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[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
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NARRATOR: You unlock this
door with the key of imagination.
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Beyond it is another dimension.
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A dimension of sound.
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A dimension of sight.
A dimension of mind.
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You're moving into a land of
both shadow and substance,
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of things and ideas.
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You've just crossed over
into the Twilight Zone.
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Good evening, happy family
members and stockholders
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of the W.V Whipple
Manufacturing Corporation.
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This year, as you've already perceived,
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we are bringing you the
story of your company's
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progress via the motion picture screen.
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[ON FILM] This is our main operating
plant in the Midwest.
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You will note the number of
employees attending the assembly line.
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In this one plant,
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your company employs 34,827 men.
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Added to 13 other major
Whipple plants across the country.
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We employ a total of
close to 283,000 personnel.
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And now, to the stunning
and exciting news
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which I believe you'll
agree shows, once again.
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That at Whipple's, we
only take forward steps.
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And now, family members and
stockholders of the Whipple Corporation…
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This is the X109B14
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modified transistorized totally
automatic assembly machine
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which eliminates 61,000 jobs,
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73 bulky,
inefficient machines,
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81,000 needless
man hours per 11 working days,
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and $4 million in expenditures each year
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for employee hospitalization,
employee insurance,
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employee welfare and
employee profit participation.
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Even as you stockholders
are watching this film,
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the first model of the X109B14
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modified transistorized machine
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is being placed into operations
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here in our Midwestern main plant.
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Within six months, our
entire production facilities
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will be totally automated.
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Ladies and gentlemen, from now on
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Whipple will operate from a brain center
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with machines such as this one.
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Ladies and gentlemen
of the Whipple family,
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this ends our 1967 year-end report.
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Well, what do you think, Hanley?
Will that bring the stockholders
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to their feet cheering? Not that I
need any particular encouragement.
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The movie speaks for itself.
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It does, indeed.
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You didn't like it, Hanley?
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I'm a chief engineer, Mr. Whipple.
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My duties consist of plant
management. I'm not a film critic.
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Look, I didn't expect you
to give it four stars, Hanley.
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But as plant manager, I
thought you'd have a point of view
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as to the film's content. I thought
you'd have some degree of enthusiasm
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for the changes we're planning.
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Now, does it or doesn't it
give you the lay of the land?
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You can answer that can't you?
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Oh, yes. It gives me the lay of the land.
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Tell me, do you really expect to
automate this place in six months?
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Four months would be a better guess.
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There a lot of things going
in the old trash heap, Hanley.
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Time clocks, for instance. There
won't be anybody to punch in or out.
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I, uh, I think I'll donate
them to a museum.
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Something, Hanley?
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Yes, something. Something
like a lot of men out of work!
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That, unfortunately, is progress, Hanley.
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You know, you're a solid man when
it comes to assembly line planning.
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But when it comes to the
aforementioned progress,
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you're a footdragger.
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Well, little sweetheart, you and I are
gonna spend a great deal of time together.
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Indeed, we are.
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Indeed, indeed, indeed we are.
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NARRATOR: These are the
players, with or without a scorecard.
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In one corner, a machine.
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In the other, one
Wallace V. Whipple, man.
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And the game?
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It happens to be the historical
battle between flesh and steel,
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between the brain of man
and the product of man's brain.
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We don't make book on this
one, and predict no winner
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but we can tell you that
for this particular contest,
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there is standing room
only in the Twilight Zone.
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You know what your trouble is, Hanley?
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You're holding on tight
to this 19th century.
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I'm holding tight to some
principles, Mr. Whipple.
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Some principles that
have to do with firing.
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The regret for the wholesale firings
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of men who've worked
here from 20 to 30 years.
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Regret, indeed. It's come to regret,
huh? I'll let you handle the regrets.
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That'll be your
responsibility. I tell you
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what, Hanley. Have a
sign made for your desk.
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It'll say, "Mr. Walter Hanley,
plant manager in charge of regrets."
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Tell me, Mr. Whipple, why are you so
eager to replace men with machines?
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Ever occur to you that you might
be trading efficiency for pride?
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Pride?
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Yes, pride! Craftsmanship. What a
man feels when he makes something.
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Tell me, what do you suppose that machine
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of yours feels?
