"The Prime Mover" is episode 57 of the

American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...

anthology series ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

''. It originally aired on March 24, 1961 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Opening narration

Plot

Small-time gambler Ace Larsen discovers that his partner, Jimbo Cobb, has telekinetic powers after a car overturns outside their café and Jimbo moves the car without touching it. Ace plans to use Jimbo's powers to win big in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, and he takes his girlfriend Kitty with them. Ace wins many jackpots, disregarding Jimbo's headaches from the use of his powers and his growing moral concerns over what they are doing. Kitty is repulsed and leaves, so Ace uses his newly acquired cash to lure the attention of the casino's cigarette girl and bets the pile in a game of craps, just as Jimbo's powers appear to "run out". The loss awakens Ace to the reality of what he has become, and he and Jimbo have a good laugh over their misfortune. The three return home. Back at the café, Ace asks Kitty to marry him just as Jimbo drops his broom. She flips a coin, and Ace calls "heads". Kitty doesn't show Ace the coin or tell him the result of the coin toss; Kitty simply accepts his proposal. As they embrace, Jimbo picks up the broom telekinetically, revealing he faked his loss of power to snap Ace out of his greed.

Closing narration

Cast

Dane Clark Dane Clark (born Bernard Zanville; February 26, 1912September 11, 1998) was an American character actor who was known for playing, as he labeled himself, "Joe Average." Early life Clark was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Jewish imm ...

as Ace Larsen *

Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS ...

as Jimbo Cobb * Christine White as Kitty Cavanaugh *

William Keene William Joseph Keene (August 4, 1915 – May 23, 1992) was an American radio and television actor who appeared on several popular television shows more than one separate occasion as a different character. Career He appeared in shows more tha ...

as Desk clerk *

Nesdon Booth Nesdon Foye Booth (September 1, 1918 – March 25, 1964) was an American film and television actor. He appeared in over 100 films and television programs, and was known for his recurring role as Frank the bartender in the American western televi ...

as Big Phil Nolan *

Clancy Cooper Clancy Cooper (July 23, 1906 – June 14, 1975) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1938 and 1962. He also guest-starred on numerous TV series, such as ''The Rifleman'', '' Lawman'', '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'', ...

as Trucker *Jane Burgess as Sheila

Production

The crash scene re-uses footage from the 1958 film '' Thunder Road''.

References

*DeVoe, Bill. (2008). ''Trivia from The Twilight Zone''. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. *Grams, Martin. (2008). ''The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic''. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prime Mover 1961 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 2) episodes Television shows written by Charles Beaumont Television episodes about telekinesis Television episodes written by George Clayton Johnson Television episodes set in Las Vegas