Do You Remember Which ‘Twilight Zone’ Episode Won an Oscar?

Lauren Novak February 28, 3:27 pm

The Twilight Zone Rod Serling, 1959-64 — Everett Collection

“You’re traveling through another dimension – a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s a signpost up ahead: your next stop: the Twilight Zone!” The Twilight Zone may be one of the most recognizable and iconic shows of all time and has inspired countless other science fiction series. The original host, Rod Serling, became well-known and won two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for the show. Did you know that one episode also won an Oscar? Can you remember which one it was?

It was actually one of the episodes in the original series fifth and final season called “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” It was very different than any other episodes including the fact that it was produced in France with filmmakers outside of the Twilight Zone team. Producer William Froug explained that CBS was pushing the show to save money during its final season so they decided to license the film and make it a part of the show.

Everett Collection

Froug said, “It was almost entirely silent. There were maybe a half-dozen lines in it, and there was one brief ballad — in English, of all things. CBS was very reluctant — ‘A French film on television? Who ever heard of such a thing?’ — but I convinced them, because we bought all the TV rights for $10,000. With that one airing, we immediately took care of the whole year’s overage. It brought us out at the end of the year under budget.”

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Twilight Zone

IMDb

The episode tells the tale of a Confederate soldier about to be executed who imagines a dramatic escape sequence, based on the short story by Ambrose Bierce. The episode aired on February 28, 1964, and six weeks later won an Academy Award at the 1964 Oscars for Best Live-Action Short Subject. Tell us, have you seen the episode? Do you think it was the best choice to win an Oscar from the series? You can watch the episode now on Paramount+.