 |
| "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Allen Reisner |
| Written by | Rod Serling |
| Featured music | Stock music |
| Cinematography by | George T. Clemens |
| Production code | 173-3609 |
| Original air date | October 16, 1959 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Mr. Denton on Doomsday" is episode three of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone . It originally aired on October 16, 1959, on CBS. It was the first Twilight Zone episode to be rerun.
Portrait of a town drunk named Al Denton. This is a man who's begun his dying early—a long, agonizing route through a maze of bottles. Al Denton, who would probably give an arm or a leg or a part of his soul to have another chance, to be able to rise up and shake the dirt from his body and the bad dreams that infest his consciousness. [The camera pans up to a figure standing before a stagecoach] In the parlance of the times, this is a peddler, a rather fanciful-looking little man in a black frock coat. [A revolver mysteriously appears on the ground next to Denton] And this is the third principal character of our story. Its function: perhaps to give Mr. Al Denton his second chance.
Al Denton was once known as the quickest draw in town, but riddled with increasing guilt over the losers in his gun duels (one of whom was a teenage boy), he became an alcoholic wreck and the laughing stock of the community. A mysterious salesman named Henry J. Fate causes Denton to inexplicably regain his expert shooting touch and once again inspire the respect and awe of the townsfolk; Denton explains to Liz, a saloon girl, that this will only cause reputation-hungry gunslingers from miles around to seek him out and, inevitably, kill him. He cleans himself up and goes sober but only, he says, so as to die with dignity. Just as Denton predicted, soon enough a challenge is delivered which Denton dares not refuse.
The still-weary and not-so-sure-handed Denton practices in the desert for his suicidal duel, but he misses his targets miserably and concludes that he must skip town. As he packs his things and tries to flee under the cover of night, he strikes up a conversation with Fate, who seems to know things about Denton and offers him a way out. Fate offers him a potion guaranteed to make the drinker the fastest gun in the West for exactly ten seconds. Denton is skeptical but Fate goads him into drinking a free sample, after which Denton immediately realizes its benefits.
At the appointed time, Denton faces his challenger, Pete Grant, a brash young gunfighter. Denton downs his potion only to find his opponent holding an identical empty bottle. Grant and Denton both realize that Fate tricked them, but it is too late to back out of the duel. Each man shoots the other in the hand, causing injuries which are minor but forever ruin both men's ability to pull a trigger.
Denton tells his young opponent that they have both been blessed because they will never again be able to fire a gun in anger. He tells Liz that Grant is lucky because he was given this lesson early. Henry J. Fate tips his hat to Denton and rides quietly out of town.
Mr. Henry Fate, dealer in utensils and pots and pans, liniments and potions. A fanciful little man in a black frock coat who can help a man climbing out of a pit—or another man from falling into one. Because, you see, fate can work that way, in the Twilight Zone.
This motion picture projector and this film provide a background in next week's story when a most distinguished actress takes a journey into The Twilight Zone. Ms. Ida Lupino stars in "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine," a haunting story of a haunted woman, that I think you'll find interesting and perhaps shocking. We hope you'll join us then. Thank you and good night.
In his 1959 promotional film shown to potential sponsors, Rod Serling summarized an earlier version of this episode's plot under its original title, "Death, Destry, and Mr. Dingle". As told by Serling, the basic premise is similar, but the earlier version seems to have been more comedic in tone, involving a meek schoolteacher who quite unintentionally gains notoriety as a top gunslinger. The name "Mr. Dingle" (originally intended for the Dan Duryea character) would be used by Serling for a future episode, with Burgess Meredith playing the eponymous character in "Mr. Dingle, the Strong" in 1961. The harmonica in the background is playing the Russian folksong "Stenka Razin" (the melody of which was later adapted for the 1965 hit "The Carnival Is Over" by The Seekers).
