The Twilight Zone (TV Series) The Whole Truth (1961) User Reviews

Truth can have consequences

[reddy-19 · 5/10 · 11 February 2007]

This tongue in cheek episode is best considered in the context of the time of its first airing; it was the very same day Jack Kennedy was inaugurated. Used car salesmen had already joined politicians as having a reputation as being less than truthful. America was embroiled in the cold war with the USSR. A story weaving all these points together is done best in the Twilight Zone.

Harvey Hunnicutt (Jack Carson) is the prototypical used car dealer / con man. He trades for a dilapidated old Ford Model A, only to discover he can no longer tell a lie.

This episode was one of 6 produced on videotape, with all it's jitters, excessive contrast, and limited sound quality. All the action appears on a used car lot at night, thus you won't mind the quality issues as much. This was one of Jack Carson's last great performances; he succumbed to cancer two years later. A young Arte Johnson (later of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) makes a brief appearance.

The finale demonstrates Serling's wishful thinking for a worried America, as it began the Camelot of the Kennedy era.

This episodes legacy? Look no further than Jim Carrey's LiarLiar.

Haunted car comedy

[darrenpearce111 · 5/10 · 24 January 2014]

Very light comedy about a used car salesman, Harvey Hunnicutt (Jack Carson) who buys a haunted car that makes the owner tell the truth. None of the trademark TZ inventiveness here, although the idea is played out nicely enough. The fact that Hunnicutt literally cant lie gets him in trouble with his wife, his employee, and loses him custom. There's a strange little role for Artie Johnson, despairing at his newly-honest boss having him write accurate signs for the cars on sale. A famous man from the era turns out to be a character in the narrative and the young may have to look up history to see who he was. As to who Jack Carson was, I thought he was great as the cop in the crazy old comedy movie 'Arsenic and Old Lace'. He's also remembered for being in 'Mildred Pierce' and many more films.

So on the whole this is a Zone too light to be enjoyed any other way than as light relief after a creepy episode. However, there is- well..a certain truth about it all.

The Haunted Car

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 26 May 2018]

When the car salesman Harvey Hunnicutt buys a used car from an old man, he learns that the car is haunted and he will be forced to tell the truth about his cars.

"The Whole Truth" is a funny episode of "The Twilight Zone", with the story of a used cars dealer that is forced to tell only the truth to his clients. The situations are funny but the conclusion is conventional. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Toda Verdade" ("The Whole Truth")

Nothing But The Truth

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 26 October 2014]

Jack Carson plays unethical but friendly used car salesman Harvey Hunicut, who one day thinks he has outsmarted yet another customer by shortchanging him for the worth of their car, but is in for a nasty surprise when this particular car proves to be haunted, forcing its owner to always tell the truth, which for a man like Hunicut and the business he's in, proves most inconvenient indeed... Arte Johnson plays his long-suffering assistant Irv. Another of the videotaped episodes doesn't come off too badly here, though story details remain quite vague of course, episode is still amusing, and final joke of who owns the car now is a gem.

"Liar Liar"; - Twilight Zone style!

[Coventry · 6/10 · 31 August 2018]

I think I was about 12-13 years old when I first saw the Jim Carry comedy "Liar Liar" on TV. Although nothing special whatsoever, I still thought the concept of a 'professional' liar being uncontrollably forced to tell the truth was refreshing and original. Now, 20 years and 2 full seasons of "The Twilight Zone" later, I learned that many, many plots of which I once thought they were refreshing and original are blatantly copied from episodes of this magnificent series created by Rod Serling. "Liar Liar", albeit maybe not intentionally, is nothing but an extended and slapstick version of "The Whole Truth"; a nifty and wit episode in season two. Smooth and eloquent used car salesman Hunnicutt buys an antique car from an old gentleman before he even allows the man to explain that the car is cursed. Starting from the deal, and until he sells it again, Hunnicutt is unable to lie and do his usual manipulating sales talks. In fact, he even truthfully informs them that his merchandise is worthless junk! "The Whole Truth" is again a more comical entry, but the story is ingenious, and Jack Carson is downright terrific as the slimy Hunnicutt.

Works well enough...

