User Reviews

While going to his work, the bank clerk Hector B. Poole buys a newspaper at a street vendor and tosses a coin into his box that lands on its edge. Out of the blue, he discovers that he can hear people´s thoughts on the street. When he arrives in the bank, he hears his boss´ thoughts planning a trip with his mistress; his colleague´s thoughts showing feelings for him; the thoughts of his client planning to bet a loan at the horse racing; and the thoughts of the oldest employee planning to heist money from the vault to travel to Bermuda. What will he do?

"A Penny for Your Thoughts" is a highly entertaining episode of "The Twilight Zone", with the story of an insecure man that achieves the ability to hear thoughts. The problem is to identify the fantasies from the real intentions, but in the end, the clerk improves his life with his gift. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Moeda Pelos Seus Pensamentos" ("A Coin for Your Thoughts")

Dick York makes his second foray into The Twilight Zone with this episode, he appeared earlier during the first season of the show in #1.19 - 'The Purple Testament'. One might get distracted somewhat by his uncanny resemblance to Jim Carrey, or the other way around as the case may be.

With the unlikely outcome of a 'stand on edge' coin toss, York's character Hector Poole suddenly finds himself with the ability to read other people's thoughts. This would have it's advantages in any profession, particularly so with Poole's position as a loan officer at a bank. Trouble is, mind reading can go both ways, and when old Smithers entertains his fantasy about running off with a hefty piece of the vault, it turns out to be nothing more than a whimsical daydream.

So one needs to consider, is a talent like this a blessing or a curse? We get our answer in the closing segment, as Poole loses his ability as easily as he gained it. Of course, one must concede the almost impossible odds inherent in his original coin remaining in the same fixed position throughout a sidewalk newspaper boy's busy day. But those odds were often a staple element of the Twilight Zone universe, because after all, it WAS the Twilight Zone.

"A Penny for Your Thoughts" is played for a few laughs and in that regard it succeeds fairly well. Dick York, one of TV's better light comedians, is Hector Poole, a nonentity working in a bank who suddenly gains a great power. After flipping a coin on its edge while buying a newspaper, he's able to read people's thoughts. Instead of using his newfound talent to his advantage, however, the inept Poole only receives loads of frustration. He quickly discovers that most people think one way and act decidedly different. This becomes readily apparent when he accuses long-time trusted employee Mr. Smithers (Cyril Delevanti) of stealing money out of the bank's vault so he can take a secret excursion to the Islands. Poole finds out the hard way that Smithers' big heist is all in the old fellow's very active imagination. Luckily for Poole, he catches his boss (Dan Tobin) thinking amorously about his mistress and is at least able to finagle a new office and promotion out of him. Poole's brief trip to the "Twilight Zone" ends when the coin falls off its edge after a day on the precipice. For his part, Poole is most happy to be back in reality.

Not much here in the way of excitement or suspense but Dick York at least keeps the story moving. His co-worker (June Dayton) has some amorous thoughts of her own, and York finally acts on them after much prodding. Having great powers and then foolishly squandering them is a familiar Twilight Zone theme. In "A Penny for Your Thoughts," York learns a valuable lesson without the usual tragic results. In the end, he's happy just to keep his job and have Ms. Dayton on his arm.

There are shows in which you never expect there to be humor because there never is. "The Twilight Zone" was one of them, at least until this episode, which was, frankly, quite funny, appeared.

The highest praise goes to the writing, incidentally not done by Rod Sterling. While the episode does eventually take a darker turn, as it must, the beginning is quite entertaining, with my favorite joke being him walking up to this young woman, and not hearing anything, because she isn't thinking anything, just waving around money. It cracked me up.

Of course, the episode does have flaws. For one, at what point does he hear people's thoughts. Does he have to be close to them? Or just paying attention to them? And of course, at least in my experience, and I have discussed this with a few people, people don't generally think in full sentences, they think in images. They also don't spend so much time thinking about one thought, at least not usually. A million different thoughts rush through their brain. Why doesn't the main character hear those, too?

But other than those logistical flaws, this is a brilliant episode. It never intends to scare you, which is somewhat strange for "The Twilight Zone," but what it does is poses two questions, the first of which is: Was this a blessing or a curse? I mean, there are little perks. Your love life instantly becomes easier. You can comfort people without them giving a painful explanation. But on the other hand, some things you might not want to know about. There are no more surprises. Pretty lies become bitter truths. Those you thought care about you may actually not. The other question it poses is the moral dilemma present here. Is it decent for him to take advantage of this, or should he purposefully seclude himself, to avoid invading privacy. I mean, it is a little creepy. You know people's fantasies, desires, and things they would never really do, but knowing that could ruin a relationship with a person. But on the other hand, he didn't wish for this. It's not really his fault. He can't be expected to destroy his personal life and cut himself off from humanity because of something that happened by accident.

In my mind, there is no right answer to those questions. But I do believe that this episode was a perfect example of the wit in The Twilight Zone.

Meek bank employee Hector B. Poole (a solid and likable performance by Dick York) acquires telepathic powers from a magical coin that enables him to hear other people's thoughts and fantasies.

