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.
Your next stop, the twilight zone.
Yes!
You see what I mean? Did you see that?
The right English, the right draw, perfect position, right?
What do I get? Fats brown, that's what I get, fats brown.
Well, I'm sick of it. I'm sick of hearing his name!
I'm the best pool cue on Randolph street. Me.
Jesse Cardiff, and you know that!
All right, all right. Fats was good. I mean, he was good, right?
But he's dead. You hear me? He's dead.
He's been dead for over 15 years, but every time I turn around I hear his name!
"oh, you're pretty good, Jesse, but fats is better.
Fats is the best!" fats, fats!
I'll say it again.
Fats brown is dead!
And buried in the ground.
And if he was alive and in this room I could b*at him.
I'd give anything, anything to play him one game!
Fats brown, fats brown.
Report to lister's pool room, Randolph street, Chicago.
Fats brown. Fats brown.
Lister's pool room, Randolph street, Chicago.
If you were here, fats brown, I'd show you who was the best.
One game, one lousy game.
At your service.
Jesse Cardiff, pool shark. The best on Randolph street.
Who will soon learn that trying to be the best at anything carries its own special risks in or out of the twilight zone.
You called?
Um, but you're...
Dead? Not really.
As long as people talk about you, you're not really dead.
As long as they speak your name, you continue.
A legend doesn't die just because the man does.
Oh, no. No, it's impossible.
Nothing's impossible.
Some things are less likely than others, that's all.
It isn't a rib.
I mean, it's you. You're...
James Howard brown, known to my friends as "fats."
I know it's a shock, but then you called me, I didn't call you.
Oh, well, I-I didn't mean anything, see? I was kinda...
I understand it was just big talk. Is that it?
You like to play with fire, but you don't like to cook.
You're not as good as you claim, and you know it.
Deep down, you know that you're second-rate.
Now, wait a minute!
Are you afraid? Look, I've come a long way, boy, and not to be fooled with.
I've seen your kind before. A little skill, a knack, style, but when the heat's on, you fold.
That isn't fair. You never seen me play. Maybe I can b*at you. That's possible, isn't it?
It's possible. Things change. Records get higher.
But you'll never get the job done with your mouth.
All right, fat boy, dead or alive, let me tell you something.
Maybe you are some kind of a legend. A tin god. You know what you are to me?
You're a big balloon waiting for someone to stick a needle in it.
Well, I'm the someone and here's the needle.
You're like all the other legends. You live on a reputation.
I heard a man in this very pool swear that he saw you make a nine-cushion bank.
You don't believe it?
It's impossible. You hit the ball that hard. He had more imagination than brains.
Then you'll play me?
Yeah.
And what about the stakes?
The stakes?
Something to make the game more interesting.
Here, any or all of it.
Come on, use your wits, boy. What good is money to me?
Then what?
Something to make my long journey worthwhile.
Name it.
You said you'd give anything for a game with me.
Anything?
What are you talking about, mister?
Just what kind of stakes are you talking about?
Life or death.
You b*at me and you live.
You lose and you die.
It's interesting to see how much faith you have in yourself.
You know something?
For my money, you don't wanna be the best bad enough, boy.
Why, when I was your age, I would have jumped at the chance.
But then, I was something better than second-rate.
You better watch yourself.
You know, it takes more than skill to be a champion.
It takes equal parts of talent, luck, work and nerve.
A quality you sadly lack.
Nerve. You mean insanity. Risk my life on a game of pool?
Insanity, if you prefer. I am just a pool player.
There's probably no less important thing on the face earth.
But mark this in your book. I'm the best.
It's a proud thing to be the best at anything.
But then you wouldn't know about that.
Where you going?
I'm going back.
You say I don't wanna be the best bad enough, but you're wrong.
Do you know how many hours, how many years, how much of myself I've put into this game?
How many nights I've slept on that table right there? Yeah, I did that.
I made a deal with the owner so I could practice after the place closed.
I haven't been to the movies in years. I haven't dated a girl, read a book because it would take time away from the game.
Still talk and nothing else.
I'm good, mister! I'm... I’m-I’m good.
But am I that good?
You'll really never know until you're ready to risk everything.
Look, will you stop pushing, huh?
You know, where I come from, there's a race driver.
Go to the track and whisper his name. Say "tazio nuvolari."
And watch the heads nod up and down.
Or go to a bullring and hear of manolete.
Both men faced death daily and both are legends.
You never make the grade at anything by playing it safe.
Oh, boy, this is nutty.
No.
You accept the terms?
Life or death?
You know, the big game hunter has his elephant g*n.
And the fencer, he uses a blade from Lima.
This cue was made for me special, st. Louis.
Cost $600.
Yep, I made my living with it for 35 years.
Name the game.
Rotation?
Kelly. 14.1 rack.
Eight-ball.
Well, let's-let's see how good you really are.
Uh, 14.1 rack, one game, 300 points.
You got a coin?
Toss for break? You call it.
Tails.
Change your mind?
You can, you know.
Heads. My break.
I know what you're thinking, son.
"the man who breaks is at a disadvantage.
Once he scatters the balls, the other man has a clear field."
Sure.
Safe.
Wow.
Two balls into the rail.
A perfect break and no advantage given. Now it's you turn to scatter them.
Safe.
Do something with that.
Fifteen ball in the corner pocket.
There's a funny thing.
I was thinking if I sink it, you're really in trouble.
With luck, I can run the table.
And if you miss, you leave me wide open.
Nine ball in the corner.
Ten ball, three cushion, in the side.
How about that, fat boy?
Not bad.
That was great.
You know, you're like all the others.
