# The Bard (The Twilight Zone)

"The Bard" is an episode of the American anthology television series The Twilight Zone. It first aired on CBS on May 23, 1963, and was the final episode of the hour-long fourth season. A direct satire of the American television industry, the episode features a parody of Marlon Brando by Burt Reynolds, and concerns an inept screenwriter, who through the use of black magic, employs William Shakespeare as his ghostwriter.

## Opening narration

   You've just witnessed opportunity, if not knocking, at least scratching plaintively on a closed door. Mr. Julius Moomer, a would-be writer, who if talent came 25 cents a pound, would be worth less than car fare. But, in a moment, Mr. Moomer, through the offices of some black magic, is about to embark on a brand-new career. And although he may never get a writing credit on the Twilight Zone, he's to become an integral character in it.

## Plot

A bumbling screenwriter, Julius K. Moomer, is becoming desperate for a sale after years of working on unproduced scripts. When his agent mentions that he is submitting another writer's pitch for a television series about black magic, Julius pleads to be allowed to be given first crack at the series. Knowing nothing about the subject, he attempts some research, but turns up only an actual book of black magic. While experimenting with the book, he accidentally conjures William Shakespeare, who says he is at the service of the conjurer. Deciding not to waste Shakespeare's talent on a television pilot, Julius directs him to write a film.
The producers decide that Shakespeare's script, The Tragic Cycle, though archaic to the point of being almost incomprehensible, has potential. His task finished, Shakespeare proposes to leave. Julius argues that if he stops writing now, Shakespeare will lose his chance at Hollywood fame and become forgotten. Shakespeare at last says he will attend a rehearsal for the film and stay on if it does justice to his script. At the rehearsal, he is so horrified at the revisions by the sponsor that he assaults the leading man and storms out. Julius's next assignment, a TV special on American history, seems doomed to failure until he remembers his book on black magic, and uses it to conjure up Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Pocahontas, Daniel Boone, Benjamin Franklin, and Theodore Roosevelt to act as consultants.

## Closing narration

   Mr. Julius Moomer, a streetcar conductor with delusions of authorship, and if the tale just told seems a little tall, remember a thing called poetic license, and another thing called the Twilight Zone.

## Cast

* Jack Weston as Julius Moomer
* John Williams as William Shakespeare
* Burt Reynolds as Rocky Rhodes
* Henry Lascoe as Gerald Hugo
* John McGiver as Mr. Shannon
* Howard McNear as Bramhoff
* Judy Strangis as Cora
* Marge Redmond as Secretary
* Doro Merande as Sadie
* William Lanteau as Dolan
* Clegg Hoyt as Bus driver
* John Newton as TV interviewer
* John Bose as Daniel Boone (uncredited)
* Rudy Bowman as Robert E. Lee (uncredited)

## Production

CBS extended the length of The Twilight Zone's episodes for the fourth season from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Rod Serling criticized this decision as it led to episodes being "too padded" and that On Thursday We Leave for Home was the only "effective show this season".
The Bard was produced by Herbert Hirschman, directed by David Butler, and scored by Fred Steiner. George T. Clemens was the director of photography, art direction was done by George Davis and Edward Carfagno, and Edward Curtiss was the editor. Sterling's script for The Bard was a satire of television writing and it was one of six episodes with a major appearance of a historical figure (alongside The Man in the Bottle, Back There, The Passersby, Showdown with Rance McGrew, and He's Alive).
Jack Weston previously appeared on the show in The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street. John Williams was known for his work in Alfred Hitchcock's films. Burt Reynolds was selected to play a stand-in for Marlon Brando due to how closely he looked like Brando and his impersonation.

## Reception and legacy

The episode aired on May 23, 1963, the last one of the season. Percy Shain, writing for The Boston Globe, gave the episode 3 out of 5 stars. Francis Murphy, writing for The Oregonian, stated that the show drifted into "the worst TV show of the season" with The Bard due to Weston's poor acting and the "great idea" of the script falling "miserably flat". The Bard was listed as the second worst episode of The Twilight Zone by Paste in 2023, and /Film in 2024, only behind The Incredible World of Horace Ford in /Film's ranking and I Dream of Genie in Paste's ranking.
Arianna Rebolini selected the episode as the 40th best in a BuzzFeed article. Emily St. James, writing for The A.V. Club, gave it a rating of A- due to Weston and Williams' acting and the humor. David Chase stated that it was one of his favorite episodes and it was included in The Sopranos episode Made in America. Marc Scott Zicree, writing in The Twilight Zone Companion, stated that the episode was "both entertaining and accurate".
William Bibbiani, writing for /Film in 2023, noted that one of the script ideas proposed by Moomer was similar to Love, American Style. James Maddox wrote in a Game Rant article that Moomer's reliance on existing works and historical figures was a precursor to ChatGPT and other AI-assisted writing tools.