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"Mr. Garrity and the Graves" is an episode of the The Twilight Zone.
Episode Details
Opening Narration
"Introducing Mr. Jared Garrity, a gentleman of commerce, who in the latter half of the nineteenth century plied his trade in the wild and wooly hinterlands of the American West. And Mr. Garrity, if one can believe him, is a resurrecter of the dead - which, on the face of it, certainly sounds like the bull is off the nickel. But to the scoffers amongst you, and you ladies and gentlemen from Missouri, don't laugh this one off entirely, at least until you've seen a sample of Mr. Garrity's wares, and an example of his services. The place is Happiness, Arizona, the time around 1890. And you and I have just entered a saloon where the bar whiskey is brewed, bottled and delivered from the Twilight Zone."
Episode Summary
A traveling peddler, Garrity, arrives in the little, recently-renamed town of Happiness, Arizona, offering to bring the townsfolk's dead back from Boot Hill. Initially, they don't believe him, but when he appears to resurrect a dead dog struck by a traveler's horse-drawn wagon, they do believe him. After performing the resurrection ritual, Garrity, in seemingly casual conversation, reminds the people about the dead and departed, almost all of whom were murdered: who died having a score to settle with whom, and so forth. The townsfolk grow uncomfortable at the thought of facing problems they thought buried with the dead; when one apparent resurrectee is seen approaching town, his brother, who shot the man himself, bribes Garrity to reverse the ritual, and the figure vanishes. Ultimately, everyone in town similarly pays Garrity to not revive their "loved ones." Later that night, Garrity and his assistant (who was both wagon driver and "resurrectee") ride away with the money, joking about how they cannot actually bring the dead back to life: they had simply performed a few smoke and mirrors tricks to con the townsfolk, and used a dog that was alive the whole time but simply knew how to play dead. After they have left the town, the last scene reveals that the dead really are rising from the grave, with one commenting that the peddler underestimates his own ability.
Closing Narration
"Exit Mr. Garrity, a would-be charlatan, a make-believe con man and a sad misjudger of his own talents. Respectfully submitted from an empty cemetery on a dark hillside that is one of the slopes leading to the Twilight Zone."
Preview for Next Week's Story
The subject next time is automation. Our area of concern: the replacement of men by machines. It happens to be not only a current industrial phenomenon but potentially a sizable can of peas, that, once opened, carries with it some very special story material. On The Twilight Zone next time, we open that can of peas and present a battle between the men and the machines. Richard Deacon and Paul Newlan star in "The Brain Center at Whipple's".
Production Companies
- Cayuga Productions
- Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (in association with)
Distributors
- Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1959) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
Memorable Quotes
- Main article: List of memorable quotes from the first series