Prolific television director and writer Montgomery Pittman is the main force behind this Twilight Zone story set in the old west. Pinto Sykes, a notorious and feared gunfighter, is killed by a hail of bullets fired by the citizens of a small western town. One of the men who had hunted him relentlessly, Connie Miller (a mean-looking Lee Marvin), arrives too late to see his long-time adversary fall. Pinto is already buried in the local cemetery on a wind-swept barren hilltop. But there is a strange challenge awaiting Miller. Three of the town's citizens who keep their company together in the town's only saloon dare Miller to visit the grave in the middle of the night. The three men (Lee Van Cleef, Strother Martin and James Best) are convinced that Pinto's ghost haunts the area and that he can still reach out and kill his enemies if they're within striking distance. Already suspicious of Miller's belated entrance to the scene, the men are willing to bet a considerable amount of money that Miller is too frightened and cowardly to visit Pinto's grave-site. At first, Miller scoffs at the idea and feels insulted by the wager, but after some badgering and an exchange of harsh words, he decides to take them up on the bet. The wager is simple enough; to prove beyond a doubt that he has visited the grave, Miller must plunge a knife into the ground where Pinto's body is buried. If the knife is still there in the morning, the money is his. Sounds like easy money...except for the fact that the graveyard is in the Twilight Zone.
"The Grave" is one of the more atmospheric Twilight Zone stories and its high-quality can be attributed to the fine performances of the cast, especially Lee Marvin and Strother Martin. Elen Willard also makes an appearance as Pinto's rather psychic sister and she adds another touch of eeriness to the proceedings. At the end of this tale, the howling wind blows through Pinto Sykes' desolate grave-site, leaving viewers with a sudden chill and maybe a nightmare or two. And Connie Miller's knife?
"The Grave" is one of the more atmospheric Twilight Zone stories and its high-quality can be attributed to the fine performances of the cast, especially Lee Marvin and Strother Martin. Elen Willard also makes an appearance as Pinto's rather psychic sister and she adds another touch of eeriness to the proceedings. At the end of this tale, the howling wind blows through Pinto Sykes' desolate grave-site, leaving viewers with a sudden chill and maybe a nightmare or two. And Connie Miller's knife?