Steve (Charles Haid) - a builder of properties, used to making his living through use of his hands and sweat of his brow - lives currently in a shelter with wife and daughter. Crippling unemployment and detrimental labor economic climate have served Steve nothing but grief. The shelter will also be closed soon, to make matters worse. On an urban walkabout, Steve cannot resist sneaking into the premises of a ruthless millionaire, sampling his booze, taking in the allure of what it is to be on the other side of the spectrum in life. A drawer open features the wallet of the millionaire with hundreds damn near spilling out. About to swipe the green, the millionaire catches him in the act, loaded gun in hand, with Steve trying to get away, picking up a liquor bottle, and tossing it at him! Gun goes off, head clunked by bottle, two men "trade places" as only the Twilight Zone can make possible. Body swap plot has Steve, completely desperate and vulnerably weak, committing a trespass and assault, allowed to take the position of a wealthy businessman in order to use his money to better the situation of the family that no longer knows him...he is but the man that shot their husband/father. I am a bit resistant towards the plot because Steve makes some really bad mistakes, and I do recognize his plight as I was once there. What I'm not truly sold on is that once there is a potential reverse that the millionaire would allow Steve's actions to remain. I guess he could back out, but the publicity would devastate his rep. Still, that Steve would be rewarded a job and work at the shelter considering the trespass and assault violations, even if dropped by him in the millionaire's body, is just a bit too hard for me to swallow. Still this is designed as feel-good. A man handed a hard way to go has a pleasant fate awarded to him by the Twilight Zone.
3 Reviews
Changing Places
sol-kay16 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** A lot like the movie "It's a Wounderful Life" the New Twilght Zone episode "Street of Shadows" has out of work and in the dumps Steve Cranston, Charles Haid, get a second chance in life after he's shot trying to rob multi-millionaire financier Fredrick Perry's by him breaking into his mansion.
Shot by Perry when he's caught in at act Steve wakes up and finds out that he somehow took over Perry's identity! Rushing down to the hospital when he's told that Perry, or really himself, is in critical condition Steve is shocked to find out that he, or the person called Steve Cranston, is really Fredrick Perry! Even worse Steve's wife Elaine and 10 year old daughter Lisa, Angie Pei & Lisa Jakub, are mad as hell at him for shooting their husband & father who's really Fredrick Perry lying in a hospital bed n life support!
***SPOILERS*** All this confusion on Steve's part finally gives him the opportunity to get Perry, who in fact is him, the chance to redeem himself from his life of greed and selfishness. Being a greedy Gordon Gekko, of the Wall Street movies, type where the dollar is always the bottom line Steve or Perry ends up doing the right thing for once in his life. And with that the lives of hundreds of people now on the brink of being thrown out on the street,including Elaine & little Lisa, get a second chance in life; Including Steve Cranston who as Fredrick Perry made it all possible.
Shot by Perry when he's caught in at act Steve wakes up and finds out that he somehow took over Perry's identity! Rushing down to the hospital when he's told that Perry, or really himself, is in critical condition Steve is shocked to find out that he, or the person called Steve Cranston, is really Fredrick Perry! Even worse Steve's wife Elaine and 10 year old daughter Lisa, Angie Pei & Lisa Jakub, are mad as hell at him for shooting their husband & father who's really Fredrick Perry lying in a hospital bed n life support!
***SPOILERS*** All this confusion on Steve's part finally gives him the opportunity to get Perry, who in fact is him, the chance to redeem himself from his life of greed and selfishness. Being a greedy Gordon Gekko, of the Wall Street movies, type where the dollar is always the bottom line Steve or Perry ends up doing the right thing for once in his life. And with that the lives of hundreds of people now on the brink of being thrown out on the street,including Elaine & little Lisa, get a second chance in life; Including Steve Cranston who as Fredrick Perry made it all possible.
The Shadow Knows
Hitchcoc4 July 2017
Charles Haid (Reno from Hill Street Blues) is living in a shelter with his wife and daughter. He has tried to get work, but the economy is bad and he strikes out. To make matters worse, they are going to close the shelter (the mortgage has come due). While strolling around, he breaks into a house and is about to steal some money when the homeowner, a very rich man, surprises him and points a gun at him. In the confrontation, he somehow changes places with the guy. From then on, it seems to be business as usual. The plot gets syrupy and predictable. It's OK but there are few surprises.
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