The Convict's Piano (The Twilight Zone)
| "The Convict's Piano" | |
|---|---|
| The New Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 30 |
| Directed by | Thomas J. Wright |
| Written by | James Crocker Patrice Messina |
| Original air date | December 11, 1986 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
Joe Penny: Ricky Frost | |
Search The Convict's Piano on Amazon.
"The Convict's Piano" is the thirtieth episode and the sixth episode of the second season (1986-87) of the television series The Twilight Zone.
Plot[edit]
Ricky Frost is a piano player, wrongly convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend and sent to prison. One day, he breaks up a fight between two inmates and is stabbed. After meeting with the prison doctor, he is put on work detail and meets with Eddie O'Hara. When Eddie realizes that Ricky played the piano, he asks him to play for the visiting Bishop coming to say mass.
They go to the attic where Eddie shows him an old piano, a gift from Eddie's friend Mickey Shaughnessy, a gangster who owned "The Shamrock Club" in Chicago. While looking through the piano bench, Ricky finds the sheet music for Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin. As he starts playing, he is transported to a July 4th celebration in 1899, playing with a band. He sees a woman walking towards him with a sparkler and as he reaches out to take it, he is transported back to prison.
Later, in the courtyard, the inmate who stabbed Ricky asks him to play ball with him (in an attempt to start a fight), but Eddie tells the inmate to leave Ricky alone. Ricky asks Eddie how he gets them to leave him alone, and he tells Ricky about the "11th Commandment". Eddie then tells Ricky how he was framed by Mickey for killing another man who was in love with the same girl Mickey was in love with.
Ricky returns to the piano and starts playing Over There by George M. Cohan. This time he is transported to The Shamrock Club in 1917 during World War I. He strikes up a conversation with a soldier who buys him a beer. As he drinks it, he stops playing and again is transported back to prison.
He goes to see the prison doctor to have his stitches removed, and tells the doctor about his experience playing the piano. Ricky thinks that if he picks the right song and the right year, he could stay there forever. He reaches into his pocket and finds a box of matches from The Shamrock Club.
Ricky returns to the piano, but this time he is met by the inmate and his goons. They leave when they hear a guard coming. Ricky sits at the piano and chooses to play Someone to Watch Over Me by George Gershwin. Eddie shows up and Ricky offers him the chance to meet Mickey. Ricky tells Eddie to put his hands on the piano and they'll be transported back to 1928. Eddie refuses but tells Ricky to play anyway. Eddie watches Ricky disappear.
Ricky appears in The Shamrock Club in 1928 and meets Mickey. Mickey is expecting the regular piano player and tells his lackey to have the piano donated to O'Hara in the state pen. He then tells Ricky to play 'S Wonderful, but Ricky doesn't know it. Mickey sits down and starts playing and Ricky starts dancing with Mickey's girl. When Mickey stops playing, he is transported to the prison in the present and comes face to face with Eddie. Eddie punches him and he falls backward into the piano, destroying it.
Mickey's girl asks Ricky if he's alright and he says he's fine, as he stares at the piano.[1][2]
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "2.11 The Convict's Piano". 2006-05-27. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ↑ "The Convict's Piano". Retrieved 2021-02-21.
This article "The Convict's Piano" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:The Convict's Piano. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
