''Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond'' (also known as ''One Step Beyond'') is an American

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

created by Merwin Gerard. The original series was broadcast for three seasons by the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

(ABC) from January 1959 to July 1961.

Overview

Created by Merwin Gerard and produced by Collier Young, ''One Step Beyond'' was hosted by John Newland, "your guide to the supernatural" (also credited as "Our guide into the world of the unknown"). Newland, who also directed every episode, presented tales that explored paranormal events and various situations that defied "logical" explanation. ''One Step Beyond'' purported only to tell stories based on "human record" (documented historical events). Unlike other anthology programs, the ABC network series episodes were presented in the form of straightforward 30-minute docudramas, all said to be based on "human record" (implying historically factual events); however, the incidents depicted were closer to popular

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

s dramatized for the screen. The program included the corporate name of sponsor Alcoa in its title for its initial run. In syndication, the program title became simply ''One Step Beyond''. ''One Step Beyond'' filled the time slot at 10 p.m. Tuesday vacated by the crime/police reality show ''

Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

''. Among its varied tales, ''One Step Beyond'' dealt with premonition of death ("The Day the World Wept: The Lincoln Story") and disaster ("Tidal Wave", "Night of April 14th"); the existence of ghosts ("The Last Round", "The Death Waltz"); and wildly improbable coincidence ("Reunion"). Paula Raymond appeared in the third episode of the first season, initially broadcast on February 3, 1959, in the episode titled "Emergency Only," which also featured

Jocelyn Brando Jocelyn Brando (November 18, 1919November 27, 2005) was an American actress and writer. She is best known for her role as Katie Bannion in the film noir ''The Big Heat'' (1953). Early life Brando, the older sister of Marlon Brando, was born ...

as a screaming fortune teller at a party.

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

and

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

play husband and wife in the episode "The Visitor."

"The Sacred Mushroom"

A January 1961 episode, "The Sacred Mushroom," deals with the discovery of mind-altering drugs. Newland traveled to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

where he met with a local shaman who was an initiate in ritual use of

magic mushrooms Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, are a polyphyletic informal group of fungi that contain psilocybin which turns into psilocin upon ingestion. Biological genera containing psilocybin mushrooms include ''Psilocybe'', ...

. The then-unknown mushrooms were purportedly able to increase the user's psychic powers. Newland ingested several mushrooms and allowed his reactions to be filmed for broadcast. This was the only episode of the entire series to have a relatively reality-based "documentary" tone, rather than the scripted docudramas that comprised all other episodes. Although the subject matter (the enhancement of psychic powers) accorded with the rest of the series, this episode was somewhat controversial and was omitted from the syndication; it has been seen only rarely since its original broadcast. However, according to Newland, it was the most popular episode of the series. A complete transcript of this episode is reproduced in chapter seven of ''The Sacred Mushrooms of Mexico'' by Brian Akers.

Writing staff

The show used a large number of writers. Larry Marcus was the most prolific contributor, with over 30 episodes to his credit. Marcus would later win an Emmy for his work on '' Route 66'', and receive an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for ''

The Stunt Man ''The Stunt Man'' is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Richard Rush, starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, and Barbara Hershey. The film was adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and Rush from the 1970 novel of the same name by Paul Brodeu ...

''. Other relatively frequent contributors included show creator Merwin Gerard; Don M. Mankiewicz (who would later write for '' Star Trek'');

Gabrielle Upton Gabrielle Cecelia Upton (born 16 December 1964), an Australian politician, is the member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Vaucluse for the Liberal Party since 2011. Upton is currently serving as the Parlia ...

(who wrote for a wide range of anthology shows, including '' The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'', and was later head writer of ''

The Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

''); and

Howard Rodman Howard A. Rodman is a screenwriter, author and professor. He is the former President of the Writers Guild of America, West, professor and former chair of the writing division at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, alumnus of Telluride Associatio ...

(later story editor of ''Route 66'' and creator of ''

Harry O ''Harry O'', sometimes spelled ''Harry-O'', is an American Detective fiction, private detective series that aired for two seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen, and Jerry Thorpe was exec ...

'').

Charles Beaumont Charles Beaumont (January 2, 1929 – February 21, 1967) was an American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres.Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, "Beaumont, Charles" in David Pringle, ed., '' ...

wrote two episodes of ''One Step Beyond'' just before jumping over to ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'', to which he was a major contributor. Francis Cockrell also wrote two episodes; he was a frequent writer on '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' and would later contribute to the second season of '' The Outer Limits''.

