"Steel"

"Steel"

A promoter (Lee Marvin) takes his boxing robot's place.

Stars Lee Marvin, Joe Mantell.
Original air date: October 4, 1963.

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This is one that I consider underrated. There's something moving for me about Steel's pure, dumb courage here, and I admire his willingness to go in there and take a beating for Pole's mistake (even though Pole is at least twice as smart as Steel is). This would make my ideal Collection 1 easily. Probably a 9 for me.

Just average. I never cared much for it. Didn't grab me.

I like this episode more and more everytime I see it...I gave it an 8. I'm reading the story right now in The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories and I can envision the entire episode and Marvin and Mantell playing out each scene. I think they did a great job with the roles, and I agree with Mr. Bevis' comments and appreciation for the episode and characters. I was surprised to see in another thread the megaballot results and 'Steel' was towards the latter end...I think it could be higher up on that list.

"5" I voted this high only because of Lee Marvin.

Leen

I haven't read the story version yet, but look forward to it. Yeah, I might have had this a little high at 9, though it's hard to tell because I might just be a little tired of this one right now. This is still probably my second-favorite fifth season episode, behind "Living Doll."

9 Zones, very underrated episode. Quite moving at the end.

I like it. It has a nice gritty feel to it. Good acting by Marvin. I gave it an 8.

Good show, but not among my favorites.

8/10

was never a fan of this episode and upon rewatching.. still not a fan.

it's not the acting- lee marvin and joe mantell are great so i guess it's the story. i guess i can't relate to steel kelly. i admire kelly's tenacity but after getting beaten to a pulp.. can't relate.

i feel for pole- he's doing his best with what he's got and he wants to be more helpful, but it's hopeless.

a question for mr bevis.. in your post you said
"..and I admire his willingness to go in there and take a beating for Pole's mistake (even though Pole is at least twice as smart as Steel is)."
what was pole's mistake??

-ag

Pole broke the robot by hitting the button too hard out of frustration. (I think he also hit a button that Kelly told him not to hit.)

I, too, have this high on my underrated list. I gave it a solid 8.

A fairly well-made episode and well acted by Marvin. I like his never-say-die attitude, but I never warmed up to it. Maybe because I'm just not a boxing fan. Gave it a 6.

I never considered this, but realizing that you'd have good reason to say this, I just checked the DVD. I can see your interpretation as possible, but we can't ask Pole and Steel what really happened. We can check Matheson's short story, which is faithfully reproduced in this scene: "Pole turned back and jabbed in a button." The word "jabbed" implies a certain degree of perhaps unnecessary force, but the same word is used when Pole pushes other buttons without a problem.

Then there's Steel's reaction: "I told ya not t'fool with that arm!", which is altered in the episode only slightly to "I told ya not t'mess with that left!" I've never thought of this as a reaction to a wrong button, but rather the condition of Maxo's arm on pressing the proper button. More so, I've felt that Pole wasn't at fault at all, but that Maxo was too far gone, and Steel was quicker to shift blame than to accept the truth.

I don't have a script to check, but if either of us ever meets Matheson, maybe we can remember to ask him what's really happening here.

i interpreted the scene as maxo just being beyond repair. it did not really matter what pole did, poor maxo was too old and fragile. like dan said, steel yelled at pole out of frustration and shifted the blame away from maxo's condition.

but, we can all interpret the scene as we see it. i just was curious as to what bevis
saw as pole's mistake. thanks!

-ag

You're welcome Adam, and thanks to you both for your input. I watched the key scene several times today while referring to the script, and first of all, the issue is definitely less clear-cut than I thought it was.

1) I thought Pole whacked the thing for no other reason than pure frustration. I didn't realize that he was deliberately activating Maxo in response to Steel's line "Come on, let's test him some more," because I'd never heard that line clearly before (especially the word "test").

2) That was the only time that I remembered Pole jabbing Maxo. Pole does jab Maxo three other times, though, without breaking him. I remembered the two close-ups of Pole's fingers touching the buttons in a controlled manner, but not the other jabs. It's not clear to me whether the last jab was harder than all of the others or not.

3) Also, it's true that it doesn't follow that just because Pole pressed a button or buttons and Maxo's left hand extended all the way out as a result, that Pole had pressed the button(s) designed to make the left hand extend all the way out, contrary to Steel's wishes. That could have been a result of the malfunction, not of Pole's intention. (Although...it seems to me that if Pole didn't intend that Maxo's left should swing all the way out, then the unexpected motion combined with the loud twang probably would have made him react sooner than he did. But that's a matter of opinion, I guess.)

Now, having listed three points for the other side in the best Thomas Aquinas tradition, let me explain why I think Pole did screw up.

