All language subtitles for 25 - The Silence

You're traveling
through another dimension

a dimension not only
of sight and sound, but of mind

a journey into a wondrous land

whose boundaries
are that of imagination.

That's the signpost up ahead.

Your next stop,
the twilight zone.

Well, i can tell you
gentlemen

the most idiotic thing
occurred in the market today.

Just idiotic. I've been
dabbling in the syndicate.

It has some oil holdings
in texas.

Jack brewer handles
our new york operation.

He came on the floor today-
i just happened to be there.

This was about
10:30 this morning.

He has a sheaf of
papers in his hand

he waves to me.

Now, if there is anybody
that i don't want

to see before noon
on any given day

it is jack brewer.

He's a raucous sort,
a little crude, nouveau riche-

you know the type.

Charlie, old man, you don't mind
if i sit here, do you, boy?

Well,
where was i?

Oh, yes,
jack brewer.

He, uh, walks across
the floor to me

and with an
intense voice-

a voice absolutely
shaking with intensity-

he sidles up to me
and he whispers...

he's got the most miserable
habit of whispering-

sotto voce- so that everyone
in the world can hear him.

Anyway, he says to me "jim,

"i must scrape up
a quarter of a million

and you're the only one
that can handle it for me."

Now, this is brewer speaking
to me.

A quarter of
a million dollars!

And i am supposed
to scrape it up for him.

I mean, i am supposed
to scrape it up

as though it were
some kind of residue

that could be literally
scooped up off a floor!

To make a long
story short

he arrives at the busiest
time of the morning

absolutely the
busiest time

and he says to me

"jim, i've got an opportunity to corner..."

i just got your letter.

Shh! Our young friend
is discoursing again.

Well, of course i looked a
little askance at him

because the boor wouldn't know
a corner of the market

from a railroad roundhouse!

The only thing worse
than his talking so much

is his transparency.

In about 30 seconds, alfred,
he will very nonchalantly ask

for a loan from
anybody within earshot.

Just last week he asked me

for the loan of a quarter
of a million dollars.

The letter you sent me

is the most incredible
thing i have ever read.

Archie, we're
old friends.

I must tell you...

my communication to you

was not as an old friend,
but as my lawyer.

Is the wager
i have in mind legal?

No wager is legal
in this state.

Well, is it against
the law, then?

Anything criminal in it?

I don't see anything
criminal in it, no.

Alfred, that is exactly
what i wanted to hear from you.

Franklin, would you take
this note across the room

to young mr. Tennyson
over there.

Archie...

you tell him
it's from me.

Ask him to read it
immediately.

Why, yes, sir.

The note that this man
is carrying across a club room

is in the form
of a proposed wager

but it's the kind of wager
that comes without precedent.

It stands alone
in the annals of bet making

as the strangest game of chance
ever offered

by one man to another.

In just a moment,
we'll see the terms of the wager

and what young
mr. Tennyson does about it.

And in the process

we'll witness all parties
spin a wheel of chance

in a very bizarre casino
called the twilight zone.

Do you know whaticould do

with a quarter of a million
dollars in a deal like this?

Well, i can tell you this-
i could treble it, quadruple it.

Why, with an initial
investment

of a quarter of a
million dollars...

i could take this
plastics thing...

excuse me,
mr. Tennyson.

A note for you
from colonel taylor.

Just put it down
somewhere, franklin.

Excuse me, mr. Tennyson,
his instructions are

that you read
it immediately.

I beg your pardon.

Acts like he had
seen a ghost.

This is... this is
absolute nonsense.

What about it, tennyson?

Is this some
kind of a joke?

I mean, really, colonel,
if it is a joke,

it suggests a sense of
humor quite beyond me.

It isnota joke.

You know me
reasonably well, tennyson.

You know that
humor is perhaps

the least developed
aspect of my character.

I am quite serious.

Would you mind
terribly, tennyson

if i acquainted the members
with my proposition?

Well, that's your business,
colonel, quite your business.

But i do believe that you will

make yourself
highly suspect.

I'll take that risk.

I propose a wager
to mr. Tennyson here.

The wager is to take
the following form.

I will bet him $500,000...

that he cannot remain
silent for one year.

The wager carries with it
the following conditions:

He will be placed
in a room for observation

by me or by any one of us,
at our discretion.

He will be furnished
with anything he desires

by way of diversion.

But he will not be able to speak
one single word for 12 months

not one single word.

He will make
his wants known

in writing,
not by voice.

What about it, tennyson?

Well, may i ask what is
the reason for this wager?

What i'm about to say might
horrify the average person

but to someone
as insensitive as you

it probably won't
mean a thing.

I dislike you
intensely, tennyson.

It goes much beyond
the ordinary distaste

i feel for someone
without breeding

without principles,
without manners.

Your voice has become
intolerable.

I sit here each night and
the sound of it makes me wince!

I cannot ask you
to resign from the club.

