- 5 months ago
“The Sixteen‑Millimeter Shrine” is the fourth episode of the original The Twilight Zone first season, airing on October 23, 1959. Written by Rod Serling and directed by Mitchell Leisen, this psychological drama centers on aging film star Barbara Jean Trenton (played by Ida Lupino), whose life has faded away from the vibrant fame she once enjoyed. She retreats into a private screening room filled with her old sixteen-millimeter films from the 1930s, preferring the comforting illusion of her past to the stark reality of her present.
Barbara’s devoted agent Danny Weiss (portrayed by Martin Balsam) attempts to help her return to work by securing a role in a new movie. When Barbara learns that her former co-star Jerry Hearndan (played by Jerome Cowan) has aged severely since their last collaboration, she recoils in shock, realizing that time has moved on while she remained in stasis. This discovery throws her emotional state into turmoil, tearing down the fantasy world she built in her screening room.
As the narrative unfolds, Serling’s haunting narration and Leisen’s moody black‑and‑white cinematography create an atmosphere of melancholic longing and eerie reflection. Themes of denial, escapism, the passage of time, and the illusion of control all weave together in a poignant tale of self-deception and the dangers of living in memory. It becomes a powerful meditation on how obsession with fame and youth can imprison one’s spirit.
Featuring memorable performances from Lupino and Balsam, the episode skillfully blends drama and speculative elements to deliver emotional resonance. Barbara’s ultimate choice—to forsake new roles and retreat forever into her films—adds a chilling dimension to the story’s tragic beauty. As the Twilight Zone monologue closes, viewers are left contemplating the consequences of fantasy over reality.
This episode remains one of the most iconic entries of the original series, capturing the golden age of Hollywood while exploring universal fears of aging and obscurity. Its influence is still felt in modern storytelling about celebrity, memory, and mental escape. “The Sixteen‑Millimeter Shrine” is a timeless classic that exemplifies Serling’s ability to merge rich character studies with speculative atmosphere—and stands as a high point in anthology storytelling on television.
Barbara’s devoted agent Danny Weiss (portrayed by Martin Balsam) attempts to help her return to work by securing a role in a new movie. When Barbara learns that her former co-star Jerry Hearndan (played by Jerome Cowan) has aged severely since their last collaboration, she recoils in shock, realizing that time has moved on while she remained in stasis. This discovery throws her emotional state into turmoil, tearing down the fantasy world she built in her screening room.
As the narrative unfolds, Serling’s haunting narration and Leisen’s moody black‑and‑white cinematography create an atmosphere of melancholic longing and eerie reflection. Themes of denial, escapism, the passage of time, and the illusion of control all weave together in a poignant tale of self-deception and the dangers of living in memory. It becomes a powerful meditation on how obsession with fame and youth can imprison one’s spirit.
Featuring memorable performances from Lupino and Balsam, the episode skillfully blends drama and speculative elements to deliver emotional resonance. Barbara’s ultimate choice—to forsake new roles and retreat forever into her films—adds a chilling dimension to the story’s tragic beauty. As the Twilight Zone monologue closes, viewers are left contemplating the consequences of fantasy over reality.
This episode remains one of the most iconic entries of the original series, capturing the golden age of Hollywood while exploring universal fears of aging and obscurity. Its influence is still felt in modern storytelling about celebrity, memory, and mental escape. “The Sixteen‑Millimeter Shrine” is a timeless classic that exemplifies Serling’s ability to merge rich character studies with speculative atmosphere—and stands as a high point in anthology storytelling on television.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00you are about to enter another dimension a dimension not only of sight and sound but of
00:14mind a journey into a wondrous land of imagination next stop the twilight zone
00:30so
01:00Let's see you pay for your drink
01:20in your own inimitable fashion, huh?
01:24A song, Denton.
01:26How about it?
01:30How dry...
01:31Come on now, come on.
01:32Come on, Denton.
01:36Get up.
01:47Come on, Denton.
01:50How dry I am.
01:53How dry I am.
01:56Charlie, can't you break that up?
01:58Nobody knows.
02:00I don't like it any more than you do.
02:02The misery they give that guy out there.
02:05How dry I am.
02:07Nobody cares.
02:10How dry I am.
02:11Come on, let's go and have some music, boys.
02:23Come on, let's go and have some music, boys.
02:32Come on.
02:33Portrait of a town drunk named Al Denton.
02:45Portrait of a town drunk named Al Denton.
02:56This is a man who's begun his dying early.
02:59A long, agonizing route through a long, agonizing route through a maze of bottles.
03:03Al Denton, who would probably give an arm or a leg or a part of his soul to have another chance.
