Double Feature: “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ – Westport,

This event is free to attend. Arlen Schumer’s new book, The Five Themes of The Twilight Zone, is available for preorder through registration for an additional fee.

Author Mark Dawidziak speaks with Arlen Schumer about his book, Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in The Twilight Zone. Afterwards, join us for a blockbuster Saturday night at the movies — starting with the seminal, Oscar-winning Twilight Zone episode, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” followed by a screening of the 1990 cult classic film Jacob’s Ladder, directly inspired by that same episode.

Tonight, a presentation so special and unique that for the first time in the five years we’ve been presenting The Twilight Zone, we’re offering a film shot in France by others. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival of 1962, as well as other international awards, here is a haunting study of the incredible from the past master of the incredible, Ambrose Bierce. Here is the French production of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.”

—The Twilight Zone, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (Season 5, Episode 22)

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Jacob’s Ladder stars Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer, an American postman whose experiences before and during his military service in Vietnam result in strange, fragmentary visions and bizarre hallucinations that continue to haunt him. As his ordeal worsens, Jacob desperately attempts to figure out the truth.

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Mark Dawidziak is the author or editor of 25 books, including three acclaimed studies of landmark television series: The Columbo Phile, The Night Stalker Companion, and Everything I Need to Know I Learned in The Twilight Zone. He is also an internationally recognized Mark Twain scholar, having written and published five books about the iconic American writer. His most recent book, A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe, was published by St. Martin’s Press in February 2023.

As Roy Lichtenstein brought comic book art into the fine art world, Arlen Schumer has brought it into the commercial art world. His unique comic book-style art appears in advertisements and other editorial and promotional instances.

Schumer’s background in graphic design, art direction and copywriting in New York City advertising agencies, combined with his expertise and enthusiasm for the comic book medium and its rich history, produces captivating award-winning imagery recognized worldwide. He has been a long-standing member of the Society of Illustrators.

As a published author and pop culture historian, Schumer has been equally recognized. His book The Silver Age of Comic Book Art won the Independent Book Publishers Award for Best Popular Culture Book; ABC’s 20/20 named him “one of the country’s preeminent authorities on comics and culture,” and the BBC said his works on The Twilight Zone were “a cut above the rest, full of passion and erudition.” Comic Book Artist Magazine called him “one of the more articulate and enthusiastic advocates of comic book art in America.” His other books are Visions from The Twilight Zone and The Neal Adams Sketchbook.

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