The Twilight Zone (1959) s05e19 Episode Script
Night Call
You unlock this door with the key of imagination.
Beyond it is another dimension- a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind.
You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas.
You've just crossed over into the twilight zone.
Hello? I'm sorry, i didn't hear.
The thunder.
Hello? Who's on the line, please? Hello? Hello? Miss elva keene lives alone on the outskirts of london flats, a tiny rural community in maine.
Up until now, the pattern of miss keene's existence has been that of lying in her bed or sitting in her wheelchair reading books, listening to a radio, eating, napping, taking medication and waiting for something different to happen.
Miss keene doesn't know it yet but her period of waiting has just ended, for something different is about to happen to her, has, in fact, already begun to happen via two most unaccountable telephone calls in the middle of a stormy night.
Telephone calls routed directly through the twilight zone.
Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello! Up early this morning.
What's the matter with her? No answer? Obviously.
I imagine they're pretty busy there this morning with the storm and all.
Oh, miss finch? This is elva keene speaking.
Yes, miss keene, can i help you? You can.
Last night about 2:00 a.
m.
My telephone rang.
I answered it, but no one spoke.
I didn't even hear the receiver being put down.
Not even a dial tone, just silence! Well the same thing happened a few moments later.
Well, miss keene, that storm just about ruined our service.
We've been flooded with complaints about fallen wires and bad connections.
I'd say you're pretty lucky your telephone works at all.
Would you say someone was trying to call me and the connection was bad because of the storm? That's as good an explanation as any right now, miss keene.
I'm sorry, i wish i could be of more help but, oh, the way things are right now! Well, is it likely to happen again? Well, i couldn't say, miss keene, it might.
It depends on what's causing it, of course.
If it does, though, you just call me and i'll have a special check run on it.
Will you do that? Oh, very well.
Good.
I'll wait to hear from you, then.
Good-bye, miss keene.
Good-bye.
Margaret? Yes, miss keene? Did you call me last night? At 2:00 in the morning? Huh, no, ma'am, not me.
Well, you might have checked.
But i don't pay you for nights, do i? Here's your mail, miss keene.
Oh, thank you.
An advertisement.
Another advertisement.
The light bill.
Oh, how stimulating.
You just heard from your sister a few days ago, didn't you? Three weeks.
Three weeks and two days to be exact, margaret.
Has it been that long? Yes, it has.
Nobody cares whether i live or die.
Oh, sure, they do, miss keene.
You don't understand.
You don't know what it's like to be alone.
Oh, now, miss keene.
Hello? Hello? Margaret? Come here, quickly.
What is it, miss keene? There's nobody on the line.
Listen, listen.
See if you can hear the sound of a receiver being put down.
Not a thing.
Wait! Oh, well, it doesn't matter.
I'll call miss finch and have them check on the line.
You really think it's necessary? Yes, i do.
Am i to have calls like this coming in all the time? But if it's a breakdown, they'll fix it.
There we are.
All comfy? Thank you.
Don't let those calls upset you, miss keene.
I'm sure whatever the trouble was the repairmen have it fixed by now.
Oh, why not leave the receiver off the hook? Then whoever it is can't call though i'm sure nobody will.
Thank you.
I'll see you in the morning, miss keene.
Good night.
Good night.
Hello? What? Who's there? Who's on the line? Who is it? Who's there? Hello? Hello! Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Miss keene, are you sure it was someone saying "hello"? It could've been i tell you it was someone.
The same one who kept listening to me saying "hello" over and over again without answering back.
The same one who kept making those horrible noises.
You have no idea though whether it was a man or a woman? I've already told you there's no way of knowing.
It might be either one.
And you're positive it wasn't someone on your party line? Oh, don't you think i don't know the people on my party line? Oh, sure you do, miss keene.
Of course you do.
Well, i'll, um, i'll have a man check your line as soon as possible.
The crews are pretty busy right now on account of the storm, but but what am i to do if this person calls again? Try to get their name, if you can.
If you do that, why, we can take immediate action, you see.
Yes.
What did she say? Nothing.
It's obvious she doesn't believe a word i told her.