03:10To be able to rise up and shake the dirt from his body and the bad dreams that infest his consciousness.
03:17In the parlance of the times, this is a peddler, a rather fanciful-looking little man in a black frock coat.
03:30And this is the third principal character of our story.
03:35Its function, perhaps to give Mr. Al Denton his second chance.
05:13You know something? This is the first time I've held a gun since...
05:23I can't remember how long it's been.
05:30Too much of that, isn't it?
05:34Yeah.
05:34Well...
05:35Why, Al?
05:39Why do you have to drink so much?
05:41I really don't know.
05:42I just got the habit one day and kept to it.
05:47I'll tell you that one, huh?
05:49Wait a minute, boys.
05:52Here we go again, fellas.
05:54Let's hear our little songbird.
05:57Hey, Denton!
05:58Three choruses of how dry I am.
06:04Let's hear it.
06:09Al, don't do it.
06:11Here, give me a drink, Miss Smith.
06:13The devil with him.
06:14I can give you one, too, and you won't have to do that for it.
06:15How dry I am.
06:30How dry I am.
06:32All right, come on, rummy.
06:44Go on and get your drink.
06:46You've been a good boy.
06:47Wait a minute, Denton.
07:03Hey, Gunner!
07:04Hey!
07:05Where'd you get the artillery?
07:09I found it.
07:11Found it right over there on the street.
07:13Is that a fact?
07:15Hey!
07:17It's a long time since you used one of them, isn't it, rummy?
07:22Yeah.
07:23A long time.
07:26Maybe you could use it now.
07:29Yeah.
07:31Maybe you could even outdraw me.
07:34No, I wouldn't know how to use it anymore.
07:37Well, let's see you try.
07:38Come on, you and me will draw.
07:40All right, all right, Denton.
07:41Cut it out.
07:41It's not funny anymore.
07:42Get away, Liz.
07:43The Gunner mean we're going to have a showdown here.
07:46Come on, Gunner.
07:47It's left to the...
07:48Oh, Denton, stop it.
07:49Come on, Denton.
07:49Liz is right there.
07:50Go on back to the bar, Charlie.
07:52Can't you see we got private business here?
07:53Listen, Dent.
07:54Come on.
08:05Come on out here.
08:06Come on, rummy.
08:08Come on!
08:17I'm going to give you a break, rummy.
08:20I'm going to do it left-handed.
08:22Miss Smith, tell him.
08:29Please tell him.
08:31Please, Miss Smith.
08:33Explain to him.
08:43Miss Smith.
08:46Please tell him it was an accident.
08:47I don't want any trouble.
08:49Mr. Hodling...
08:50That's my shooting.
08:52Mr. Hodling, listen, I'm going to get a drink.
08:54It's not my mouth.
08:58You did your eye right now?
08:59You was practicing or something?
09:01I ain't seen shooting like that since I don't know when.
09:04It's against Hodling, too.
09:05It doesn't even mind.
09:08Drink's on the hop.
09:09Hey, rummy.
09:10Face me, Denton.
09:26It was an accident, Mr. Hodling.
09:29I'm going to get this right in your stomach.
09:31Dan, give him a break.
09:33I didn't mean to...
09:34I didn't even mean to...
09:36I didn't even mean to...
09:38Mr. Denton, maybe you'd let us buy you a drink.
10:03What'd you call me?
10:04I didn't mean no offense.
10:06I just asked you what you called me.
10:09Nothing.
10:10Nothing, Mr. Denton.
10:11I didn't call you anything.
10:12That's what you called me.
10:15Mr. Denton.
10:19You called me Mr. Charlie.
10:22Here you are, Al.
10:24No, thanks.
10:28I've had enough.
10:29I've had enough.
10:36I think I'll go out and get a shave.
10:57And don't call me rummy anymore.
11:00I'll go out and get a shave.
11:16Al!
11:17Al!
11:20Well, I think everything's going to be all right now.
11:23Understand?
11:24But Charlie says you're as good with a gun now as you ever were.
11:26That's what Charlie says, huh?
11:31I was good.
11:32I was real good.
11:35I was so good that once a day,
11:38someone would ride into town to make me prove it.
11:40And every morning,
11:44I'd start my drinking a few minutes earlier.
11:48Until one morning,
11:50the guy who asked me to prove it
11:52turned out to be 16 years old.
11:57I left him there on his face,
12:00right there in front of the saloon.
12:02I left him there bleeding to death
12:04with my bullet in him.
12:05I guess it'll start all over again now.
12:11Every fast and fancy man who owns a gun
12:13will come riding in down that street.
12:17Only this time,
12:18it'll be me face down,
12:20bleeding to death.