Anything? Anything at all?
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What the devil can I do with pride?
Can it, bottle it, wrap it, produce it?
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I'm not selling pride,
I'm selling product.
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-Your father, God rest his…
-What about my father?
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Your father ran this plant for 40
years. He had an eye for profit.
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Nobody ever accused
him of inefficiency, but…
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But what?
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He had something else on his mind.
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What else did my father
have on his mind, Mr. Hanley?
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Good will. And the welfare of
the people who worked for him.
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Good will and the welfare of the
people that worked for him, indeed.
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In 40 years, my father
doubled the size of his plant
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while his competitors quadrupled theirs.
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His competitors, Mr. Hanley, who
were perhaps a little bit less concerned
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with the good will and welfare of
the people that worked for them.
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They paid a fair wage and they
got a fair day's work in exchange.
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But, if they could find a machine they
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could put in to replace
a man, they did it.
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But perhaps they didn't have
plant managers like yourself
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who went off into a crying jag every time
a pink slip was attached to a time clock.
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What's the name of the plant foreman?
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Dickerson, Dickerson, that's his
name. Get him up here for me, will you?
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I'm going to indulge in some of that
heartfelt compassion that you hunger for.
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I'm going to give him and
his staff four months' notice.
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Now, I put it to you, Hanley, is
that compassionate or isn't it?
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Now, you go get him, would you
please, Hanley? Get him up here
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and hold his hand, dry his
eyes, pat him on the head,
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but get him up here.
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So, that's about the
size of it, Mr. Dickerson.
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You may tell the entire day shift
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that they'll be pink-slipped
as of the first of July.
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We're here to set it up, Mr. Whipple.
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Fine, I've checked the machine over. Just
put it downstairs, but treat it gently.
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Handle it with care.
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Now, you realize that this
somewhat wholesale discharge
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has nothing whatever
to do with dissatisfaction
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on your part or that of the men.
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It's merely progress,
Mr. Dickerson. Progress.
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Out with the old, in with
the new. Automation.
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That'll be all, Mr. Dickerson.
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Yes, Mr. Whipple.
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That will be all.
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Did you ever notice, Mr. Hanley,
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ever notice how it
looks like it had a face?
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An ugly face.
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A miserable, ugly face.
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Whipple, he thinks it's a machine.
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It's not a machine, it's an
enemy. It's an opponent.
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I swear, we've got to
hate a thing like this.
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Getting awful late, Dick. Should
have closed half an hour ago.
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[DRUNKENLY] You know what these are?
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Pair of hands?
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Yeah, pair of hands. You
know what else they are?
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They're obsolete, they're off the market.
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They're like wooden wagons
trying to roll down a freeway.
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Flesh and bone and muscle and nerve,
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but that don't cut mustard anymore.
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I want to tell you some… I'm
going to tell you something.
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There isn't a machine made
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that can beat a man.
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Isn't one ma… I'll prove it to you!
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I'm going over there right now
and I'm gonna prove it to you.
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I'm gonna take that
new machine of Whipple's
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and I'm gonna turn
it into nuts and bolts.
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And if that slob with the
key chain gets in my way,
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I'm gonna strangle him with it.
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Dickerson! I just got a call from
the watchman. He said you're drunk
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and barged right past him
without paying any attention.
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And he's right, Mr. Whipple.
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I am drunk.
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And I did barge right in.
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I've worked here for 30 years!
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And I've been foreman for 17 of them.
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In my book, that gives me
some rights, Mr. Whipple.
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Well, you've got the
wrong book, Dickerson.
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My book reads as follows:
You're drunk, disorderly
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and trespassing on private property
and therefore subject to arrest.
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Tell me something, Mr. Whipple.
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When you're dead and buried,
who do you get to mourn for you?
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Shall I tell you the difference,
Mr. Dickerson, between you and it?
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That machine costs two cents an
hour for current. It lasts indefinitely.
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It gets no wrinkles, no arthritis,
no hardening of the arteries.
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That one machine is a lathe
operator, a press operator.
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Two of those machines replace 114 men
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that take no coffee breaks, no
sick leaves, no vacations with pay.
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And that, in my book, Mr. Dickerson,
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is worth considerably more than you are.