Oh, now.
So far as she's concerned, i'm just a nervous old biddy falling prey to my imagination.
But she's find out differently.
I shall just keep on calling her and calling her until she does.
If i don't let them call, i i shall never find out who it is.
Hello? Hello? Who is this? Hello? Who is calling? Hello? Please, who is calling? Hello? Can you hear me? Hello? Please! Hello? Margaret! Margaret! What is it? It's a man who's been calling.
How do you know? He's just called me! What does he want? I don't know.
He just keeps on saying hello over and over again.
"Hello, hello, hello.
" Miss keene, you've got to stop this.
You're working yourself up over over nothing? I didn't say that, miss keene.
You were going to.
Now, miss keene, i wasnot.
I think i better put you in your i don't want to be put in my bed! I want to find out who this terrible man is who keeps calling me! What did miss finch tell you? She told you it was a bad connection, didn't she? It's not a connection.
It's a man! I didn't say it wasn't.
But if he keeps saying hello obviously he can't hear because of a bad connection! He can hear me.
I know he can hear me! Then why don't you hang up? You don't have to listen.
Just hang up.
Is that so hard? Over and over again.
"Hello, hello hello.
" There.
Now you don't have to listen.
Nobody can call you, isn't that right? Leave it that way.
If you want to make a call just hold down the arm a second and dial.
Isn't that right, miss keene? Miss keene? Why does he keep callingme? Why?! Oh! Where are you? I want to talk to you.
Where are you? I want to talk to you.
No.
No! Where are you? I want to talk to you.
Leave me alone! Leave me alone! Your play.
What? Oh.
What's the matter with the girl? She promised a man would check today and now the afternoon's nearly over.
Maybe he doesn't have to check here, miss keene.
Your play.
Shall i answer it? Hello? Miss keene? No, this is margaret phillips.
Here's miss keene.
It's miss finch.
Yes? About those calls you say you've been receiving, miss keene.
Sayi've been? We sent a man out to trace them.
I have his report here.
And? He says he traced the difficulty to a fallen wire on the edge of town.
Fallen wire? Yes, miss keene.
Do you mean to tell me that there were no calls? Miss keene, there is no way that anyone could have phoned from that location.
But i'm sure a manhascalled me.
There must be a phone there.
There must be some way he could call.
Miss keene, the wire is lying on the ground.
Tomorrow, our crew will put it back up, and you won't be there must be some way he could call me.
But there is no one out there.
Out where? Where? Miss keene, it's the cemetery.
What's wrong, miss keene? What is it? What's the matter, miss keene? I wish you'd tell me why you want to come out here, miss keene.
You know it isn't good for you.
If you hadn't made such a to-do i'd never have come in the first place.
What can there possibly be out here to see? Over there.
Here.
Miss keene.
It's him.
Miss keene, what's the matter? It's him.
Brian.
Who? What are you talking about? Brian.
My fiance.
Your f? He died a week before we were to be married.
We were in a car together.
I insisted upon driving.
I was always insisting upon everything determined to have my own way dominating him.
He always did what i said.
Always.
I lost control of the car.
I drove straight into a tree.
Brian went right through the windshield.
He was cut to pieces.
I was crippled.
And now he's trying to reach me.
And now he's trying to reach me.
I can talk to him.
I won't be lonely anymore.
Miss keene, i i can't leave you like this.
I'll be all right.
Good night.
Good night, margaret.
You'll call me if you need me? Yes, i will.
I'll be home all night.
Yes.
Good night.
Good night, margaret.
Brian? Brian, are you there? Brian? Brian, if you're there, speak to me.
It's elva.
Elva! Please speak to me, it's elva.
Please say so you said leave you alone.
I always do what you say.
But, brian! Brian, i didn't know it was you.
I thought brian, please, please don't leave me.
Please speak to me.
I didn't mean to say brian? Brian! According to the bible god created the heavens and the earth.
It is man's prerogative, and woman's, to create their own particular and private hell.
Case in point, miss elva keene who in every sense has made her own bed and now must lie in it sadder, but wiser by dint of a rather painful lesson in responsibility transmitted from the twilight zone.
