This tongue in cheek episode is best considered in the context of the time of its first airing; it was the very same day Jack Kennedy was inaugurated. Used car salesmen had already joined politicians as having a reputation as being less than truthful. America was embroiled in the cold war with the USSR. A story weaving all these points together is done best in the Twilight Zone.
Harvey Hunnicutt (Jack Carson) is the prototypical used car dealer / con man. He trades for a dilapidated old Ford Model A, only to discover he can no longer tell a lie.
This episode was one of 6 produced on videotape, with all it's jitters, excessive contrast, and limited sound quality. All the action appears on a used car lot at night, thus you won't mind the quality issues as much. This was one of Jack Carson's last great performances; he succumbed to cancer two years later. A young Arte Johnson (later of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) makes a brief appearance.
The finale demonstrates Serling's wishful thinking for a worried America, as it began the Camelot of the Kennedy era.
This episodes legacy? Look no further than Jim Carrey's LiarLiar.
Harvey Hunnicutt (Jack Carson) is the prototypical used car dealer / con man. He trades for a dilapidated old Ford Model A, only to discover he can no longer tell a lie.
This episode was one of 6 produced on videotape, with all it's jitters, excessive contrast, and limited sound quality. All the action appears on a used car lot at night, thus you won't mind the quality issues as much. This was one of Jack Carson's last great performances; he succumbed to cancer two years later. A young Arte Johnson (later of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) makes a brief appearance.
The finale demonstrates Serling's wishful thinking for a worried America, as it began the Camelot of the Kennedy era.
This episodes legacy? Look no further than Jim Carrey's LiarLiar.