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They should have stopped you a year ago!
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Somebody ought to held you down
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and put a bit in your head
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and poured in some reminders
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that men have to eat and work.
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And you can't pack them in
Cosmoline like surplus tanks!
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Or put them out to
pasture like old bulls!
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I'm a man, Mr. Whipple!
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You hear me? I'm a man!
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And that makes me better than that
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hunk of metal, you hear me?
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Better!
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What should I do Mr. Whipple?
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Stop him, stop him!
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He has a crow bar!
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I don't care!
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No, you can't do that, Mr. Whipple.
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[TWO GUNSHOTS]
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You see, machine?
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It… took more than you to beat me.
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It… It took a man.
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Oh, Hanley, I've been expecting you.
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No doubt.
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They told me you were at the hospital.
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I just came from the hospital.
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Fortunately for you, Mr. Whipple,
Dickerson's gonna live.
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00:13:54,769 --> 00:13:56,861
Fortunately for me
other than protecting my
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00:13:56,945 --> 00:13:59,230
property I have no
involvement in that at all.
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00:13:59,314 --> 00:14:02,983
Are the, uh, technicians downstairs?
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00:14:03,067 --> 00:14:05,068
Henley, I asked you a question. Are the
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00:14:05,152 --> 00:14:07,570
technicians repairing
that machine downstairs?
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00:14:07,654 --> 00:14:09,530
It appears so.
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00:14:09,614 --> 00:14:12,741
Ah, good. Good. Oh, Hanley,
this should interest you.
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00:14:12,825 --> 00:14:18,079
This is a tape-controlled seven
axis. What do they call it? A sentry.
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You know what it does? It keeps an eye
on every operation in the entire plant.
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00:14:23,459 --> 00:14:26,001
It keeps absolutely accurate data
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on man hours, cost hours,
product rejects, just everything!
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It's the most sophisticated machine
I've ever seen. I… I just bought it.
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And how many men does it replace?
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Oh, well, this should please
you. Only one, just one!
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As a matter of fact,
Hanley, it replaces you.
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Well, that's only right, Mr. Whipple,
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00:14:55,858 --> 00:14:58,527
since the point of my coming here
today was to give you my notice.
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Oh, good, good. I, uh,
I suspected as much.
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You're a sensible man, Hanley,
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and I'm sure you know that an industrial
team has to be a compatible team.
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And when two men, well, when
they rub each other the wrong way,
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well, it's unrealistic and impractical
that they try to stay on the same team.
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In spite of the fact you
think I'm kind of an ogre,
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some sort of a heartless Scrooge,
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I'm not going to forget the
many years of hard work
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00:15:24,839 --> 00:15:26,923
you put in here for me and my father.
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I'm going to see that you get an
extremely liberal severance pay
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and what I'm sure you'll agree is
a far better than average pension.
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That's very generous of you, Mr. Whipple.
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00:15:36,097 --> 00:15:38,975
There's something I'd like
to give you, if you don't mind.
239
00:15:39,059 --> 00:15:40,934
No, what is that?
240
00:15:41,018 --> 00:15:43,645
That's for you, Mr. Whipple, from me.
241
00:15:43,729 --> 00:15:46,772
For your lack of sensitivity,
your lack of compassion.
242
00:15:46,856 --> 00:15:49,275
Your heartless manipulation
of men and metals.
243
00:15:49,359 --> 00:15:52,277
You can take my
severance pay, my pension,
244
00:15:52,361 --> 00:15:55,654
and your goodbye speeches
and feed them into your machine.
245
00:15:55,738 --> 00:15:59,490
Because when I walk away
from you, I walk away clean.
246
00:15:59,574 --> 00:16:02,160
And that, Mr. Whipple,
is one hell of a trick!
247
00:16:08,164 --> 00:16:10,124
A new watchman device.
248
00:16:10,208 --> 00:16:13,209
Take out your ID card and
hold it in front of the door.
249
00:16:13,293 --> 00:16:16,129
There are built-in electric eyes.
250
00:16:47,445 --> 00:16:49,154
Yes, Mr. Whipple?
251
00:16:49,238 --> 00:16:52,407
Oh, run a control check, please.
