The Fountain of Youth
Original title: Fountain of Youth
- Episode aired Sep 16, 1958
- 27m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
532
YOUR RATING
A couple is conflicted when they are offered a chance at youth.A couple is conflicted when they are offered a chance at youth.A couple is conflicted when they are offered a chance at youth.
- Awards
- 1 win
Photos
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was intended as the pilot episode of a TV series for Desilu, consisting of short stories with a sting in the tail, all introduced by Orson Welles. However, Welles was adamant that he "didn't want it to be like Hitchcock" - although the huge success of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was probably what inspired the idea. Welles instead planned to narrate each story, weaving in and out of the story and talking directly to the audience as he does in this pilot, thereby having the largest role without actually being a character in the plot. At the end of "The Fountain Of Youth", he actually mentions "next week's story" by name. However, it was never made and the series did not eventuate; Welles may have been compensated, perhaps, by the fact that this pilot did win the Peabody Award that year.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Greatest Show You Never Saw (1996)
Featured review
An interesting look into what could have been
These anthology shows, like Alfred Hitchcock presents, Twilight Zone, the Outer Limits, and so on, are always about the stories told, and not so often about how you tell them. Orson Welles' attempt at such a show, shows a heavy involvement from his side into the production. He appears not only in the beginning and end, like Alfred Hitchcock and Rod Serling, but throughout the episode. He's the narrator that's not only keeping the story together, but literally telling it to you. It's almost like a radio play, in that sense. He experiments by showing photos in some parts of the story, and actual scenes in other. This lets him easily (and perhaps more importantly, cheaply) create a story that takes place in different locations and over a span of time.
But how well does it work? Well enough! Despite all that can be said about style, these are still not better than their stories (and often: twists). The story in this one could just as well has appeared in both Twilight Zone and Hitchcock presents. It's not a bad story, if a bit predictable, but nothing you could imagine Welles making a feature film of or anything in that sense.
I quite enjoyed it, and I'm sure most people will. Perhaps it was just as well Welles did not get to make more of these, or perhaps we lost out on what could have been.
But how well does it work? Well enough! Despite all that can be said about style, these are still not better than their stories (and often: twists). The story in this one could just as well has appeared in both Twilight Zone and Hitchcock presents. It's not a bad story, if a bit predictable, but nothing you could imagine Welles making a feature film of or anything in that sense.
I quite enjoyed it, and I'm sure most people will. Perhaps it was just as well Welles did not get to make more of these, or perhaps we lost out on what could have been.
helpful•10
- peefyn
- Nov 17, 2015
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Orson Welles Show
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime27 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content