[Anonymous_Maxine · 6/10 · 3 July 2008]

I have noticed on the IMDb review boards that this is one of the less popular twilight zone episodes. I agree with certain aspects, it's shot on video and comes with all of the limitations that that implies, the set looks cheap and the story is hardly the most interesting thing in the world, but it was interesting enough, at least in that it seems now that Liar Liar may very well be a total rip off of this single episode. If you can watch this movie and not think about Jim Carrey then you must not have seen the movie.

In the show's defense, this one paints a much clearer picture of the society into which it was released, in it's suggestion that all car salesmen and politicians are liars (this doesn't seem to have changed much), but particularly in the ending of the show, which will now be lost on the majority of modern audiences unless they are more familiar with American history than, sadly, most Americans are.

The show was released on the same day that Kennedy was inaugurated, giving it that strange feel that sometimes happens when imagining the normalcy that was taking place just before a national tragedy, although I have to imagine that at the time it must have felt just a bit like some political preachiness.

This is one of the simpler twilight zone episodes in almost every way, but the story moves along well enough despite it's relative lack of creativity, and the performances are satisfactory. It's not the best episode, obviously, but I have to say that you should be able to tell without even seeing it that the hugely negative reviews here on our beloved IMDb are blowing the drawbacks out of proportion...

I liked it -- no word of a lie!

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 6 March 2022]

It's strange how opinions can drastically differ: I hated the much-loved The Twilight Zone episode The Night Of The Meek, but this one, which seems to have mostly garnered negative comments, entertained me throughout, despite a ridiculous ending that even Rod Serling refers to as 'far-fetched, way-out, tilt-of-centre'. Sure, it's not all that thought provoking, but the basic premise is clever and it's funny, so much so that the basic premise would be 'borrowed' for the Jim Carrey movie Liar Liar.

Jack Carson plays fast-talking, wheeler-dealer used car salesman Harvey Hunnicut, who makes a living from being economical with the truth. However, business takes a nosedive when Harvey buys an A-model car from an old man, only to learn that the vehicle is haunted and, as its owner, he is doomed to tell nothing but the truth. This set up leads to plenty of amusing moments as the brash salesman loses potential customers, tells his wife about his secret poker nights with his pals, and admits to his employee Irv (Arte Johnson) that he has no intention of giving him a pay rise. The only way out for Harvey is to sell the car, but can he do so without being able to tell a few porkies?

It's easy to see why Hollywood would be keen to recycle such an ingenious idea - the premise is pure gold: Carson is a riot as he struggles to come to terms with life without lying, and making one potential buyer for the haunted car a politician is a stroke of genius. The ending, in which Hunnicut finally sells the car to none other than Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, and then informs President Kennedy of the situation, is highly implausible, but hey, stranger things have happened in The Twilight Zone.

Amusing comic episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 1 September 2017]

Unscrupulous used car salesman Harvey Hunnicut (robustly played to the lip-smacking sleazy hilt by Jack Carson) purchases an antique automobile that makes him tell only the truth.

Director James Sheldon keeps the enjoyable story moving along at a quick pace and ably crafts an amiable lighthearted tone. Both Carson and Rod Serling's witty script have a ball with Harvey's cheap fast-talking pitter patter; it's a hoot to watch this shyster's long dormant conscience kick in with a vengeance and get the best of him. Moreover, there are solid supporting performances from Loring Smith as shrewd, but unctuous politician Honest Luther Gambley, George Chandler as a kindly old man, and Arte Johnson as Harvey's fed-up assistant Irv. A funny show.

Thud!

[dougdoepke · 18 August 2006]

There were some weak entries prior to The Whole Truth, but this is arguably the first complete flop. I realize some fans hate to admit that a few episodes-- especially before the final year-- were not just weak, but real duds. Nonetheless, some of them were, and this is one of them, while the only reason to bother with commenting at all is to publicly acknowledge the fact.

