The Twilight Zone (1959) s03e11 Episode Script
Still Valley
You're traveling through another dimension- a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind, a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination.
Your next stop, the twilight zone.
The time is 1863, the place the state of virginia.
The event is a bloodletting known as the civil war a tragic moment in time when a nation was split into two fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
What is it? I thought i heard something.
Yanks? I don't hear 'em no more.
Dauger, you figure this would fire if you was to press the trigger? I reckon.
What's the idea, paradine? The idea is, dauger, you ain't a right arm to me or a left arm.
You're just some extra baggage that breathes hard and splits my rations.
You figure you'll shape up by the end of the war? I can't help it! It used to it used to be i never give it any thought.
It used to be like it was some kind of game we was playing like kids.
King of the mountain.
Hide and go seek.
Blind man's bluff.
But it ain't that way anymore, paradine.
I seen too much of this business.
I was at the second manassas.
You haven't got a nerve in your body, have you? Just as many as you, son.
From head to boot.
Only i don't concern myself as much as you.
You're worrying about dead men and lost battles.
That's just too much area to fret in.
I'm worrying about two scouts on a mission, and a dirty piece of brown paper.
It says the yanks are going to take up a position in the chano valley.
We got to scout them and report back as soon as they get into that town down there below.
Yanks? Yanks, probably.
Horses, positive.
How many? It's a patrol, i figure.
That's funny.
What is? Well, i know i heard horses, and it's coming from down there.
They're yanks.
Ain't no question about that.
Listen, joe, we're exposing ourselves here.
This is no place to stand out in the open.
If they are yanks, they'd be in that town down there by now.
Be as noisy as a county fair.
There ain't a sound anymore.
Reckon i better get down there and take a close look.
Listen, joe let's pull out.
I don't like it.
You heard 'em.
We found out what we had to find out- the yankees are in the valley.
So we go back and report.
What's the point in going down there? The point is we got to count their heads, their horses and their guns.
We got to get a look at their regimental number.
That enough point for you, mr.
Dauger? I don't care.
I just don't care anymore.
I only got one big mission left and that's to stay alive.
All right, i say we go down in that valley.
And we wave a shirt and throw down our carbines.
Mr.
Dauger, i extend my sympathy so long as your yellow eats at your insides.
But when it crawls into my bivouac and tries to climb up on my horse, i withdraw my sympathy and give you the back of my hand.
So far, you and me pledge nothing to the confederacy except a lack of sleep and empty bellies.
But there's a couple of hundred thousand others pledged a lot more.
You're making it appear like they did it for nothing.
Now you stay here.
If you hear a shot, you get back to the lieutenant at a fast gallop 'cause that will mean they're down there in force.
And you tell him what happened.
If you haven't heard from me in 15 minutes, you get back there anyway.
Listen, you going down there alone? Just me and this brave horse.
For want of anything else.
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.
Hey! Hey, yank! Sleeping.
Must be sleeping or are you dead? Are you dead?! Plague maybe.
Some kind of sickness.
But that would take hours.
You wouldn't all be like this.
Not all at the same time.
Must be asleep.
No wounds.
Not a sign of blood.
Wake up.
Wake up.
Go on.
Wake up, go ahead.
You aren't dead.
None of you are dead.
Wake up, yanks! None of you are dead! All right, yanks, you're all my prisoners! Come on, yanks! You're all my prisoners! Well, you come to the right place.
You sure come to the right place, boys.
Food, clothing.
Ammunition.
What you got is what we need.
You hear me, yank? You come to the right valley.
Nothing around here but hungry confederates.
I don't understand.
I just don't understand.
What's happened to you? Why are you why are you all quiet like this? None of you can speak? None of you can move.
First meat i've had in a couple of months, you hear? Wind must be the wind.
It has to be the wind.
All right, in there, you'd best come out now.
You hear? You'd better come out now or i'm coming in.
Oh, well, old man.
You don't know how close you come to dying just then.
Now, you'd better tell me just who you are and what you're doing here.
I was just about to ask you for the same information, son.
When i first seen you coming up the street, i thought you was a yank.
You don't know how close youcome to dying.
What was you going to use, grandpa, that book? That's a pretty heavy thing to be throwing.
This book, but i wasn't aiming to throw it just use it like i used it on them.
I done that, you know.
Put them all to sleep.
