Printer's Devil

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The Twilight Zone Original series Season four (1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5) January 1963 – June 1963 List of The Twilight Zone episodes
Episodes: In His Image The Thirty-Fathom Grave Valley of the Shadow He's Alive Mute Death Ship Jess-Belle Miniature Printer's Devil No Time Like the Past The Parallel I Dream of Genie The New Exhibit Of Late I Think of Cliffordville The Incredible World of Horace Ford On Thursday We Leave for Home Passage on the Lady Anne The Bard

“Printer’s Devil” is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.

[edit] Details

Episode number: 111
Season: 4
Production code: 4864
Original air date: February 28, 1963
Writer: Charles Beaumont based on his story “The Devil, You Say?”
Director: Ralph Senensky

[edit] Cast

Role	Actor
Mr. Smith	Burgess Meredith
Douglas Winter	Robert Sterling

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The editor of a failing newspaper is approached by one “Mr. Smith”, actually the devil in disguise. Not revealing his true identity, the devil provides the editor with money. The devil convinces the editor to sign away his soul by pointing out that it doesn't mean anything since the devil is not real. More importantly, the devil modifies the newspaper's linotype machine, so that whatever is set in type subsequently happens. He writes a whole variety of dramatic stories, many involving disasters. The newspaper becomes a tremendous success as its stories hit the streets just minutes after the events happen. Eventually, the devil writes a story that has the editor's girlfriend killed in an auto accident. The editor finally realizes that Mr. Smith is in fact the devil, and he discovers the story that has his girlfriend dying. He uses the linotype machine to change the story so that his girlfriend survives the crash, but also writes it so Mr. Smith, who was also in the car, completely disappears.