens to him.

Charley eats lunch every day in the cafeteria of the museum near where he works. One day, he gets caught in a crowd of visitors when he finds the cafeteria is closed, and ends up in a room, where, among the other exhibits, is a large doll house, where a beautiful doll plays classical music on a tiny harpsichord. Charley is convinced that the doll moves, but the museum guard insists she's only a carved piece of wood, and there is no music.

Charley loses his job, not for being late, but because his boss tells him that he just doesn't fit in. Charley's mother carries on about what will happen to her if he can't support her. His brother in law arranges to find Charley a new job. Charley isn't overly concerned about any of these events, but continues to visit the museum every day to look wistfully at the doll, and watch her life in the house. He becomes totally involved in his vicarious participation in her life, and falls in love with her.

This show is an absolute tour de force for Robert Duvall, in his sensitive portrait of an awkward, lonely man who baffles everyone around him. The thoughtful, sincere screenplay by Charles Beaumont beautifully presents the unfulfilled longing for love in every person, especially in those who seem out of synch with everyone around them.

One of the most interesting parts is Charley's meeting with his boss, played by Barney Phillips, best known for his portrayal of the diner counterman in " Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?". Charley apologizes for being late, and the boss says that he's actually pleased with Charley for being late, because it's the first ordinary, normal thing Charley has ever done since he started working there. The boss says that Charley is never late, never early, always on time, and does exactly what's expected of him, and he has no complaint with Charley's work. But the curious absent quality about Charley, the bland way he exists among the people around him, but not involved with them, leads the boss to decide that Charley should be let go, because he just doesn't fit it. This is a fascinating little scene, because the boss seems to like Charley, and regrets having to fire him.

This is a fine, imaginative and moving episode that ranks among the best in the series.

I remember back in the early-mid 1980s, this episode was touted as 'the lost episode' and shown on prime-time. Apparently some legal dispute had kept this one out of circulation. I was super-excited to see this lost show but remember afterwords feeling like it was a huge buildup for a rather mediocre episode. Now, almost thirty years later, I'm seeing it again to see if my feelings have changed.

One of the first things I noticed the second time I saw this show was that the slightly overbearing mother in the show was played by Pert Kelton--a rather obscure actress today but a woman famous for playing Alice Kramden on "The Jackie Gleason Show" in its "Honeymooners" sketches in the very first season. The next season she was replaced by a younger Alice (Audrey Meadows). Barbara Barrie (the wife on "Barney Miller") also co-stars.

Robert Duvall plays an incredibly shy and asocial person who has no interest in connecting with people. His greatest joy is going to the museum to get away from people. At the museum, his greatest joy is to look at a large doll house--staring at it for hours. Oddly, when he looks at the house, the wooden figures inside move, interact and play music--but other people see none of this. You can only assume Duvall's character is a bit nuts and the guard at the museum certainly thinks so! When he loses his job, instead of finding another one, he starts to spend all his time at the museum--he just can't get enough of the doll house and its animated occupants.

His family is concerned and Barrie decides to follow him and see what he's doing all day other than work. She finds him in the museum and is puzzled what's happening. She, too, thinks he's nuts. In actuality, some who has zero interest in others is labeled as a 'Schizoid Personality'--and is not necessarily a bad thing, as he IS happy in his own little world. But his delusions are a serious concern and his sister (Barrie) thinks all he needs to do is meet a nice girl! Eventually, Duvall's mania becomes so strong that he imagines that the woman he watches in this doll house is being attacked. So, he does what seemed rational--smashing the glass case over the house in order to save her! As a result, he is hospitalized for several months. Eventually, he seems pretty normal--normal and happy. However, it's all an act--and what follows actually took me by surprise. You see, up until then, I STILL found the show a bit dull like I'd remembered. BUT, the ending really worked well--making the 50 minutes I'd invested worth while. Not a great episode--mostly because the show could have probably been told better with a tighter running time (a problem with several of the double-length episodes of season four), but very memorable and one worth seeing...again.

I would have lost a bet on whether Robert Duvall ever appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone. In fact, it took me a while to figure out it was him in the lead role as Charley Parkes, a lost and lonely man who doesn't quite 'fit in' at work or in a social setting. So instead, he creates a mythical world inside a glass showcase and imagines a perfect world he shares with the 'prettiest girl in the whole world'.

Some time ago I decided Duvall is my favorite modern day actor with bravura performances in films like "Open Range", "Secondhand Lions" and "Broken Trail". His breakout of course was 1972's "The Godfather" and from there his career took off. It's interesting to catch those glimpses of future greatness here in the character of Charley Parkes. Watch that closeup of Duvall when a single tear forms in his eye and drops to his cheek. It always marvels me when an actor or actress can summon up that type of emotion on command.

I find it interesting that Rod Serling tackled controversial subjects in his Twilight Zone stories. He broached the topic of suicide a couple of times with #2.22 - 'Long Distance Call' and #3.37 - 'The Changing of the Guard'. Here Serling and Charles Beaumont take a thoughtful approach to the subject of mental illness and offer a provocative look at a man on the threshold of losing his grip on reality by creating a fictional world. It was all explained rather well too by Dr. Wallman (William Windom) as he tried to help Charley understand how his brain created an image for his eyes to see.

