One for the Angels

The pitchman Lou Bookman (Ed Wynn) is unexpectedly visited by Mr. Death (Murray Hamilton) that tells him that his time has come. Lou appeals to live more to make a big pitch as he has always dreamed on. Mr. Death accepts the request but tells him that he has to take someone else with him. When he selects the girl Maggie Polanski (Dana Dillaway), who is Lou's neighbor, the old man has to take a decision.

"One for the Angels" is another great episode of "Twilight Zone", with the story of a street vendor that tries to cheat death and finds that it is not easy, bringing a tragic consequence to a little girl. The conclusion is perfect for this tragicomic show. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Além da Imaginação - One for the Angels" ("Beyond Imagination - One for the Angels")

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

I have been almost obsessed with The Twilight Zone for years, having collected pretty much all episodes; however, it was "One For The Angels" to truly launch me to the "twilight zone" one night. Perhaps it was Ed Wynn's fine performance to combine with the Storyteller's all-engulfing warmth that made the magic tangible. I remember that night and that episode made me a believer and advocate of art's pretence to Truth, rather than remaining a crippled rationalist. All meaning is suddenly revealed, if only we have the subtlety of senses needed en route for The Twilight Zone. The poetry of this episode, even though much lighter, can compare in its depth and fineness with 1985's "Toys Of Caliban". (Great acting by Richard Mulligan there, too.)

Genial Ed Wynn a sidewalk tie salesman isn't quite ready to give up mortality when Death as personified by Murray Hamilton comes calling. Wynn tricks Hamilton into him making just one more big sales pitch, one that will really put over a good sale.

But Death has his quota and when young Dana Dillaway hovers between life and death, Wynn sees his chance to really make a big pitch.

Ed Wynn after years playing the maniacal perfect fool on vaudeville, the stage and radio proved to be a fine dramatic actor in such items as The Great Man, The Diary Of Anne Frank, and Marjorie Morningstar. Wynn blends both his comic and dramatic gifts in this fine Twilight Zone episode.

He also did another Twilight Zone show and that for fans of Ed Wynn should also not be missed.

One for the Angels typifies the best in a Twilight Zone episode; a lovely mix of spooky, charming, science fiction, dark twists, and just plain funny. Ed Wynn is brilliant as the Pitch Man and neighborhood avuncular figure who meets the embodiment of death. How he handles both the news and his apparent fate make for an entertaining episode. Our parting lesson is not as grandiose in presentation as in other Zone episodes (which is actually welcomed), and the simplicity of it leaves the viewer with a smile. Justly delightful.

Death comes to claim beloved door-to-door salesman Lew Bookman, who is beloved by the local children, but Bookman convinces Death to allow him to stay alive long enough to make the pitch of a lifetime. When Death suspects that Bookman is simply playing for time, he decides to take a substitute.

"One for the Angels" is Serling's first great Twilight Zone script, anchoring itself in well- defined characters with believable (under the circumstances) emotional stakes. With a different actor in the lead, the Bookman character might seem too good to be true; in Ed Wynn's hands, however, the character's warmth and bond with the children of the neighborhood is genuine, and his charm at putting off Death is equally believable (again, given the circumstances). Equally impressive is Murray Hamilton (an often-underrated character actor) as Death, taking an otherwise metaphysical figure, and imbuing him with genuine stakes (maintaining the balance of the world) while at the same time adding a bit of subdued sympathy for the plight of his mark.

To be sure, this is not a perfect episode, as the "pitch of a lifetime" does leave a little to be desired. Nonetheless, the balance between the Wynn and Hamilton characters makes the story strangely believable on its own terms, and deeply affecting. In other words, the definition of a classic Twilight Zone episode.