Dead Woman's Shoes
"Dead Woman's Shoes" is the first segment of the ninth episode from the first season (1985–86) of the television series The Twilight Zone.
| "Dead Woman's Shoes" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone episode | |
 Scene from "Dead Woman's Shoes" | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 9a |
| Directed by | Peter Medak |
| Written by | Lynn Barker |
| Original air date | November 22, 1985 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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Plot
Maddie Duncan (Helen Mirren) is a timid thrift store employee. One day at work, she finds a pair of expensive-looking high-heeled shoes in a box of donations. After trying them on, her personality changes and she becomes more confident and assertive. She storms out of the store and catches a cab to a mansion where she is strangely comfortable. When the maid asks who she is, she claims that she is Susan Montgomery, the wife of Kyle Montgomery, a wealthy lawyer and the owner of the house. In the opening scene, Kyle was shown donating his widow's clothes to charity, where they ended up at Maddie's thrift store. She then shares tales of the maid’s life which a stranger could never know. She tells the maid she is having a bath and runs up to change. When Maddie takes off the shoes, she turns back into a timid girl. The maid proceeds to run her off, but once the shoes return to her feet Maddie regains the confidence and knowledge she had when she first entered the house.
When Kyle returns home, he finds Maddie sitting on his couch dressed in his dead wife’s clothes. Maddie, as Susan, retells the events of her death, revealing how Kyle killed her. She then picks up a gun and begins shooting at him. After a bit of a chase, Maddie’s feet begin to hurt. She takes off the shoes and returns to her usual personality. Panicking when she sees the gun in her hand, she drops it and dumps the shoes in a garbage can, running off in her stocking feet.
Afterwards, Kyle decides to close the house for the season, but not before telling the maid her services are no longer required. The maid, stunned by what has transpired, asks Kyle if he believes in ghosts. At a neighbor’s house near where Maddie ran off, the maid notices Susan’s shoes in the trash can and claims them for herself, and picks up the dropped gun. This woman suddenly feels the need to cross the street to the Montgomery manor, where she enters the access code and goes inside. A gunshot is heard, presumably resulting in Kyle’s death.
Closing narration
As we walk through life, if we learn nothing else, we learn the only sure things are death and taxes. Well, one out of two isn't bad. And haven't we all said "You can't take it with you"? Another comforting adage without exceptions in the real world, that somehow goes all wonky when considering exit lines, delivered...(single gunshot)...in the Twilight Zone.
Themes
- Dead Man's Shoes – The episode is an adaptation of the original Twilight Zone series instalment, with an opening credit that reads based on the story and teleplay by Charles Beaumont.