'Way Out (1961) User Reviews

Very creepy and unsettling. Surprisingly so for a mainstream show.

[guanche · 8/10 · 25 July 2005]

The "galaxybeing" did a good job of describing this series and did so with a good deal more specificity than I could. The show was genuinely frightening. I do remember the episode about the love affair with the headless "electric woman". It gave me nightmares as a child. One of the most chilling things about the show (I hope I'm remembering this correctly) was the lead in at the beginning. I recall hands sticking up out of sand and writhing to the tempo of beatnik bongo drums. As the drum crescendo increased in intensity, the hands would burn up.

No wonder it lasted just fourteen episodes in the days of Ward and June Cleaver! Definitely ahead of its time.

Constance Ford grips in "I Heard You Calling Me."

[BrentCarleton · 9/10 · 22 September 2006]

In one of the few extant episodes of the long defunct, "Way Out" actress Constance Ford takes the audience on a roller coaster ride not soon to be forgotten.

Though accomplished at all types of portrayals, Miss Ford's stock in trade was the vulpine proletariat tart--a woman who will stop at nothing to get where she's going, and doesn't make any bones about it! Consider her a more cerebral, subdued, and streamlined Shelley Winters type.

In "I Heard You Calling Me" she holds the audience in the palm of her hand all the way--it's a real tour de force, inasmuch as she's doing it "live on tape." As the telephone calls from beyond exert their growing menace over her, we watch her go from casual indifference, to hard nosed annoyance, to trembling rage, to nauseated panic, and finally to whimpering, resigned, child like submission--pathetically assuming a fetal position as she drops the receiver to the floor in anticipation of her impending doom.

At a recent screening, all attendees were impressed, most especially an astute 16 year old boy. "We don't have anything this good on now," he remarked as Mr. Dahl sardonically concluded the teleplay.

No, we don't, and the loss is ours. Another forgotten jewel in Mr. Susskind's crown.

Lady with Light Bulb for a Head! Timeless Horror

[sexythomasjefferson · 8/10 · 14 July 2009]

I was seven years old when I saw this episode, and these many many years later it still is in place as one of the creepiest concepts and images I have ever experienced. Hope to see this one day on DVD, or on TV someplace. Far scarier and more unsettling -- at least this one episode that has stayed alive in my head -- than anything else, except perhaps some segments of "Thriller" with Karloff. Glad to see other people remembering this with the same intensity as I have! Obviously there were lots of us kids staying up and devouring this material, and funny that of all these, basically only "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits" still resonate in any major way. "T Zone" because of the number of episodes became a classic, "Outer Limits" because of its sheer excellence despite a low # of episodes. Almost no hope for something like "Way Out" to have a life in syndication, which obviously it didn't. Hopefully this will resurface for us soon!

Excellent & hard to find

[thegalaxybeing · 10/10 · 8 January 2005]

This is a sadly overlooked anthology series which only ran from March to July 1961 (14 episodes). Although it had the low budget look of the early drama anthologies, it was quite unique and twisted. It often contained dialog that was both creepy and amusing. The series was hosted by Roald Dahl and he did an excellent job of setting up the mood for the stories. His monologues were clever, somewhat like Alfred Hitchcock. The stories themselves included such diverse plots as a man who has a chemical that can change facial features by touching up photos, an actor who can't remove his Quasimoto make-up, a new neighbor who can turn people into frogs, a married man who falls in love with a decapitated woman kept alive by electricity (with a light bulb for a head!), a woman who keeps waking up from nightmares only to find she is still dreaming, an undertaker who seems willing to help murderers "dispose of the body", an actress who discovers that during night rehearsals actors are really murdered & a dying old professor who is given an offer by a doctor to keep his brain alive in a tank after his body is dead. This show aired the 1/2 hour before The Twilight Zone on Friday nights. Seeing them as a child was quite frightening. Now seeing the only 5 stories that I could find as an adult, I can see how well written they were. I am really hoping this series shows up on DVD. At only 14 episodes, the whole series would make a great set.