252
00:16:52,491 --> 00:16:54,950
I've already done it,
Mr. Whipple, two hours ago.
253
00:16:55,034 --> 00:16:57,494
I did it right after lunch,
too. And if you recall, sir,
254
00:16:57,578 --> 00:16:59,871
I did it just after you came
in this morning as well.
255
00:16:59,955 --> 00:17:02,289
Have you never heard of
preventative maintenance?
256
00:17:02,373 --> 00:17:05,501
It's my job, Mr. Whipple. But what
you're asking me to do isn't maintenance.
257
00:17:05,585 --> 00:17:07,960
It's not preventing a thing.
258
00:17:08,044 --> 00:17:11,338
Indeed. I suppose you know what's needed
in this plant and what isn't needed.
259
00:17:11,422 --> 00:17:14,549
I know that running equipment checks
ten times a day is a waste of time,
260
00:17:14,633 --> 00:17:18,177
a waste of effort, and it's getting
to be an idiotic ritual around here.
261
00:17:18,261 --> 00:17:22,263
Young man, your presence
here is a necessity of the moment.
262
00:17:22,347 --> 00:17:24,223
Notice I stress "of the moment."
263
00:17:24,307 --> 00:17:26,767
Uh, a case in point. Case in point.
264
00:17:26,851 --> 00:17:29,519
Now, stay here, observe this.
265
00:17:34,106 --> 00:17:38,108
Dear sir, yours of the 14th
received and acknowledged.
266
00:17:38,192 --> 00:17:41,529
Now is the time for all good men
to come to the aid of their country.
267
00:17:41,613 --> 00:17:44,739
Et cetera, et cetera
et cetera, et cetera.
268
00:17:44,823 --> 00:17:46,907
[MACHINE TYPING]
269
00:17:52,495 --> 00:17:55,456
A perfect letter. Not
one error or erasure.
270
00:17:55,540 --> 00:17:59,209
Typed at the moment of conception.
Am I getting through to you, young man?
271
00:17:59,293 --> 00:18:02,378
I presume you mean that
secretaries are obsolete now.
272
00:18:02,462 --> 00:18:05,421
Precisely, obsolete. And do
you know what else it means?
273
00:18:05,505 --> 00:18:08,758
It means there'll be no more
powder rooms, no more coffee breaks.
274
00:18:08,842 --> 00:18:11,468
No more work stoppages
due to sundry inconveniences
275
00:18:11,552 --> 00:18:13,761
such as maternity and that sort of thing.
276
00:18:13,845 --> 00:18:18,181
Inconveniences like maternity?
You'll have to forgive me, Mr. Whipple,
277
00:18:18,265 --> 00:18:21,893
but if we keep up with this sort of thing,
we're gonna have wonderful products
278
00:18:21,977 --> 00:18:23,769
but mighty few people to buy them.
279
00:18:23,853 --> 00:18:26,564
Happily that is not my concern.
280
00:18:26,648 --> 00:18:30,525
I am here to provide efficiency.
That is my only concern.
281
00:18:34,654 --> 00:18:37,947
Mr. Whipple? Have you
looked around this place lately?
282
00:18:38,031 --> 00:18:39,615
Looked around?
283
00:18:39,699 --> 00:18:42,033
The cafeteria, for example.
284
00:18:42,117 --> 00:18:44,911
It's like a cave. Not a soul in there.
285
00:18:44,995 --> 00:18:49,123
Just a few vending machines and
music coming through a loudspeaker.
286
00:18:49,207 --> 00:18:51,416
Have you walked around the parking lot?
287
00:18:51,500 --> 00:18:54,626
It's a desert. No cars, no people.
288
00:18:54,710 --> 00:18:56,628
How very enlightening.
289
00:18:56,712 --> 00:18:59,213
This place has everything
now in the way of efficiency.
290
00:18:59,297 --> 00:19:00,715
But do you know what it lacks?
291
00:19:00,799 --> 00:19:03,050
No, tell me.
292
00:19:03,134 --> 00:19:06,678
Voices. Laughter. Just whatever it
is that make people feel for people.
293
00:19:06,762 --> 00:19:10,931
That's what it lacks. This is a
lousy place to work in, Mr. Whipple.
