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A Penny for Your Thoughts

 
Idioms: penny for your thoughts, a
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What are you thinking about? For example, You've been awfully quiet--a penny for your thoughts. This expression dates from the 1500s and was in John Heywood's 1546 collection of proverbs.

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TV Episode:

The Twilight Zone: A Penny for Your Thoughts

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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > TV Episodes
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Movie Type: Anthology Series
  • Themes: Psychic Abilities
  • Director: James Sheldon
  • Main Cast: Dick York, June Dayton, Dan Tobin, Cyril Delevanti, Hayden Rorke
  • Release Year: 1961
  • Country: US

Plot

Long before he costarred in Bewitched, Dick York was forced to contend with unwelcome magical powers in this Twilight Zone episode. York is cast as bank clerk Hector Poole, who suddenly finds himself gifted with the power to read other people's minds. Hoping to use this power to his advantage, Hector ends up with a heap o' trouble instead. This being a comic episode, however, there's a happy (or at least satisfying ending). Watch for Hayden Rorke, Dr. Bellows from I Dream of Jeannie, in a key supporting role. The first Twilight Zone script written by George Clayton Johnson, "A Penny for Your Thoughts" originally aired February 3, 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: A Penny for Your Thoughts
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"A Penny for Your Thoughts"
The Twilight Zone episode
Dickyork.JPG
Dick York in A Penny for Your Thoughts
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 52
Written by George Clayton Johnson
Directed by James Sheldon
Featured music Stock
Production no. 173-3650
Original airdate February 3, 1961
Guest stars

Dick York: Hector B. Poole
June Dayton: Miss Turner
Dan Tobin: Mr. Bagby
Hayden Rorke: Mr. Sykes
Cyril Delevanti: Mr. Smithers
Episode chronology
← Previous Next →
"The Invaders" "Twenty Two"
List of Twilight Zone episodes

"A Penny for Your Thoughts" is an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone.

Contents

Opening narration

“ Mr. Hector B. Poole, resident of the Twilight Zone. Flip a coin and keep flipping it. What are the odds? Half the time it will come up heads, half the time tails. But in one freakish chance in a million, it'll land on its edge. Mr. Hector B. Poole, a bright human coin, on his way to the bank. ”

Synopsis

Hector B. Poole, a timid bank clerk, gains telepathic powers after tossing a coin that miraculously stands on its edge. He discovers that he is able to "read" other people's thoughts, and is surprised to hear the things people are thinking around him.

He first "hears" his boss thinking about a weekend affair he is planning with his mistress. He then "hears" a businessman, Mr. Sykes, trying to take out a large loan to pay for a run at the horse track to win back money he has embezzled from his company. Hector informs his boss, Mr. Bagby, and thwarts the businessman's plans. Hector then "hears" Miss Turner, a co-worker, has been admiring Hector from afar, but wishes he would be more bold. Hector "hears" her thoughts and decides to take her into his confidence by revealing his "gift" to her.

Eventually he uncovers an apparent plot by an old trusted employee, Mr. Smithers, to steal money from the bank. The plot is eventually disproved; the veteran bank employee admits he has been thinking about stealing money from the bank for years, but would never go through with such a plan. Mr. Bagby fires Poole, but later reinstates him when he discovers Hector was correct about Sykes. With the encouragement of Miss Turner, Hector uses his knowledge of Mr. Bagby's tryst to blackmail his boss into giving him not only a better position as an office manager at the bank, but Mr. Smithers a long overdue vacation.

After work, as Poole returns home with Miss Turner, he inadvertently knocks down the coin he stood up earlier. To his relief, his ability to read minds is gone; but he is still a changed man, for the better.

Closing narration

“ One time in a million, a coin will land on its edge, but all it takes to knock it over is a vagrant breeze, a vibration or a slight blow. Hector B. Poole, a human coin, on edge for a brief time in the Twilight Zone. ”

Preview for next week's story

Announcer: "And now, Mr. Serling."

“ This is Room 22. And, on the other side of its doors lies an adventure that is as fascinating as it is inexplicable. It's a story that comes to us from Mr. Bennett Cerf, who describes it as an age-old horror tale whose origin is unknown. We've dressed it up in some hospital wrappings, and enlisted the performance of Miss Barbara Nichols. Next on The Twilight Zone, "Twenty Two." Be prepared to be spooked. It's that kind of story. ”

See also

References

  • DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1593931360
  • Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0970331090

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
TV Episode. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ® , a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "A Penny for Your Thoughts".  Read more