Mr. Denton on Doomsday

Drunken ex-gunfighter Al Denton, after being harassed by local thugs, is approached by a mysterious peddler, who gives him a potion that allows 10 seconds of deadly shooting accuracy.

While the Twilight Zone is best remembered for twist endings, it's best episodes almost always featured richly developed characters and/or sharply delivered plots that set enormously high stakes for those characters. "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" delivers on both in spades. Dan Duryea made his career as a villain throughout the 40s and 50s -- a character with a charming smile and a deadly sneer to match the personality. In this episode, he creates a character wallowing in alcoholic desperation arising from the loss of what he perceives is his greatest gift (his abilities as a gunman), ready to grab at anything that will revive this gift; the real twist in this episode is what his character learns from reviving that gift, a moral lesson delivered by Serling without unnecessary syrup (something many later Serling-written episode would be all too full of).

The performance that Duryea creates hits all of these notes brilliantly, and he is richly supported by the entire cast -- Jeanne Cooper and Ken Lynch as the sympathetic saloon owner and bartender, Malcolm Atterbury as the inscrutable peddler, and Martin Landau as a sadistic thug who terrorizes the Duryea character. Further, Allen Reisner's direction keeps the look as a standard Western, giving the audience a familiar surrounding in which to allow the story to unfold.

This episode is not the one most think of when they think of classic Twilight Zone episodes, but it should be.

In the Far West, the drunkard Al Denton (Dan Duryea) is bullied by the gunman Dan Hotaling (Martin Landau) to get some booze. The mysterious Henry J. Fate (Malcolm Atterbury) observes the humiliation and Al Denton finds a revolver on the street. When Dan sees Al Denton with a revolver on his hand, he challenges the drunk for a gunfighter. Fate observes again and makes a movement with his hand that will change the life of Al Denton.

"Mr. Denton on Doomsday" is a tale of second chance in life, with the redemption and recovering of dignity and self-esteem by the drunk of a little town in the Old West. The plot is well-written and never corny. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Além da Imaginação - Mr. Denton on Doomsday" ("Beyond Imagination - Mr. Denton on Doomsday")

Note: On 25 Mar 2018 I saw this episode again.

This is about reclaiming one's life. The Western was the dominant dramatic form on television at the time this came out, so people had a regular diet of them. In this one, a town drunk is given a chance to regain his dignity by doing something positive. He is given a bottle that will allow him to be a great gunfighter for a short time. Unfortunately, Mr. Fate has other plans and he find himself neutralized. All is not lost, however, because he and his adversary are left to live normal lives because their gunfighting days are over. This is a cold war tale and a morality play. Serling had to take it to the next level, by injecting irony. The story plays pretty well and is enjoyable and, if we have not seen it before, it plays pretty well. If you are looking for a parallel to this, see "The Chaser."

A story about self-esteem and a man about a million miles away from regaining his. Film noir veteran Dan Duryea plays Denton, a washed-up, drunk former gun-fighter. Western scenarios tend to wear less well with time than other TZ's. When Denton tells of turning away from gun-fighting after being challenged by a sixteen-year old I had to chuckle remembering the Waco Kid's version of such an event in 'Blazing Saddles'.

Jeanne Cooper plays the woman urging Denton to find his self respect. Martin Landau plays the mean and nasty gun-slinger. It all adds up to a well-acted, good little yarn that is over-shadowed by so many great episodes in series one.

"Mr. Denton On Doomsday" is another fascinating episode of 'The Twilight Zone'. This time the story takes place in the old west as a town drunk is given the chance to reclaim his respect by becoming a gunslinger. The story briefly talks about why Al Denton turned to alcohol, but does not develop this theme fully. Furthermore, Denton finds it incredibly easy to stop drinking considering he's been an alcoholic for so long. However, while Denton's personal demons would have made for an interesting story, Rod Sterling decided to create an interesting tale around the magical gun, as well as other tricks, that Denton uses to reclaim his quick-draw skills. Dan Duryea provided a good portrayal of his character and reminded me of William H. Macy. Like so many other Twilight Zone's, this episode features a fine twist at the end that adds just the right mix of tension and uncertainty to the story. Overall, while this is not one of The Twilight Zone's great excursions, it is a good average episode. And an average 'Twilight Zone' is still very much worth watching. I gave it 7.5 out of 10.