Rarely seen, Way Out is worth rediscovering

[mosoul · 29 September 2002]

Way Out was a dark anthology series that aired on Friday nights at 9:30 PM in in the slot before Twilight Zone on CBS between March and July of 1961. It replaced one of TV's most notorious bombs, Jackie Gleason's "You Are In the Picture", an ill conceived game show. It premiered with strong ratings for the debut episode of "William & Mary" based on Roald Dahl's short story, but failed to sustain its audience and was canceled by July of 1961. Roald Dahl wrote and delivered the dark, wry introductions and sign offs with panache. Beginning each show with a, "How are you?" He would offer advice on, disposing of unpleasant spouses, or recount facetious stories of his boyhood in Norway where, when somebody died, and the ground was frozen solid, they would sharpen the legs and hammer the body into the ground, "like an enormous nail."

Fondly remembering this almost forgotten chapter in television history, Mike Dann says, "Way Out was one of the last weekly dramatic shows to be done in New York. Practically more than any other show, while it was not the most important, it represented the end of the era of New York as a production center for prime time. The only thing we had left then was variety shows. It meant the death of drama in New York, which is a great loss fore everyone."One I would dearly love to see, but have not been able to find is "Soft Focus" starring Barry Morse with makeup by Dick Smith. The program is subtle and needs repeated viewings to be fully appreciated. I hope it comes out on DVD or VHS.

"Side Show" Episode Of WAY OUT Was Most Scary!

[evilgrows · 10/10 · 7 January 2005]

The 12th episode ("Side Show") of this GREAT terrifying anthology series was one of it's BEST and most unsettling and left a lot of kids (including myself & my best friend) - VERY scared! It had to do with a carnival Sideshow where there was this "Lady with a light bulb for a head". She was strapped into this electric chair and 10,000 volts of electricity ran through her and kept her alive... This meek henpecked husband (Harold) goes to the sideshow and falls in love with this "Headless" woman named Cassandra who begs him to free her from the chair. He returns the third night with pliers to free her, which they show him trying to do. BUT, the final ending sequence is the most unsettling and unforgettable - when you see that the MAN is now strapped into the electric chair with a light bulb in place of HIS head and the headless woman (Cassandra) is standing next to him, laughing, with a *HEAD that looks like it was sew on (*from an opening sequence where the head of a woman is guillotined into a basket as one of the Sideshow's other attractions...) Anyone else who saw this episode - will NEVER forget it (even after 55 years) - it is THAT haunting! Anyone else recall seeing this extremely SCARY one? I would love to see it again, but unfortunately THIS episode has NOT been unearthed on any kind of VHS or DVD (even a "bootleg" or unauthorized one!) as yet. We can only hope that someday the superb WAY OUT series will finally be made available again! ;)

**ATTENTION (April 2016) - This episode has just shown up on you tube under: WAY OUT - Incredible!! Check it out while you can!**

Please bring "Way Out" to DVD!

[GREEKSEED · 10/10 · 15 July 2006]

We really need to have all 14 episodes of "Way Out" released on DVD for everyone to enjoy. One reason for it not being released is that apparently it's not known who owns the rights to this program at the present. There is definitely a market for this kind of program. Fans of classic programs like "Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" would eat this stuff up as it's from the same era in television history. World famous writer Roald Dahl introduces each program and many recognizable faces are seen in the series. It's also worth noting that Dick Smith who did the makeup for this series, would later go on to do the makeup for the movie "The Exorcist" in 1973.

Excellent but very rare and obscure

[euphoria35 · 10/10 · 12 May 2006]

Great show. I first heard about this show in the late 80's and it has never been re-shown or syndicated. I believe the producer of the show had all the episodes and either he or his estate had them donated to the museum of TV and radio at some point in the 90's tho I am not sure exactly when this happened.

There are five episodes currently floating around between private deals and collectors. You can probably find them on E-bay. The museum of television and radio in NYC and Beverly Hills have all 14 episodes of the show in their collection for viewing.

Some of the films have problems and scratches etc but again this material is from 1961 and has not received the same kind of attention like the original Twilight Zone has received over the years with the prints being cleaned up and remastered but are still worth watching especially the episodes "Soft Focus", "Side Show", "False Face" and "Dissolve to Black". I hope one day they are remastered and released to the public via DVD but I doubt any studio will feel there is enough of a market for this obscure forgotten show.