For whatever reason, this half-hour lacks style, wit, suspense, mood, depth, chills or any other of the many attributes that lifted the series to classic heights. What it does have is a pedestrian script and plodding direction which ask us to find humor in the fact that used-car salesmen and politicians tell lies. What a surprise-- perhaps there's also humor in shooting fish in a barrel. It also has one of the lamest endings of the 160-plus episodes, a politically correct reference bound to be lost on younger generations. What it does have is Jack Carson, one of Hollywood's most versatile performers, who mugs it up manfully, but can't redeem what is irredeemable. The premise-- forcing professional prevaricators to admit their lies-- may have sounded promising at the concept stage, but the results barely merit a 2 rating. However, Serling is in good company-- even Shakespeare had his share of flops. Fortunately for The Bard, his don't turn up on TV.

Badly Dated and Quite Dull?

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 14 November 2008]

Every show, no matter how successful, fires a few blanks. This is one of them. It's about a used car salesman/dealer who finds himself with a car that forces him to tell the truth. Of course, the truth is the end of his business as he drives customer after customer away. It also affects his personal life. This is an interesting premise that has carried through to modern movies. The thing that dooms this one is when it gets into topical politics. Not only have we lost our connection (unless you're as old as I am), but the whole conclusion is so far fetched that it is beyond reasonable belief. There is also a talky lack of a spark here. It sort of drones on.

Maybe not the best but far from the worst..

[jazzfi · 5/10 · 14 August 2012]

The Twilight Zone episodes captured on tape are far better indoors i.e. The Lateness of the Hour, because of their soap-opera effect so this one filmed outdoors seems a trifle inappropriate.. none the less, I love most of this episode for a)the music which opens the scene, b) the now classic cars strewn throughout the lot, and then c) of course, the very cleverly written and yes, funny dialogue delivered by the masterful Jack Carson that very few if anyone could have done with the same color and expressions.. that's where it ends for me.. it loses its shine when Hunnicutt is unable to lie to Luther the politician, but then later is able to gild the lilly to the USSR representative.. the episode carried it's charm up until the politicization of the cold war and the Soviet leader's appearance, but the tale still has it's moments.. Enjoy!

Cute throwback to a time long gone

[b-44169 · 9/10 · 25 April 2022]

There are topical references to politics at the time: JFK is one. Can you see Nikita Khrushchev?

The video (kinescope?) is awesome. Lots of detail shows in the shiny old cars that wouldn't with B&W film stock.

If I sold used cars for a living i won't like this episode.

The Whole Truth

[Metal_Robots · 6/10 · 11 March 2024]

If you're looking for a laugh, you might want to check out the Twilight Zone episode "The Whole Truth". It's about a used car salesman who buys a haunted car that forces him to tell the truth. Sounds hilarious, right? Well, not exactly. The episode tries to be a comedy, but it falls flat on its face. The jokes are lame, the acting is wooden, and the plot is predictable. The only thing that's funny is how bad it is. The episode is so bad, it's good. You'll laugh at how ridiculous it is, not with it. It's a classic example of unintentional humor. So, if you're in the mood for some cheesy entertainment, give it a watch. Just don't expect any quality or logic from this episode. It's a whole lot of nonsense, and that's the whole truth.

Jack Carson almost makes this one watchable

[chuck-reilly · 5/10 · 10 April 2012]

The 1961 entry "The Whole Truth" wasn't all that great when it came out during the early days of the Kennedy administration and its relevance has all but dissipated. Still, seeing Jack Carson as a shady used car salesman who is forced to start telling the truth is great fun to watch in spots. Remember, this episode appeared at the height of the Cold War and relations with the Soviet Union were at an all-time low. When old Nikita drives away with the haunted car in the final scene, there's hope for humanity yet.

As for the featured players, this was one of those roles that the late Jack Carson could do in his sleep, but he does put some effort into his character. Quite frankly, he's really the only one worth watching in this mediocre episode. For TV trivia fanatics, look for Arte Johnson as his assistant on the car lot and a young Jack Ging as an unsuspecting customer. This was one of those rare Twilight Zone episodes that was filmed using videotape. After fifty years, the quality is a bit grainy but it doesn't really detract much from the proceedings. There's no doubt that this is one of the lesser entries in the series, although the subject matter certainly has some historical significance.

I thought it was fine

[ericstevenson · 8/10 · 29 July 2018]

Okay, this wasn't a great episode, but I thought it was good. It tells the story of a guy who buys a haunted car that makes it owner only tell the truth. The curse can only be lifted if he sells the car. It's probably nostalgia but I was reminded of "Liar, Liar". It was just a big part of my early comedic influences. I really do like the ending.

