The Grave
- Episode aired Oct 27, 1961
- TV-PG
- 25m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
Connie Miller (one of eight men who gunned down outlaw Pinto Sykes in his hometown although no one knows who fired the fatal bullet) is challenged by three of the townsmen to a grisly wager.... Read allConnie Miller (one of eight men who gunned down outlaw Pinto Sykes in his hometown although no one knows who fired the fatal bullet) is challenged by three of the townsmen to a grisly wager. He accepts.Connie Miller (one of eight men who gunned down outlaw Pinto Sykes in his hometown although no one knows who fired the fatal bullet) is challenged by three of the townsmen to a grisly wager. He accepts.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Dick Geary
- Pinto Sykes
- (as Richard Geary)
August Angelo
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
William Burnside
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Jack Downs
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Rod Serling
- Narrator
- (uncredited)
- …
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Whenever I see a Lee Marvin Western, I think of Kid Schilline in Cat Ballou. Here he plays a guy who has been collecting a paycheck for supposedly chasing a gunslinger. Because of his ineffectiveness, the townspeople take matters into their own hands and just shoot the guy down. Marvin shows up after the fact and is challenged by a wimpy, guitar playing kid. He is then peer pressured into going to the grave of the dead guy because the man had made charges of cowardice against him. Thrown into the mix is an Ophelia-like sister of the dead man who also taunts Marvin. The story is resolved in the cemetery. It's an atmospheric tale, done pretty well, but covering no new ground.
This is a Halloween season favorite of mine. In fact, I'm watching the DVD right now. What makes this episode exceptional, even for a TZ is the acting. The best work happens in the tavern as Lee Marvin, James Best, and Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) have a friendly little chat about a man named Pinto Sykes. Best's performance as the village idiot is incredible, and in fact, he and Marvin have an excellent chemistry as they go back and forth. Lee Van Cleef plays a good guy, but given his physical characteristics, he's imposing as always. The special effects are limited, but when it comes to Fall, the wind blowing on a cemetery or heard from inside an old western tavern creates a perfect ambiance.
The original story was entitled "The Path Through the Cemetery" written by Leonard Q. Ross. It has been adapted by many authors into various genres. The concept of the obsession factor in the TZ episode may come into play a bit, but I doubt that it was inspired at all by Moby Dick. The original story is set in Russia and involves some soldiers who pick on a local, shy, young man and mock him by calling him "Ivan the Terrible." They issue the challenge to walk through the cemetery and give him a sword to plunge into the ground at the center. There is no character like the character of Pinto. Ivan is simply a person afraid of his own shadow. However, the central theme is the same but the story ends with his death, not with anyone commenting upon the possibility of a supernatural occurrence.
Far more of a western-ghost story than the usual style of TZ which tended to be ordinary people caught up in a sudden, weird turn of events. Pinto, a western bad guy is shot dead when the townsmen surround him and they fire eight bullets. So who shot him? No one wants to claim to have killed him, as their fear of Pinto transcends the rational. They only know that the hired bounty hunter Conny Miller (Lee Marvin) was not there to do it.
An intriguing ghost story, written and directed by Montgomery Pittman. Slowly but effectively building as Lee Marvin puts in a good performance as a tough guy who tries to shake off the implied suggestion of cowardice. The barfly townsmen tentatively dare Marvin's gunfighter towards visiting Pinto's grave late at night. Something they're afraid of themselves, especially as they don't know who's bullet killed him. One of them says that he reckons the dead Pinto knows now!
The supporting cast is impressive, Lee Van Cleef ('The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly'), James Best ('The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank',also series three), and Strother Martin (of numerous westerns).
Not an episode with a message, but one to be enjoyed late at night... unless...well...'unless maybe you ain't brave enough ?'.
