One of the most original and influential movies in the history of cinema was "Sunset Boulevard", that's an inarguable fact. Slightly more than a decade later the storyline of frustrated and faded female movie starlets even evolved into an entirely separate new sub genre with "What ever happened to Baby Jane"; namely the Grand Dame Guignol" movies or – slightly less flattering – "Hagsploitation" flicks. This little episode of "The Twilight Zone" somewhat floats in between these two cinematic milestones, in terms of release date, obviously, but also in terms of content and character drawings. Admittedly this nearly isn't one of the best episodes of the first "Twilight Zone" season, but it's still worth checking out because of the acting performances (notably Ida Lupino and Martin Balsam) and because the topic of melancholic elderly actresses is always endearing. Barbara Trenton was a star and symbol of beauty during the '30s and early '40s with many great cinematic classics on her repertoire and plenty of fond memories of fairy-tale romances she had with her male co-stars. Now, 25 years later, Barbara locks herself up in her private home theater and firmly believes that she's still young and gorgeous. In fact – Barbara blames Hollywood casting directors that she doesn't get any suitable roles anymore. If her friend and agent Danny arranges an audition for her, Barbara furiously leaves the meeting because she's too young to play the role of a mother and even a confrontation with her former silver screen love-interest doesn't bring her down to earth. Barbara so desperately wishes to relive her glory days that it overcomes her
in the twilight zone! There's nothing spooky or morbid about the plot of "The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine" and the denouement is more of a fantasy twist, which is why I personally don't consider this a very successful episode. Still, it's a joy to behold Ida Lupino's performance. She was truly one of the most underrated actresses of her generation and also a very gifted director! Did you know she directed one of the most disturbingly realistic thrillers ever? If not, check out the 1953 classic "The Hitch-Hiker" straight away! Martin Balsam ("Psycho", "Cape Fear") once again proves that he was one of the most reliable supportive actors ever.