S:3 E:20
Showdown with Rance McGrew
Larry Blyden as an impudent cowboy star whose self-assurance vanishes when he encounters the real Jesse James (Arch Johnson). Director: Robert Cornthwaite. Property Man: William McLean. Cowboy No. 1: Troy Melton. Cowboy No. 2: Jay Overholts. Bartender: Robert J. Stevenson. Old Man: Hal K. Dawson., Larry Blyden stars in this hilarious Twilight Zone entry as egocentric TV western star Rance McGrew, who, while filming a fight scene, is knocked cold by a prop bottle. Upon awakening, Rance finds himself in the real west, circa 1880 — and at the mercy of none other than Jesse James (Arch Johnson). It seems that old Jesse isn’t too thrilled as to how he and his fellow outlaws have been depicted on Rance’s series, and he intends to teach the vainglorious actor a lesson. Best line: “And you won an Emmy? Shoot, you can’t act any better than you can draw!” This episode reunited two alumni of the classic 1951 sci-fi thriller The Thing: actor Robert Cornthwaite, and director Christian Nyby. Scripted by Rod Serling from an idea by Frederic Louis Fox (which in its original form wasn’t a comedy at all), “Showdown with Rance McGrew” first aired February 2, 1962.