The Twilight Zone (1959) s03e16 Episode Script
Nothing in the Dark
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.
Help! Please help! Who is it? Go away.
I've been shot.
I need help.
Who are you? An officer.
Police.
Please, open the door.
I need help.
You're lying to me.
I know you.
You can't fool me.
Help.
You're lying.
You're no policeman.
Why can't you leave me alone? I know who you are.
I knowwhatyou are.
An old woman living in a nightmare.
An old woman who has fought a thousand battles with death and always won.
Now she's faced with a grim decision: Whether or not to open a door.
And in some strange and frightening way, she knows that this seemingly ordinary door leads to the twilight zone.
Won't somebody help? Unless you help me, i'm going to die.
I i don't think i can move.
Don't say that, it isn't fair.
You're trying to trick me.
Don't move.
L-l-i'll close the door.
What? I've been shot.
I'm bleeding to death.
Please.
My name is harold beldon.
I need a doctor.
Please, call the hospital.
I haven't got a telephone.
I'd have to unlock the door.
You can't ask me to do that.
I don't want to die.
You understand.
I know who you are.
You're not going to help me? You're going to let me die? I don't understand.
But it hurts.
Oh, it hurts.
Stop.
Stop.
Why do you torture me? It isn't fair.
I i can't move.
I ooh, it hurts.
It isn't fair.
It isn't fair.
I'm still alive.
Now, listen, you should try and get some rest.
Really, i feel much better.
When the doctor gets here, he'll take me off your hands.
You didn't call the doctor.
Why not? I haven't got a telephone.
But couldn't you go to one of the neighbors? There aren't any, they've all moved away.
Trucks came and took away their furniture.
First one and then another.
And even-even if i could call a doctor somehow, i couldn't take a chance and let him in.
Don't you see? He might behim.
Him? Mr.
Death.
I know he's out there.
He's trying to get in.
He comes to the door and knocks.
He begs me to let him in.
Last week he said he came from the gas company.
Oh, he's clever.
After that, he claimed to be a contractor hired by the city.
I knew who he was.
He said this building was condemned that i'd have to leave.
I kept the door locked, and he went away.
He knows i'm onto him.
Mr.
Death? Is this a person, like you or me? I know it sounds crazy, but it's true.
I know it's true.
But people die all over the world.
Now how could one man be in all those places at once? I don't know.
Don't ask me that.
Maybe there is more than one.
Maybe please don't cry, i i don't want to hurt you.
Please, i'm sorry.
There.
At first, i couldn't be sure.
It was a long time ago.
I was on a bus.
There was an old woman sitting in front of me knitting.
Socks, i think.
There was something about her face.
I thought i knew her.
Then this young man got on.
There were empty seats, but he sat down beside her.
He didn't say anything, but his being there upset her.
He seemed a nice young man.
When she dropped her yarn, he picked it up, right in front of me.
He held it out to her.
I saw their fingers touch.
He got out at the next stop.
When the bus reached the end of the line she was dead.
Hmm.
But you said yourself she was an old woman.
But i've seen him since, several times.
I've seen him in crowds, i've watched for him.
Every time someone i knew died, he was there.
Once he was a young soldier, a salesman, a taxi driver- someone you wouldn't notice unless you were watching.
I wondered why i could see him and that no one else could.
Then i knew.
It was because i was getting older and my time was coming.
I could see clearer than younger people could.
All right.
But if you knew what he looked like, why be afraid? You could avoid him.
Because his face is always different, i couldn't be sure.
How about when you go out? Couldn't he touch you then if he wanted to? I never go out.
Never? I haven't been out for years.
Well, what do you do about food? A boy delivers it.
I leave him money and a list.
And i always wait until he's gone away before i unlock the door.
How can you live like this? If i don't live like this, i won't live at all.
If i don't watch out, if i let down even for a moment, he'll get in.
I know he will.
I haven't always lived like this.
I was young once.
People said i was pretty.
I lived out in the sunlight.
