**Spoilers** Undoubtedly influenced by the 1945 British anthology horror flick "Dead of Night" with Michael Redgrave and his ventriloquist dummy "Hugo" the "Twilight Zone" episode of "The Dummy" stands on its own with the amazing performance of night club entertainer Jerry Etherson, Cliff Robertson, and his sidekick Willie a dummy that's not that dumb at all.
Jerry feeling that he's been playing second banana to his partner ventriloquist dummy Willie wants to get rid of him and turn Willie into a pile of sawdust. Jerry is made to feel like a dummy himself in him really doing nothing on stage and looking a bit stupid as dummy Willie ends up getting all the attention and laughs from the audience. This seems a bit strange since Willie is Jerry's meal ticket and not even alive or much less human! That's not what Jerry thinks about Willie in that the dummy makes up his own material on stage with Jerry acting as straight man to it! Or that's what Jerry thinks!
Feeling that Willie is controlling his life Jerry has him replaced with his second string dummy Goofy Goggles who's not anywhere as funny as Willie and later ends up being broken to pieces by Jerry who mistakes, how could he, him for Willie whom he wants to put out of both his life and night club act! With him falling to pieces and suffering from a severe case of burn out Jerry in an attempt to get rid of Willie ends up with not only a nervous breakdown but complete makeover in him trying to do it!
***SPOILER*** As the "Twilight Zone" episode comes to an end we see who's the dummy and who's the ventriloquist in Jerry's night club act. By then Jerry has completely both gone nuts and out of the picture with Willie now, like he always did, pulling the strings. Which those of us watching knew all along!
Jerry feeling that he's been playing second banana to his partner ventriloquist dummy Willie wants to get rid of him and turn Willie into a pile of sawdust. Jerry is made to feel like a dummy himself in him really doing nothing on stage and looking a bit stupid as dummy Willie ends up getting all the attention and laughs from the audience. This seems a bit strange since Willie is Jerry's meal ticket and not even alive or much less human! That's not what Jerry thinks about Willie in that the dummy makes up his own material on stage with Jerry acting as straight man to it! Or that's what Jerry thinks!
Feeling that Willie is controlling his life Jerry has him replaced with his second string dummy Goofy Goggles who's not anywhere as funny as Willie and later ends up being broken to pieces by Jerry who mistakes, how could he, him for Willie whom he wants to put out of both his life and night club act! With him falling to pieces and suffering from a severe case of burn out Jerry in an attempt to get rid of Willie ends up with not only a nervous breakdown but complete makeover in him trying to do it!
***SPOILER*** As the "Twilight Zone" episode comes to an end we see who's the dummy and who's the ventriloquist in Jerry's night club act. By then Jerry has completely both gone nuts and out of the picture with Willie now, like he always did, pulling the strings. Which those of us watching knew all along!