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Authors: Marc Scott Zicree
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This doesnt work. Who the fucks going to believe this, Rod?
I remember Rod and I spending a couple of two-hour-long sessions with Bill Dozier saying, Its just that people wont swallow this! And Rod said, Bill, thats The Twilight Zone, thats what imaginative fiction is about. Its like the one Im writing, in which a guy falls in love with a girl and, sure enough, shes a mechanical girl, just like it says on the label. And Bill said, Oh shit, youre kidding. Is this what this is all going to be about?
We got through the two-hour conferences, and the next time I heard of it, Bill was totally supportive. Hed been convinced to jump off the deep end and he was with it. So when sponsors started to say, Hey, whats this? he said, Well, thats what you bought. He acted just like hed never had any objections himself, which was great.
MR. DENTON ON DOOMSDAY (10/16/59)
Written by Rod Serling
Producer: Buck Houghton
Director: Allen Reisner
Director of Photography:George T. Clemens
Music: stock
Cast:
Al Denton: Dan Duryea Hotaling: Martin Landau Pete Grant: Doug McClure Henry J. Fate: Malcolm Atterbury Liz: Jeanne Cooper Charlie: Ken Lynch Leader: Arthur Batanides Doctor: Robert Burton Man: Bill Erwin
Portrait of a town drunk named Al Denton. This is a man whos begun his dying earlya long, agonizing route through a maze of bottles. Al Denton, who would probably give an arm 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. [Shot of Henry J. Fate.] In the parlance of the times, this is a peddler; a rather fanciful-looking little man in a black frock coat. [A six-gun materializes beside Denton.] And this is the third principal character of our story. Its function: perhaps to give Mister Al Denton his second chance
The setting is the old west. Al Dentononce a feared gunslinger, now the town drunkis forced to draw against Hotaling, a sadistic bully. But on that same day, Henry J. Fate rides into town. Somehow, Fates glance gives Dentons hand a life of its own, and Denton gets off two miraculous shots, disarming his tormentor and regaining the respect of the town. His dignity renewed, he swears off liquor. But all too soon, he finds himself in the same trap that drove him to the bottle in the first place: his newly-won reputation causes a young hotshot to challenge him to a duel. Denton discovers, however, that his old ability is completely gone, and in desperation he buys a potion from Fate guaranteed to give him ten seconds of deadly accuracy. The moment his opponent enters the saloon, Denton downs the potionand sees the other man doing exactly the same thing! The two shoot the guns out of each others hands, each sustaining an injury that will never allow him to shoot again. Denton, freed of ever having to face down another man, tells his adversary that theyve both been blessed.
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 pitor another man from falling into one. Because, you see, Fate can work that way … in the Twilight Zone.
Serling followed up Walking Distance with the first of what would be three strong and moving fantasies in a row. Originally, his idea for the story was something entitled You Too Can be a Fast Gun, about a meek schoolteacher who achieves his wish to be a gunfighter by way of a magic potion, but eventually Serling rethought the story and opted for something a little less superficial. Mr. Denton on Doomsday explores a theme that writers would touch on often on The Twilight Zone, that of a person magically granted a second chance.
Cast as Denton was Dan Duryea, with whom Houghton had worked on China Smith. Years before, Duryea had made his reputation in films playing thoroughly detestable weasel types. Here he had a chance to play a good guy, and he gave a performance of wisdom,
I remember Rod and I spending a couple of two-hour-long sessions with Bill Dozier saying, Its just that people wont swallow this! And Rod said, Bill, thats The Twilight Zone, thats what imaginative fiction is about. Its like the one Im writing, in which a guy falls in love with a girl and, sure enough, shes a mechanical girl, just like it says on the label. And Bill said, Oh shit, youre kidding. Is this what this is all going to be about?
We got through the two-hour conferences, and the next time I heard of it, Bill was totally supportive. Hed been convinced to jump off the deep end and he was with it. So when sponsors started to say, Hey, whats this? he said, Well, thats what you bought. He acted just like hed never had any objections himself, which was great.
MR. DENTON ON DOOMSDAY (10/16/59)
Written by Rod Serling
Producer: Buck Houghton
Director: Allen Reisner
Director of Photography:George T. Clemens
Music: stock
Cast:
Al Denton: Dan Duryea Hotaling: Martin Landau Pete Grant: Doug McClure Henry J. Fate: Malcolm Atterbury Liz: Jeanne Cooper Charlie: Ken Lynch Leader: Arthur Batanides Doctor: Robert Burton Man: Bill Erwin
Portrait of a town drunk named Al Denton. This is a man whos begun his dying earlya long, agonizing route through a maze of bottles. Al Denton, who would probably give an arm 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. [Shot of Henry J. Fate.] In the parlance of the times, this is a peddler; a rather fanciful-looking little man in a black frock coat. [A six-gun materializes beside Denton.] And this is the third principal character of our story. Its function: perhaps to give Mister Al Denton his second chance
The setting is the old west. Al Dentononce a feared gunslinger, now the town drunkis forced to draw against Hotaling, a sadistic bully. But on that same day, Henry J. Fate rides into town. Somehow, Fates glance gives Dentons hand a life of its own, and Denton gets off two miraculous shots, disarming his tormentor and regaining the respect of the town. His dignity renewed, he swears off liquor. But all too soon, he finds himself in the same trap that drove him to the bottle in the first place: his newly-won reputation causes a young hotshot to challenge him to a duel. Denton discovers, however, that his old ability is completely gone, and in desperation he buys a potion from Fate guaranteed to give him ten seconds of deadly accuracy. The moment his opponent enters the saloon, Denton downs the potionand sees the other man doing exactly the same thing! The two shoot the guns out of each others hands, each sustaining an injury that will never allow him to shoot again. Denton, freed of ever having to face down another man, tells his adversary that theyve both been blessed.
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 pitor another man from falling into one. Because, you see, Fate can work that way … in the Twilight Zone.
Serling followed up Walking Distance with the first of what would be three strong and moving fantasies in a row. Originally, his idea for the story was something entitled You Too Can be a Fast Gun, about a meek schoolteacher who achieves his wish to be a gunfighter by way of a magic potion, but eventually Serling rethought the story and opted for something a little less superficial. Mr. Denton on Doomsday explores a theme that writers would touch on often on The Twilight Zone, that of a person magically granted a second chance.
Cast as Denton was Dan Duryea, with whom Houghton had worked on China Smith. Years before, Duryea had made his reputation in films playing thoroughly detestable weasel types. Here he had a chance to play a good guy, and he gave a performance of wisdom,
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