"For a TV show to be really good, you've gotta believe it could really happen in real life..."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 23 September 2011]

My summary quote is from Charlotte Rae's character Hazel Atterbury, wife of the guy (Don Keefer) in the 'Death Wish' episode, the one where he wants to kill her but the mortician turns the tables on him. As creepy and mysterious as the shows were, there was just the slightest enough hint of realism to make you think twice. For one season in 1961, 'Way Out' was the lead-in to that other imaginative show hosted by Rod Serling, everyone's favorite 'Twilight Zone'.

Like many of the other posters on this board, I would have been about ten years old when this program first appeared, and the one I remember best even to this day was 'The Croaker'. I just finished watching it, along with the other four episodes that seem to be the only ones readily available. The surprise this time around was learning that the oddball guy turning victims into frogs was portrayed by venerable character actor John McGiver, and the neighborhood kid Jeremy was played by Richard Thomas. I recall sitting on the couch with my Dad fifty years ago when this episode first aired, and we both looked at each other with barely disguised glee when Jeremy concocted his own formula to one-up old Mr. Rana (McGiver). I won't reveal it, but that ending just blew me away. Very clever too, that name Rana, which is a genus of frogs used for McGiver's character.

The shows opened with pairs of buried hands clawing out of their presumed burial places, consumed by smoke and fire. Host Roald Dahl greeted the viewer with a droll "How are you"?, and then did a bit of a somber monologue that was about as creepy as the show itself. Duplicate images of his talking head lent an even eerier quality to the rhythm of his voice, and he had this mesmerizing effect on the viewer making you hang on every word.

Count me in as a fan who would love to see these shows remastered and brought out for a modern day audience. There's a reason why series like this, 'The Twilight Zone', 'The Outer Limits', and 'One Step Beyond' hold sway with such large numbers of fans today. They tap the imagination in a way that's not done any more with stories that both frighten and amuse, and as Roald Dahl would be inclined to say, "You can be quite sure, it is Way Out".

Great horror TV show

[ctomvelu-1 · 10/10 · 10 November 2008]

I had forgotten the wonderful Roald Dahl hosted this short-lived horror anthology series, and thinking about it today makes me realize how much creepier the show was for Dahl's droll narration. Each episode had a bit of a THRILLER feel to it, only darker. Too bad it didn't last. Everyone who saw it remembers the episode where a pompous actor eventually finds he cannot remove his scary makeup. I was 11 when the show aired, and it jolted me far more than anything Alfred Hitchcock or Boris Karloff or Rod Serling (all three had popular TV anthology shows in roughly the same time frame) could throw at me. Years later, Dahl would have a show exclusively devoted to his own writings, much like Ray Bradbury did.

A summer scare

[xredgarnetx · 8/10 · 4 November 2007]

I don't recall how many episodes I saw of this fill-in horror anthology, but I tend to think of it as a summer show, so this may tell you which episodes I caught. The one episode that has stayed in my mind is about the man who cannot remove his Quasimodo makeup, and the magnificent makeup job was courtesy of the one and only Dick "The Exorcist" Smith (remember his one-shot magazine special published by the FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND folks? It cost under a buck at the time, and how I wish I had held onto it, along with all my FAMOUS MONSTER and CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN titles). WAY OUT was actually a notch above THE OUTER LIMITS although not as good as THE TWILIGHT ZONE. God, I love Roald Dahl, who served as host. Did you notice Larry "It's Alive" Cohen was involved in the scripting?

Look Out for Way Out

[HEFILM · 18 June 2005]

This certainly would make a nice DVD box set. Actors and crew on this show are a who's who of Television in the 1960's. I've only seen 5 episodes all were odd in the best sense of the word and none of these five sound like the best of the series even.

The show features eerie electronic music in part by Robert Colbert who went on to to Dark Shadows and The Night Stalker. Title sequence of hands sticking up like trees out of sand is also memorable.