Beyond it is another dimension- a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind.
You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas.
You've just crossed over into the twilight zone.
Hello? I'm sorry, i didn't hear.
The thunder.
Hello? Who's on the line, please? Hello? Hello? Miss elva keene lives alone on the outskirts of london flats, a tiny rural community in maine.
Up until now, the pattern of miss keene's existence has been that of lying in her bed or sitting in her wheelchair reading books, listening to a radio, eating, napping, taking medication and waiting for something different to happen.
Miss keene doesn't know it yet but her period of waiting has just ended, for something different is about to happen to her, has, in fact, already begun to happen via two most unaccountable telephone calls in the middle of a stormy night.
Telephone calls routed directly through the twilight zone.
Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello! Up early this morning.
What's the matter with her? No answer? Obviously.
I imagine they're pretty busy there this morning with the storm and all.
Oh, miss finch? This is elva keene speaking.
Yes, miss keene, can i help you? You can.
Last night about 2:00 a.
m.
My telephone rang.
I answered it, but no one spoke.
I didn't even hear the receiver being put down.
Not even a dial tone, just silence! Well the same thing happened a few moments later.
Well, miss keene, that storm just about ruined our service.
We've been flooded with complaints about fallen wires and bad connections.
I'd say you're pretty lucky your telephone works at all.
Would you say someone was trying to call me and the connection was bad because of the storm? That's as good an explanation as any right now, miss keene.
I'm sorry, i wish i could be of more help but, oh, the way things are right now! Well, is it likely to happen again? Well, i couldn't say, miss keene, it might.
It depends on what's causing it, of course.
If it does, though, you just call me and i'll have a special check run on it.
Will you do that? Oh, very well.
Good.
I'll wait to hear from you, then.
Good-bye, miss keene.
Good-bye.
Margaret? Yes, miss keene? Did you call me last night? At 2:00 in the morning? Huh, no, ma'am, not me.
Well, you might have checked.
But i don't pay you for nights, do i? Here's your mail, miss keene.
Oh, thank you.
An advertisement.
Another advertisement.
The light bill.
Oh, how stimulating.
You just heard from your sister a few days ago, didn't you? Three weeks.
Three weeks and two days to be exact, margaret.
Has it been that long? Yes, it has.
Nobody cares whether i live or die.
Oh, sure, they do, miss keene.
You don't understand.
You don't know what it's like to be alone.
Oh, now, miss keene.
Hello? Hello? Margaret? Come here, quickly.
What is it, miss keene? There's nobody on the line.
Listen, listen.
See if you can hear the sound of a receiver being put down.
Not a thing.
Wait! Oh, well, it doesn't matter.
I'll call miss finch and have them check on the line.
You really think it's necessary? Yes, i do.
Am i to have calls like this coming in all the time? But if it's a breakdown, they'll fix it.
There we are.
All comfy? Thank you.
Don't let those calls upset you, miss keene.
I'm sure whatever the trouble was the repairmen have it fixed by now.
Oh, why not leave the receiver off the hook? Then whoever it is can't call though i'm sure nobody will.
Thank you.
I'll see you in the morning, miss keene.
Good night.
Good night.
Hello? What? Who's there? Who's on the line? Who is it? Who's there? Hello? Hello! Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Miss keene, are you sure it was someone saying "hello"? It could've been i tell you it was someone.
The same one who kept listening to me saying "hello" over and over again without answering back.
The same one who kept making those horrible noises.
You have no idea though whether it was a man or a woman? I've already told you there's no way of knowing.
It might be either one.
And you're positive it wasn't someone on your party line? Oh, don't you think i don't know the people on my party line? Oh, sure you do, miss keene.
Of course you do.
Well, i'll, um, i'll have a man check your line as soon as possible.
The crews are pretty busy right now on account of the storm, but but what am i to do if this person calls again? Try to get their name, if you can.
If you do that, why, we can take immediate action, you see.
Yes.
What did she say? Nothing.
It's obvious she doesn't believe a word i told her.
Oh, now.
