Written by Earl Hamner, Jr. of The Waltons, this episode of The Twilight Zone is a favorite of mine. It has a totally wacky premise, about aliens disguised as 50’s greaser bikers moving into a 60’s residential neighborhood, like a sci-fi version of The Wild One. Harvey Lembeck as Eric Von Zipper would have fit right in with these guys.
But it’s Shelley Fabares who makes this episode worth watching. By then, Shelley’s hit Johnny Angel was in the distant past — two years before — and she was making only guest appearances on The Donna Reed Show. Nine days after Black Leather Jackets aired on January 31, 1964, the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.
P.S. I caught “Mary’s Growing Pain’s” again on MeTV the other morning and enjoyed it even more the second time. I just loved Mary all dolled up with the ermine stole and heavy lipstick at the movie premiere, rejecting her old boyfriend. The show had a lot more clever sarcasm and good acting than many gave it credit for.
Love it. Shelley is going to the library … to meet Donna Reed as Mary Hatch the librarian in a world where George Bailey doesn’t exist. Sorry, couldn’t resist! I don’t even remember this episode. What a treat.