People said i'd spoil my fine complexion.
I didn't care.
I loved outdoor things.
I lived out in the sunlight.
I've always hated the dark and the cold.
I'm old.
I've lived a long time.
But i don't want to die.
I'd rather live in the dark than not live at all.
Here.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
We're alone here.
And there's nobody at the door.
You need some rest and i need help.
No.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
You better answer it.
Go on.
That's right.
Go ahead.
Go ahead, answer it.
I'm sorry, lady, but i've got my orders.
I can't fool around any longer.
Easy, lady.
Just lie quiet till you get your strength back.
You gave me quite a scare when you caved in like that.
And still i live.
You got to understand, ma'am, i i don't get no pleasure out of busting in doors.
You don't seem to realize how important this is.
I've got a-a crew and equipment coming in an hour to pull this tenement down.
Begging your pardon, ma'am, but it's long overdue.
I'm surprised it's still standing.
And you're really not mr.
Death? Well i don't know what you're talking about.
All i know is i got a contract to demolish this row of buildings.
Everybody else moved out long ago.
Until the other day, i thought this building was deserted.
I seen them windows boarded up, and i figured you moved, too.
You want me to go outside? You want me to leave here? I can't.
You were notified months ago, right? I'm just trying to do my job.
These buildings were condemned by the city, and i'm the one who's got to tear them down.
How can you.
This building has had it.
It's worn out, used up.
All these buildings have got to come down.
I ain't a monster, lady.
I i've got a heart just like anybody else, but, uh i can see how you could get attached to a place and not want to see it wrecked, but when a building is old, it's dangerous.
It's got to come down to make room for a new one.
That's life, lady.
Old make room for the new.
Well, people get the idea that i'm kind of destroyer, but they think i get kicks out of tearing stuff down.
That ain't the way it is.
I i just clear the ground so other people can build.
In a way, i help them do it.
Look around- it's the way things are.
A big tree falls, and a new one grow right out of the same ground.
Old animals die and young ones take their places.
Even people step aside when it's time.
I won't.
The door.
There's no need in that.
Now, what's the sense of locking a door that won't even be here in an hour? If you've got any possessions you'd want to keep, i'd move them out.
I'll help you.
Now, look, i've been trying to go easy, but if you insist on staying here, i'll have to call a cop.
Please cooperate, lady.
Of course.
Explain to him.
Tell him the reason i can't go out there.
You'll help me, won't you? What are you doing? Who are you talking to? Mr.
Beldon is a policeman.
Please tell him.
I'm sorry, but if you're still here when the crew arrives, i'll have to call a cop.
Why didn't you help me? I thought you understood.
You.
He looked right at you and didn't see you.
No! Look in the mirror, wanda.
You tricked me.
It was you all the time.
Yes.
I tricked you.
But why? The moment i let you inside, you could have taken me anytime.
But you were nice.
You made me trust you.
But i had to make you understand.
Am i really so bad? Am i really so frightening? You've talked to me, you've confided in me.
Have i tried to hurt you? It isn't me you're afraid of.
You understand me.
What you're afraid of is the unknown.
Don't don't be afraid.
But i am afraid.
The running's over.
It's time to rest.
Give me your hand.
But i don't want to die.
Trust me.
No.
No.
Mother, give me your hand.
You see, no shock.
No engulfment.
No tearing asunder.
What you feared would come like an explosion is like a whisper.
What you thought was the end is the beginning.
When will it happen? When will we go? Go? Look.
We have already begun.
There was an old woman who lived in a room and, like all of us, was frightened of the dark, but who discovered in a minute last fragment of her life that there was nothing in the dark that wasn't there when the lights were on.
Object lesson for the more frightened amongst us, in or out of 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 let you in on a an extravagant practical joke.
A man who wants to convey an illusion that the world is coming to an end.
Now there are jokes and there are jokes, but this one stands all by itself as an exercise in the very different and the very bizarre.
