Printer's Devil (28 Feb. 1963)
"The Twilight Zone" Printer's Devil (original title)

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 (story), Charles Beaumont,

Stars:

Robert Sterling, Pat Crowley, Burgess Meredith

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Robert Sterling	...	Douglas Winter
Pat Crowley	...	Jackie Benson (as Patricia Crowley)
Burgess Meredith	...	Mr. Smith - the Devil
Ray Teal	...	Mr. Franklin
Charles P. Thompson	...	Andy Praskins (as Charles Thompson)
Doris Kemper	...	Landlady
Camille Franklin	...	Molly

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

newspaper | based on short story | newspaper editor | soul selling | deal with the devil

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 February 1963 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cayuga Productions, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

A wire and flame gel is visible when Mr. Smith "lights" his finger.

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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 as 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.

User Reviews

Not bad, but haven't we seen this before...?!

Had I never seen the several other earlier episodes of "The Twilight Zone" involving pacts with the Devil, this one surely would have been a very memorable show. However, considering how late it came and how well the top had already been covered almost the exact sort of material in the episode "Escape Clause", and the Devil was also the subject of many other shows in the series. As a result, the episode needs to lose a point or two for lacking originality.

The show begins with a small and sad little newspaper about to be shut down because circulation is so low. The final straw is when the linotype machine operator quits--so the owner knows it's finally time to close up shop for good. However, out of the blue, a brilliantly talented linotype operator (Burgess Meredith) shows up and offers his services. The guy not only is inhumanly fast, but he begins coming up with one fantastic scoop after another. In fact, some times his stories seem to come out too fast--as if whatever he writes on the machine MUST come true. This is especially bad, since some of the stories involve serious injuries and crimes! It's obvious this devilish man has extraordinary powers--so when he offers to do more IF the owner gives him his soul, it certainly comes as no surprise. What is a surprise, and a nice one, is the snappy and well thought out ending--making a familiar idea still worth watching.