History Recap / TheTwilightZone1959S3E18DeadMansShoes

In the wee hours of the night, a car full of gangsters dumps a dead body in an alley. The commotion awakens Nate Bledsoe, a homeless man sleeping on a bed of old newspapers, who investigates the scene. Inspecting the body, Nate takes notice of the stylish shoes the corpse is wearing, and after finding nothing else of value on the body, takes them and puts them on. As he does this, Nate is possessed by the spirit of the shoes' original owner: the notorious gangster known as Dane. Taking control of Nate's body, Dane intends to go after Bernie Dagget, the man who had him killed, deadset on returning the favor.

!! Dead Man's Tropes

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': There's an old saying that goes, "If the shoe fits, wear it." But be careful. If you happen to find a pair of size nine black and gray loafers, made to order in the old country, be very careful. You might walk right into the Twilight Zone.

!! Dead Man's Tropes:

* TheHatMakesTheMan: Nate finds Dane's body thrown into the alley he calls home, puts on his shoes, and is possessed by Dane's ghost.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Nathan Edward Bledsoe, of the Bowery Bledsoes, a man once, a specter now. One of those myriad modern day ghosts that haunt the reeking nights of the city in search of a flop, a handout, a glass of forgetfulness. Nate doesn't know it but his search is about to end, because those shiny new shoes are going to carry him right into the capital of the Twilight Zone.

* DecoyProtagonist: As his usual self, Nate gets about a minute of screen-time. As soon as he puts on Dane's shoes, the dead gangster completely overrides his mind.

A homeless man takes a dead gangster's shoes and becomes possessed by that gangster.

* BookEnds: The episode begins and ends with gangsters dropping off a dead body, and a homeless man putting on the [[TitleDrop dead man's shoes]].
* {{Determinator}}: The dead gangster Dane will not let even death stop him from getting revenge on his treacherous partner Bernie Dagget, even if his shoes have to be worn by host after host after host.
* DrinkBasedCharacterization: After trying and failing to convince his girlfriend Wilma of his identity several times, the gangster Dane, in control of the body of homeless man Nate Bledsoe, is finally recognized by his order of "tequila...with a cube of sugar." He later uses the order to get Bernie Dagget's attention at their nightclub.
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: When Wilma loses control over not knowing what's going on, Dane (in Nathan's body) slaps her to calm her down.
* TheHatMakesTheMan: A homeless man finds the body of a gangster's victim, puts on his shoes, and is possessed by the victim. The '80s remake did a gender flip, "Dead Woman's Shoes", in which the trinket is a pair of shoes belonging to the murdered wife of a rich corporate type.
* HereWeGoAgain: The story doesn't just simply end with the shoes' host dying and being disposed. Nate Bledsoe's thespian friend Chips finds him and takes the shoes. While he's putting them on, the audience can see the shoes have already started to possess him, starting the cycle over again.
* TheMafia: Dane and Bernie Dagget were gangsters who were partners in the running of a nightclub. When Dagget offered to buy him out, Dane refused. Dagget was unwilling to accept this and had him murdered so that he can take over the club.
* TheRemake: This episode was remade as "Dead Woman's Shoes" for ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'' and as "Dead Man's Eyes" for ''Series/TheTwilightZone2002''.
* RobbingTheDead: Nate Bledsoe immediately starts searching the body of Dane for any valuables and takes his shoes instead of calling the police. At the end another homeless person does the same to Nate's body.
* TrickedOutShoes: Dane wore a very expensive and distinctive pair of two-tone black and white shoes before he was murdered. When Nate Bledsoe puts them on, Dane's personality takes over his body. After Dagget kills Dane, the same thing happens again when Chips puts on the shoes.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': There's an old saying that goes, "If the shoe fits, wear it." But be careful. If you happen to find a pair of size nine black and gray loafers, made to order in the old country, be very careful. You might walk right into...the Twilight Zone.

* RobbingTheDead: Nate Bledsoe immediately starts searching the body of Dane for any valuables and takes his shoes instead of calling the police. At the end another homeless person does the same to the Nate's body.

* NiceShoes: Dane wore a very expensive and distinctive pair of two-tone black and white shoes before he was murdered. When Nate Bledsoe puts them on, Dane's personality takes over his body. After Dagget kills Dane, the same thing happens again when Chips puts on the shoes.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': There's an old saying that goes, "If the shoe fits, wear it." But be careful. If you happen to find a pair of size nine black and gray loafers, made to order in the old country, be very careful. You might walk right into the Twilight Zone.

* HereWeGoAgain: The story doesn't just simply end with the shoes' host dying and being disposed. Nate Bledsoe's thespian friend Chips finds him and "takes the shoes of [his] hands." While he's putting them on, the audience can see the shoes have already started to possess him, starting the cycle over again.

* DrinkOrder: After trying and failing to convince his girlfriend Wilma of his identity several times, the gangster Dane, in control of the body of homeless man Nate Bledsoe, is finally recognized by his order of "tequila...with a cube of sugar." He later uses the order to get Bernie Dagget's attention at their nightclub.

!! The episode includes examples of these tropes:

* TheDeterminator: The dead gangster Dane will not let even death stop him from getting revenge on his treacherous partner Bernie Dagget, even if his shoes have to be worn by host after host after host.

* TheRemake: This episode was remade as "Dead Woman's Shoes" for ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'' and as "Dead Man's Eyes" for ''Series/TheTwilightZone2002''.

* DrinkOrder: After trying and failing to convince his girlfriend Wilma of his identity several times, the gangster Dane, in control of the body of homeless man Nate Bledsoe, is finally recognized by his order of "tequila...with a cube of sugar." He later uses the order to gain Bernie Dagget's attention at their nightclub.

* DrinkOrder: After trying and failing to convince his girlfriend Wilma of his identity several times, the homeless man Nate Bledsoe is finally recognized as the gangster Dane by his order of "tequila...with a cube of sugar." He later uses the order to gain Dagget's attention at their nightclub.

* HereWeGoAgain: The story doesn't just simply end with the shoes' host dying and being disposed. Nate Bledsoe's thespian friend Chaps finds him and "takes the shoes of [his] hands." While he's putting them on, the audience can see the shoes have already started to possess him, starting the cycle over again.

* NiceShoes: Dane wore a very expensive and distinctive pair of two-tone black and white shoes before he was murdered. When Nate Bledsoe puts them on, Dane's personality takes over his body. After Dagget kills Dane, the same thing happens again when Chaps puts on the shoes.

* BookEnds: The episode begins and ends with gangsters dropping off a dead body, and some homeless man putting on the [[TitleDrop dead man's shoes]].
* TheDeterminator: The dead gangster will not let even death stop him from getting his revenge, even if his shoes have to be worn by host after host after host.
* DrinkOrder: The homeless guy is finally recognized as the gangster by his order of "tequila...with a cube of sugar."
* HereWeGoAgain: The story doesn't just simply end with the shoes' host dying and being disposed. The homeless man's thespian friend finds him and "takes the shoes of [his] hands". While he's putting them on, the audience can already see the shoes have already started to possess him, starting the cycle over again.

* HereWeGoAgain: The story doesn't just simply end with the shoes' host dying and being disposed. The homeless man's thespian friend finds him and "takes the shoes of [his] hands". While he's putting them on, the audience can already see the shoes have already started to possess him, starting the cycle over again.

A homeless man takes a dead gangster's shoes and becomes that gangster.

A homeless man takes a dead gangster's shoes and becomes that gangster.