12:26I think I'll go in and get a shave.
12:28I want to look proper
12:30on the day I die.
12:32I'll go in and get a shave.
13:02tall man doesn't usually wear his gun blonde hair
13:16who is that to scrap scrap's a man named al denton supposed to be top gun here
13:26would that be you that'd be me i got a message for you denton
13:31coming from pete grant well let's hear the message pete'll be in town tomorrow night at 10
13:39he'll meet you over in a saloon look you tell him you tell him there's no call
13:56tell mr grant i'll be there tomorrow night
13:58i'll wait for his pleasure
14:01that's just what it'll be
14:04and i'll see you next time
14:10It didn't take any time at all.
14:34There's time enough for one shave.
14:40There's time enough for one shave.
15:10There's time enough for one shave.
15:40There's time enough for one shave.
15:41There's time enough for one shave.
15:43There's time enough for one shave.
15:44There's time enough for one shave.
15:45There's time enough for one shave.
15:46There's time enough for one shave.
15:47There's time enough for one shave.
15:48There's time enough for one shave.
15:49There's time enough for one shave.
15:50There's time enough for one shave.
15:51There's time enough for one shave.
15:52There's time enough for one shave.
15:53There's time enough for one shave.
15:54There's time enough for one shave.
15:55There's time enough for one shave.
15:56There's time enough for one shave.
15:57There's time enough for one shave.
15:58There's time enough for one shave.
15:59There's time enough for one shave.
16:00There's time enough for one shave.
16:01There's time enough for one shave.
16:02london.
16:03I can't use anything.
16:04I can't use anything.
16:05You're a peddler, aren't you?
16:06Oh, yes.
16:07Dealer and everything.
16:09Utensils.
16:10Herbs.
16:11Medicine.
16:12Liniments and tonics.
16:14Farm implements.
16:15clothing.
16:16clothing and potions. Oh, yes, potions. Kind of a sideline, you might say. Fate's the name.
16:29Henry J. Fate. And you're Al Denton, and you're running away. You shouldn't, you know. You
16:37shouldn't run away. I shouldn't. Yeah, I guess you're right. I shouldn't run away. I should
16:45stay here and get shot to death. I guess that's what I should do. Curse this thing. Curse the
16:52moment I found it. No, no, no. Don't curse it, Mr. Denton. Use it. Here. This is one of my potions.
17:04You might call it that, or an elixir. Either way, it'll help solve your problem, Mr. Denton.
17:15I call that my fast gun developer. The man who drinks that becomes the fastest of the
17:25fast. He'll be able to shoot a hole, throw a silver dollar in midair at a hundred feet
17:30or better without even aiming. It's guaranteed to last for ten seconds. Ten seconds. And
17:39after that? Well, after that, the user's on his own. Here. Try it. We'll test the merchandise,
17:49so to speak. Go ahead. Proof of the pudding. Go ahead. Drink it.
17:55There's your target, Mr. Denton. Go ahead. Draw on it. Draw on it.
18:13Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. There you go, Mr. Denton. Now that gun probably wouldn't
18:28be any more use to you than the bottle would be to a bull. Here. Drink this a few seconds
18:35after ten tonight. Just at the moment, Mr. Grant walks into the saloon.
18:44How much do I owe you? Oh, there's no charge for this. You might call this, uh, just a service.
18:51That's what it is. Just a service of Henry J. Fate. Just so you might remember sometime,
18:58the night fate stepped in.
19:28You want a drink, Al? How about you, Doc? That would be Grant.
19:53Do-
19:59Whoa.
20:00We're good.
20:03Check this out.
20:12We're good.
20:15you denton that's right i hear you're supposed to be fat
20:45you got a good chance to find out i ain't step away from the bar please mr denton and draw
21:15me
21:17me
21:19me
21:23me
21:29me
21:35this is a push boys no winner
21:53and you won't be shooting anymore with that hand now
22:00not anymore a couple of fingers are going to be stiff too
22:04but that don't make any difference
22:07the way you stood up there
22:09it'll be something to tell your grandchildren about
22:12and the way it looks now you'll live to have some
22:15just like me
22:25you'll never be able to fire a gun again in anger
22:29you're blessed son
22:32we've both been blessed
22:34he's lucky
22:42he learned it early
22:45did you get him beat?
22:50no more than he got me
22:53I don't know
23:10Mr. Henry Fate, dealer in utensils and pots and pans,
23:28liniments and potions.
23:31A fanciful little man in a black front coat
23:33who can help a man climbing out of a pit
23:35or another man from falling into one.
23:39Because, you see, fate can work that way
23:42in the Twilight Zone.
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