History Recap / TheTwilightZone1959S3E33TheDummy

[[caption-width-right:350: Hey Garibaldi! Didn't you forget someone?]]

Ventriloquist Jerry Etherson (Creator/CliffRobertson) is performing his act with his dummy Willie somewhere in New York City. When he's finished performing, Jerry goes back to his dressing room and begins to drink heavily from a liquor bottle he'd hidden in a drawer. His agent Frank (Frank Sutton) comes in, growing upset that Jerry has resumed drinking. Jerry tells Frank that he drinks to handle the stress of putting up with Willie, who he feverently insists is alive and frequently talks to him. Frank does not believe Jerry's claims that his dummy apparently has him at his mercy, and instead suggests getting some psychiatric help.

Jerry decides that he is going to perform with a different dummy he has dubbed Goofy Goggles for his next performance, locking Willie in a trunk. This new act isn't nearly as successful as Jerry's performances with Willie, and this prompts Frank to tell Jerry that he's quitting. Jerry doesn't care, saying that he's leaving for Kansas City to try to get away from Willie, upon which Frank tells him that he'll still have this delusion everywhere he goes unless he deals with it here and now. While standing outside the back door to the theater, Jerry hears faint whispers of Willie's voice. He sees the dummy's shadow and continues to hear his voice until a coworker from the theater walks up and asks if anything is wrong. Jerry invites her for a drink, but does so nervously and eccentrically, thereby causing the woman to become frightened and run away.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': What's known in the parlance of the times as "the old switcheroo", from boss to blockhead in a few uneasy lessons. And if you're given to nightclubbing on occasion, check this act. It's called Willie & Jerry, and they generally are booked into some of the clubs along the "Gray Night Way" known as the Twilight Zone.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': You're watching a ventriloquist named Jerry Etherson, a voice-thrower par excellence. His alter ego, sitting atop his lap, is a brash stick of kindling with the sobriquet 'Willie.' In a moment, Mr. Etherson and his knotty-pine partner will be booked in one of the out-of-the-way bistros, that small, dark, intimate place known as the Twilight Zone.

The episode opens with ventriloquist Jerry Etherson (Creator/CliffRobertson) and his dummy Willie in the middle of one of his acts, somewhere in New York City. After the act, Jerry goes back to his dressing room and begins to drink from a liquor bottle he'd hidden in a drawer. His agent, Frank (Creator/FrankSutton), comes in and is upset that Jerry has resumed drinking. Jerry tells Frank that Willie is alive and frequently talks to him. When Jerry tells the agent that he is at the mercy of the dummy, Frank does not believe Jerry and thinks he might need psychiatric help.

Jerry decides that he is going to perform with a different dummy, "Goofy Goggles", for his next act (and all future acts) and locks Willie in a trunk. After the second act, which is not as successful as the ones with Willie, his agent tells him that he is quitting, but Jerry says he is leaving to go to Kansas City and try to get away from Willie. Frank tells him that it doesn't matter where he goes; he'll still have this delusion if he doesn't deal with it here and now. While he's standing outside the back door to the theater, he hears faint whispers of Willie's voice. Jerry sees the dummy's shadow and continues to hear his voice until a coworker from the theater walks up and asks if anything is wrong. Jerry invites her to get a drink, but does it nervously and eccentrically, thereby causing the woman to become frightened and run away.

As soon as she leaves, Jerry hears Willie's voice again and runs back into the theater. He goes into the dark dressing room, opens the trunk and throws the dummy on the floor, brutally smashing it. But when he turns on the light, he realizes that he destroyed the Goofy Goggles dummy that he was going to use in his future acts. He can't understand how he could have been mistaken. He sees Willie sitting on the couch, talking to him and laughing at him. Jerry asks how he can be real when he's made of wood, and Willie tells him that it was he, Jerry, who made him alive. Realizing the truth, Jerry lowers his head as Willie cackles crazily.

The scene cuts to a stage in Kansas City announcing that the next act will be "Jerry & Willie", and we see the beginning of the act from the back of the man who walked out. As the camera rotates to the front, it is revealed that the man is actually Willie, and he is holding a dummy that looks just like Jerry.

