Hero
Cannes 2012
Two Clips From Salles' ON THE ROAD
Peter Weller Is The New BATMAN
Tom Hardy In LAWLESS Clips
IFC Takes Wheatley's SIGHTSEERS
THE GREAT GATSBY Trailer
MEN IN BLACK 3 Review

TV

Exploring The Twilight Zone, Episode #55: "Mr. Dingle, the Strong"

by Peter Martin, August 19, 2011 9:04 PM


, ,

A meek salesman becomes the strongest man in the world, thanks to a little intervention by a two-headed alien, in a delightful comic episode featuring Burgess Meredith and Don Rickles.


The Twilight Zone, Episode #55: "Mr. Dingle, the Strong" (original air date 03/03/61)

The Plot: Mr. Dingle, a prototypical 98-pound weakling, is constantly getting beat up by bullies, which makes him the perfect subject for an experiment by aliens. Gifted with strength 300 times that of an ordinary man, Mr. Dingle happily displays his new-found powers in the small town where he lives, drawing the attention of a curious public.

The Goods: One of the pleasures of re-watching TZ episodes for this feature is the reminder that The Twilight Zone never stuck to one genre. If you've been following along this week, we've had a one-character, nearly silent rural thriller, a comic fantasy, a nightmarish chiller, and a tense aerial suspense piece. "Mr. Dingle, the Strong" is a flat-out comedy.

As wonderfully underplayed by Burgess Meredith, Mr. Dingle is a good egg, a vacuum cleaner salesman of integrity who accepts that he will continually be bested by greater physical specimens (and/or pushy ones, like the belligerent Don Rickles). When he suddenly gains great physical strength, he doesn't question its source or probe his own feelings about it; he's all about surfaces. He glories in his strength, not holding back from public displays of his mighty prowess. He's happy to give some back to his adversary, and is unapologetic for any damage he might have caused.

tz-mr-dingle-the-strong.jpg

This episode is a testament to Rod Serling's versatility. The appearance of the aliens is intentionally comical, as though the costume designer was encouraged to grab whatever was handy and cheap off the shelves. The stock music cues are all of the goofy, carnival-like variety -- all that's missing is a rimshot for the jokes.

"Mr. Dingle, the Strong" is unpretentious, with just a soft lob at a moral lesson. It looks like Serling was having a good bit of fun with the story, and the episode bears that out. I'm happy to rate this episode B+.

The Trivia: This episode is the second of four episodes with Burgess Meredith; the first was the immortal "Time Enough at Last" in Season 1. Two decades later, he served as narrator Twilight Zone: The Movie.

Don Rickles is credited as "special guest," perhaps because it's a very small role for an actor who was established in somewhat larger supporting roles?

Director John Brahm helmed a total of 12 TZ episodes.

On the Next Episode: An old radio takes bitter bachelor Ed Lindsay back to a happier time when he starts picking up radio programs from the 1930s and 40s.

Tune into Film School Rejects on Monday for their continuing coverage next week.

Catching up: Episodes covered by Twitch | Episodes covered by Film School Rejects.

We're running through all 156 of the original Twilight Zone episodes, and we're not doing it alone! Our friends at Film School Rejects have entered the Zone as well, only on alternating weeks. So definitely tune in over at FSR and feel free to also follow along on Twitter accounts @twitchfilm and @rejectnation.

More from Exploring The Twilight Zone


Leave a comment

Twitch homepage
About Twitch | Advertise on Twitch | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Twitter | Facebook
All Twitch Headlines Reviews Videos Comments Add to Google
 
Full Site | Mobile Site
Related Posts with Thumbnails