A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain
| "A Short Drink From a Certain Fountain" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 11 |
| Directed by | Bernard Girard |
| Written by |
Rod Serling (From an idea by Lou Holtz) |
| Featured music | Stock |
| Production code | 2614 |
| Original air date | December 13, 1963 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Patrick O'Neal: Harmon Gordon |
|
Patrick O'Neal: Harmon Gordon
Ruta Lee: Flora Gordon
Walter Brooke: Dr. Raymond Gordon
child: Harmon Gordon as child
"A Short Drink From a Certain Fountain" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
Harmon Gordon, a wealthy old man married to a much younger woman, is exhausted by his wife Flora's youthful and selfish lifestyle. Seeking to keep up the pace, he asks his scientist brother Raymond to inject him with an experimental youth serum (if Raymond doesn't, Harmon claims he [Raymond] will find out which one of them "reaches the pavement first"). Reluctantly, his brother agrees. The serum works wonders; the old man grows younger by the hour. Unfortunately, it does not stop when he hopes, and the regression continues until he has become a toddler.
Flora tries to leave, but Raymond, who abhors her for her cruel treatment of his brother, forces her to stay and raise the infant Harmon or else she will be cut off from Harmon's fortune and she will receive nothing else. If she abandons the child, Raymond threatens to take legal action against her and battle her to the death. Now she is stuck...forever. Raymond reminds Flora, "As he grows older, you'll be growing...old." And he caustically predicts that when his brother does grow old enough, another woman is sure to take him away from her. "It's not fair, Raymond," Flora shudders to her brother-in-law. "Everything...is on his side!" "Well, you see, Flora?", Raymond Gordon responds somewhat sarcastically. "As you get older...see how wise you get?"
Initially, the Raymond Gordon character was to be a typical family physician. Disturbed by the character's willingness to experiment on a fellow human (Harmon, his brother), CBS asked that his occupation be changed to that of a research scientist. Serling complied.
The opening narration uses an allusion to the respected poet Henry Thoreau, a poet, essayist, and philosopher who spoke extensively on aging, maturity, and romantic themes—all of which feature extensively in the narrative.
This episode (because of a lawsuit filed by someone claiming they had the idea for the story first) was not included in the Twilight Zone syndication package until 1984. When this and other long unseen episodes became available (including "Miniature"), a series of short introductions were shot featuring commentary from the cast and crew of the original episodes.
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