Adminpeter: 1 revision imported

2022-06-06T02:07:46Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 22:07, 5 June 2022
(No difference)

GOTV>TVBuff90: /* Opening narration */ Named characters

2022-03-08T14:25:28Z

Opening narration: Named characters

New page

{{Lead too short|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]
| image =
| caption =
| season = 3
| episode = 11
| airdate ={{Start date|1961|11|24}}
| production =4808
| teleplay = [[Rod Serling]]
| based_on = "The Valley Was Still" by [[Manly Wade Wellman]]
| director = [[James Sheldon]]
| guests =[[Gary Merrill]]<br /> [[Vaughn Taylor (actor)|Vaughn Taylor]] <br /> [[Ben Cooper]] <br /> Mark Tapscott <br /> Jack Mann
| music = [[Wilbur Hatch]]
| season_article = The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) (season 3)
| episode_list = List of The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) episodes
| prev = [[The Midnight Sun (The Twilight Zone)|The Midnight Sun]]
| next = [[The Jungle (The Twilight Zone)|The Jungle]]
}}

"'''Still Valley'''" is episode 76 of the [[American television]] anthology series ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]''.

==Opening narration==
{{quote|The time is 1863, the place the state of [[Virginia]]. The event is a mass blood-letting known as the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], a tragic moment in time when a nation was split into two fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.}}

The narration continues after dialogue between Paradine and Dauger.

{{quote|This is Joseph Paradine, Confederate cavalry, as he heads down toward a small town in the middle of a valley. But very shortly, Joseph Paradine will make contact with the enemy. He will also make contact with an outpost not found on a military map—an outpost called the Twilight Zone.}}

==Plot==
Set during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the episode opens with two [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]] soldiers. They have been assigned to scout on the [[Union Army]] that is marching into the valley below. Sergeant Joseph Paradine ([[Gary Merrill]]) hears the army approaching, but suddenly the sound stops. He decides to descend into the valley to see the cause for himself. His companion refuses to accompany him. When Paradine gets into town, he finds the army there, but all of them are motionless, frozen in time. He tries unsuccessfully to wake them. Finally he comes across an old man named Teague ([[Vaughn Taylor (actor)|Vaughn Taylor]]), the sole remaining inhabitant of the town, who is unaffected by the strange phenomenon. Teague claims to be a [[warlock|"witch-man"]] and says he used a magic spell to freeze the soldiers. Paradine does not believe him, so Teague casts the spell on Paradine, freezing him.

When Teague lifts the spell on Paradine, he brags that he could stop the entire Union Army in this manner, ensuring the success of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]. Paradine asks why he doesn't, and Teague replies that he is dying and will be dead by the day's end. He gives his [[grimoire|book of spells]] to Paradine, encouraging him to use it, but when Paradine looks in it, he realizes that using this magic requires one to align himself with Satan, which Teague acknowledges. Teague dies, and Paradine returns to camp to tell his superior about what happened. The superior doesn't believe him and encourages him to get some rest. When another scout returns with the same story, the superior realizes Paradine is telling the truth. Paradine relates the story about the old man, the spell book, and making a [[deal with the devil]]. The superior officer decides that the devil is the only one who can help them win the war and encourages Paradine to read from the book.

Paradine discovers that using the book's magic requires that not only must he praise the name of the Devil, but he must [[apostasy|renounce]] the name of [[God]]. Rather than do either, Paradine throws the book into a fire, saying that if the Confederacy is to die, let it be buried in hallowed ground. The next day, Paradine receives orders that the army is going to march to [[Battle of Gettysburg|Gettysburg]].

==Closing narration==
{{quote|On the following morning, Sergeant Paradine and the rest of these men were moved up north to a little town in [[Pennsylvania]], an obscure little place where a [[battle of Gettysburg|battle was brewing]], a town called [[Gettysburg, Pennsylvania|Gettysburg]], and this one was fought without the help of the Devil. Small historical note not to be found in any known books, but part of the records in the Twilight Zone.}}

==Cast==
* [[Gary Merrill]] as Sergeant Joseph Paradine
* [[Vaughn Taylor (actor)|Vaughn Taylor]] as Teague
* [[Ben Cooper]] as Dauger
* Mark Tapscott as Lieutenant
* Jack Mannas as Mallory

==Episode notes==
*The episode is based on a 1939 short story, "The Valley Was Still" by [[Manly Wade Wellman]].
*In the original story, the spell on the soldiers is broken when the book is burned.

==References==
*DeVoe, Bill. (2008). ''Trivia from The Twilight Zone''. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. {{ISBN|978-1-59393-136-0}}
*Grams, Martin. (2008). ''The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic''. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-9703310-9-0}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb episode|id=0734624|episode=Still Valley}}

{{The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) episodes}}

[[Category:1961 American television episodes]]
[[Category:Television episodes written by Rod Serling]]
[[Category:The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 3) episodes]]
[[Category:Television episodes about the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Television episodes about witchcraft]]
[[Category:Television episodes about Satanism]]
[[Category:Television shows based on short fiction]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1863]]

Still Valley - Revision history

Adminpeter: 1 revision imported

GOTV>TVBuff90: /* Opening narration */ Named characters