“He’s Alive” is episode four of the fourth season of The Twilight Zone. It tells of an American neo-Nazi who is visited by the ghost of Adolf Hitler. Writer Rod Serling scripted a longer version of the teleplay to be made into a feature-length film, but it was never produced. This episode is notable for Dennis Hopper’s breakout performance as Peter Vollmer.
Rod Serling was particularly pleased with the script for “He’s Alive”, and was dismayed when he learned that a scene set between Hitler’s revealing himself and Vollmer’s returning to Hitler was cut due to length constraints. This prompted the idea of doing two versions of “He’s Alive”: a short version for television, and a longer version for theatrical release as a feature film. His extended script added a number of scenes and even a new protagonist, an FBI agent who investigates Vollmer’s neo-Nazi movement, but with The Twilight Zone’s budget already stretched to the breaking point, Serling’s proposal was turned down. The scene following Hitler revealing himself was filmed, but the footage has since been lost
The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas is a nationally syndicated radio drama series featuring radio play adaptations of the classic 1959–1964 television series The Twilight Zone. The series was produced for the British digital radio station BBC Radio 4 Extra airing for 176 episodes between October 2002 and 2012. Taking Serling’s role as narrator is actor Stacy Keach.
Volume 11 of the series included a reworking of Serling’s original “He’s Alive.” It was adapted for radio by Dennis Etchison and starred Peter Mark Richman and Marshall Allman.
Sources:
• Wikipedia
• “America’s Twilight Zone: How Rod Serling Foreshadowed the Age of Trump” by Nicholas Parisi
• IMDB The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas
