Dust (The Twilight Zone)
Template:Television episode short description
| "Dust" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 12 |
| Directed by | Douglas Heyes |
| Written by | Rod Serling |
| Featured music | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Production code | 173-3653 |
| Original air date | January 6, 1961 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
"Dust" is episode 48 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on January 6, 1961 on CBS.
Opening narration[edit]
| “ | There was a village. Built of crumbling clay and rotting wood. And it squatted ugly under a broiling sun like a sick and mangy animal wanting to die. This village had a virus, shared by its people. It was the germ of squalor, of hopelessness, of a loss of faith. For the faithless, the hopeless, the misery-laden, there is time, ample time, to engage in one of the other pursuits of men. They began to destroy themselves. | ” |
Plot[edit]
Set in the Old West in a desolate barren town, the story opens as Sykes, a sadistic and unscrupulous peddler, mocks Luis Gallegos, who is due to be hanged. Luis is guilty of driving drunk and accidentally killing a child. Luis' father arrives in the village and pleads with the mother and father of the dead girl to spare his son the hanging. His pleas fall on deaf ears. After selling the executioner some five-strand rope needed for the hanging, Sykes sells a bag of "magic" dust to the condemned man's father. Sykes collects ordinary dirt from the ground and insists to his mark that it will spread good will throughout the crowd and will make them feel love and sympathy for the man sentenced to be hanged.
As the crowd gathers for the hanging, Luis' father cries out and starts sprinkling the dust everywhere. He hears the trapdoor drop behind him and turns to see that the fresh and sturdy rope has snapped above the noose, and Luis is unharmed. When asked if another hanging attempt should be made, the girl's parents decide that it should not, that Luis has suffered enough and maybe they have had a sign from God. As father and son walk home, Sykes rechecks the rope which appears to be in perfect condition. Then, he throws his gold pieces from the sale of the dust to the poor children of the town, insisting that they have them. He walks away from the scene bemused, stating that the dust must have been "magic" after all.
Closing narration[edit]
| “ | It was a very small, misery-laden village. On the day of a hanging. And of little historical consequence. And if there's any moral to it at all, let's say that in any quest for magic, in any search for sorcery, witchery, legerdemain, first check the human heart. For inside this deep place is a wizardry that costs far more than a few pieces of gold. Tonight's case in point - in the Twilight Zone. | ” |
Cast[edit]
- Thomas Gomez as Sykes
- Vladimir Sokoloff as Gallegos
- John Larch as The Sheriff
- John Alonzo as Luis Gallegos
- Paul Genge as John Canfield
- Dorothy Adams as Mrs. Canfield
- Duane Grey as Rogers
- Andrea Darvi as Estrellita Gallegos
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- 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