It seemed like there was good satire in this. There's this one guy who comes and discovers what it's all about. He reveals he's a politician and how bad it would be for him. Obviously, the guy finally realizes he should sell it to a politician. It's a pretty funny situation actually. He sure words things poorly. ***

"There's a limit to honesty Boss!"

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 18 April 2010]

Watching the Twilight Zone in series order, this episode at number fifty checks in so far as the dumbest, if not the worst. I don't know if it will hang on to that designation by the time I get to the end of the series, but it seems a likely contender. By some good fortune, I don't recall ever seeing this one back when Rod Serling's show first hit television, and it's been kept under wraps for all those TZ cable marathon runs they do every now and then for good reason. I don't believe the video format helps either, but that's not really the problem. The show takes a decent enough premise, but mangles it with dopey dialog and over the top mugging portrayals by Jack Carson as Hunnicutt and Loring Smith as the town politico. As an example, the young man shopping the car lot with his girlfriend asks Harvey about buying a good transportation car. Who talks like that? And what other kind of car is there? The one interesting moment comes (for those of us old enough to have been there), is seeing Arte Johnson in a very early role as salesman Irv. There's just enough of a resemblance to his 'Laugh-In' characters to make a positive ID.

What brings the whole show to it's ignominious and farcical conclusion is the idea that Nikita Kruschev might be cruising used car lots with nothing better to do than pick up a vehicle to bring back to the Russian home land. You can't bury America by supporting capitalism like that. It was obviously a way for Honest Harvey to tip his hat to Jack Kennedy, the show timed to appear on the same day of the new President's inauguration. I wonder if he ever saw the show.

Jack Carson-One Man Show

[cyclingpoet · 10/10 · 7 February 2024]

When TV was King...superior writing by the best TV writer that ever lived, Rod Serling.

If you analyze the episode which I typically do and I've seen every single Twilight Zone episode. The acting is superior, Jack Carson rattles off multiple lines of dialogue effortlessly without the cheesy close-ups of today's superficial actors. The story itself is unique and the ending, classic Serling, biting irony. Topical, relevant, important from a man, who by all accounts was a Liberal but discussed God, religion, anti-semitism, racism...He just understood people period. What's the moral of the story? Don't trust used car salesman.

Yet another sub-par videotaped episode

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 1 October 2009]

CBS ordered that a few episodes of "The Twilight Zone" be videotaped instead of filmed. Apparently, it was a cost-savings decision, but it also made for editing the episodes very difficult and also made the six shows they did this to look pretty shabby--as the videotaping process was still pretty crude in the early 1960s. While not all six turned out to be bad episodes, several of them were very bad and none of them could be considered classics.

This episodes is a lot like the concept for the movie LIAR, LIAR. A sleazy used car salesman (Jack Carson) buys a car that has magical properties--it makes whoever owns it tell the truth and nothing but the truth. This is a serious problem for any used car salesman--particularly one as rotten as this one! While it's all mildly humorous and watchable, there really is nothing more to the episode--no real twist no suspense--just one concept that didn't allow for much in the way of "Twilight Zone" irony or suspense. A disappointment.

Driven Only 100 Miles By A Grandmother.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 3 March 2013]

The story has some amusing moments and a kicker ending, and the central performance by Jack Carson is pretty good. He was always fine as an ambitious blowhard and a phony.

Yet it's not one of the better episodes. Carson is a used-car salesman who buys a haunted Model A Ford that forces him to tell the truth, despite the consequences. There's room for subtlety in a notion like this but you won't find much here.

I wonder, too, if the switch from film to videotape -- then in a primitive state -- diluted the impact of the story. Shooting on videotape was like live television. No outdoor settings, few camera set ups, and little camera motion. And the images are blurry and a little dark, especially for a light-hearted story like this.

