An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (French: La Rivière du hibou = "Owl River") is a 1962 French short film based on the short story of the same name by Ambrose Bierce first published in the 1891 collection Tales of Soldiers and Civilians. It was directed by Robert Enrico and produced by Marcel Ichac and Paul de Roubaix with music by Henri Lanoe. It won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Awards. It was also screened on American television as an episode of The Twilight Zone.
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Peyton Farquhar, a Civil War civilian prisoner and spy, is about to be hanged from Owl Creek Bridge. As he is dropped, the rope breaks, and as he swims away the soldier's bullets miss him. After avoiding capture, he arrives at his home, and sees his wife and child. He runs toward his wife and she toward him. Just as they are about to fall into each other's arms, however, the scene cuts to Farquhar being dropped from the platform and hanged on the bridge. The entire escape was a dream or hallucination that he experienced in the moments before his death.
| "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" | |||
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| The Twilight Zone episode | |||
Roger Jacquet in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” |
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| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 142 |
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| Directed by | Robert Enrico | ||
| Written by | Robert Enrico, based on a short story by Ambrose Bierce | ||
| Original air date | February 28, 1964 | ||
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Roger Jacquet : Peyton Farquhar (Confederate Spy) |
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| List of Twilight Zone episodes | |||
Two years after its production, the film was screened on American TV as part of the fantasy/science fiction show The Twilight Zone. Producer William Froug saw the film and decided to buy the rights to syndicate it on American television. The transaction cost The Twilight Zone $25,000 – significantly less than the average of $65,000 they expended on producing their own episodes. However, Froug’s purchase allowed for the film to be aired only twice (the first airing was on February 28, 1964). Consequently, it is not included on The Twilight Zone’s syndication package (although it is included on Image Entertainment's DVD box set of the original series and on the DVD Treasures of the Twilight Zone). The episode's introduction is notable for Rod Serling breaking the fourth wall even more than usual, as he explains how the film was shot overseas and later picked up to air as part of The Twilight Zone.
Marc Scott Zicree's The Twilight Zone Companion incorrectly states the French film was purchased for $10,000. This mistake has been reprinted in a number of books since the 1984 publication. The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic by Martin Grams correctly verifies the purchase price as $20,000 plus $5,000 additional costs for reediting.
According to Zicree, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was the last episode of the classic Twilight Zone to be "produced" (presumably referencing the reediting and the addition of footage of Rod Serling, as production of the series was cancelled afterwards.) It was not, however, the last episode of the series to be broadcast.
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