Guest stars

Many famous and some not-yet-famous actors appeared in episodes of the series, including the following:
*

Luana Anders Luana Anders (born Luana Margo Anderson, May 12, 1938 – July 21, 1996) was an American film and television actress and screenwriter. Career Anders began her career with supporting roles for American International Pictures. Some of the early f ...

("The Burning Girl") * Tod Andrews ("Brainwave") * John Beal ("The Lovers") *

and

(together in "The Visitor") *

Edward Binns Edward Binns (September 12, 1916 – December 4, 1990) was an American actor. He had a wide-spanning career in film and television, often portraying competent, hard working and purposeful characters in his various roles. He is best known for hi ...

("Vanishing Point") *

Whit Bissell Whitner Nutting Bissell (October 25, 1909 – March 5, 1996) was an American character actor. Early life Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell and Helen Nutting Bissell. He was educated at the Allen-S ...

("Brainwave") *

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 196 ...

("Gypsy") * Charles Bronson ("The Last Round") * Paul Carr ("Reunion") *

Walter Burke Walter Lawrence Burke (August 25, 1908 – August 4, 1984) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television whose career in entertainment spanned over a half century. Although he was a native of New York, Burke's Irish ances ...

("The Front Runner") *

Veronica Cartwright Veronica Cartwright (born April 20, 1949) is a British-American actress. She is known for appearing in science fiction and horror films, and has earned numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. As a child actress, ...

("The Haunting") * Don Dubbins ("The Navigator") 1st Mate *

Louise Fletcher Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress who portrayed the antagonist Nurse Ratched in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA Award, a ...

("The Open Window") *

Byron Foulger Byron Kay Foulger (August 27, 1898 – April 4, 1970) was an American character actor who over a 50-year career performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions. Early years Born in Ogden, Utah, Byron was the second of four ...

("Hong Kong Passage") * Arthur Franz ("The Call from Tomorrow") *

Skip Homeier George Vincent Homeier (October 5, 1930 – June 25, 2017), known professionally as Skip Homeier, was an American actor who started his career at the age of eleven and became a child star. Career Child actor Homeier was born in Chicago, Illino ...

("The Bride Possessed") * Ronald Howard ("The Haunting") *

Werner Klemperer Werner Klemperer (March 22, 1920 – December 6, 2000) was an American actor. He was known for playing Colonel Wilhelm Klink on the CBS television sitcom ''Hogan's Heroes'', for which he twice won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...

("The Haunted U-Boat") *

Robert Lansing Robert Lansing (; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as Counselor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I, and then as United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wi ...

("The Voice") *

Wesley Lau Wesley Lau (June 18, 1921August 30, 1984) was an American film and television actor, and occasional screenwriter. Early life Wesley Lau was born and raised in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. His parents were Albert and Agnes ( Feldner) Lau. He graduated ...

("The Haunted U-BOat") ("The Mask") *

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomina ...

and Marcel Dalio (together in "The Dark Room") * Christopher Lee ("The Sorcerer") *

Robert Loggia Salvatore "Robert" Loggia ( , ; January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for ...

("The Hand") *

Jack Lord John Joseph Patrick Ryan (December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998), best known by his stage name, Jack Lord, was an American television, film and Broadway actor, director and producer. He starred as Steve McGarrett in the CBS television progra ...

("Father Image") * Patrick Macnee ("The Night of April 14th") *

John Marley John Marley (born Mortimer Marlieb, October 17, 1907 – May 22, 1984) was an American actor who was known for his role as Phil Cavalleri in ''Love Story'' and as Jack Woltz—the defiant film mogul who awakens to find the severed head o ...

("The Night of the Kill") *

Ross Martin Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

("Echo") *

Patty McCormack Patricia McCormack (born Patricia Ellen Russo in 1945) is an American actress with a career in theater, films, and television. McCormack began her career as a child actress. She is perhaps best known for her performance as Rhoda Penmark in Max ...

("Make Me Not a Witch") *

Ann McCrea Ann McCrea (born February 25, 1931) is an American film and television actress. She is known for playing Midge Kelsey in the American sitcom television series ''The Donna Reed Show''. Life and career McCrea was born in DuBois, Pennsylvania t ...

