Ernest Truex plays a common street peddler who has the gift of giving to anyone exactly what they need to get to their next station in life. For example, while in a bar and overhearing a hard luck story from a down-and-out baseball player, he sends the fellow a miraculous phone call from a team looking for a coach. It's exactly what the guy needs to get to the next level. Then bad guy Steve Cochran figures out Truex's gift and starts demanding things that he needs to continue his ruinous ways. Truex soon realizes that Cochran's "needs" are never-ending and counter-productive, to say the least. He decides to turn the tables on him and satisfy his own desperate need to rid himself from this tyrant.
Not one of the best Twilight Zone stories, but good performances by Truex and Cochran make this episode worth watching. Cochran made a career out of playing unsavory characters and was usually typecast as a gangster (e.g. "White Heat"). He put his under-rated acting skills to fine use here.
Not one of the best Twilight Zone stories, but good performances by Truex and Cochran make this episode worth watching. Cochran made a career out of playing unsavory characters and was usually typecast as a gangster (e.g. "White Heat"). He put his under-rated acting skills to fine use here.