Director James Sheldon relates the amusing and entertaining premise at a steady pace and maintains an amiable lighthearted tone throughout. George Clayton Johnson's crafty script offers a satisfying transitional arc for Poole in which he effectively surmounts his timidity and concludes things on a pleasant upbeat note. Moreover, the various thoughts Poole hears from other people are quite funny. This episode further benefits from sound acting by York, June Dayton as sweet and smitten coworker Helen Turner, Dan Tobin as smarmy boss E.M. Bagby, and Cyril Delevanti as resigned old man L.J. Smithers. An enjoyable show.

Dick York, an employee of the accounts section at a bank, flips a coin into a newsman's box and it lands on edge. It gives him the power to hear other people's thoughts, and some of them come as a surprise. He foils the scheme of a man about to borrow money to bet on a horse race, discovers his secretary has a crush on him, and so forth.

He overhears an elderly man thinking about how he's going to empty money from the bank vault into his briefcase at 4:30 and sail to Bermuda that night. He squeals on the old fellow and it develops that it was all just a daydream. The old guy has a slightly different one every day.

It's funny, with a kind of sweet undertone. The bad guys -- the one who bets on the ponies, the boss who's having a weekend affair now that his wife is out of town -- aren't really evil. They're just rapscallions. The old man winds up with a ticket to Bermuda, York gets his promotion, and he gets the girl too.

And there are some amusing moments. York gawks at a bust of George Washington when it begins thinking in a woman's voice, but it's just his secretary behind the filing cabinet. A woman stands at a table, holding a fist full of cash and staring dreamily up at the ceiling, but when York wanders over to her, he finds her mind is a complete blank.

There are no messages or morals, and no poetry. This stream of consciousness isn't James Joyce. It's George Clayton Johnson. And it's entertaining from beginning to end.

One of the all-time greatest TZ episodes. I've always thought Dick York was better in roles other than Darren on Bewitched. He is excellent as Hector B Poole. The story has an obvious comedic slant, but manages to be dramatic simultaneously. Poole acquires the ability to hear people's thoughts. After losing this "gift," he realizes how unnecessary it was in the first place. I've seen this episode many times, and the last scene always gets me choked up. Dick York says (to June Dayton): "I can't hear a word you're thinking." Her reply: "Can't you, Hector?"

One of my favorite episodes maybe my favorite . Hector Poole ( Dick York) buys a paper on his way to work and the coin lands on it's edge!' He doesn't realize it at first but it allows Hector to read minds ! It's not all it's cracked up to be either. People think things without having any intention of doing them. They think things without giving them much real thought if that makes any sense! Hector as a result gets some things right and some things wrong. But in the process saves the bank a lot of money, helps a co worker live out a dream and gains a girlfriend and a promotion. Hector knocks over the coin next time he buys a newspaper and regains some peace of mind too.

Hector is one of the good guys of the Twilight Zone. Penny For Your Thoughts is also one of the more uplifting episodes. I would recommend it to anyone and certainly to a first time viewer of the show.

Dick York plays an amiable bank employee named Hector Poole who buys his usual morning paper with a coin that this day lands on its edge, a rare event that gives Poole the unique ability to read other peoples thoughts, both on the street and in the bank, which gets him in trouble when he believes he overhears both a fellow employee and a potential customer plot to steal and swindle the bank out of its money. What is Hector to do, and how can fellow female employee(and love interest) Miss Turner(played by June Dayton) help him before he loses his job... Amusing episode is pretty slight of course, but also appealing and whimsical, with good acting by the cast.

After watching "A Penny For Your Thoughts", I realized that I have now seen three "Twilight Zone" episodes written by George Clayton Johnson ("The Four Of Us Are Dying", "Execution", and this one), and I have enjoyed all of them. What differentiates them from many Rod Serling scripts is that they don't try to teach you a moral lesson - the viewer is left to draw his/her own conclusions (in this case, about whether literally hearing people's thoughts is a blessing or a curse). This small, single-setting, unassuming episode doesn't try to spook you, either; it's one of the lighter episodes I've seen so far, and also one of the most entertaining. There are some particularly clever moments (Poole eavesdrops on the thoughts of one woman but he gets absolute silence!), and a touching little performance by Cyril Delevanti as the oldest employee at the bank. *** out of 4.

Accent is on comedy in this Twilight Zone episode as Dick York in his Darrin Stevens character is given the ability to read minds after a coin he tosses stand on its edge.

York here works at a bank, he's an office drone who toils away for years at the place without any real recognition by the boss Dan Tobin. Now York is full of all kinds of intuitive insights into people and he unnerves a few.

With co-worker Cyril Delavanti who is something of a senior drone York learns a lesson about daydreaming and fantasy. But his insights do prove useful to the bank in the end.

A most whimsical half hour.

A Penny for Your Thoughts is not bad, though it has the usual belaboring of the character to realize his gift and Serling inserts his own thoughts through characters, not writing individually for them. I assumed when the old man was thinking he's going to rob the place, that it would be a thought he has everyday, so it wasn't a surprise.