Al Denton's speech to Liz Smith, in which he describes having been a top gunfighter until he turned to drink after being "called out" by a 16-year-old boy, was parodied in the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles . In that film, the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder) had also been a top gunfighter until he was challenged (and shot) by a six-year-old child, leading him to become an alcoholic.
Martin Landau, playing here the sadistic bully to the story's protagonist, Al Denton, would return to The Twilight Zone five years later in “The Jeopardy Room”; this time he is the sadistically treated victim - a KGB major longing to defect but targeted for assassination. [1]
Richard Burton Matheson was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.
The Twilight Zone is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone". The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, supernatural drama, black comedy, and psychological thriller, frequently concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist, and usually with a moral. A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to common science fiction and fantasy tropes. The first series, shot entirely in black-and-white, ran on CBS for five seasons from 1959 to 1964.
Rodman Edward Serling was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen, and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood, clashing with television executives and sponsors over a wide range of issues, including censorship, racism, and war.
"Where Is Everybody?" is the first episode of the American anthology television series The Twilight Zone and was originally broadcast on October 2, 1959, on CBS. It is one of the most realistic Twilight Zone episodes, as it features no supernatural elements and is based on fairly straightforward extrapolation of science.
"One for the Angels" is the second episode of the American anthology television series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on October 9, 1959, on CBS television.
"Walking Distance" is episode five of the American television series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on October 30, 1959. The episode was listed as the ninth best episode in the history of The Twilight Zone by Time magazine.
"Escape Clause" is episode six of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It is "the story of a strange contract between a mortal man and his most satanic majesty"; it originally aired on November 6, 1959, on CBS.
"Time Enough at Last" is the eighth episode of the American anthology series The Twilight Zone, first airing on November 20, 1959. The episode was adapted from a short story by Lynn Venable, which appeared in the January 1953 edition of If: Worlds of Science Fiction.
"I Shot an Arrow into the Air" is the fifteenth episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
"The Fever" is the seventeenth episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on January 29, 1960, on CBS. The complete, original text for this story was run in the debut issue of Harvey Kurtzman’s Help!, cover dated August, 1960.
"The Chaser" is episode 31 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
"Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room" is episode 39 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on October 14, 1960, on CBS.
"Mr. Dingle, the Strong" is episode 55 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, and is the 19th episode of the second season. It was one of the many episodes in the second season written by series creator and showrunner Rod Serling, and was directed by German filmmaker John Brahm. The episode originally aired on March 3, 1961 on CBS.
Gunfighters, also called gunslingers or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslinger" is more or less used to denote someone who is quick on the draw with a handgun, but this can also refer to those armed with rifles and shotguns. The gunfighter is also one of the most popular characters in the Western genre and has appeared in associated films, television shows, video games, and literature.
"The Last Night of a Jockey" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. In this episode, a diminutive jockey's wish to be a big man is granted. Rod Serling wrote the episode specifically for Mickey Rooney, who is the only actor to appear in it.
"In Praise of Pip" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. In this episode, after learning that his soldier son has suffered a mortal wound in an early phase of the Vietnam War, a crooked bookie encounters a childhood version of his son.
"A Kind of a Stopwatch" is a 1963 episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. In this episode, a man acquires a stopwatch which can stop time.
The Twilight Zone is an American fantasy science fiction horror anthology television series created and presented by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from October 2, 1959, to June 19, 1964. Each episode presents a standalone story in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone", often with a surprise ending and a moral. Although often considered predominantly science-fiction, the show's paranormal and Kafkaesque events leaned the show much closer to fantasy and horror. The phrase "twilight zone" has entered the vernacular, used to describe surreal experiences.
"Showdown With Rance McGrew" is episode 85 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
The first season of The Twilight Zone aired Fridays at 10:00–10:30 pm (EST) on CBS from October 2, 1959, to July 1, 1960. There are 36 episodes, including the pilot, "Where Is Everybody?" The theme music for this season, written by Bernard Herrmann, is different from the music most commonly associated with the series, written by Marius Constant for the second season onwards.