Dead Ringer 

A woman called Esther has unsettling visions of buildings set alight by an arsonist and claims that her sister, whom she has not seen for many years, is responsible. She states that she is ... See full summary »

Director:

John Newland

Writers:

Merwin Gerard (creator), Lawrence B. Marcus (executive writer) (as Larry Marcus)

Stars:

John Newland, Norma Crane, Grant Williams

Cast

Episode cast overview:
John Newland	...	Himself - Host
Norma Crane	...	Esther Quentin / Emily Harkness
Grant Williams	...	Bill Quentin
Ed Prentiss	...	Doctor Parks
Olive Blakeney	...	Mrs. Harney
Dort Clark	...	Chief Wilson
Kathleen Mulqueen	...	Sister Agatha

Storyline

A woman called Esther has unsettling visions of buildings set alight by an arsonist and claims that her sister, whom she has not seen for many years, is responsible. She states that she is able to will her sister to come to town and a woman resembling Esther is seen at the station but disappears. Afterwards it is disclosed that the sister died many years ago in a fire.

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Plot Keywords:

baffled doctor | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 1959 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Joseph M. Schenck Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Is it an out of body experience, paranormal sighting, or just an arsonist?

In "Dead Ringer" (ep. 2-11) We meet Bill Quentin (Williams) who is brought to distraction by his wife's mysterious illness. She suddenly has a fever and then suffers from dreams that frighten her. When she recovers, she is always anxious about there being bad news in the newspaper. Especially reports of fires.

The doctor (Prentis) is baffled by Esther Quentin's (Norma Crane) mystery ailment. But when Esther convinces her husband to get the chief of police to come over, he is even more baffled. Esther confesses that she had a twin sister when they were growing up in the orphanage. She explains that there was a fire, and since then her sister has been insane and goes around setting fires, usually to orphanages and church run schools.

At first the chief is skeptical, but when Esther insists that she can "Will" her sister to call, he agrees to return to further investigate her claims. The next evening, the phone rings and a mysterious woman asks for Esther. Suddenly Esther has a vision of a church school being torched. The chief calls the school, which is in another town, miles away. While he is on the phone, the fire alarm breaks out and the nun he is speaking with must evacuate the school. Later they learn that no one was harmed.

Finally Esther insists that her sister will be at the train station and they must go and arrest her or the fires will continue. When Bill and the chief arrive at the station, a mysterious woman who resembles Esther is there. She looks frightened by their appearance and rushes into the station. When the men look inside, no one is there! They discover only one more thing, a call to the orphanage where Esther and her sister lived, results in the discovery that Esther did have a sister and that the girl was killed in the fire! Was the dead girl burning buildings? Or was it Esther causing the fires with her "fevers". What was the real problem? John Newland again explains that the events were real. The transfer of the episode is very good, the acting by Norma Crane is top notch. Well worth seeing this episode.