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The Twilight Zone
S4.E9
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IMDbPro

Printer's Devil

  • Episode aired Feb 28, 1963
  • TV-PG
  • 51m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
Burgess Meredith in The Twilight Zone (1959)
DramaFantasyHorrorMysterySci-FiThriller

A man sells his soul to the Devil to save his failing newspaper and gets more than he bargained for.A man sells his soul to the Devil to save his failing newspaper and gets more than he bargained for.A man sells his soul to the Devil to save his failing newspaper and gets more than he bargained for.

  • Director
    • Ralph Senensky
  • Writers
    • Charles Beaumont
    • Rod Serling
  • Stars
    • Robert Sterling
    • Pat Crowley
    • Burgess Meredith
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    2.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ralph Senensky
    • Writers
      • Charles Beaumont
      • Rod Serling
    • Stars
      • Robert Sterling
      • Pat Crowley
      • Burgess Meredith
    • 24User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos24

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    Top cast12

    Edit
    Robert Sterling
    Robert Sterling
    • Douglas Winter
    Pat Crowley
    Pat Crowley
    • Jackie Benson
    • (as Patricia Crowley)
    Burgess Meredith
    Burgess Meredith
    • Mr. Smith
    Ray Teal
    Ray Teal
    • Mr. Franklin
    Charles Thompson
    Charles Thompson
    • Andy Praskins
    Doris Kemper
    • Landlady
    Camille Franklin
    • Molly
    Leon Alton
    Leon Alton
    • Bartender
    • (uncredited)
    Michael Chain
    • Paperboy
    • (uncredited)
    Ryan Hayes
    • Paper Hawker
    • (uncredited)
    Bernard Sell
    Bernard Sell
    • Café Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Rod Serling
    Rod Serling
    • Narrator
    • (uncredited)
    • …
    • Director
      • Ralph Senensky
    • Writers
      • Charles Beaumont
      • Rod Serling
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews24

    8.02.3K
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    Featured reviews

    7Hitchcoc

    Burgess With Horns

    One more soul selling. The problem is that we aren't privy to the rules. Burgess Meredith comes upon George Bailey (Oh sorry. That's another movie) as he's trying to commit suicide. This is a man who is the owner of a newspaper that has gone in the tank due to a big money competitor. He is in hock up to his ears and can see no way out. Burgess talks him off the bridge and assures him that given the opportunity, he can turn his life around. He lights his crooked cigar by striking his finger on his pants leg. He tells the young man that he is a top reporter and a master linotype operator (and he is). The bad thing is that while things begin to flourish, it is because the newspaper begins to get scoops almost as the events take place. A series of disasters and scandals take place and the newspapers are already on the streets within an hour. Of course, the devil has snookered the young man. He now takes over the paper, acting as puppeteer for the others. What to do? The conclusion works fairly well and Meredith is a great devil (his cruelty comes to the fore at the end), but things are not presented logically within the rules of the game.
    9starmmjaid

    How Many Get to Watch a Relative Act in a Classic?

    Yes, Robert Sterling was my cousin. I may be a bit biased, but I don't think so. I won't go through the new take on the oft used Faustian plot, because every review details it. I'll focus on acting.

    Burgess Meredith is always good. He was a high quality actor. But let's also face the fact that his part was the easiest of the three. Like Tom Cruise, who had the tougher role in "Rain Man," (and no less than Helen Hayes agreed), the less flashy, more ordinary humans are the hardest to play. Robert Sterling gives a fine performance here (so does Crowley in a smaller role). He takes us through the nuances of change regarding his character, Doug Winter, and that's where the acting challenge comes. He was perhaps best known for TV's "Topper," with his talented wife, Anne Jeffreys. He also appeared in Greta Garbo's final film, "Two Faced Woman," among many other screen credits.

    Robert Sterling was a handsome and competent actor. In fact, he gave his first wife, Anne Sothern, credit for increasing his acting knowledge and ability. Bob was not the greatest actor who ever lived (a la Olivier for example), but he was every bit as good as most and I am proud of his performance here.
    8blom0344

    head and shoulders above the average episode

    Printer's Devil benefits hugely from being an hourly episode. Characters are more defined, there's a nice build-up in suspense (though mainly for the paper's employees, rather then the viewer, who's already into Mr Smith's secret.) Meredith is a delicious little Satan, but it really is Robert Sterlings acting that supports the narrative. I knew his face, but had no idea he was such a good actor. Printer's devil has stood passing of time a lot better than most - shorter - episodes and is still hugely enjoyable. The climax could have been a bit better though..
    9mszouave

    There is a 4th main character

    "The Printers devil" is one of my favorite hour long episodes of TZ. The another variation on the "selling your soul to the devil" story, this one is made delightful by Burgess Meredith's devil. I think this is my favorite of his 4 characters he did on TZ.. Some of the others were better stories , but the delight of seeing him play the linotype machine with the crooked cigar in his mouth was a delight. By the way, I think the linotype machine was the 4th main character in the episode. Loved seeing one of those old mechanical marvels in action, they are truly incredible machines. After seeing this episode for the first time, I spent many hour researching both the history and the function of these machines of the pre computer era.
    9solakian-43152

    Burgess with an early Penguin!

    This was a great episode with great acting all around. But Burgess was definitely channeling The Penguin! He's such a wonderful character actor no wonder he was in several TZ episodes.

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Referring to the title, a printer's devil was an apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type.
    • Goofs
      When Mr Smith gets Winter to sign the contract, the liquor bottle changes from "Pebble Ames Bourbon" to "Golden Delight Sour Mash Whiskey".
    • Quotes

      Narrator: [Opening Narration] Take away a man's dream, fill him with whiskey and despair, send him to a lonely bridge, let him stand there all by himself looking down at the black water and try to imagine the thoughts that are in his mind. You can't, I can't. But there's someone who can - and that someone is seated next to Douglas Winter right now. The car is headed back toward town, but its real destination is the Twilight Zone.

    • Connections
      Featured in Cinemassacre Video: Top 10 Twilight Zone Episodes (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      Twilight Zone Theme
      (theme song)

      Composed by Marius Constant

      (seasons 2-5)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 28, 1963 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Cayuga Productions
      • CBS Television Network
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      51 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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