You don't believe me, do you? You think i'm lying.
I ain't called you no liar.
Something happened to 'em, but there must be some natural explanation.
They just couldn't "natural explanation.
" Now, don't that take all.
This here's what done it.
This here book.
That wasn't bright of you.
That wasn't bright of you at all.
Listen, old man.
You may be harmless enough, but i got no time to fiddle around with black magic or any other old men's games.
Games? Games, you call it? When there in front of you stands the enemy? Not even a twitch? Not even a move in the eyeball? Well! "Ye soldier, conjured here "in the name of the prince of darkness, ye shall remain silent and" now, listen, old man! How 'bout it now, johnny reb? You believe me? I reckon you believe me now being as you can't move a muscle.
Being as you can't speak even a word out loud you're just going to have to stand there and listen to listen to me speak at you.
Oh, i know you can still hear me 'cause i only used half the power.
My name's teague.
I lived down yon by the creek.
I'm a witchman, like my pappy 'fore me.
He was the seventh son of a seventh son, and i was his seventh son.
I know conjure stuff forward and backward and up and down.
It's my living.
And then the yanks come and all the people run afore 'em 'cept me.
Invaders! Tyrants! Thieving skunks to boot! But i fixed them.
I didn't do no la-dl-da.
I opened the book, and i read the words, and you can see what happened to them.
Now now, you listen to me, johnny reb.
Your your secession- you fight the yanks.
Now, you be good and don't give me no argument- blink your right eye.
Now you'll be able to move again as soon as i read the words.
"Ye soldier, conjured here "in the name of the prince of darkness, ye can now move and speak.
" Hypnotism.
Hypnotism? Hypnotism?! This is conjure stuff.
And what i done to them yanks, i can do to the whole union army- freeze 'em all in their tracks.
I can open up a path to washington so that bobby lee could ride in there with three confederate troopers and take over the whole country.
Magic.
You claim it's magic.
I don't claim it.
I say it.
Itismagic.
It's what i read in the book and now you seen it.
You felt it.
You mean you could you could do this to the whole union army? Could and would.
Why don't you, old man? Why don't you? For one good reason, one good reason only.
I'm goin' to die.
Mm.
I'm goin' to die afore the sun goes down.
I got a feelin' in my bones.
I can smell death, and hear it comin' on a white horse galloping straight at me, galloping, galloping straight at me.
Old mr.
Death come to pluck me out of the livin'.
So i ain't goin' to be around to do what's got to be done.
I'm leaving it up to you.
Me? I can tell about a man's looks, his eyes, his head, hold on his weapon.
I can tell all about that man and i'm choosing you.
You can find everything you need in this book- spells, talisman, curses, everything.
Here.
Take it.
Don't seem right.
Don't seem right at all.
There's something something unclean, like being in league with the that's it.
You got it right, johnny reb.
You said it like it's got the devil.
That's who you're in league with, the devil himself.
That's who we'll have fighting the devil.
The devil.
The devil.
The devil.
Halt.
Who goes there? Paradine, troop scout.
Advance and be recognized.
You've been gone a long time, paradine.
We give you up, dead or prisoner by this time.
Neither, lieutenant.
Not time for either of it, it appears.
Well, a man's got to do his reading, don't he.
Well, out with it, man.
What'd you see? More'n you'd believe, lieutenant.
Where was their advance party? We haven't heard a sound from that valley all day.
Their advance party's in that town, and the main body's spread out behind.
Are you drunk or something? Now, there hasn't been a sound from down there all day, not a sound.
Lieutenant, you got every right to call me mad, but the reason you didn't hear 'em is is they're all asleep.
Put to sleep by magic- black magic.
It's right here in this book.
A little old man by the name of teague- he done it.
Paradine, the order's out.
You're to take yourself to bed.
You're to sleep the night.
Make your report to me in the morning.
This is my report, lieutenant.
Where's mallory's troop? They went up the north ridge late this morning.
Yeah, there's a group of yankees camped up there, wasn't there? Company strength at least, wasn't there? That's what we figured? But what's that got to do with all this? On the way back here, lieutenant, i i i opened the book, and i read from a page of it.
Halt.
Who goes there? I conjured up a spell, and i and i turned it in the direction of that ridge.
Mallory, paradine says l-i just seen something l-i can't explain no more'n any of my men can explain it, but they seen it too.
We was walking up that ridge in the scrimmage line scared out of our boots, 'cause it was so quiet.
We thought them yankees was waiting for us just beyond the parapet.
Yeah, they was waiting, all right- standing straight and tall, guns to port, frozen like statues.
Dead? Not dead.
Not dead and not alive.
Just frozen stock-still like rocks.
Lieutenant, this done it.
Paradine, this is the devil's work.
Well, what's this all about? This book- an old man give it to me in town.
It is the devil's work.
I know that.
But maybe it's time we called muster on the devil.
Maybe it's the only thing left for us.
We ain't got enough guns.
We ain't got enough food.
We ain't got enough of anything.
We're losing, lieutenant.
The confederacy's cracking up into little pieces right in front of our eyes.
It's bleeding to death every day.
We ain't got enough blood left to make a change.
I don't know much about satan, but this cause of ours is is dying right in front of us.
Paradine, open up the book and read from it out loud.
Make it good for every union soldier in the field.
Freeze 'em.
Put 'em into the earth or something, but make it good.
"Satan satan, i call upon you, "and in so doing i revoke the name of" go on, joe, read it.
He calls upon us to revoke the name of god.
Leave it be, dauger.
You said yourself it's the only thing we got left.
He's right, paradine.
God help us, thatisall we have left.
What do we call 'em? Damn yankees, don't we, lieutenant? That's the phrase, ain't it- "damn yanks"? If i read aloud from this book, it'll be the confederacy that's damned.
It's that book or it's the end.
Then let it be the end! If it must come, let it come.
If this cause is to be buried let it be put in hallowed ground.
Let it be put in hallowed ground.
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 was brewing, a town called 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.
Rod serling, creator ofthe twilight zone, will tell you about next week's story after this message.
And now, mr.
Serling.
Next week onthe twilight zone we once again borrow the talents of mr.
Charles beaumont who's written a script especially for us called "the jungle.
" Now this is designed for the reasonably impressionable amongst you who find nothing to laugh about when somebody mentions the words "black magic.
" Mr.
John dehner stars in another small excursion into the darker regions of the imagination.
Next week, "the jungle.
" This is james arness.
You know, it's only a short hop fromthe twilight zone to dodge city ingunsmoke.
Saturday nights over most of these stations.
Your next stop, the twilight zone.
The time is 1863, the place the state of virginia.
The event is a bloodletting known as the civil war a tragic moment in time when a nation was split into two fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
What is it? I thought i heard something.
Yanks? I don't hear 'em no more.
Dauger, you figure this would fire if you was to press the trigger? I reckon.
What's the idea, paradine? The idea is, dauger, you ain't a right arm to me or a left arm.
You're just some extra baggage that breathes hard and splits my rations.
You figure you'll shape up by the end of the war? I can't help it! It used to it used to be i never give it any thought.
It used to be like it was some kind of game we was playing like kids.
King of the mountain.
Hide and go seek.
Blind man's bluff.
But it ain't that way anymore, paradine.
I seen too much of this business.
I was at the second manassas.
You haven't got a nerve in your body, have you? Just as many as you, son.
From head to boot.
Only i don't concern myself as much as you.
You're worrying about dead men and lost battles.
That's just too much area to fret in.
I'm worrying about two scouts on a mission, and a dirty piece of brown paper.
It says the yanks are going to take up a position in the chano valley.
We got to scout them and report back as soon as they get into that town down there below.
Yanks? Yanks, probably.
Horses, positive.
How many? It's a patrol, i figure.
That's funny.
What is? Well, i know i heard horses, and it's coming from down there.
They're yanks.
Ain't no question about that.
Listen, joe, we're exposing ourselves here.
This is no place to stand out in the open.
If they are yanks, they'd be in that town down there by now.
Be as noisy as a county fair.
There ain't a sound anymore.
Reckon i better get down there and take a close look.
Listen, joe let's pull out.
I don't like it.
You heard 'em.
We found out what we had to find out- the yankees are in the valley.
So we go back and report.
What's the point in going down there? The point is we got to count their heads, their horses and their guns.
We got to get a look at their regimental number.
That enough point for you, mr.
Dauger? I don't care.
I just don't care anymore.
I only got one big mission left and that's to stay alive.
All right, i say we go down in that valley.
And we wave a shirt and throw down our carbines.
Mr.
Dauger, i extend my sympathy so long as your yellow eats at your insides.
But when it crawls into my bivouac and tries to climb up on my horse, i withdraw my sympathy and give you the back of my hand.
So far, you and me pledge nothing to the confederacy except a lack of sleep and empty bellies.
But there's a couple of hundred thousand others pledged a lot more.
You're making it appear like they did it for nothing.
Now you stay here.
If you hear a shot, you get back to the lieutenant at a fast gallop 'cause that will mean they're down there in force.
And you tell him what happened.
If you haven't heard from me in 15 minutes, you get back there anyway.
Listen, you going down there alone? Just me and this brave horse.
For want of anything else.
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.
Hey! Hey, yank! Sleeping.
Must be sleeping or are you dead? Are you dead?! Plague maybe.
Some kind of sickness.
But that would take hours.
You wouldn't all be like this.
Not all at the same time.
Must be asleep.
No wounds.
Not a sign of blood.
Wake up.
Wake up.
Go on.
Wake up, go ahead.
You aren't dead.
None of you are dead.
Wake up, yanks! None of you are dead! All right, yanks, you're all my prisoners! Come on, yanks! You're all my prisoners! Well, you come to the right place.
You sure come to the right place, boys.
Food, clothing.
Ammunition.
What you got is what we need.
You hear me, yank? You come to the right valley.
Nothing around here but hungry confederates.
I don't understand.
I just don't understand.
What's happened to you? Why are you why are you all quiet like this? None of you can speak? None of you can move.
First meat i've had in a couple of months, you hear? Wind must be the wind.
It has to be the wind.
All right, in there, you'd best come out now.
You hear? You'd better come out now or i'm coming in.
Oh, well, old man.
You don't know how close you come to dying just then.
Now, you'd better tell me just who you are and what you're doing here.
I was just about to ask you for the same information, son.
When i first seen you coming up the street, i thought you was a yank.
You don't know how close youcome to dying.
What was you going to use, grandpa, that book? That's a pretty heavy thing to be throwing.
This book, but i wasn't aiming to throw it just use it like i used it on them.
I done that, you know.
Put them all to sleep.
You don't believe me, do you? You think i'm lying.
I ain't called you no liar.
Something happened to 'em, but there must be some natural explanation.
They just couldn't "natural explanation.
" Now, don't that take all.
This here's what done it.
This here book.
That wasn't bright of you.
That wasn't bright of you at all.
Listen, old man.
You may be harmless enough, but i got no time to fiddle around with black magic or any other old men's games.
Games? Games, you call it? When there in front of you stands the enemy? Not even a twitch? Not even a move in the eyeball? Well! "Ye soldier, conjured here "in the name of the prince of darkness, ye shall remain silent and" now, listen, old man! How 'bout it now, johnny reb? You believe me? I reckon you believe me now being as you can't move a muscle.
Being as you can't speak even a word out loud you're just going to have to stand there and listen to listen to me speak at you.
Oh, i know you can still hear me 'cause i only used half the power.
My name's teague.
I lived down yon by the creek.
I'm a witchman, like my pappy 'fore me.
He was the seventh son of a seventh son, and i was his seventh son.
I know conjure stuff forward and backward and up and down.
It's my living.
And then the yanks come and all the people run afore 'em 'cept me.
Invaders! Tyrants! Thieving skunks to boot! But i fixed them.
I didn't do no la-dl-da.
I opened the book, and i read the words, and you can see what happened to them.
Now now, you listen to me, johnny reb.
Your your secession- you fight the yanks.
Now, you be good and don't give me no argument- blink your right eye.
Now you'll be able to move again as soon as i read the words.
"Ye soldier, conjured here "in the name of the prince of darkness, ye can now move and speak.
" Hypnotism.
Hypnotism? Hypnotism?! This is conjure stuff.
And what i done to them yanks, i can do to the whole union army- freeze 'em all in their tracks.
I can open up a path to washington so that bobby lee could ride in there with three confederate troopers and take over the whole country.
Magic.
You claim it's magic.
I don't claim it.
I say it.
Itismagic.
It's what i read in the book and now you seen it.
You felt it.
You mean you could you could do this to the whole union army? Could and would.
Why don't you, old man? Why don't you? For one good reason, one good reason only.
I'm goin' to die.
Mm.
I'm goin' to die afore the sun goes down.
I got a feelin' in my bones.