The show, like Roald Dahl's fiction, has heavy doses of dark dark humor, so much so that it's hard perhaps to call it horror but also hard to accept as just comedy either. This sets it apart from the lighter comedy episodes of other fantasy shows of that, or any, era, and perhaps left a mass TV audience confused and abandoned. It certainly had a good lead in time slot right before Twilight Zone and would make a nice lead in to those shows.

So it's too bad, though maybe not too much of a surprise, that the show didn't catch on. Someone bring these to DVD to be rediscovered as they deserve to be. Seems like a show ahead of it's time. Looks to have been shot on video, though copy I saw was so murky it was hard to tell.

Way Out was Way Good, very imaginative

[hardybing · 8/10 · 10 August 2006]

Way Out was a show of the type like Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, or Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I was only a kid, but I watched it fairly regularly and enjoyed it. The opening showed a hand coming out of dirt and then being consumed by flames- very dramatic; and a little scary for a kid. The one episode that really sticks out in my mind was of the hen-pecked photographer with the nagging wife. When the were young, she was very attractive but he was a homely type in appearance. He invented/found a photo correction solution that when you used it to correct photos, whatever was corrected became like that in real life. So, to get back at his wife, he took a photo of her and made her gradually look ugly over a period of years; and he made himself look younger and more handsome. This really rankled her. The one day, she caught him correcting his photo, and realized what he had been doing. She attacked him and made him drop the bottle on the floor and the solution spilled on his photo. In his haste to recover the priceless solution, he stepped on the photo with his shoe; and when he raised his head up, his face had a big shoe print on it, and the solution was gone.

Weird, wild, wacky - scared the bejesus out me when I was 9!

[ramarex1 · 9/10 · 3 July 2007]

For years after this show aired, I could not hear the theme song to the TV program "Route 66," the lead-in to this show, without getting all apprehensive and "goose bumpy." I associated it with "Way Out's" gnarly hands protruding from the ground at the end of the show's opening credits. Or were they sticking out of lava? Or boiling sand? I seem to recall the ground around the hands being cracked... broken, and steam coming out...? Boy, a remastered DVD release of these 14 titles would be fab-u-lous, if only for their historical value. I know I love to be scared and most modern television is far, far too timid. Too bad, these were classics. And TV execs in the sixties were just as predictable as those of today when it comes to green lighting schlock and canceling greatness before it has a chance to blossom. Imagine if less than insightful TV execs had controlled "Seinfeld" or "The Twilight Zone." And, just in passing, parents are too soft and protest against TV programs too much, claiming that their children would be adversely affected by scary programs. Hey, mom and dad, HIDE THE REMOTE or PUT THAT SINISTER "V-CHIP" TO A REAL TEST! Just because the occasional serial killer comments on how much he loved scary programs in his youth, does not mean that your little Jill or Johnny will likewise succumb to such a fate. Lots of us "little morons" loved this stuff as children, even if it did give us nightmares, but as the old saw tells us, what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger, right? In fact, Way Out scared me so much that I'm surprised I didn't turn out to be like Stephen King, Clive Barker, or Wes Craven. Then again, maybe it did and I just haven't realized it yet...

Creepy, Unsettling, and Definitely Different

[robertguttman · 10/10 · 12 May 2019]

I was six years old when this show was aired and I still remember it. One episode that distinctly comes to mind is "The Croaker", with John McGiver and Richard Thomas. Yes, Richard Thomas who would later star in "The Waltons". Only, he wasn't portraying "John Boy" in this program, far from it!

This series was meant to compete with the popular thriller anthology programs of that period, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Thriller". The former was presented by the inimitable Alfred Hitchcock and the latter by the equally-inimitable Boris Karloff. Admittedly, those were tough acts to follow. However, "Way Out" was presented by writer Roald Dahl, who somehow contrived to be come across as even creepier than his better-known competitors.

However, it is the quality of the stories that make this anthology series work. I understand that 1961 television audiences actually found them a little bit too unsettling, so that the network received some negative mail about the program. It was that, supposedly, that led to this brief series not being renewed. That was a shame because, while almost forgotten today, it was actually an excellent series. Those who are interested to checking out this nearly-forgotten masterpiece can find it on Youtube.