What Serling didn't have to do at the end of the story was explain that the museum guard didn't tell anyone where Charley was. There were a few shows like that where it would have been better to just leave it to the viewer to form their own opinion about the ending. Carried to an extreme, the greater twist ending here would have been how mother Parkes would have handled Charley's disappearance. How about imagining that scene?

As far as I know there are only three times Duvall ends up with the girl: Captain Newman MD, A Night In Old Mexico and here. Obviously the reason to watch is Duvall's performance, but another aspect is what made him a weak person and that is his mother played by Pert Kelton ( Mrs. Parkes). . It so reminded me of Nancy Kulp in The Fugitive episode of the Twilight Zone. Both were obsessive controlling women who I cannot say a kind word about. Kelton ruined Charley ( Duvall), and Kulp saw Jenny (Susan Gordon) as nothing more then a check until Old. Ben rescued her. Spoilers ahead: I do like the final scene involving the security guard, and the smile on his face, when he saw Charley with Alice in the dollhouse. Is it a dollhouse? Yes, but at least he is happy and is a lot better then being with his mother.. 9/10 stars.

***SPOILERS*** Remade 25 years later in the "New Twilight Zone" episode "The Call" here we have this momma's boy Schmendrick- perennial loser in Yiddish- Charley Parkes, Robert Duvall,who lives in a world of make believe and refused to see the reality of the world and people around him. Fired from his job because, as his boss told him he, he just doesn't fit in Charley now spends all his time, which he has a lot of, at the museum watching a doll house and the occupants in it. It seems that those in the doll house respond to Charley's attention he has towards them in becoming alive whenever he watches them!

Charley's bazaar actions leads his mom, whom he still lives with, played by Pert Kelton to get him matched up with a girl the sexy and aggressive Harriet, Joan Chambers, that leads, in Charley freaking out, to total disaster. It's the doll, Claire Griswold, in the doll house that Charley has the hots for and looks after her as if she were his kid sister. This leads Charley to completely go off the grid when he see another one of his illusions the Doll's suitor, Richard Angorala, break into the doll house and attempt to rape her! That's where Charley ends up going nuts, if he wasn't already, and ends up in a mental institution.

***SPOILERS**** Cured and ready to step out into the real world Charley's hang ups still takes control of him as he slips out of the house, where there's a coming home from the loony bin party prepared for him, and disappears into thin air. As we see Charley is now back in the world that he loves so much with the love of his life in a place where no one, even the men with the white suites, will never think of finding him!

I don't like that that word when referring to people but it's often used for people who don't fit everyone's ideas about what normal . The thing is Charley doesn't really want to try and it asks the question is that so bad? On a smaller more intimate scale than other episodes such as The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street or Number 12 Looks Just Like You . Miniature is very personal it's also in a world more typically as we know it not dystopian or on the verge of large scale disaster or even a neighborhood that jumps to a lot of wild conclusions it's just a simple life of everyday people. That's actually very profound because that's how most people who don't fit in live . They are just a bit out of the mainstream but not in all ways just in one or two or even three ways that they are not so lockstep. People like that are sometimes called quirky , odd, eccentric, the list goes on .

In this particular case Charley is just a very quiet man who doesn't want to do everything the so called normal guy wants. His family is not even horrible to him just concerned and maybe a little at a loss on how to help him. He tries to go along but it doesn't work it's just not for him.

Charley's ideal world fits in a doll house and ultimately that's where he ends up but not in the horror movie kind of a few episodes have . He gets happily ever after and one of the times it's actually on the the main characters terms.

Before Robert Duvall was famous Duvall was in Twilight Zone Miniature episode. Loner Duvall without much of a social life goes into museum and sees moving people in a minuter house. Wonders why the little people move around! Security guard thinks Duvall is crazy and when Duvall tries to break into the set to save the miniature woman it is psych ward time for Duvall. The family, psychologist, etc believes Duvall's creates this fantasy world out of loneliness. Seems better! Family tries to set Duvall up with a date etc and Robert disappears. The Irish security guard see Robert in the Miniature exhibit and laughs! The da da Twilight Zone music kicks in. Cute episode is cool to follow. The strength of Miniature is in the acting. Duvall has such believable performance where we believe in the character. Duvall cries during therapy which is moving in a believable way. Duvall makes a humdrum episode into entertaining. 6 or 7 stars out of 10.

Good episode. The hardest worker gets fired for no reason! He doesn't need to fit in. He keeps to himself and works long and hard. This is all so stupid, firing him!

Of course the idea is superb, of course Duvall is exceptional and of course his mother is atrociously annoying (rightly so that's how she was written!) but the story is missing a proper ending.

If Beaumont was at full force we would have had re-writes that completed the story. For example Charley would have had a hobby requiring attention to detail, making ships in bottles or something, an obsession like so many people with autism have. Then that hobby would later be applied at the end by him carving his own figure, probably from the same wood from the same house from the same balcony, probably whilst listening to the Mozart which was musical motif throughout the episode. With this magic he manifests within the dollhouse where, ideally, they all see him there and resign to the fact that he is happy where he is.

This would be a satisfying ending to the story and to the allegory of his mental issues. Letting him be happy even if he's not 'normal' (as we should do with people in the real world) instead of trying to make him an average person.

It's a shame that all the breadcrumbs of the story were laid out but instead of the sweet cookie a the end, Beaumont's horrible illness blew away the remaining parts of a lovely story.

So, yes, many exceptional parts but a tragic episode for the story off screen as much as on.