When I was a kid, I knew a lot of guys like you.
Guys who were good at things like music and arithmetic and basketball.
Guys who would do anything to make me feel about that big.
But you fooled them, right?
Yeah. Yeah, I did, that's right. I did.
Two ball in the corner pocket.
I knew that somewhere there was something I could be good at.
One day, I was about 16, I wandered into here.
It was cool and dark, like, like being underwater.
I used to come back. I used to watch them play.
One day I picked up a cue, I asked an old man, he was sitting right over there, I said, "you wanna play, mister?" and I b*at him.
The first time I ever played him, and I b*at him!
I knew I had an eye for this game.
What happened to it?
I almost made it.
Funny thing. In geometry, "almost" isn't enough.
Geometry?
Mm-hm. Pool is geometry in its most challenging form.
A science of precise angles and forces.
Fourteen in the end pocket.
Angles and forces, huh? You sewed yourself up pretty good.
Thirteen ball corner pocket.
Ha!
Your sh*t.
Six, corner.
Four, corner.
Twelve.
Thirteen in the corner pocket.
Four ball, corner.
Two ball, corner.
Five ball in the side.
Fifteen in the side pocket.
I've got 59, you've got 7 points.
The game is young yet, very young.
Rack them up.
One ball, end pocket.
Seven.
Five.
Eleven.
Eight.
Ten ball in the corner pocket.
You needed those four balls to win.
See the score? I got 299, you got 296.
Yeah, yeah, I see the score.
Well, I need that one to win.
You need all of them.
Just that one.
Bank the five in the corner.
You know something, Jesse?
There's more to life than this pool hall.
It isn't right your being all cooped up in here like this.
You ought to get out a little, see what's going on.
You didn't get to be the best sitting on a park bench.
You spent a lot of time with that cue in your hands.
Of course I did. But I took time out to live, too.
I've been places where they never heard of billiards.
15 ball in the corner pocket.
I may not look the part, Jesse, but I made love, walked uphill, swam in the ocean.
When I think of the wonderful things there are to see and to do, it hurts me.
Yeah.
To see you rotting your life away in this miserable, dark hall.
You're lying. You're trying to distract me.
That's a lousy thing to do.
Fifteen in the corner.
You made me do that! You made me miss!
Aw, come on, a little gamesmanship, a little fun and you come apart.
Kid stuff to make you break your concentration and you get wild.
There it is.
The game ball.
All my life I've been waiting for this, it's... It's a pocket hanger.
I sink that, I become the greatest.
If you sink it.
You're sweating. Why you so nervous?
Oh, for reasons I'm afraid you wouldn't understand.
Oh, no, no, I understand all right.
It means a lot, doesn't it? Even as a dead man.
Have your name up there. "The unbeatable champ of all times!" carries certain satisfactions, yes.
"I'll give you a chance at my crown, Jesse, but only if you're willing to stake your life on the game!" couldn't be a nice friendly, little game, huh?
I take them as I find them. To you, pool is not a nice, friendly game.
It's a win-at-Any-price affair. I acted accordingly.
It didn't do you any good.
You know, Jesse, there's still one ball on the table and it's taking you a mighty long time to get at it. Why?
You wouldn't believe this, Jesse, but personally, I'd like to see you win.
Yeah.
Believe me, I've only been doing my job.
Someone has to keep the flame.
Someone has to weed out those who haven't got what it takes.
You see, the champions, the legends, they serve as a purpose, a challenge, an incentive.
I don't need a challenge.
Everyone needs a challenge, Jesse.
Someone great out of the past to say, "match what I've done, boy, and make it better."
That's true in all walks of life.
Music, politics, sports, you name it.
Me, I'm only a pool player, but I'm the best.
You were the best.
Wait a minute, Jesse.
Before you sh**t, think of this. sh**t that ball, and you may win more than you bargained for.
There's nothing you can say that will stop me.
Nothing.
I'm sorry. I was required to say that.
Win more than I bargained for, huh?
No. I b*at you. I'm the best.
I'm the best at something.
Thanks.
What do you mean, "thanks"?
I b*at you, I'm the best, and I'm gonna live.
Of course you are, those were the stakes.
Then what's with the thanks, fat boy?
You'll find out when the time comes for you to leave Randolph street.
You sore loser.
I b*at you.
I b*at you fair and square.
Take...
Hey.
Come on.
Well, you saw it, didn't you?
I b*at the king of the hill, fats brown!
Me.
Jesse Cardiff.
And now I'm the best.
And I'm gonna stay the best because nobody is ever gonna take it away from me.
Nobody ever!
It's me, Jesse Cardiff, you hear?
Jesse Cardiff, Jesse Cardiff!
Jesse Cardiff, Jesse Cardiff...
Jesse Cardiff, Jesse Cardiff.
Jesse Cardiff.
Report at once to mason's pool hall, sandusky, Ohio.
Mr. Jesse Cardiff, who became a legend by b*ating one, but who has found out after his funeral that being the best of anything carries with it a special obligation to keep on proving it.
Mr. Fats brown, on the other hand, having relinquished the champion's mantle, has gone fishing. These are the ground rules in the twilight zone.
Rod serling, creator of the twilight zone, will tell you about next week's story after this word from our alternate sponsor.
And now, Mr. Serling.
We've had some performances of great depth on the twilight zone, and next week is no exception. A distinguished and incredibly talented young man lends us his services when peter falk stars in the mirror.
This is the story of a tyrant and his assassins, a shattered dream and the death of a cause.
Next week on the twilight zone, the mirror.
Be sure and watch gunsmoke starring James arness.
Saturday nights over most of these same stations.