I can smell death, and hear it comin' on a white horse galloping straight at me, galloping, galloping straight at me.
Old mr.
Death come to pluck me out of the livin'.
So i ain't goin' to be around to do what's got to be done.
I'm leaving it up to you.
Me? I can tell about a man's looks, his eyes, his head, hold on his weapon.
I can tell all about that man and i'm choosing you.
You can find everything you need in this book- spells, talisman, curses, everything.
Here.
Take it.
Don't seem right.
Don't seem right at all.
There's something something unclean, like being in league with the that's it.
You got it right, johnny reb.
You said it like it's got the devil.
That's who you're in league with, the devil himself.
That's who we'll have fighting the devil.
The devil.
The devil.
The devil.
Halt.
Who goes there? Paradine, troop scout.
Advance and be recognized.
You've been gone a long time, paradine.
We give you up, dead or prisoner by this time.
Neither, lieutenant.
Not time for either of it, it appears.
Well, a man's got to do his reading, don't he.
Well, out with it, man.
What'd you see? More'n you'd believe, lieutenant.
Where was their advance party? We haven't heard a sound from that valley all day.
Their advance party's in that town, and the main body's spread out behind.
Are you drunk or something? Now, there hasn't been a sound from down there all day, not a sound.
Lieutenant, you got every right to call me mad, but the reason you didn't hear 'em is is they're all asleep.
Put to sleep by magic- black magic.
It's right here in this book.
A little old man by the name of teague- he done it.
Paradine, the order's out.
You're to take yourself to bed.
You're to sleep the night.
Make your report to me in the morning.
This is my report, lieutenant.
Where's mallory's troop? They went up the north ridge late this morning.
Yeah, there's a group of yankees camped up there, wasn't there? Company strength at least, wasn't there? That's what we figured? But what's that got to do with all this? On the way back here, lieutenant, i i i opened the book, and i read from a page of it.
Halt.
Who goes there? I conjured up a spell, and i and i turned it in the direction of that ridge.
Mallory, paradine says l-i just seen something l-i can't explain no more'n any of my men can explain it, but they seen it too.
We was walking up that ridge in the scrimmage line scared out of our boots, 'cause it was so quiet.
We thought them yankees was waiting for us just beyond the parapet.
Yeah, they was waiting, all right- standing straight and tall, guns to port, frozen like statues.
Dead? Not dead.
Not dead and not alive.
Just frozen stock-still like rocks.
Lieutenant, this done it.
Paradine, this is the devil's work.
Well, what's this all about? This book- an old man give it to me in town.
It is the devil's work.
I know that.
But maybe it's time we called muster on the devil.
Maybe it's the only thing left for us.
We ain't got enough guns.
We ain't got enough food.
We ain't got enough of anything.
We're losing, lieutenant.
The confederacy's cracking up into little pieces right in front of our eyes.
It's bleeding to death every day.
We ain't got enough blood left to make a change.
I don't know much about satan, but this cause of ours is is dying right in front of us.
Paradine, open up the book and read from it out loud.
Make it good for every union soldier in the field.
Freeze 'em.
Put 'em into the earth or something, but make it good.
"Satan satan, i call upon you, "and in so doing i revoke the name of" go on, joe, read it.
He calls upon us to revoke the name of god.
Leave it be, dauger.
You said yourself it's the only thing we got left.
He's right, paradine.
God help us, thatisall we have left.
What do we call 'em? Damn yankees, don't we, lieutenant? That's the phrase, ain't it- "damn yanks"? If i read aloud from this book, it'll be the confederacy that's damned.
It's that book or it's the end.
Then let it be the end! If it must come, let it come.
If this cause is to be buried let it be put in hallowed ground.
Let it be put in hallowed ground.
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 was brewing, a town called 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.
Rod serling, creator ofthe twilight zone, will tell you about next week's story after this message.
And now, mr.
Serling.
Next week onthe twilight zone we once again borrow the talents of mr.
Charles beaumont who's written a script especially for us called "the jungle.
" Now this is designed for the reasonably impressionable amongst you who find nothing to laugh about when somebody mentions the words "black magic.
" Mr.
John dehner stars in another small excursion into the darker regions of the imagination.
Next week, "the jungle.
" This is james arness.
You know, it's only a short hop fromthe twilight zone to dodge city ingunsmoke.
Saturday nights over most of these stations.