The Jungle (The Twilight Zone)
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| “The Jungle” | |||||||
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| The Twilight Zone episode | |||||||
 Scene from "The Jungle" |
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| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 77 |
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| Written by | Charles Beaumont | ||||||
| Directed by | William Claxton | ||||||
| Guest stars | John Dehner : Alan Richards Emily McLaughlin : Doris Richards Walter Brooke : Chad Cooper Jay Adler : Vagrant Hugh Sanders : Mr. Templeton Howard Wright : Mr. Hardy Donald Foster : Mr. Sinclair |
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| Production no. | 4806 | ||||||
| Original airdate | December 1, 1961 | ||||||
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| List of Twilight Zone episodes | |||||||
"The Jungle" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
Contents |
[edit] Opening narration
| “ | The carcass of a goat, a dead finger, a few bits of broken glass and stone, and Mr. Alan Richards, a modern man of a modern age, hating with all his heart something in which he cannot believe and preparing, although he doesn't know it, to take the longest walk of his life, right down to the center of the Twilight Zone. | ” |
[edit] Synopsis
Alan Richards and his wife Doris have recently returned from Africa, where Alan's company is constructing a dam. He discovers she has secretly kept several items given to her by a local shaman for protection. When he confronts her about them, she insists that they are nothing more to her than souvenirs. He decides to test her and burns them, which causes her to become upset and begs him to stop construction on the dam. He ignores her pleas and opens the door to leave for work. In the hallway of his apartment building, just outside his door, is the carcass of a dead goat.
Alan attends a board meeting, where they discuss the dam and the fact that, although the natives will benefit from it in the long run, they are upset that they will be displaced in order to build it. He warns that the local witchdoctors have threatened to use black magic against anyone associated with the project. When the other board members scoff, he points out their own superstitions: One carries a rabbit's foot, another practices astrology- even the building doesn't have a 13th floor.
Later, he is in a bar having a drink with a friend before heading home, and shows him a lion-tooth charm his wife has given him. Supposedly the tooth will protect him against a lion attack. Both men laugh at the idea of a lion attack in the city.
Alan begins to head home, but finds his car won't start. He attempts to return to the bar, but it is locked and he has forgotten his lion-tooth inside. He attempts to use a pay phone, but it's out of order. As he walks away, the phone begins to ring. He answers it and hears nothing but the sounds of the jungle.
He begins to head home on foot, still hearing the sounds of the jungle all around him, becoming more and more nervous and jumpy. He finally meets a bum and asks him about the jungle noises, which the bum claims not to hear. He offers the bum money to escort him through the park, but, before the bum can accept the offer, he disappears when Alan's back is turned. When he tries to take a taxi home but the driver drops down dead.
Alan continues on, becoming even more frightened. He finally reaches the safety of his apartment and pours himself a drink. Suddenly he hears a lion's roar from the bedroom. When he enters, he finds his wife's body on the bed along with a lion. The episode ends just as the lion attacks.
[edit] Closing narration
| “ | Some superstitions, kept alive by the long night of ignorance, have their own special power. You'll hear of it through a jungle grapevine in a remote corner of the Twilight Zone. | ” |
