"A legend doesn't die just because a man does."
Director: Buzz Kulik
Writer: George Clayton Johnson
Composer: Stock music & Jerry Goldsmith
This is probably the episode that most people involved with sports or anything in the way of competition can relate to. It's a remarkable episode filled with lessons on the virtues of winning and losing, as well as what it means to be the best at something. While it obviously has the supernatural twists that The Twilight Zone is known for, the meat of the episode could just as easily be about two living men facing off in a game of pool and it would still be pretty darn powerful.
"A Game of Pool" features Jesse Cardiff (Jack Klugman) begging for an opportunity to face off against the best pool player who ever lived, Fats Brown (Jonathan Winters); however, Fats is dead, and Jesse doesn't think he's going to get his chance. However, Fats is called down to face off against Jesse and presents a high-stakes game of pool with Jesse's life on the line to prove that he isn't just the best, but that he has the drive to be a champion. And so the game is on.
What immediately jumps out about this episode is the tightness of its story. It's succinct and has a clear point but doesn't leave much room for the obvious. As this is the story of a sport, it's a story where anything is possible; this idea is stressed early on in the episode and repeatedly comes up all the way through to the end, although it isn't the most prevalent idea presented. Like most of the great Twilight Zone episodes, the environment is enclosing, and this one is especially small: a pool table.
The table itself almost seems to become a character or environment all of its own. It has no laws or rules besides those of basic physics and geometry, but the way that the game is framed and shot makes it seem as if there is control by the players over what happens but ultimately there are so many risk factors and variables that go into the game that the board itself comes to life and fights against the will of the others. It'd be one thing if this were a sport where one player affects another, and in essence that can happen in billiards, but players do not shoot at the same time and are left to the will of the position of the billiards to determine their next move, something that director Buzz Kulik uses mightily to his advantage.
Kulik's use of close-ups on Jesse, Fats, and the table also serve to give us a tight atmosphere, one that borders along claustrophobia the longer the game gets and the more back-and-forth it goes between the two. Such focus allows the audience to get into the heads of these players and watch what happens to both of them as the game goes along, visually developing their characters in the middle chunk of the episode where dialogue is sparse.
Jesse Cardiff is the main character and his arc is a rather intriguing one. He has a competitive fire burning within him but his resolve is a little shaky. So is his mind, as at the beginning of the episode he is talking to ghosts, to people that aren't really there. He's proving himself to nobody because nobody cares. Maybe it's because he hasn't given anyone reason to care, or maybe it's because he isn't that good. That's something we would need to see, and something that we do see.
But Jesse, while a bit nervous at the proposition, does lay it all on the line for the game. Once he commits himself to what's at stake and what's happening, a switch seems to flip within him and he goes all out, going from a confident man with nothing to back it to a confident man with focus and determination to win the game he viciously obsesses over.
Klugman masterfully portrays Jesse, too. He adds things to the end of his dialogue, little intonations to his lines. It makes Jesse all too human, and all-too-relatable to someone with a competitive edge, someone who wants to prove themselves, to just get that one shot at glory. And when he needs to turn it up during the game, Klugman does so. Klugman's performance as Jesse Cardiff is one of the most memorable in the entire run of the original Twilight Zone just in how much passion and fervor he brings to Jesse.
Winters, on the other hand, portrays a cool, collected Fats Brown. He's a man who knows he is the best and isn't afraid to remind you. He's seen too many young men try to make that claim to give them any credence anymore. And he has such perfect line delivery, too. There are many great lines given by Fats Brown in the episode and Winters delivers each and every one of them as best as he can to make Fats Brown the sly son of a gun he is. He's the perfect antagonist for one Jesse Cardiff.
The major theme of this episode is winning, and the consequences of being the best. What happens when one achieves ultimate glory? How glorious is it really? What does it take to get there, and how many sacrifices does one need to make? Jesse and Fats's duel here isn't just about who is the best at billiards but who showed the ability to retain themselves as well as become the best.
One of the other great things presented in the episode is the resolve to become the best, and sticking to that resolve. Fats is toying with Jesse in the early-going, and it's all-too-obvious as Jesse's lead gets larger but Fats retains his cool. It's clear that Fats is just feeling Jesse out, waiting to strike and see if Jesse can retain that sense of urgency and passion that was so relevant at the start.
The ending is especially powerful, but must be discussed in the spoiler section for further analysis. It's a profound one, an ending that makes you give pause and think about what's transpired, and what price you'll have to pay to become the best.
"A Game of Pool" is iconic and, simply put, incredible. It's an episode that never gets old as its message will be forever relevant as long as there is competition to be had. Its two lone performances are absolutely amazing and perfect, and the direction and writing are just as crisp.
***SPOILER SECTION***
Oof, this ending is a good one. It's riveting, man, and makes rewatching this one so worth it. I always wondered and thought that maybe Fats does give the game away at the end. He proved he could make far more intricate shots, and he puts just light enough touch on the billiard to give Jesse his perfect moment. Without saying it, this is his final chance he's giving Jesse to back away from what's coming, but Jesse refuses, not understanding the weight and toll that comes with being the best.
Though it's impossible to see that. It's impossible to know what the top of the mountain looks like without actually getting there. Jesse had a hard climb, sure, but he's alone at the top. There can't be more than one, and he has to constantly defend that title, no matter how exhausting.
The added idea that Jesse basically quit life to become a billiards player also just proves that while Fats loses the game, he ultimately still wins. He had a life outside the hall and got to enjoy the world around him. Perhaps Jesse does the same, but, contrasting their heavenly entrances, Fats is far more content, seemingly willing to go, while Jesse is tired; maybe he's tired of playing pool so much, because he did it so often in his real life that it's just more of the same in the afterlife.
What's also interesting is that each time Jesse's hubris arises, Fats is there to shut it down. Fats is also often seen standing tall in the montage shots, with heavier shadows to make him more pronounced. He is the ultimate opponent, and he displays that in his poise as well as his actions. Therefore the idea that Fats relinquishes the title makes it all the deeper; Fats stayed the best, but no longer needs to be this imposing force, because he knows he's the best, and won't be bothered by anyone anymore.
The idea that being a champion and having such a deep legacy would be so heavy on the soul is an interesting one, and one that I've discussed on this blog before (despite it being more about the 2011 video game Dark Souls, it's still a relevant discussion that you can read here.) It's something that's often glorified and praised, so it's interesting here to see it not so great a light. This is an episode predicated around you really looking in the mirror and seeing what it is you want out of whatever it is you seek to become the best at and to determine what sacrifices you think you should make, and which you could actually make.
As we near the end of our countdown, let us jump back into the past, near the end of World War I, as we watch as an explorer happens upon a lost castle in Central Europe, where many mysteries lie...as well as, possibly, the Devil himself in "The Howling Man." See you then!
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