Originally called “Collector’s Items” — a title that spoils the surprise — this episode of Night Gallery feels like it almost belongs on The Twilight Zone.

Directed by Jeannot Szwarc and written by Rod Serling, “Rare Objects” is the story of August Kolodney (Mickey Rooney), an organized crime figure who is barely surviving all of the attempts on his life. A doctor (Regis Cordic) removes the slug that someone put in him and tells him that his blood pressure is so off the charts that even his body could betray him at any minute.

Is there a way out? Well, the doctor knows a guy, but the price is steep.

Dr. Glendon (Raymond Massey) has the criminal to his home, shows him his many collections and invites him to stay, as Kolodney himself is a very rare item. He’ll have a long life free of worry, but he just has to give over anything and everything. But by the time he tries to leave, it’s too late. The drugs in his drink have kicked in and soon he may just live forever, surrounded by Princess Anastasia, Amelia Earhart and Adolph Hitler. Now, he’s a bird in a cage for just one person, no longer a person but instead an object.

Szwarc’s direction is solid and this is tension-filled the whole time. Ah — it’s so good when Night Gallery is great.