("Night of the Kill") *

Yvette Mimieux Yvette Carmen Mimieux (January 8, 1942 – January 18, 2022) was an American film and television actress. Her breakout role was in '' The Time Machine'' (1960). She was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards during her acting career. Early li ...

("The Clown") *

Elizabeth Montgomery Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1932 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She is best remembered for her leading role as the witch Samantha Stephens on the televisi ...

("The Death Waltz") *

André Morell Cecil André Mesritz (20 August 1909 – 28 November 1978), known professionally as André Morell, was an English actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s. His best known screen roles were as ...

("The Avengers") * Patrick O'Neal ("The Return of Mitchell Campion") *

Maria Palmer Maria Palmer (born Maria Pichler, 5 September 1917 – 6 September 1981) was an Austrian-born American actress. Early life Palmer was born and raised in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Vienna, Austria) on 5 September 1917. She first appeared on st ...

("The Secret") *

Edward Platt Edward Cuthbert Platt (February 14, 1916 – March 19, 1974) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of the Chief in the 1965–70 NBC/ CBS television series: ''Get Smart''. With his deep voice and mature appearance, he played an ...

("The Burning Girl") *

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

("The Confession") * Suzanne Pleshette ("Delusion") * Paula Raymond ("Emergency Only") *

Pernell Roberts Pernell Elven Roberts Jr. (May 18, 1928 – January 24, 2010) was an American stage, film, and television actor, activist, and singer. In addition to guest-starring in over 60 television series, he was best known for his roles as Ben Cartw ...

("The Vision") *

Albert Salmi Albert Salmi (March 11, 1928 – April 22, 1990) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Best known for his work as a character actor, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. Early life Salmi was born and raised ...

("The Peter Hurkos Story") Part I & Part II *

William Schallert William Joseph Schallert (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is known for his roles on '' Richard Diamond, Privat ...

("Tidal Wave" and "Epilogue") *

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...

("The Promise") *

Olan Soule Olan Evart Soule (February 28, 1909 – February 1, 1994) was an American actor, who had professional credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in 200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films. Soul ...

("The Navigator") Stowaway/Deadman *

Warren Stevens Warren Albert Stevens (November 2, 1919 – March 27, 2012) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. Early life and career Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens entered the United States Naval Academy in 1937 but was medical ...

("The Riddle") *

Torin Thatcher Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher (15 January 1905 – 4 March 1981) was a British actor who was noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains. Personal life Thatcher was born in Bombay, British India, to British parents, Torin James Blair T ...

("Doomsday") *

Harry Townes Harry Rhett Townes (September 18, 1914 – May 23, 2001) was an American actor who later became an Episcopalian minister. Early life Harry Townes was born in Huntsville, Alabama. the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Townes. He had a brother and ...

("The Bride Possessed") * Yvette Vickers and

Mike Connors Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series ''Mannix'' from 1967 to 1975, a role which earne ...

(together in "The Aerialist") *

Robert Webber Robert Laman Webber (October 14, 1924 – May 19, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in dozens of films and television series, roles that included Juror No. 12 in the 1957 film ''12 Angry Men''. Early life Webber was born in Santa Ana, ...

("The Captain and His Guests") *

Peter Wyngarde Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert, 23 August 1927 – 15 January 2018) was a British television, stage and film actor from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s. He was best known for portraying the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist ...

("Nightmare...")

Production

The last 13 episodes of the third season were filmed at MGM Studios, Borehamwood, England, due to a suggestion by Newland. According to Newland, "I thought it would give a little boost to the show because Great Britain offered good actors, good situations, and good settings. We sought permission from Alcoa, and they okayed it."

Music

Harry Lubin Harry Lubin (March 5, 1906 – July 21, 1977) was an American composer, arranger, and pianist. He is known for composing the theme and much of the music for the second season of the television series '' The Outer Limits'' and ''One Step Beyond'' ...

composed the music for the series with a soundtrack album, ''Music from 'One Step Beyond released by Decca Records (DL 8970) in 1960. The most well-known tracks of the series were entitled: "Weird" (originally composed by Lubin for the score of an April 1955 '' Loretta Young Show'' episode, "Feeling No Pain"), usually played when the supernatural aspect of the episode was being discussed, and "Fear" that became the musical theme of the series.

