The third episode of the first season (also written by Rod Serling) was titled, Mr. Denton on Doomsday. The cast included: Dan Duryea (Al Denton), Martin Landau (Dan Hotaling), Jeanne Cooper (Liz), Malcolm Atterbury (Henry J. Fate), and Doug McClure (Pete Grant). It is the tale of a burnt out gun slinger that time and circumstance has reduced to the town drunk. Al Denton is constantly taunted by the slick gunslinger Dan. Dan humiliates him in order to make him beg for money for drinks. The barmaid, Liz tries to comfort and encourage Denton, but to no avail.
A barker arrives in town whose wagon announces, Henry J. Fate and suddenly, Denton finds a six shooter in the dust of the road. Dan sees Denton with the gun and challenges him to a gunfight. Fate seems to give Denton an edge as with two quick shots he sends Dan’s gun spinning through the air and Dan stands holding an injured hand. He won’t be quick drawing any more.
Denton wins the respect of the town that fast, but he knows that now he’ll be in the same conundrum that led him to drink in the first place. It won’t be long before someone comes to challenge him to a gun fight.
Dan Duryea gives a controlled performance and Jeanne Cooper as the sympathetic barmaid reigns in the sentiment keeping her role perfectly modulated. As with most of the Twilight Zone series, the black & white photography lends strong support with stunning light and shadow that enhances the mood. Martin Landau’s Dan Hotaling is a perfect foil, smart mouthed and arrogant as he goads Denton into the gunfight. The show not only showcased good writing, but also extended the careers of seasoned actors by introducing older players to an audience that may not have been familiar with their previous work. This episode is a good example as it showcased the very talented Dan Duryea as well as younger actors Martin Landau, Jeanne Cooper, and Doug McClure.
Mr. Denton on Doomsday (1959)
The fourth episode is a supernatural twist on Sunset Boulevard that stars the multi-talented Ida Lupino as a fading Hollywood legend. She is supported by Martin Balsam (who was probably working or about to start working with Hitchcock on Psycho), as her well meaning agent. Her maid sees that her mistress is spending far too much time in a dark room watching her own films from the golden age of Hollywood and calls the agent for help.
Her agent shows up and tries with kindness to bring her to what he feels should be her senses, but she does not respond. He brings a retired actor that she had worked with in the past, but that backfires on him. It is no use and the inevitable happens. Light and shadow are important in this episode as well with the flickering of the past illuminating the present. The visuals were as atmospheric as necessary. Ida Lupino and Martin Balsam were perfect, and the ending was as it could only have been in The Twilight Zone.