Our play is called "one more pallbearer," and we commend it to you as something quite special.
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.
Help! Please help! Who is it? Go away.
I've been shot.
I need help.
Who are you? An officer.
Police.
Please, open the door.
I need help.
You're lying to me.
I know you.
You can't fool me.
Help.
You're lying.
You're no policeman.
Why can't you leave me alone? I know who you are.
I knowwhatyou are.
An old woman living in a nightmare.
An old woman who has fought a thousand battles with death and always won.
Now she's faced with a grim decision: Whether or not to open a door.
And in some strange and frightening way, she knows that this seemingly ordinary door leads to the twilight zone.
Won't somebody help? Unless you help me, i'm going to die.
I i don't think i can move.
Don't say that, it isn't fair.
You're trying to trick me.
Don't move.
L-l-i'll close the door.
What? I've been shot.
I'm bleeding to death.
Please.
My name is harold beldon.
I need a doctor.
Please, call the hospital.
I haven't got a telephone.
I'd have to unlock the door.
You can't ask me to do that.
I don't want to die.
You understand.
I know who you are.
You're not going to help me? You're going to let me die? I don't understand.
But it hurts.
Oh, it hurts.
Stop.
Stop.
Why do you torture me? It isn't fair.
I i can't move.
I ooh, it hurts.
It isn't fair.
It isn't fair.
I'm still alive.
Now, listen, you should try and get some rest.
Really, i feel much better.
When the doctor gets here, he'll take me off your hands.
You didn't call the doctor.
Why not? I haven't got a telephone.
But couldn't you go to one of the neighbors? There aren't any, they've all moved away.
Trucks came and took away their furniture.
First one and then another.
And even-even if i could call a doctor somehow, i couldn't take a chance and let him in.
Don't you see? He might behim.
Him? Mr.
Death.
I know he's out there.
He's trying to get in.
He comes to the door and knocks.
He begs me to let him in.
Last week he said he came from the gas company.
Oh, he's clever.
After that, he claimed to be a contractor hired by the city.
I knew who he was.
He said this building was condemned that i'd have to leave.
I kept the door locked, and he went away.
He knows i'm onto him.
Mr.
Death? Is this a person, like you or me? I know it sounds crazy, but it's true.
I know it's true.
But people die all over the world.
Now how could one man be in all those places at once? I don't know.
Don't ask me that.
Maybe there is more than one.
Maybe please don't cry, i i don't want to hurt you.
Please, i'm sorry.
There.
At first, i couldn't be sure.
It was a long time ago.
I was on a bus.
There was an old woman sitting in front of me knitting.
Socks, i think.
There was something about her face.
I thought i knew her.
Then this young man got on.
There were empty seats, but he sat down beside her.
He didn't say anything, but his being there upset her.
He seemed a nice young man.
When she dropped her yarn, he picked it up, right in front of me.
He held it out to her.
I saw their fingers touch.
He got out at the next stop.
When the bus reached the end of the line she was dead.
Hmm.
But you said yourself she was an old woman.
But i've seen him since, several times.
I've seen him in crowds, i've watched for him.
Every time someone i knew died, he was there.
Once he was a young soldier, a salesman, a taxi driver- someone you wouldn't notice unless you were watching.
I wondered why i could see him and that no one else could.
Then i knew.
It was because i was getting older and my time was coming.
I could see clearer than younger people could.
All right.
But if you knew what he looked like, why be afraid? You could avoid him.
Because his face is always different, i couldn't be sure.
How about when you go out? Couldn't he touch you then if he wanted to? I never go out.
Never? I haven't been out for years.
Well, what do you do about food? A boy delivers it.
I leave him money and a list.
And i always wait until he's gone away before i unlock the door.
How can you live like this? If i don't live like this, i won't live at all.
If i don't watch out, if i let down even for a moment, he'll get in.
I know he will.
I haven't always lived like this.
I was young once.
People said i was pretty.
I lived out in the sunlight.
People said i'd spoil my fine complexion.
