Mr. Denton on Doomsday

"Mr. Denton on Doomsday"
The Twilight Zone episode
Scene from "Mr. Denton on Doomsday"
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 stars
Al Denton: Dan Duryea Dan Hotaling: Martin Landau Miss Smith: Jeanne Cooper Henry J. Fate: Malcolm Atterbury Pete Grant: Doug McClure
Episode chronology
← Previous "One for the Angels" Next → "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine"
List of Twilight Zone episodes

"Mr. Denton on Doomsday" is the third episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. This is the first Twilight Zone episode to be rerun.

Plot summary

Washed-up gunslinger Al Denton is given another chance by a mysterious salesman named Henry J. Fate, who offers him a potion guaranteed to make him the fastest gunner in the West for ten seconds. Facing a young gunfighter named Pete Grant, who rode into town looking for a duel, Denton downs his vial of the potion only to find his opponent holding an identical bottle. Each man shoots the other in the hand, causing injuries that will never allow either to use a gun again. Denton later tells his young opponent that they have both been blessed because they will never again be able to fire a gun in anger. Henry J. Fate quietly rides out of town.

Episode notes

This episode is one of very few in the series whose opening sequence features an eye with heavy mascara. It was plastered over the original opening when "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" was rerun on June 24, 1960. Although the plastering of Season One intros (including the majority of episodes with this alternate intro) is not uncommon due to the Summer 1961 repeat season, this is the only case of the alternate Season One intro plastering the original. This also means this is one of only three shows where this title sequence can be still seen in syndication. As with the majority of plastered Season One intros, the original is believed lost.

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.

References

• Sander, Gordon F.: Serling: The Rise And Twilight of Television's Last Angry Man. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
• Zicree, Marc Scott: The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition)
• DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1593931360
• Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0970331090
• Now defunct Fair Lawn, New Jersey Mathcore band The Number 12 Looks Like You have a quote from this episode on the track titled "Document: Grace Budd" off of their debut album Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses. (2003) The band name is also from a Twilight Zone episode, Number 12 Looks Just Like You.

External links

• "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" at the Internet Movie Database