Way Out 1961

[gavcrimson · 8/10 · 19 February 2020]

More than a decade before Tales of the Unexpected, Roald Dahl hosted this short-lived horror/sci-fi anthology series which made it to the air roughly around the same time as The Twilight Zone, but isn't as well remembered. Of the 14 episodes, the ones I've seen have impressed so far, and certainly live up to the show's name. In the Dahl penned 'William and Mary' a ruthless husband discovers the downside to surviving death and living on as a disembodied brain, in 'False Face' (written by Larry Cohen) an actor goes to great lengths to play the Hunchback of Notre Dame, 'Side Show' sees a man fall in love with a woman who has a light bulb for a head, and there is a Carnival of Souls type vibe to 'Dissolve to Black' in which an aspiring actress begins to suspect her co-workers are the living dead (featuring make-up by Dick Smith).

Dahl's macabre sense of humour is in full force during his intros, he also smokes like a chimney in them (no doubt because the show was sponsored by a cigarette company) and gives the impression of not being the biggest fan of women...that was 1961 for you though, it was way, way out.

Still Out There and Still 'Way Out'

[robertguttman · 10/10 · 2 October 2017]

Although this show was broadcast only for a very brief period in 1961, I still remember it. indeed, it is difficult to forget. Like "The Twilight Zone", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Thriller", "Way Out" was an anthology series. However, in this case the emphasis was on the weird and the sardonic. Although the manner in which prologues presented by Roald Dahl were clearly influenced by Alfred Hitchcock and Rod Serling, Dahl bestowed upon them a bizarre and sardonic character all his own. Indeed, it sometimes seems as though he may not even be of this Earth.

While the production values were not costly, that deficiency was more than offset by the excellent quality of the writing and acting. Some truly first-rate people contributed to the making of this program.

I understand that this series was discontinued because it did not go over well in "the heartland". Viewing some of these stories, even today, one can easily perceive how that could well have been the case. Many of these stories, such as "The Croaker" (in which even the kid is dishonest) still leave the viewer feeling a little bit uneasy. "Leave It to Beaver", it isn't!

Those who crave flashy sci-fi special effects will certainly be disappointed here. However, if you enjoy interesting and original writing, good acting and stories that are truly OUT THERE, give "Way Out" a try.

Incidentally, for those who are interested, "Way Out" is still out there, on YouTube.

Only the good die young!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 2 September 2012]

"Way Out" was a very, very short-lived anthology series that SHOULD have worked. After all, it aired just before "The Twilight Zone" and was very similar in many ways. The biggest difference is that the show was hosted by Roald Dahl--and his intros and exits each show were trippy to say the least! His image was replicated (like an LSD trip) and the things he said were truly bizarre and laced with very black comedy. Heck, the show was worth seeing just for Dahl's bizarre delivery!! But the show that followed was superb also---at least I can say that on the surviving shows. About half of them are currently available for free download at archive.org--a site IMDb often links to for TV and films that are in the public domain. I urge you to visit the site and either watch the show online or download them to watch later. The worst of them I saw was excellent--and the rest should have become classics.

As to why the show did not last, perhaps the bizarreness just didn't click with audiences (though in the later 60s it would have). Or, perhaps the network execs just didn't give it a chance. All I know is that based on what I've been able to find, it was a classic waiting to happen.

The "hands in the sand" wasn't the original opener....

[schatzi1951 · 9/10 · 13 September 2018]

Spoilers! My big brother got me to watch an episode when I was 9 years old and I remember the opener was a filmy screen that slowly sharpened until it showed a large eye which shattered. Maybe that doesn't seem scary but as I remember it I about pooped myself screaming. I only had to hear the theme from "Route 66" (the show that preceded WO) and I would start shaking. This was a really freaky show! The photographer who had a potion that he used to touch up facial blemishes (and magically they would disappear on the subject's face). When his advances toward his pretty assistant are rebuffed he ages a photo of her. She returns to the studio disfigured, finds his magic fluid, and pours it on his photo. His face is half melted off and I was ready for a straightjacket! Me and horror never worked out well... I'm 67 now, my kids like to watch "Grimm" and "Stranger Things" and I KNOW they didn't get that from me!

The show of my nightmares.

