tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post8142940619959562469..comments2024-03-20T15:28:13.030-05:00Comments on The Twilight Zone Vortex: "A Game of Pool"JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-409825480511339972024-02-28T07:00:47.696-06:002024-02-28T07:00:47.696-06:00I would give a good deal to know what led Rod Serl...I would give a good deal to know what led Rod Serling to cast Jonathan Winters in "A Game of Pool". He's absolutely wonderful in his part; but one doesn't ordinarily cast a comic performer in a dramatic role. Then again, sometimes that type of thinking can yield priceless treasures. If you haven't already seen them, rent the TV film "Friendly Fire", and the feature film "Pete 'n Tillie". Carol Burnett, who made herself into a national treasure as a comedienne, gives two powerhouse dramatic performances that Meryl Streep couldn't have improved upon. (In "Pete 'n Tillie", she and her husband, played by Walter Matthau, have just been told that their eight year-old son, whom they both adore, will die soon from leukemia. At Christmas, Carol stands silently in the living-room door, watching her husband and son playing with his gifts. She turns and walks out onto the front lawn; looks heavenward; and begins screaming abuse at the Blessed Virgin. "HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF 'MOTHER OF MERCY'? I SPIT ON YOU!' I always admire performers that you think that you've pigeonholed, who then turn around and surprise the hell out of you. (I haven't mentioned Jack Klugman, because his versatility was already a matter of record -- and God bless Rod for giving him four solid-gold showcases in the "Zone".)Thomas DiMaggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15528586971282008329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-23579258771136322312020-06-04T00:34:08.532-05:002020-06-04T00:34:08.532-05:00"A Game of Pool" is one of "The Twi..."A Game of Pool" is one of "The Twilight Zone"s absolutely perfect episodes, like "Living Doll", "It's A Good Life", and "Miniature". One of its most powerful dimensions is all the more effective for being left unspoken: Jesse Cardiff has won a victory that makes him "the best ever", AND NO ONE BUT HIM WILL EVER KNOW ABOUT IT. A huge part of being "the best ever" is the acclaim: from your peers, from the wannabes, from the fans. Fats Brown had that adulation; Jesse, having beaten a dead man, never will -- at least not until he "leaves Randolph Street" for the Great Beyond. One question: Jesse knew that Fats was the best, because Fats won his title while he was still alive. When someone else expresses the wish to "beat the best", and Jesse shows up, will they even know who he is? Or are we supposed to take Jesse's win over Fats as at least partly symbolic: signifying that Jesse now WILL win the games and tournaments that will make him the best in the world's eyes, so that his picture will eventually replace Fats' on that wall?Thomas DiMaggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15528586971282008329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-47241612822612537962019-09-06T08:46:03.405-05:002019-09-06T08:46:03.405-05:00According to INMB there was actress Dee Sharon as ...According to INMB there was actress Dee Sharon as "Browns girlfriend" but the scenes were cut. I seen both versions and personally I preferred the 1961 version...by the way when Cardiff goes to Sandusky Ohio to defend his title as the best he carries Brown's pool cue...Brown claims he had a life of his own but he was a professional pool player for 35 years 1911-1946. Ironically according to "A Game of Pool (billiards TV) - 8 Ball on the Silver Screen" KLugman was a talented amateur pool player and Winters didn't play pool!Nomannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18281768491650547463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-89810670229805261832018-12-26T10:24:44.399-06:002018-12-26T10:24:44.399-06:00If I taught an acting class, "A Game of Pool&...If I taught an acting class, "A Game of Pool" would be required viewing for my students. In essence, it is nothing but two men talking, alone in a room with one another, for 24 minutes; the pool moves are the only breaks in the conversation, and they are quite brief. Neither man has much going for him in the looks department; and yet the entire exercise is as riveting as it could possibly be. When both writing and acting ability are on this level, you realize the degree to which gaudy special effects are the empty calories of film and television. We know Fats and Jesse thoroughly by the end of the piece (Klugman is especially masterful at conveying how Jesse takes pride in having excluded every consideration in life other than pool from his field of vision, while AT THE SAME TIME hating himself for his folly in wasting his life, and hating Fats for, as he sees it, MAKING him be the Captain Ahab of the poolhall, by holding up his untouchable example of perfection for Jesse to chase). A superb chamber drama (literally) all around.Thomas DiMaggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15528586971282008329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-29542289461376738902018-04-17T06:11:51.725-05:002018-04-17T06:11:51.725-05:00Aside from that you would likewise need to center ...Aside from that you would likewise need to center around the way that it have a tendency to accommodate real advantages over the long haul with regards to ensuring that you are getting the best as far as points of interest and protecting that are the most elite in the amusement today and onwards.<a href="https://reviewimo.com/rules-etiquette-pool-billiards/" rel="nofollow">good pool cues</a><br />Amyy Silvahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11945118188924045556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-47588164551369122462017-10-13T10:27:25.944-05:002017-10-13T10:27:25.944-05:00Here’s how I understand it. The original ending fi...Here’s how I understand it. The original ending finds Cardiff losing and believing to be immediately killed by Fats, since the terms of the bet were life and death. However, Fats does not kill him and explains to Cardiff that the terms of life and death are not what he believes them to be. Cardiff has lost the game and consequently he will die forgotten, not remembered as a champion. This fate will eat at Cardiff for the rest of his life and is a fate worse than immediate death. Perhaps the misstep by Clayton Johnson is that he doesn’t leave it there but instead indicates that Cardiff will continue to practice and get better and perhaps have another opportunity to prove that he is better than Fats. <br /><br />I prefer the ending as filmed but, as I said in the commentary and in the comment above, I find the tone used in filming it to be way off. They went with whimsical and humorous when they should have gone for somber and melancholy. Hope this helps and thanks for stopping by. <br />JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-82221809169526589692017-10-11T00:25:37.433-05:002017-10-11T00:25:37.433-05:00I don't understand the original ending. Everyt...I don't understand the original ending. Everything seems to be building up to Cardiff winning and realizing too late he'll waste his life forever playing pool just so he can keep the bitter title of champion for himself and lord it over everyone. In the original, he loses, learns nothing and continues to waste his life trying to prove he's better than a dead man. He doesn't change and Fats seems to come off as a jerk, refusing to relinquish his title even though he's dead.<br /><br />I just don't understand the point of the original ending. If someone could explain it to me, I'd love to hear your take on it.Lizard-Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15724337299350786016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-27291665751276858762016-04-03T13:16:01.533-05:002016-04-03T13:16:01.533-05:00This episode is endlessly fascinating and has a lo...This episode is endlessly fascinating and has a lot of interesting history behind it. It's one of those episodes you can watch over again and pick out things you missed the time before. The dialogue is outstanding and I love the little moments of tension between the two men, especially moments like when Jesse shrugs off Fats's warning right before Jesse sinks that last shot. "You may get more than you bargained for." To which Fats adds: "Sorry. I'm required to say that." It's a great line, and chilling. <br /><br />I've personally never minded the ending as filmed. Perhaps it's a nostalgic thing since I was very young when I first saw this episode. But I really do believe that the combination of an anticlimatic ending and the need for the O. Henry twist pushed the production into changing the script. My only gripe with the ending as filmed when I view it now is that the music and Serling's outgoing narration lend it a feeling of light whimsy when a more darkly ironic tone should have been used. JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-76478915682042995612016-04-03T10:51:56.640-05:002016-04-03T10:51:56.640-05:00A+!! I agree with your grade. Klugman is (as usual...A+!! I agree with your grade. Klugman is (as usual) terrific, Winters is great, and script and direction are top-notch Thanks for the interesting article!Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.com