294
00:19:11,015 --> 00:19:14,475
Then I'll spare you any further
suffering. You're discharged.
295
00:19:14,559 --> 00:19:18,270
I've been expecting that. As a
matter of fact, I've been wanting it.
296
00:19:18,354 --> 00:19:20,939
No, I can't work here anymore.
297
00:19:21,023 --> 00:19:23,274
It's too darn lonely.
298
00:19:27,111 --> 00:19:29,404
And another thing, Mr. Whipple.
299
00:19:29,488 --> 00:19:32,990
Having to do with equipment
checks and preventive maintenance,
300
00:19:33,074 --> 00:19:35,199
I think it might be a good idea
301
00:19:35,283 --> 00:19:38,537
if you ran an equipment
check on yourself!
302
00:19:45,417 --> 00:19:47,501
[MUTTERING] Equipment check on myself!
303
00:19:47,585 --> 00:19:49,753
What insufferable rot!
304
00:19:49,837 --> 00:19:52,005
Equipment check on myself!
305
00:19:55,967 --> 00:19:58,509
HANLEY'S VOICE: Did it ever occur to you
306
00:19:58,593 --> 00:20:02,262
you might be trading
efficiency for pride?
307
00:20:02,346 --> 00:20:04,931
DICKERSON'S VOICE:
When you're dead and buried,
308
00:20:05,015 --> 00:20:08,142
who do you get to mourn for you?
309
00:20:08,226 --> 00:20:10,853
TECHNICIAN'S VOICE:
I think it might be a good idea
310
00:20:10,937 --> 00:20:14,689
if you ran an equipment
check on yourself!
311
00:20:14,773 --> 00:20:16,858
[MACHINE BUZZES, BEEPS]
312
00:20:20,986 --> 00:20:24,529
Did it ever occur to you you
might be trading efficiency for pride?
313
00:20:24,613 --> 00:20:26,698
When you're dead and buried,
314
00:20:26,782 --> 00:20:29,158
who do you get to mourn for you?
315
00:20:29,242 --> 00:20:31,410
I think it might be a good idea
316
00:20:31,494 --> 00:20:34,079
if you ran an equipment
check on yourself!
317
00:20:34,163 --> 00:20:36,289
[DISTORTED] I think
it might be a good idea
318
00:20:36,373 --> 00:20:38,791
if you ran an equipment
check on yourself!
319
00:20:38,875 --> 00:20:42,127
Did it ever occur to you you
might be trading efficiency for pride?
320
00:20:42,211 --> 00:20:45,171
When you're dead and buried,
who do you get to mourn for you?
321
00:20:45,255 --> 00:20:47,255
[RECORDINGS SPEED UP]
322
00:20:47,339 --> 00:20:50,384
[MACHINE BUZZES, BEEPS]
323
00:20:58,098 --> 00:21:00,600
[DISTORTED RECORDINGS CONTINUE]
324
00:21:26,037 --> 00:21:27,413
What'll it be Mr. Whipple?
325
00:21:27,497 --> 00:21:29,456
Beer, please.
326
00:21:42,132 --> 00:21:44,217
To other days, Mr. Hanley.
327
00:21:44,301 --> 00:21:47,052
And, uh, to other toasts.
328
00:21:47,136 --> 00:21:49,639
I'll drink to that, Mr. Whipple.
329
00:21:54,518 --> 00:21:56,226
How are you finding retirement?
330
00:21:56,310 --> 00:22:00,146
Oh, tolerable, Mr. Whipple, tolerable.
331
00:22:00,230 --> 00:22:03,773
I manage to… I manage to keep
busy. Not as much as I'd like.
332
00:22:03,857 --> 00:22:09,528
My wife says I'm underfoot,
but, uh, I do all right.
333
00:22:09,612 --> 00:22:12,989
But you know, it's kind of nice
to sleep late in the mornings.
334
00:22:15,158 --> 00:22:18,910
It's important. Uh,
this retirement, I mean.
335
00:22:18,994 --> 00:22:20,912
Very important.
336
00:22:20,996 --> 00:22:25,374
A man should have time for
leisure when he grows older.
337
00:22:25,458 --> 00:22:28,877
It's important he have time for leisure.
