A Game of Pool

Episode aired Oct 13, 1961
TV-PG
25m

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

3.6K

YOUR RATING

Jonathan Winters in The Twilight Zone (1959)

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Frustrated pool champion Jesse Cardiff has beaten everyone except for the deceased James Howard "Fats" Brown. Jesse can only curse his name. But guess who just walked into the pool room on R... Read allFrustrated pool champion Jesse Cardiff has beaten everyone except for the deceased James Howard "Fats" Brown. Jesse can only curse his name. But guess who just walked into the pool room on Randolph Street?Frustrated pool champion Jesse Cardiff has beaten everyone except for the deceased James Howard "Fats" Brown. Jesse can only curse his name. But guess who just walked into the pool room on Randolph Street?

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

3.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Jesse Cardiff

Jonathan Winters

James Howard "Fats" Brown

Margie Liszt

Caller
(voice)
(uncredited)

Rod Serling

Narrator
(uncredited)
…

Director
- Buzz Kulik
Writer
- George Clayton Johnson
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews40

7.83.6K

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Storyline

Did you know

Trivia
Jonathan Winters was legendary for his comedic abilities but he had never once, prior to this episode, played a dramatic role. Director Buzz Kulik chose to cast Winters because he not only was physically right for the role of Fats but also because Kulik believed Winters' inexperience in dramatic acting would actually be an asset. In Kulik's words "With a guy like Jack Klugman, you go out and get Jack Warden or somebody like that. However, we determined that here was this guy who was such a brilliant talent, who would bring a kind of freshness, because this was his first time as a dramatic actor."

Goofs
Jesse Cardiff racks the pool balls before the type of game is even decided upon and before the breaker is determined by coin toss. Typically the breaker will rack the balls. Not only that, Cardiff racks the balls with the 8-ball in the bottom right corner, which is incongruous with both typical eight-ball pool and in 14.1 straight pool, which they decide to play.

Quotes
[last lines]
Narrator: [Closing Narration] Mr. Jesse Cardiff, who became a legend by beating one, but who has found out, after his funeral, that being the best of anything carries with it a special obligation to keep on proving it. Mr. Fats Brown, on the other hand, having relinquished the champion's mantle - has gone fishing. These are the ground rules - in The Twilight Zone.