I haven't got that right.

So it occurred to me

that i'd be willing
to offer a large sum of money

just to have some quiet.

You see, tennyson

you could not possibly
remain silent for a year.

It's not in your nature.

You're a shallow, talkative,
empty-headed ne'er-do-well

and to remain silent
would destroy you.

So what i assume
will happen

you will perhaps
withstand the pressures

for three or four weeks,
maybe a couple of months

and then you will succumb.

That's, again,
your nature.

In the meantime, i will derive

oh, several months
of exquisite silence.

Well, tennyson

does it appeal to
your sporting blood?

Oddly enough, it does
appeal to my sporting blood.

Now, that, too,
is patently ridiculous.

There's nothing sporting
about you, tennyson.

I happen to know
you're delivering

your nightly
financial folderol

because you're in
desperate straits.

You've run through
your inheritance

your debts are
insurmountable

and you'd do practically
anything for money.

Except, perhaps, to
remain silent for a year.

If this were europe, or the
company were more sophisticated

i should be forced
to invite you out

for the things
you've said to me.

The ground rules
here, however

are different.

I can either ignore you
or call your bluff.

Well, i choose to do the latter.

I accept your wager.

Uh, just a few questions.

Where am i to be
incarcerated?

Well, in the old
game room downstairs.

It isn't being used.

With the permission of
the board of governors

i'll have some work
done on it.

You'll be in a glass-enclosed
living room and bedroom.

Microphones will be
placed around the room

which you are
to leave untouched.

Your every movement
will be recorded

and so will your voice
when you decide to give up.

You will permit me
or any one of us

to observe you
at any time.

When, uh, is this
supposed to start?

Well, the room could be
prepared by tomorrow night.

I've made all
the necessary inquiries.

You could enter
anytime after 10:00 p.m.

And so, at 10:00 p.m.,
june 3, 1962

you may leave the room.

At that time
i will have

a check for $500,000
waiting for you

assuming, of course,
that the impossible happens

and you're able to remain silent
for those 12 months.

I'll be back tomorrow night.

Uh, colonel, i would like
to have that check certified

and placed on deposit
in my name

a photostat of it available

and witnessed
by every member of this club.

That might be
the usual procedure

in a fish market or a pawn shop

but not in this club
and not with me.

My credit is well-known

so is my honor, as every
member here will vouch for.

There will be no check
placed on deposit.

You'll have to take my word.

I see.

It's my courage
against your credit.

Well, a year
from tomorrow night

both can be proved.

Franklin,
get me my coat.

Yes, sir.

Tennyson, i've known colonel
taylor for a long time.

This is not
a capricious man.

I warn you,
he is in deadly earnest.

Do you know
my wife, sir?

Her name is doris.

She's a lovely thing-
frail, beautiful, fragile.

Like a cameo brooch

but her tastes run
to unfragile things-

sizable baubles to
sizable price tags.

She shops at tiffany's the way
other women enter a supermarket.

My miserable
misfortune is

that i happen to be very
much in love with her.

I am also desperate
in need of money.

I may sound melodramatic,
but it happens to be true.

Any time now, mr. Tennyson.

Any time.

Oh, mr. Tennyson's
dinner, hmm?

Yes, sir.

Is he eating well,
appetite good?

Not very much up
to a week ago, sir

but he's eating
very well now.

Well, that's nice.

And i hope he stays
in perfect health.

I wouldn't want
this experience

to damage him
in any way.

Quite the contrary, sir.

He seems in
excellent spirits

and it's nine weeks
now, sir

nine weeks today that
he's been in there.

Nine weeks?

Well, that's really
quite incredible.

I gave him
four weeks

possibly, to hold out,
six at the outside.

Nine weeks!

There's a little bit
more gristle there

than i gave him
credit for.

Will there be
anything else, sir?

Oh, hello, alfred.

Franklin told me
you were waiting.

Only to pose this
question to you.

Very succinct,
archie, very brief.

How long?

How long what?

How long are you
going to keep on

with this... this
prolonged practical joke?

Well, not much longer.

Thank you, franklin.

You should see
our boy down there.

Four and a half months,
not a sound out of him.

It's incredible.

That fop won't take it
for another month.

This i'll guarantee you.

For your sake,
i hope that's the case.

Mysake?

You have
the money, archie?

I find that
insulting, alfred.

I'm sorry if it is.

I think he's going
to beat you, archie.

I think that boy
down there

is going to remain silent
for the entire year.

And i think you're
going to owe him $500,000.

I just hope you've got it.

You can hear me,
tennyson, can't you?

I've been giving this
considerable thought.

You fulfilled your part
of the bargain admirably.

As a matter of fact

you have completely
surprised me, tennyson.

But the fact is

i feel the whole thing
has gone too far.

It's becoming inhuman.

I'm prepared to offer you
a thousand dollars

and you may walk out today

right this moment,
if you choose.

