The Prime Mover
- Episode aired Mar 24, 1961
- TV-PG
- 25m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
A compulsive gambler cajoles his friend to use his telekinesis to affect the results of the gambling tables in Las Vegas.A compulsive gambler cajoles his friend to use his telekinesis to affect the results of the gambling tables in Las Vegas.A compulsive gambler cajoles his friend to use his telekinesis to affect the results of the gambling tables in Las Vegas.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the opening, a slot machine is used by the main character. The slot machine is the same one used in The Fever (1960), in which an older gentleman is obsessed with the machine.
- GoofsWhen Ace and Jimbo run out to the car just after it crashes, there are electric sparks all over it, but on the opposite side of the car, you can clearly see that the sparks are being created by some fuses, like firework fuses, burning.
- ConnectionsEdited from Thunder Road (1958)
Featured review
Some people possess talent, others are possessed by it...
Interesting that I happen to watch this episode while midway through a 5-part documentary series about the history of the mafia in America. It's well known that organized crime has had a heavy hand in the history of Las Vegas so the third act of this episode makes sense as far as the biggest gambler in town being a gangster, although there are plenty of the usual super hero problems with the rest of the episode.
As always when a character is endowed with some kind of superhuman ability, it is not just underused or misused, but the writers don't seem to have any idea of how to present the character who holds them. Buddy Ebsen plays Jimbo Cobb, a mental midget with telekinetic abilities but without the slightest understanding of his ability or even the simplest understanding of the world around him.
When Ace, our gambling hero, asks him how he has the power, Jimbo responds something like "I don't know why or how come or anything," and when asked why he never said anything, you may find yourself shocked out of your seat as Jimbo responds that he never knew there was anything unusual about it, he thought everyone could do it, like breathing.
Like breathing! A more entertaining twilight zone episode might deal with how Jimbo managed to live to this age without ever having seen or met or talked to another human being before.
At any rate, this is another episode that makes clever commentary about greed and gambling, and while the greed immediately takes control and takes away from the believability of Ace's character, it's still a fun and interesting warning about the dangers of gambling, even when things are going good.
But I will tell you one thing, I doubt that there were ever many high-powered gangsters in Vegas who answered calls from strangers and went up into hotel rooms to bet tremendous amounts of money while squatting on the floor tossing dice across the rug...
As always when a character is endowed with some kind of superhuman ability, it is not just underused or misused, but the writers don't seem to have any idea of how to present the character who holds them. Buddy Ebsen plays Jimbo Cobb, a mental midget with telekinetic abilities but without the slightest understanding of his ability or even the simplest understanding of the world around him.
When Ace, our gambling hero, asks him how he has the power, Jimbo responds something like "I don't know why or how come or anything," and when asked why he never said anything, you may find yourself shocked out of your seat as Jimbo responds that he never knew there was anything unusual about it, he thought everyone could do it, like breathing.
Like breathing! A more entertaining twilight zone episode might deal with how Jimbo managed to live to this age without ever having seen or met or talked to another human being before.
At any rate, this is another episode that makes clever commentary about greed and gambling, and while the greed immediately takes control and takes away from the believability of Ace's character, it's still a fun and interesting warning about the dangers of gambling, even when things are going good.
But I will tell you one thing, I doubt that there were ever many high-powered gangsters in Vegas who answered calls from strangers and went up into hotel rooms to bet tremendous amounts of money while squatting on the floor tossing dice across the rug...
helpful•177
- Anonymous_Maxine
- Jul 8, 2008
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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