The Twilight Zone - The Dummy
The ultimate question of the Twilight Zone episode, The
Dummy, is what we are witness to the actual fantastic case of a malevolent
ventriloquist dummy gradually reducing the performer into an anxious,
debilitated alcoholic losing grip on his sanity or is this just the case of
someone cracking up on his own due to pressures for success and building a
brand for yourself? Is Willy just wood fashioned into a human-likeness puppet
for the use of Jerry to tell jokes and entertain the club audiences of America
or does he possess the ever-consuming power to render the ventriloquist the
blockhead?
The episode plays with that mystery quite effectively, carefully challenging the idea that Jerry is insane yet not completely denying that possibility until the ending when it is quite clear Willy is now the performer and Jerry the blockhead. The ending has Willy identifying why he’s alive, specifying that Jerry gave him life by filling his blockhead with words, jokes, and provided the means to soon become the dominant force in the partnership. With Jerry, weak and vulnerable, as Willy’s ventriloquist, the “transformation” eventually becomes complete.
No fault to the agent, Frank (Frank Sutton), who does all he can to make Jerry a star, and has more or less served as guidance counselor and babysitter to him. Frank preaches to him and tries to get through to Jerry that the doll is not real, that it is the liquor and his own neuroses causing all the trouble. But Frank has had it with Jerry, enduring too much talk of Willy and making excuses for his no-shows and boozing. He just wants to sever ties and keep his dignity instead of going to club owners and producing excuses for a performer who seems on his way (if not already there) into total darkness, never to return. And perhaps the ending twist indicates just that…Willy presides in human form and Jerry now resides in the costumed shell of a dummy, with just the effigy of his face intact to remind us of what he once looked like.
The episode tilts the camera once Willy initiates his final takeover and that is when the challenge to determine if this is just insanity or something even worse is underway. Willy just has that kind of menacing face, with the demonic wink and celebratory laugh to reinforce its malevolence. Jerry sees this while no one else does, so his developing anxieties and compacting terror is confusing and frightening to those around him, particularly at the end when Willy’s voice is in his head and his presence (silhouettes) bounce off buildings when leaving the club.
I think, much like Savalas in Living Doll, Jerry can be seen as a doomed character without much hope. Especially, when Jerry accidentally destroys another doll that might serve as a proper replacement (believing it to be Willy), does Jerry’s fate appear damned.
Cliff Robertson, as Jerry, couldn’t be a better casting for this kind of character. That losing effort, loss of control, the beading sweat where Willy is assuming command of the club performance and disquiet that exists on his face as the audience laps the routine up, persistent denial that he’s the crackpot but Willy is a scourge tormenting him in heated conversations with Frank; Robertson really gets that across so well. He portrays it all as we might experience something extraordinary and troubling, unable to find someone to believe him yet is sure, too sure, that Willy is alive. So as it all crumbles, Jerry no longer has the strength to overcome the influence of Willy, and the transformation runs its course. But Willy’s a big hit and Jerry, the blockhead, the perfect manipulated foil as the audience eats it all up.
*I totally see why this endures as a popular marathon and syndication favorite. The ventriloquist dummy terror tale is oft-used and offers actors a great chance to torque our perception of whether or not the protagonist is experiencing real torment or going off their rocker. The dummy being a crutch or comfort for the actor is also something quite fantastic and compelling. This can be quite a storytelling device. Just see Dead of Night as proof.
The episode plays with that mystery quite effectively, carefully challenging the idea that Jerry is insane yet not completely denying that possibility until the ending when it is quite clear Willy is now the performer and Jerry the blockhead. The ending has Willy identifying why he’s alive, specifying that Jerry gave him life by filling his blockhead with words, jokes, and provided the means to soon become the dominant force in the partnership. With Jerry, weak and vulnerable, as Willy’s ventriloquist, the “transformation” eventually becomes complete.
No fault to the agent, Frank (Frank Sutton), who does all he can to make Jerry a star, and has more or less served as guidance counselor and babysitter to him. Frank preaches to him and tries to get through to Jerry that the doll is not real, that it is the liquor and his own neuroses causing all the trouble. But Frank has had it with Jerry, enduring too much talk of Willy and making excuses for his no-shows and boozing. He just wants to sever ties and keep his dignity instead of going to club owners and producing excuses for a performer who seems on his way (if not already there) into total darkness, never to return. And perhaps the ending twist indicates just that…Willy presides in human form and Jerry now resides in the costumed shell of a dummy, with just the effigy of his face intact to remind us of what he once looked like.
The episode tilts the camera once Willy initiates his final takeover and that is when the challenge to determine if this is just insanity or something even worse is underway. Willy just has that kind of menacing face, with the demonic wink and celebratory laugh to reinforce its malevolence. Jerry sees this while no one else does, so his developing anxieties and compacting terror is confusing and frightening to those around him, particularly at the end when Willy’s voice is in his head and his presence (silhouettes) bounce off buildings when leaving the club.
I think, much like Savalas in Living Doll, Jerry can be seen as a doomed character without much hope. Especially, when Jerry accidentally destroys another doll that might serve as a proper replacement (believing it to be Willy), does Jerry’s fate appear damned.
Cliff Robertson, as Jerry, couldn’t be a better casting for this kind of character. That losing effort, loss of control, the beading sweat where Willy is assuming command of the club performance and disquiet that exists on his face as the audience laps the routine up, persistent denial that he’s the crackpot but Willy is a scourge tormenting him in heated conversations with Frank; Robertson really gets that across so well. He portrays it all as we might experience something extraordinary and troubling, unable to find someone to believe him yet is sure, too sure, that Willy is alive. So as it all crumbles, Jerry no longer has the strength to overcome the influence of Willy, and the transformation runs its course. But Willy’s a big hit and Jerry, the blockhead, the perfect manipulated foil as the audience eats it all up.
*I totally see why this endures as a popular marathon and syndication favorite. The ventriloquist dummy terror tale is oft-used and offers actors a great chance to torque our perception of whether or not the protagonist is experiencing real torment or going off their rocker. The dummy being a crutch or comfort for the actor is also something quite fantastic and compelling. This can be quite a storytelling device. Just see Dead of Night as proof.
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