An intriguing ghost story, written and directed by Montgomery Pittman. Slowly but effectively building as Lee Marvin puts in a good performance as a tough guy who tries to shake off the implied suggestion of cowardice. The barfly townsmen tentatively dare Marvin's gunfighter towards visiting Pinto's grave late at night. Something they're afraid of themselves, especially as they don't know who's bullet killed him. One of them says that he reckons the dead Pinto knows now!
The supporting cast is impressive, Lee Van Cleef ('The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly'), James Best ('The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank',also series three), and Strother Martin (of numerous westerns).
Not an episode with a message, but one to be enjoyed late at night... unless...well...'unless maybe you ain't brave enough ?'.
Written and directed by Montgomery Pittman and starring Lee Marvin, Strother Martin, James Best, Lee Van Cleef, Stafford Rep and Ellen Willard.
The best of the Western themed Twilight Zone episodes finds Conny Miller (Marvin) returning to his local town after famed outlaw Pinto Sykes (Richard Geary) has been shot and killed by the townsfolk. Conny had been hired to track Pinto and kill him himself, but surprisingly he never got close to him, something Pinto took great delight in letting folk know that Conny was afraid of him and purposely kept his distance. A deathbed vow from Pinto is relayed to Conny, resulting in a challenge for him to go up to Pinto's grave at midnight and stick a dagger in the earth
A ghostly Zone episode that begins in a blaze of gunfire frenzy but the settles into a moody slow build before revealing its wonderfully ambiguous finale. The cast list is a Western fan's dream, the crisp photography by George T. Clemens accentuates the feeling that there might be supernatural forces at work, and Pittman's unhurried direction proves to be a masterstroke. 9/10
The best of the Western themed Twilight Zone episodes finds Conny Miller (Marvin) returning to his local town after famed outlaw Pinto Sykes (Richard Geary) has been shot and killed by the townsfolk. Conny had been hired to track Pinto and kill him himself, but surprisingly he never got close to him, something Pinto took great delight in letting folk know that Conny was afraid of him and purposely kept his distance. A deathbed vow from Pinto is relayed to Conny, resulting in a challenge for him to go up to Pinto's grave at midnight and stick a dagger in the earth
A ghostly Zone episode that begins in a blaze of gunfire frenzy but the settles into a moody slow build before revealing its wonderfully ambiguous finale. The cast list is a Western fan's dream, the crisp photography by George T. Clemens accentuates the feeling that there might be supernatural forces at work, and Pittman's unhurried direction proves to be a masterstroke. 9/10
Did you know
- TriviaMany reviewers have cited Leo Rosten's very short story "The Path Through the Cemetery" as the source of this episode. While this much-anthologized tale is probably the immediate source, there are many other available ones which include the three essential story elements: grave, wager, & knife. The oldest printed version in English to be found dates from 1825 when it appeared in the pages of The Terrific Register. The story has been recently reprinted in the compilation Tales From The Terrific Register: Book of Ghosts (2010) pp. 107-112. The setting is Westminster Abbey around the year 1735 when the Henry VII Chapel Vault has been opened for the admission of the Queen's body. (The Queen must be George II's consort Caroline of Ansbach who died on 20 November 1737 and is the only Queen buried in the vault anywhere near the year 1735). The only significant change is that the wielder of the knife survives his ordeal and relates much of the tale in the first person. It should be noted that The Terrific Register was notorious for publishing fiction as fact and that it was probably a well-known legend by 1825.
- GoofsAs Conny Miller climbs the hill to the grave, a very prominent vertical line is visible, where the backdrop artwork for "the cloudy night sky" was folded.
- Quotes
[opening narration]
Narrator: Normally, the old man would be correct: this would be the end of the story. We've had the traditional shoot-out on the street and the badman will soon be dead. But some men of legend and folk tale have been known to continue having their way even after death. The outlaw and killer Pinto Sykes was such a person, and shortly we'll see how he introduces the town, and a man named Conny Miller in particular, to the Twilight Zone.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Twilight-Tober-Zone: The Grave (2022)
Details
- Runtime
- 25m
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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