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

included a cover version of the show's main theme music "Fear" in their highly acclaimed 1964

Dolton Records Dolton Records was a record label based in Seattle that was originally known as Dolphin Records. It was initially owned by Bob Reisdorff and Bonnie Guitar. Success for the label came early with "Come Softly to Me" by the Fleetwoods, the first si ...

album ''

The Ventures in Space ''The Ventures in Space'' is an LP album by the guitar-based instrumental group the Ventures, released in 1964. Information on its jacket states that "All of these unusual & other-worldly sounds have been created with musical instruments rather t ...

''. The second season of '' The Outer Limits'' used a variation of "Fear" for the end titles. A heavy metal cover of the title song was recorded by the band

Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appear ...

on their album '' The Director's Cut'' in 2001.

Episodes

Season 1 (1959)

Season 2 (1959–60)

Season 3 (1960–61)

Syndication

After its cancellation during 1961, the series continued to be shown throughout the United States in off-network syndication until the early 1980s. For its re-release to television for the

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. ...

during the 1990s, the initial and end titles were given new theme music and graphics designed for the time, as if the show had continued into the 1990s. These episodes were also edited for time from 25 minutes to 22 minutes. Despite the public domain status for most episodes, the series' remaining copyrights belongs to its distributor

CBS Television Distribution CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Television Distribution, Inc. and CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Inc.) is an American television distribution company owned by CBS Studios, part of CBS Entertainment Group, a division of Paramount Glo ...

. CTD is the successor to the series' previous distributors, which include ABC Films successor

Worldvision Enterprises Worldvision Enterprises, Inc. was an American television program and home video distributor established in 1954 as ABC Film Syndication, the domestic and overseas program distribution arm of the ABC Television Network. They primarily licensed ...

and CTD's predecessor

Paramount Domestic Television Paramount Domestic Television (PDT) was the television distribution arm of American television production company Paramount Television, once the TV arm of Paramount Pictures. It was formed in 1982 originally as Paramount Domestic Television and V ...

. Episodes are currently broadcast by the

Retro Television Network Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through t ...

available as a digital subchannel in some US markets. Full episodes are also available for digital streaming on Amazon Prime (charge per episode as of 2021), FMC Movie Classics (free),

Tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...

(free), and Amazing Classics (free). In May 2021 the UK nostalgia channel

Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage-film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky channel 343, but later also became available on Freeview, Freesat, and Virgin Media. It is on air for 24 h ...

began to broadcast the series, with the first episode airing on 11 May.

Home media

During 2007, Mill Creek Entertainment released a 4-disc Region 1 DVD set entitled ''The Very Best of One Step Beyond''. The set contains 50 episodes. The quality varied drastically from episode to episode. On September 15, 2009,

CBS Home Entertainment CBS Home Entertainment (formerly CBS Video Enterprises, Inc., MGM/CBS Home Video, CBS/Fox Video and CBS Video, currently branded as CBS DVD for DVD releases and CBS Blu-ray for Blu-ray releases) is a home entertainment company owned by Paramoun ...

(distributed by

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

under this label) released ''One Step Beyond - The Official 1st Season'' on Region 1 DVD. ''One Step Beyond'' is the first pre-1973 in-house production of ABC to get a DVD release from CBS/Paramount. Other shows once distributed by ABC Films (which became

) were either released by CBS/Paramount because the company owns the libraries of the actual producers of the shows (such as '' The Fugitive'' or ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III ...

''), or were released by different companies because ancillary rights are owned by other entities (such as '' George of the Jungle''). The Film Chest Media Group released the series in a six-disc Collector's Box on April 7, 2015. The box features only 70 episodes of the series, however (mostly episodes from the first two seasons). Very few of the third-season episodes are on this set. Delta Entertainment Corporation in 2005 released a collection of 33 (presumably public domain) episodes on eight region-free DVDs.

''The Next Step Beyond''

During 1978, the series was revived partly by Gerard and Young, with John Newland hosting and directing most of the episodes; the new series was named '' The Next Step Beyond''. The series was broadcast for one year with 25 episodes, 14 of which were remakes of ''One Step Beyond'' episodes.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0052442
''One Step Beyond'' Intro on YouTube
accessed October 31, 2014.

accessed October 31, 2014. 1959 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series 1960s American anthology television series American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows Paranormal television English-language television shows Television shows shot at MGM-British Studios