The Twilight Zone (TV Series) There Was an Old Woman (1988) User Reviews

The Twilight Zone: There Was an Old Woman

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 18 August 2011]

An author of children's books, Alley Parker (Colleen Dewhurst, in a spirited performance), is about to leave her city for Phoenix, Arizona, a bit saddened by the fact that the "video age" has taken children away from story-telling time, where reading a book or hearing a story told to them within a library setting has become a "thing of the past". Alley is called upon by a mother to meet her dying son, his favorite book she wrote. Alley starts hearing sounds in her house (she has put her home on the market), that of children giggling and rambling about, but is unable to catch them in the act. This interferes with a couple's looking at the house, although their possible interest in the place seems minute as they seem little interested, complaining of this and that. This all sets up a predictable conclusion involving who the children are and what decision Alley will make when they ask her to stay. "There Was an Old Woman" comments on the joy of reading and hearing a story that lets children's young minds go and encourages their imagination. Some will consider "There Was an Old Woman" sappy and sugary sweet to the point of nausea, while others will embrace it as touching and poignant. The supernatural element might really tap into the hearts of more sentimental viewers or especially those who have lost children far too young, the conclusion perhaps uplifting as it says that a good story doesn't necessarily have to be just for the living.

Sweet But Overly Maudlin

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 3 July 2017]

Colleen Dewhurst plays an elderly writer of children's books. She is retiring and moving to Arizona. Before she leaves, a lady comes to visit to get a book autographed. She says he is quite ill, so the lady decides to visit him at home. She reads to him but it is obvious that he is very ill. When she returns to her old house (which she has up for sale), unseen kids begin to prank her. But there is a strange twist. I guess it was just a bit too sappy for my taste but typical of the Twiliight Zone canon.

saved by the acting

[nebmac · 8/10 · 31 May 2021]

Colleen Dewhurst leads a strong ensemble cast in this tale about a children's book author who approaches the end of a successful career feeling that both she and her profession have become obsolete. That topic by itself has the potential to pack quite a punch. Add some cute kids, mix in the Twilight Zone secret ingredient, and you have a story that manages to be simultaneously heartwarming and melancholy. "There Was an Old Woman" might not be anyone's pick for best TZ episode, but the warmth and charisma of Dewhurst's performance make it worth watching.