It's a major surprise to see such a rich cast of male actors who could make a theatrical western hum with excitement, featured together in a spooky Twilight Zone episode of twenty or so minutes. It features none other than Lee Marvin as a cranky and aggressive gunfighter paid by a frightened town to track a known and feared criminal to kill him. After a long period of time, Marvin's tracker, Conny Miller was not able to accomplish what he was paid to do(..with most, if not all, of the quiet little town believing Conny was afraid of the killer, Pinto Sykes)so the citizens surrounded Pinto in the street, gunning him down in the process. Entering town after Sykes had been buried(..perhaps a sign in itself that he was chicken of the quick-drawing gunfighter), Conny is looked upon by those still awake in the saloon, "blabbermouth" Johnny Rob(Jamed Best;Dukes of Hazzard), trembling Mothershed(Strother Martin)and "businessman" Steinhart(Lee Van Cleef), with quiet resentment, informing their tracker that Pinto was in fact dead, wagering him that he hasn't the guts to visit the murdered criminal's grave at Midnight. Angered at such a suggestion, Conny takes them up on it, although no matter how tough and rugged his appearance is externally, it's visible that he can not hide the fear lurking within. Bravely, Conny makes it to the grave by way of a path, notices Pinto's kooky(..and drunk)sister Ione(Elen Willard)after just visiting her brother, and decides to confront the demons which haunt him. All he has to do is plunge the bartender's knife into Pinto's grave, but will it be that simple?
First, the town is rendered quite eerie thanks to the way the wind sounds and blows the coats of the characters. The town itself looks quite different during Pinto's death at the hands of the tired citizens in the shootout and once Conny arrives. I think the scene in the saloon is about as good as you can make it if attempting to show men deftly afraid of a man's grave. One can sense that Pinto Sykes struck terror in this town and that his grip was firmly held for a long time no matter where he was at any present time. Marvin, Lee Van Cleef, James Best and Strother Martin all in the same scene together is enough to send a western fan into a frenzy, and for just a twenty five minute episode of Twilight Zone, it's quite a thrill. I like how Best and Martin are presented so cowardly and stricken with fear over Pinto Sykes and how Marvin pretty much causes them a bit of nervousness as well. What I particularly like is how, though, they ever so delicately question Conny's manhood, and almost place Pinto Sykes on a pedestal. Sykes' powerful hold over this town is etched so evidently on even Conny, even though he tries to hide under this menacing veneer, pushing weakling farm-boy Johnny Rob around when he attempts to challenge him on the dare to visit the grave. The graveyard itself is so threatening and creepy, the way dead trees surround tombstones and how the hill is so choppy, dark, and imposing. Still, without that wind, the show wouldn't have been as effective. The wind even plays a major part in Conny's fate, describing what seems obvious, explained by Steinhart(..who reasons a situation realistically, although he himself probably first felt that Pinto's ghost played a hand in it)and what is far more probable and chilling thanks to Ione who uses his own theory against him.
First, the town is rendered quite eerie thanks to the way the wind sounds and blows the coats of the characters. The town itself looks quite different during Pinto's death at the hands of the tired citizens in the shootout and once Conny arrives. I think the scene in the saloon is about as good as you can make it if attempting to show men deftly afraid of a man's grave. One can sense that Pinto Sykes struck terror in this town and that his grip was firmly held for a long time no matter where he was at any present time. Marvin, Lee Van Cleef, James Best and Strother Martin all in the same scene together is enough to send a western fan into a frenzy, and for just a twenty five minute episode of Twilight Zone, it's quite a thrill. I like how Best and Martin are presented so cowardly and stricken with fear over Pinto Sykes and how Marvin pretty much causes them a bit of nervousness as well. What I particularly like is how, though, they ever so delicately question Conny's manhood, and almost place Pinto Sykes on a pedestal. Sykes' powerful hold over this town is etched so evidently on even Conny, even though he tries to hide under this menacing veneer, pushing weakling farm-boy Johnny Rob around when he attempts to challenge him on the dare to visit the grave. The graveyard itself is so threatening and creepy, the way dead trees surround tombstones and how the hill is so choppy, dark, and imposing. Still, without that wind, the show wouldn't have been as effective. The wind even plays a major part in Conny's fate, describing what seems obvious, explained by Steinhart(..who reasons a situation realistically, although he himself probably first felt that Pinto's ghost played a hand in it)and what is far more probable and chilling thanks to Ione who uses his own theory against him.