CBS airs the 12th episode of Rod Serling’s anthology series The Twilight Zone. Serling himself adapts the darkly humorous (but not specifically Christmas-themed) script from a Lewis Padgett short story.
A man desperate for a job holds down a corner stool at the local bar, unable to afford a drink, until an older man promises him that “what you need” is coming soon. Moments later, the phone rings with a much-hoped-for job offer. Another man at the bar, harboring a more dangerous desperation, follows the old man in the hopes that he can also score a miracle. Reluctantly, just such a minor miracle is handed to him by the old man, but that isn’t enough: he wants a steady string of “what you need” and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.
teleplay by Rod Serling
based on a short story by Lewis Padgett (pseudonym for Henry Kuttner)
directed by Alvin Ganzer
music by Van Cleave
Notes: A dark and somber Christmas episode by any measure, What You Need isn’t really overtly a “Christmas special”…but perhaps has a warning for those who aren’t appreciative of their gifts. Arline Sax was later known by the stage name Arlene Martel.
LogBook entry by Earl Green