So far as she's concerned, i'm just a nervous old biddy falling prey to my imagination.
But she's find out differently.
I shall just keep on calling her and calling her until she does.
If i don't let them call, i i shall never find out who it is.
Hello? Hello? Who is this? Hello? Who is calling? Hello? Please, who is calling? Hello? Can you hear me? Hello? Please! Hello? Margaret! Margaret! What is it? It's a man who's been calling.
How do you know? He's just called me! What does he want? I don't know.
He just keeps on saying hello over and over again.
"Hello, hello, hello.
" Miss keene, you've got to stop this.
You're working yourself up over over nothing? I didn't say that, miss keene.
You were going to.
Now, miss keene, i wasnot.
I think i better put you in your i don't want to be put in my bed! I want to find out who this terrible man is who keeps calling me! What did miss finch tell you? She told you it was a bad connection, didn't she? It's not a connection.
It's a man! I didn't say it wasn't.
But if he keeps saying hello obviously he can't hear because of a bad connection! He can hear me.
I know he can hear me! Then why don't you hang up? You don't have to listen.
Just hang up.
Is that so hard? Over and over again.
"Hello, hello hello.
" There.
Now you don't have to listen.
Nobody can call you, isn't that right? Leave it that way.
If you want to make a call just hold down the arm a second and dial.
Isn't that right, miss keene? Miss keene? Why does he keep callingme? Why?! Oh! Where are you? I want to talk to you.
Where are you? I want to talk to you.
No.
No! Where are you? I want to talk to you.
Leave me alone! Leave me alone! Your play.
What? Oh.
What's the matter with the girl? She promised a man would check today and now the afternoon's nearly over.
Maybe he doesn't have to check here, miss keene.
Your play.
Shall i answer it? Hello? Miss keene? No, this is margaret phillips.
Here's miss keene.
It's miss finch.
Yes? About those calls you say you've been receiving, miss keene.
Sayi've been? We sent a man out to trace them.
I have his report here.
And? He says he traced the difficulty to a fallen wire on the edge of town.
Fallen wire? Yes, miss keene.
Do you mean to tell me that there were no calls? Miss keene, there is no way that anyone could have phoned from that location.
But i'm sure a manhascalled me.
There must be a phone there.
There must be some way he could call.
Miss keene, the wire is lying on the ground.
Tomorrow, our crew will put it back up, and you won't be there must be some way he could call me.
But there is no one out there.
Out where? Where? Miss keene, it's the cemetery.
What's wrong, miss keene? What is it? What's the matter, miss keene? I wish you'd tell me why you want to come out here, miss keene.
You know it isn't good for you.
If you hadn't made such a to-do i'd never have come in the first place.
What can there possibly be out here to see? Over there.
Here.
Miss keene.
It's him.
Miss keene, what's the matter? It's him.
Brian.
Who? What are you talking about? Brian.
My fiance.
Your f? He died a week before we were to be married.
We were in a car together.
I insisted upon driving.
I was always insisting upon everything determined to have my own way dominating him.
He always did what i said.
Always.
I lost control of the car.
I drove straight into a tree.
Brian went right through the windshield.
He was cut to pieces.
I was crippled.
And now he's trying to reach me.
And now he's trying to reach me.
I can talk to him.
I won't be lonely anymore.
Miss keene, i i can't leave you like this.
I'll be all right.
Good night.
Good night, margaret.
You'll call me if you need me? Yes, i will.
I'll be home all night.
Yes.
Good night.
Good night, margaret.
Brian? Brian, are you there? Brian? Brian, if you're there, speak to me.
It's elva.
Elva! Please speak to me, it's elva.
Please say so you said leave you alone.
I always do what you say.
But, brian! Brian, i didn't know it was you.
I thought brian, please, please don't leave me.
Please speak to me.
I didn't mean to say brian? Brian! According to the bible god created the heavens and the earth.
It is man's prerogative, and woman's, to create their own particular and private hell.
Case in point, miss elva keene who in every sense has made her own bed and now must lie in it sadder, but wiser by dint of a rather painful lesson in responsibility transmitted from the twilight zone.