I didn't care.
I loved outdoor things.
I lived out in the sunlight.
I've always hated the dark and the cold.
I'm old.
I've lived a long time.
But i don't want to die.
I'd rather live in the dark than not live at all.
Here.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
We're alone here.
And there's nobody at the door.
You need some rest and i need help.
No.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
You better answer it.
Go on.
That's right.
Go ahead.
Go ahead, answer it.
I'm sorry, lady, but i've got my orders.
I can't fool around any longer.
Easy, lady.
Just lie quiet till you get your strength back.
You gave me quite a scare when you caved in like that.
And still i live.
You got to understand, ma'am, i i don't get no pleasure out of busting in doors.
You don't seem to realize how important this is.
I've got a-a crew and equipment coming in an hour to pull this tenement down.
Begging your pardon, ma'am, but it's long overdue.
I'm surprised it's still standing.
And you're really not mr.
Death? Well i don't know what you're talking about.
All i know is i got a contract to demolish this row of buildings.
Everybody else moved out long ago.
Until the other day, i thought this building was deserted.
I seen them windows boarded up, and i figured you moved, too.
You want me to go outside? You want me to leave here? I can't.
You were notified months ago, right? I'm just trying to do my job.
These buildings were condemned by the city, and i'm the one who's got to tear them down.
How can you.
This building has had it.
It's worn out, used up.
All these buildings have got to come down.
I ain't a monster, lady.
I i've got a heart just like anybody else, but, uh i can see how you could get attached to a place and not want to see it wrecked, but when a building is old, it's dangerous.
It's got to come down to make room for a new one.
That's life, lady.
Old make room for the new.
Well, people get the idea that i'm kind of destroyer, but they think i get kicks out of tearing stuff down.
That ain't the way it is.
I i just clear the ground so other people can build.
In a way, i help them do it.
Look around- it's the way things are.
A big tree falls, and a new one grow right out of the same ground.
Old animals die and young ones take their places.
Even people step aside when it's time.
I won't.
The door.
There's no need in that.
Now, what's the sense of locking a door that won't even be here in an hour? If you've got any possessions you'd want to keep, i'd move them out.
I'll help you.
Now, look, i've been trying to go easy, but if you insist on staying here, i'll have to call a cop.
Please cooperate, lady.
Of course.
Explain to him.
Tell him the reason i can't go out there.
You'll help me, won't you? What are you doing? Who are you talking to? Mr.
Beldon is a policeman.
Please tell him.
I'm sorry, but if you're still here when the crew arrives, i'll have to call a cop.
Why didn't you help me? I thought you understood.
You.
He looked right at you and didn't see you.
No! Look in the mirror, wanda.
You tricked me.
It was you all the time.
Yes.
I tricked you.
But why? The moment i let you inside, you could have taken me anytime.
But you were nice.
You made me trust you.
But i had to make you understand.
Am i really so bad? Am i really so frightening? You've talked to me, you've confided in me.
Have i tried to hurt you? It isn't me you're afraid of.
You understand me.
What you're afraid of is the unknown.
Don't don't be afraid.
But i am afraid.
The running's over.
It's time to rest.
Give me your hand.
But i don't want to die.
Trust me.
No.
No.
Mother, give me your hand.
You see, no shock.
No engulfment.
No tearing asunder.
What you feared would come like an explosion is like a whisper.
What you thought was the end is the beginning.
When will it happen? When will we go? Go? Look.
We have already begun.
There was an old woman who lived in a room and, like all of us, was frightened of the dark, but who discovered in a minute last fragment of her life that there was nothing in the dark that wasn't there when the lights were on.
Object lesson for the more frightened amongst us, in or out of 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 let you in on a an extravagant practical joke.
A man who wants to convey an illusion that the world is coming to an end.
Now there are jokes and there are jokes, but this one stands all by itself as an exercise in the very different and the very bizarre.
Our play is called "one more pallbearer," and we commend it to you as something quite special.
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.