* TheAlcoholic: Jerry began drinking heavily after he became convinced that Willie was alive. As a result of his drinking, he missed 110 performances and his agent Frank had to cover for him. Jerry tells Frank that he drinks in order to cope with his nightmares about Willie.
* TheBadGuyWins: If the final shot is anything to go by, Willie succeeds in his plan to take over the act. Willie is the ventriloquist performer, and Jerry is now the dummy.
* BittersweetEnding: Jerry and Willie swap places as performer and dummy, but their act continues on.
* CassandraTruth: Jerry desperately tries to convince his agent Frank that Willie really is alive. At Frank's insistence, he has gone to see numerous psychiatrists and tried to convince them of the same thing but they all diagnosed this belief as a symptom of schizophrenia.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: Jerry asks Willie how can he really be alive when he's a dummy made of wood. Willie tells him that it was ''him'', Jerry, who made him what he is.
* CreepyDoll: The titular dummy, Willie.
* DemonicDummy: Willie is fed up being the dummy and wants to take over the act.
* DutchAngle: They are used extensively after Jerry starts hearing Willie and seeing his shadow while leaving the theater.
* EquivalentExchange: In the final scene, Jerry and Willie have switched places so that Jerry has become the dummy and Willie the ventriloquist. In his closing narration, Rod Serling says that he has gone from "boss to blockhead."
* EvilLaugh: Willie cackles maniacally when Jerry comes to the realization.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: During his first act, Jerry had Willie pretend to be the ventriloquist and him be the puppet. Their roles are actually reversed at the end.
* LaughTrack: One is used for the scenes where Jerry is performing his act.
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: Throughout the scene in Jerry's dressing room after his first performance, Willie subtly changes position every time he's out of the shot. Jerry clearly notices it a couple of times before Frank arrives but it continues occurring even throughout Jerry and Frank's conversation.

* PeoplePuppets: Quite literally by the end as Jerry has been transformed into a ventriloquist's dummy.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': What's known in the parlance of the times as the old switcheroo, from boss to blockhead in a few uneasy lessons. And if you're given to nightclubbing on occasion, check this act. It's called Willie & Jerry and they generally are booked into some of the clubs along the 'Gray Night Way' known as the Twilight Zone.

* TheDollEpisode: Jerry is haunted by his dummy Willie, whom he is convinced is alive and is trying to take over the act.

The episode opens with ventriloquist Jerry Etherson (Cliff Robertson) and his dummy Willie in the middle of one of his acts, somewhere in New York City. After the act, Jerry goes back to his dressing room and begins to drink from a liquor bottle he'd hidden in a drawer. His agent, Frank (Frank Sutton), comes in and is upset that Jerry has resumed drinking. Jerry tells Frank that Willie is alive and frequently talks to him. When Jerry tells the agent that he is at the mercy of the dummy, Frank does not believe Jerry and thinks he might need psychiatric help.

The episode opens with ventriloquist Jerry Etherson and his dummy Willie in the middle of one of his acts, somewhere in New York City. After the act, Jerry goes back to his dressing room and begins to drink from a liquor bottle he'd hidden in a drawer. His agent, Frank, comes in and is upset that Jerry has resumed drinking. Jerry tells Frank that Willie is alive and frequently talks to him. When Jerry tells the agent that he is at the mercy of the dummy, Frank does not believe Jerry and thinks he might need psychiatric help.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': What's known in the parlance of the times as the old switcheroo, from boss to blockhead in a few uneasy lessons. And if you're given to nightclubbing on occasion, check this act. It's called Willie & Jerry and they generally are booked into some of the clubs along the 'Gray Night Way' known as the Twilight Zone.

!!Tropes:

* TomatoInTheMirror: Willie explains to Jerry that it was ''him'' who made him alive.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': You're watching a ventriloquist named Jerry Etherson, a voice-thrower par excellence. His alter ego, sitting atop his lap, is a brash stick of kindling with the sobriquet 'Willie.' In a moment, Mr. Etherson and his knotty-pine partner will be booked in one of the out-of-the-way bistros, that small, dark, intimate place known as The Twilight Zone.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': What's known in the parlance of the times as the old switcheroo, from boss to blockhead in a few uneasy lessons. And if you're given to nightclubbing on occasion, check this act. It's called Willie & Jerry and they generally are booked into some of the clubs along the 'Gray Night Way' known as The Twilight Zone.

* EquivalentExchange: In the final scene, Jerry and Willie have switched places so that Jerry has become the dummy and Willie the ventriloquist.

* CassandraTruth: Jerry desperately tries to convince his agent Frank that Willie really is alive. At Frank's insistence, he has gone to see numerous psychiatrists and tried to convince them of the same thing but they all diagnosed his belief that Willie was alive as a symptom of schizophrenia.

* TheAlcoholic: Jerry. Part of the reason he has such a hard time getting people to believe him.

* CassandraTruth: Jerry desperately tries to convince his manager that Willie really is alive. Guess what? He actually is.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: Jerry asks Willie how can he really be alive when he's a dummy made of wood. Willie tells him that it was ''him'', Jerry who made him what he is.

%%* TheDollEpisode
* DutchAngle: Used when Jerry starts hearing Willie and seeing his shadow while leaving the theater.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: During his first act, Jerry had Willie pretend to be the ventriloquist and him be the puppet. Guess what happened at the end.
* LaughTrack: Used for the scenes where Jerry is performing his act.

* PeoplePuppets: Quite literally by the end.
* TomatoInTheMirror: Willie explains to Jerry that it was ''him'' who made him alive.
* YouHaveToBelieveMe:

* CassandraTruth: Willie really is alive.

* TheDollEpisode

* YouHaveToBelieveMe

* {{Foreshadowing}}: During his first act, Jerry had Willie pretend to be the ventriloquist and him be the puppet. Guess what happened at the end

* PeoplePuppets: Quite literally by the end.

* PeoplePuppets

* TheDollEpisode