Description: Season 5, Episode 32
Air Date: May 8, 1964
Plot Summary: A traveling con man claims he has the power to resurrect the dead in a small town.
Review: I guess this is supposed to be another comedic episode, but the humor is more subtle than the previous comedy episodes. The titular character is an obvious con man as he moves from town to town in the late 1800s. The townsfolk, who are simpletons, are easily convinced of Mr. Garitty's abilities after he resurrects a dog that was seemingly run over by a wagon. He then proceeds to resurrect an entire graveyard worth of individuals much to the dismay of the townspeople. Once the first zombie-ish person appears, we come to learn that the townspeople were actually happy with the deaths of these individuals and would quite readily pay to have them return back to their eternal slumber.
After Mr. Garitty collects all of the money he can and bails on the town, the truth about him being a sham is revealed. The dog was effectively playing dead, and Mr. Garitty had an assistant that scoped out the town ahead of time in order to dig up dirt on each person. Likewise, this assistant was playing the zombie as he tries to find a dead person that looks closest to himself. Once Mr. Garitty and crew carry on their merry way, we see that the dead really have been resurrected, and they're eager for revenge just as the townspeople imagined. The zombies imply Mr. Garitty really did have a power, but this is not properly explained. The shot of everyone coming back to life was done well, but it would have been infinitely cooler and scarier in an episode that took the material seriously. Overall, this is a decent episode, but nothing is noteworthy about the experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment