The Twilight Zone - Season One: 'Mr.Denton on Doomsday' and 'The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine'

"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..."

Once again we take a break from the comforts of our couch and dip a toe into the murky pool of The Twilight Zone - be sure to dim the lights, and lock the back door - because who knows just what could happen on this strange journey we are about to embark on. This week we have a double-whammy of lost souls, lost lives and that fleeting chance for redemption, backed up by some excellent casting choices. So let's dive right in here, shall we?

Episode Three -Mr. Denton on Doomsday

In his youth, Al Denton (Dan Duryea) was known as the quickest draw in his town. When he accidentally killed a boy in a draw, he found his life a ruin, turning to drink to get him through the darkness. Now the town alcoholic, he sings for a drink to the amusement of the abusive locals. One day, a travelling salesman by the name of Mr. Henry Fate stops by the town to find Al practically lapping up booze from a broken bottle in the dirt, devoid of all sense of self respect. When he regains consciousness, he discovers something lying beside him, apart from the empty bottle - a gun. Al soon finds that he has been given something better than booze; a chance to shoot straight again.

He doesn't waste time in dealing out a bit of justice to the town bully, even though he is lacking in confidence his bullets manage to hit their mark every time. Suddenly he is the town hero again, but Al knows what trouble this will bring. Soon enough, he has a challenge to a duel from a young rival gunslinger. When he goes out to the desert to practice, he finds his confidence still lacking, and can't make a shot. Enter again the mysterious Henry Fate, and his cart full of strange potions and medicines. He offers Al a tonic that will give him the most perfect shot, but for only ten seconds. Al, hungry for redemption, takes the tonic. But when he meets the young lad for the draw, he notices a similar vial in his hands. Has Mr. Fate played a trick on Al? Just what will happen when both men draw?

Once again, we are given a very human story here, much like that in 'One for the Angels', in which we get a real chance to feel sympathy and understand the plight of our central character. Al Denton is a sad sack that we are familiar with; the kind of homeless, run down person we pass every day in our lives but seldom stop to think about what put them there in the first place. What would these people do for a chance for redemption? Would they accept the lesson life has dealt them and make so much more of it? The theme of redemption is a strong point here; not just redeeming your own character from the shambles that your life has become, but by stopping someone making the same mistakes you have in your life, and keeping them from the fate you have endured. And isn't redemption at its strongest when you can save someone else from the abyss too?

The cast is great here, and Duryea plays the rummy Al to perfection. The supporting cast is interesting too, we get an early performance from Martin Landau as the town bully who gets his comeuppance, and Jeanne Cooper as the kind-hearted Liz despairing to see Denton drink himself into an early grave. 

Episode Four -The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine

Far away from the dusty, western world of Al Denton is that of the ageing film star, Barbara Jean Trenton (Ida Lupino), holed up in her gloomy mansion in Hollywood. A complete recluse, the only joy she now has is spending time in her private screening room, constantly running her old films, and longing for the days of romance and stardom that have now fled her. Her one friend is also her agent, Danny Weiss, (Martin Balsam) who tries to convince her to re-enter the world of film. He brings her to meet the head of a studio who is only happy to cast her in the film, in an age-appropriate role, of course. This sends her into a rage, convinced she was there to play the romantic lead. This drives her further into her fantasy world, believing that she will someday be a part of that movie magic again.

Danny decides to try an extreme tactic to make her snap out of this madness and accept her age and status. He arranges for one of her old co-stars to visit. Barbara, believing she is going to see the handsome Lothario who she is so familiar with on the big screen, is appalled to meet the elderly gent who is presented to her, who now runs a chain of grocery stores, of all things. She locks herself back in her viewing room, wanting nothing more than to disappear into the celluloid running at 24 frames per second across the white screen in front of her...

In many ways, this episode feels like the flip side of the previous one, Mr Denton on Doomsday. We have a once popular character now at the lowest point in their lives, though Barbara still seems to have her wealth. Both are given the options to redeem themselves, but both in very different ways. While Al is given the chance to change someone elses life for the better, and find his redemption that way, Barbara is constantly urged by those who care about her to return to 'reality', to snap out of the self-obsessed delusion she has placed herself in over the years. Instead, she decides to go the opposite way; to chase dreams and wishes to a point where reality no longer exists. And while she does get her wish, you can't help but feel this a bittersweet ending; is it good to live a fantasy life and shun reality, no matter how harsh it can be? 

Classic film fans will find plenty to enjoy here, with the nods to Sunset Boulevard and with Martin Balsam getting plenty of screen time. One of the few flaws, however, is in that seeing Barbara in her earlier roles on the projected screen loses much of the impact when she looks so similar to her character in the present age of the story. It's a pity she didn't have an early film they could have used for these moments, as the real-life difference of 20 or 30 years would have had quite an impact. It possibly would have led to other licensing issues for us watching so far in the future, though, so maybe it was wise to not do that. 

I'll leave you with the musings of Rod Serling to close things off today:

"To the wishes that come true, to the strange, mystic strength of the human animal, who can take a wishful dream and give it a dimension of its own. To Barbara Jean Trenton, movie queen of another era, who has changed the blank tomb of an empty projection screen into a private world. It can happen - in the Twilight Zone."