It's going to be an early spring
this year, tennyson.

You ought to see it.

In that time of the year

when a young man's
fancy lightly turns...

well, you know that
better than i do.

And young ladies, too.

For example

your wife.

She must be lonely
for you, tennyson

desperately lonely.

As a matter of fact,
she...

she has been seen
with other young men.

It's odd

she hasn't paid you a visit,
isn't it?

Don't you think it's odd?

I happen to know
you've written her many notes

requesting a visit.

She hasn't responded,
even to the notes.

You may lose
your wife, tennyson.

I hope you're fully
aware of that.

While you stay here
behind glass

the very reason
for all your agony

may be slipping
away from you.

Why don't you leave, tennyson?

Why don't you leave right now?

It still might be possible
to save your marriage.

Tennyson, i saw
your wife again.

She was getting into
a little european sports car.

There was a, you know,
a nice young fellow driving it.

Your wife... wife... your
wife... wife... wife... wife.

Today is april fools' day,
tennyson.

You remember april fools' day.

I think it was named for you

for only a fool would stay
in there as long as you have

knowing precisely what's
happening on the outside.

Your wife, i mean, tennyson,
your wife... wife... wife.

Tennyson, this nonsense
must cease!

You've got
to get out of there.

You really do.

Why i could tell you some
stories about your wife.

How about it, tennyson?

I might see my way clear
to giving you $5,000.

That would pay off
a lot of your debts.

And a little bracelet
for your wife.

Something to compensate
for the months of loneliness.

How about it, tennyson?

$5,000.

$6,000, tennyson.

You're an idiot, you
know that, tennyson?!

You're going out of
your mind in there.

I know you are.

You're ready to crawl up
the walls.

Listen, tennyson, you cannot
stay in there one more hour.

Not another half hour.

I wouldn't have
believed it.

A year
in that room

and not one word
out of him.

Two minutes is all
the poor devil has got now-

two more minutes.

Look at archie.

Not the face of a happy man, would you say?

A rather monumental occasion,
isn't it, archie?

12 months ago to the moment
you destroyed yourself

much as i told you you would.

Your little reminders
are gratuitous, alfred.

Besides, it's
not yet 10:00.

Whether it is
or whether it isn't

the destruction
i'm talking about

has already
taken place.

There have been
ugly rumors, archie

things you've
done to him

like little
asides, innuendos

suggestions, gossip
about his wife.

You place such a premium
on honor, archie

but you haven't acted
like an honorable man.

Please don't go to the
trouble of denying it.

I'm sure much of it
is true.

But the ugly affair
has proved two things

hasn't it, archie?

That that boy down
there is stronger

than you gave him
credit for

and you are
considerably weaker.

How could he have done it?

How could he
have done it?

It's impossible!

You, uh, have me at
a disadvantage, mr. Tennyson.

In a rather
compromising situation.

You force me into a position
of... rather distasteful candor.

The truth is i am a fraud.

I haven't
any money.

I offered you a thousand
dollars, then $5,000.

I would have had to go out
into the street

to beg even that amount, let
alone a half a million dollars.

It's true that i have pride

bearing, taste,
exceptional breeding...

but i lost
most of my money

some years ago.

Now you have forced me
to uncover the situation

proving, mr. Tennyson,
proving that, of the two of us

you are by far
the more substantial.

And i will naturally resign.

I will not ask you to suffer
my presence any longer.

Tennyson, you can talk,
your time is up.

You can talk, gurgle, sing,
chortle, anything you want.

What's
he writing?

What is
he doing?

Why doesn't
he talk?

What does it
say, archie?

What did
he write?

Why didn't he
say something?

"I knew i would not
be able to keep

"my part of the bargain...

"so one year ago
i had the nerves

to my vocal
chords severed."

Mr. Jamie tennyson
who almost won a bet

but who discovered
somewhat belatedly

that gambling can be
a most unproductive pursuit

even with loaded dice,
marked cards

or, as in his case,
some severed vocal chords.

For somewhere beyond him,
a wheel was turned

and his number came up
"black 13."

If you don't believe it,
ask the croupier

the very special one
who handles roulette

in the twilight zone.

Rod serling, creator
ofthe twilight zone

will tell you
about next week's story

after this word
from our alternate sponsor.

And now, mr. Serling.

Next week onthe twilight zone

you'll sit in this courtroom and
you'll watch what is apparently

the standard, everyday turning
of the wheels of justice.

But because this is
the twilight zone

don't be fooled
by the readily apparent,

for when the judge enters,
the jury rises,

the bailiff calls out the case,
all of this

is the opening salvo to one
of our wildest journeys yet.

Our program is called
"shadow play"

and it's written
by mr. Charles beaumont.

It comes well recommended.

Captioned by media access
group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org

hi, this is ed sullivan,

reminding you that the colgate-
palmolive company

also brings you star-studded
entertainment on our show

on most of these same stations.