On the plus side, the guy who plays Khrushchev actually looks and acts a lot like the original, though we only see him for a few seconds.

less unfunny than some other Zones

[HelloTexas11 · 5/10 · 10 March 2009]

Rod Serling wrote in many different genres for 'The Twilight Zone,' including of course horror and science-fiction, but also westerns, alternative history, mysteries, etc. with a relatively high batting average. One type of writing though seemed beyond him- comedy. While his well-developed sense of irony meant he was perfectly capable of inserting funny lines into serious scripts, somehow constructing an entirely humorous episode was something Serling failed at again and again. If one looks at the many Zones intended to be funny, such as 'Mr. Bevis,' 'Cavender Is Coming,' or 'Mr. Dingle, The Strong,' almost without exception they are painful to watch, lacking in wit and leaden in pacing. So to say 'The Whole Truth' is one of Serling's better stabs at humor is damning it with faint praise, I suppose. It would be too much to say the episode is laugh-out-loud funny, but at least for once, Serling's verbose script actually does raise a grin or two and is well-delivered by veteran character actor Jack Carson. As used-car dealer Harvey Hunnicut, Carson buys a 'haunted' Model A which compels him to tell the truth about everything as long as he owns it. This, of course, ruins his business and he realizes he must sell it to save his skin. Apropos of nothing really, Hunnicut ends up selling the car to Nikita Khrushchev, of all people. While this idea obviously tickled Serling, to the average viewer it just seems odd. As a side-note, 'The Whole Truth' was one of six second-season episodes to be shot on videotape as a cost-saving device. Aside from some glare 'halos' off car bumpers that early videotape seems to have been prone to, the difference is not terribly noticeable today. It is doubtful even regular filming could have prevented this from being a strictly average episode.

This Episode is a Lemon

[Samuel-Shovel · 1/10 · 30 August 2019]

In "The Whole Truth" a shady used car dealer buys a haunted car that forces him to tell the whole truth in conversations. This leads to a drop in business, marital problems, and an employee punching him in the face.

This might be my least favorite episode of TZ I've seen to date. The comedy is all around awful, the ending is straight bonkers, and the plot drags along. I can't tell you how many times I checked the time remaining on the episode and was dismayed by the slow-moving Netflix red line moving across the screen.

Twilight Zone's exploration into comedy is typically bad but this episode is the jalopy of TZ comedy episodes.

Weak

[grantss · 5/10 · 9 March 2020]

A used car salesman buys an old car from an elderly gentleman. There's a catch: the car is haunted, and forces its owner to tell the truth.

Weak, and one of the worst episodes, if not THE worst episode, of The Twilight Zone. Was interesting enough initially but things fell apart after the used car salesman met the politician. From then on nothing made sense and the conclusion still makes me wonder what on earth just happened. I'd like to think I'm an intelligent person but the last few scenes flew well over my head.

Weak.

[bombersflyup · 2/10 · 1 September 2019]

There isn't any point to The Whole Truth, other than a used car salesman can't function without lying. I mean he could of just not spoke or given it away for free.

Maybe Serling was having an off day

[mlraymond · 1/10 · 3 January 2007]

There are a very few Twilight Zone episodes that really stink, but this is probably the single worst one of the bunch. When I saw it for mercifully the only time I've ever had to writhe through it, my jaw dropped at the mind-bogglingly stupid ending. I wondered what on Earth Rod Serling thought he was doing.

The only possible value this could have would be in a history class studying the Cold War, as an examination of the political attitudes of the time. This thing is a total embarrassment.

The over acting is bad enough, though possibly okay in light of Jack Carson's being a flamboyant loudmouth, but the dialogue is so bad, the story line so clichéd even then ,( how many movies and TV shows have there been about someone forced to tell the truth at all times?) and the ridiculous ending so foolish ,that it's hard to believe Serling could have had anything to do with it.

A piece of propaganda

[andreygrachev · 5/10 · 28 July 2008]

A piece of black and white American propaganda . It was funny to see how American directors had to show USSR. Still the series is easy to follow and with humor. On the other side the series describes how the modern market works. And THE WHOLE TRUTH means the collapse of modern American economy. How real is that? The third thing is that the car is haunted and it is sold to Nikita Hrushev. So this film appeals for fighting by means of haunted stuff.. Great idea Beyond War Were glad to examine Twilight Zone. Really cool sci-fi series. Very good main actor. It reminds little bit of Hitchcock. I think it has some provocative effect and teaches ,how cool the moder business is.

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