338
00:22:28,961 --> 00:22:33,005
That's so, Mr. Whipple.
339
00:22:33,089 --> 00:22:36,841
You know, when the, uh,
when the board of directors, uh,
340
00:22:36,925 --> 00:22:40,427
first indicated to me that they
thought I was uh, somewhat overtired,
341
00:22:40,511 --> 00:22:42,929
should relinquish some
of my responsibilities,
342
00:22:43,013 --> 00:22:46,348
well, if the truth were
known, Mr. Hanley, I, uh,
343
00:22:46,432 --> 00:22:52,145
I did feel some sort of antipathy
for them, but, uh, they were right.
344
00:22:52,229 --> 00:22:54,438
They were… They were
quite right, you know.
345
00:22:54,522 --> 00:22:58,357
But with the perspective of time, I…
346
00:22:58,441 --> 00:23:01,402
I realized they'd moved me out of there.
347
00:23:01,486 --> 00:23:03,862
I'm not… I'm not married, you know,
348
00:23:03,946 --> 00:23:07,448
and, well, things get a little dull.
349
00:23:07,532 --> 00:23:09,950
Well, no, not, not dull, really.
350
00:23:10,034 --> 00:23:12,619
I, uh, I manage to keep myself busy,
351
00:23:12,703 --> 00:23:16,706
but there are times
when I wish th… when I…
352
00:23:19,041 --> 00:23:21,834
It's not right, Hanley.
It's… It's not right.
353
00:23:21,918 --> 00:23:24,462
Cold, dispassionate, impersonal, they…
354
00:23:24,546 --> 00:23:27,047
They chuck a man out right in his prime.
355
00:23:27,131 --> 00:23:31,175
Chuck him out like he was
some… some kind of a… of a part.
356
00:23:31,259 --> 00:23:33,719
Said I was neurotic about things.
357
00:23:33,803 --> 00:23:36,554
Said that being alone with
the machines had warped me.
358
00:23:36,638 --> 00:23:39,640
That was the expression
they used. "Warped."
359
00:23:39,724 --> 00:23:42,392
It's not fair, Hanley. It's not fair.
360
00:23:42,476 --> 00:23:47,979
A man has value. A man has worth.
361
00:23:48,063 --> 00:23:52,858
They just snap their fingers, and
they… they bring in a replacement.
362
00:23:52,942 --> 00:23:56,986
They just bring in a
replacement. It… It isn't fair, Hanley.
363
00:23:57,070 --> 00:24:00,532
It… It isn't fair, the way
they… the way they diminish us.
364
00:24:00,616 --> 00:24:03,325
NARRATOR: There are
many bromides applicable here.
365
00:24:03,409 --> 00:24:08,162
Too much of a good thing, tiger by
the tail, as you sow, so shall ye reap.
366
00:24:08,246 --> 00:24:12,332
The point is that too often man
becomes clever instead of becoming wise,
367
00:24:12,416 --> 00:24:14,917
he becomes inventive, but not thoughtful.
368
00:24:15,001 --> 00:24:17,545
And sometimes, as in
the case of Mr. Whipple,
369
00:24:17,629 --> 00:24:20,213
he can create himself
right out of existence.
370
00:24:20,297 --> 00:24:23,091
Tonight's tale of oddness
and obsolescence
371
00:24:23,175 --> 00:24:24,926
from the Twilight Zone.
372
00:24:28,386 --> 00:24:30,346
PRESENTER: And now, Mr. Serling.
373
00:24:30,430 --> 00:24:32,306
On The Twilight Zone next trip,
374
00:24:32,390 --> 00:24:35,350
we move into the area
of authentic folk singing.
375
00:24:35,434 --> 00:24:39,019
But this is folk singing like you've
probably never heard before.
376
00:24:39,103 --> 00:24:42,230
The words and the music in
this item are haunting indeed
377
00:24:42,314 --> 00:24:46,316
and this one provides one of the more
odd excursions into the places of shadow.
378
00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:48,151
Gary Crosby and Bonnie Beecher
379
00:24:48,235 --> 00:24:50,736
star in a most unusual
tale by Anthony Wilson.
380
00:24:50,820 --> 00:24:53,239
It's called "Come Wander with Me."
381
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,785
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]