[bppuppy1 · 31 October 2005]

This T.V. show aired when I was 9 years old. All I can remember about it was that the first episode scared the heck out of me, the second episode scared the heck out of my grandmother and the third episode ( having to do with nuclear war, I believe) scared the heck out of my parents. After that, we weren't allowed to watch it anymore, and I wish it was available on tape or DVD so I could see for myself what I missed. Now that I look back, after seeing everything in the horror and sci-fi field that's come out since, I wish I could see these episodes and compare them to all the shows I've loved since then, like Twilite Zone or Outer Limits.

No Twilight Zone, But Not Bad

[wyrdotter · 8/10 · 28 May 2018]

I haven't seen all episodes yes, but the ones I have are satisfyingly creepy. Incidentally, many full episodes are available on Youtube.

Not enough shows like this one

[searchanddestroy-1 · 10/10 · 1 February 2018]

Of course this was not the only show of this kind; take for instance TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, TWILIGHT ZONE, OUTER LIMITS, HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR, " " MYSTERY, JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN, LIGHTS OUT, NIGHT GALLERY, ONE STEP BEYOND, TALES FROM DARK SIDE, TALES OF TOMORROW and so on...But this one remains among the best of all. And I repeat, the making, the frame of the whole stuff looks like more th fifties than the sixties. I purchased only ten against the original fourteen of the show. But you had the equivalent in crime stories with AH PRESENTS, THRILLER, SUSPENSE etc...I highly prefer this instead of recurrent characters in episodes.

That's my own taste.

Sideshow

[ralb10 · 20 May 2005]

I agree with evilgrows comments about this episode. I first saw it when I was 10 years old and have had nightmares about it ever since. I saw it at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York, along with 7 other episodes, quite recently. It is just as I remembered it--its amazing what a ten year old mind can remember if its traumatic. Its just as creepy but not quite as scary as I remember it. The man is played by Murray Hamilton, who played Elaine Robinson's father in "The Graduate"---he's quite a familiar face. The wife is played by an almost unrecognizable Doris Roberts--- Marie on "Everybody Loves Raymond." The museum is a very interesting place to visit, and I highly recommend going there if one is in New York. Admissiion is $10, which can be applied towards a membership.

Similar show to Way Out

[tomneiman · 2 January 2006]

Does anybody remember the TV show Great Ghost Tales. This show was very similar to Way Out. First, it was filmed live in New York City. Second, the show came on at 8:30 P.M. CST. Like Way Out, the show was short lived. Great Ghost Tales ran for 12 episodes, Way Out for 14. Fourth, Richard Thomas of The Waltons fame starred in one episode of Way Out and one episode of Great Ghost Tales. Way Out aired on CBS from 3/31/61 to 7/14/61. Great Ghost Tales aired on NBC from 7/6/61 to 9/21/61. The show replacing Great Ghost Tales was Hazel. A viewer would almost get the impression that Great Ghost Tales was a continuation of Way Out on another network with another announcer, Frank Gallop. On Way Out the episode that frightened me the most was "I Heard You Calling Me" about a woman who drowned 49 years ago aboard the Titanic. She haunted the room on the 7th floor of a hotel in London. On Great Ghost Tales, it was "A Phantom of Delight". This episode was about a woman who died forty years ago on her wedding day. Wearing her wedding gown, she would haunt her bedroom that was left locked and untouched by her parents.

Are you tired of only wondering about this?.....

[peterarne2 · 19 November 2006]

.....then by all means let me know directly at the above e-mail address so that I may arrange for a copy for you. Specifically "Death Wish," the one with Charlotte Rae as an insufferably TV-addicted wife who drives her husband to plot to kill her, leading him into the realm of a very strange funeral parlor. The creepy proprietor has a beefy, Tor Johnson-like assistant, and between their combined presence, the very unsettling organ soundtrack, and the bizarre candle-lit appearance of the parlor in kinescope, it's one unforgettable set! Roald Dahl himself opens the show with great funereal wit (and as a bonus treat we can hear Rod Serling's voice at the end making a pitch for his own classic series, "The Twilight Zone"). A 'reel' gem worth repeat viewings!