1) Looking at Pole's jab itself, it doesn't look like a good way of treating a piece of machinery, certainly not one that is fragile already. Pole literally swings at the back of the machine with a closed fist, presumably activating the desired button(s) with some combination of his thumb and his knuckle(s). It's a less violent punch than I remembered, but still looks like a pretty decent shot. Maybe the other jabs were less forceful, or if they were as forceful, maybe Pole was just luckier those times.

2) The description of this event in the script is: "Angrily, Pole jabs in a button and Maxo's left arm shoots out." Two other jabs are described as such in the script, and each time the description of Pole is consistent with the idea that the jab is an expression of his anger: "Pole grimaces and jabs in one of the unseen buttons." "Pole grunts and reaches inside Maxo, jabbing another button...." Conversely, on the occasions when Pole is not described as jabbing Maxo while activating him, he is not described in any way that might indicate anger.

Also, Pole's jabs in the script immediately follow something obtuse that Steel has said that might reasonably account for Pole's being angry at that moment, and his "non-jabs" do not immediately follow something obtuse that Steel has said. This is also true in the episode, with the one exception being the time when Pole jabs Maxo just before exclaiming, "Oh, he's beautiful--just beautiful." It's pretty clear that he's angrier than usual at that moment. All of this supports the idea that Pole's jabs have more to do with his frustration (a frustration which is fully understandable, obviously) than his status as a careful, responsible grade-A mechanic.

3) Pole seems defensive in both his words and facial expressions after Steel's accusations. That script makes a point of mentioning that Pole doesn't answer after Steel asks him tough questions like "What did you do?" and "I told you not to fool with that arm. (voice breaking) What's the matter with you?" ("Pole doesn't answer but pushes the button twice more....Still Pole doesn't answer.")

When Pole does answer, his position in a nutshell seems to be, "It was due to break anyway and it wouldn't have held together this long without me, so you have no right to blame me for anything." I'm definitely not questioning the first part of that sentence, and certainly sympathetic to the second. But none of that rules out the idea that Maxo malfunctioned as an immediate result of Pole's mistake, whether his mistake was simply negligence or deliberately disobeying by overextending Maxo's left arm. Pole never explicitly denies making a mistake, and seems to show guilt in his facial expression (especially after "Don't talk to me about breakages!"), choice of words, and tone of voice.


It's still an open question. The script and the produced episode are two different entities, and in fact there are numerous minor differences between them. So the words in the script aren't an unquestionable guide to what's going on in the episode, even if the only possible criterion for interpreting an episode were the intent of the author, which I don't believe at all. (Actually, it's a matter of fact that it's not the only possible criterion. Whether that's good or bad is a matter of opinion.) Also, nothing from either the script or the episode proves my case beyond a shadow of a doubt, certainly. My strongest reason for believing that Pole screwed up--and even more importantly, IMO, my strongest reason for being interested in the whole issue--is that

4) I think that interpretation makes a better story.

The other side is plausible enough that if I thought the "It was just one of those things" interpretation made a better story, I would choose that. But I've been writing these last two posts for a long time now, so that's a subject for another day.

Wow, who would have ever thought there could ever possibly be an in depth discussion about "Steel" of all eps? Only in....The Twilight Zone.

Leen

9
I like this episode a lot, and so does Matheson.
Definitely one of the bright spots of Season 5

I like this episode much better than I could have imagined. I abhor boxing and never thought much of Lee Marvin as an actor, but the whole thing works.

Coming from someone that just watched this one for the first time, it certainly seemed as though Pole messed up. Although I am basing that on Steel's reaction primarily.
Basically, when the button was pushed, the spring broke after Maxo fired that left and Steel yelled.... I told you not to mess with that left.
It does seem a little confusing though because they were apparently tyring to give it a "test run" before the fight.
And certainly they would want to try the left out before a fight. LOL

The boxing scenes could have been tightened up a bit IMO, but it did look fairly good as Steel slowly started to lose it as the fight went on. Note......when you watch this one again, notice Steel's punches getting a little wilder as time went on.

Anyhow, I think the message here was mainly about human determination and it was a good one IMO.

I gave it a 7 which is a strong showing in my book.

Thank you and good night.
TZ DZ Fan

TZ DZ,
Interesting thought, Human determination, yes I see that. Steel is someone who keeps going no matter what happens to him, a true testamant of the soul, perhaps its an allegory for soldiers jumping into battle, without hesistation, nor care of what awaits them, true bravery. War is harsh, I truly respect those in the service.
The ending is cerebral for me.

9 zones for me

Zone thanks.

7/10, and a rare case of TZ 'special effects' holding up well (that opposing robot is something out of a nightmare!).

Congrats on #800, Mr.Z!

I agree. By the way, welcome back, Tom!

Uh, Whit...where's your brain? I don't recall Jack Klugman being in "Steel" lololol.

No doubt....

My username was never intended to reflect any intellegence (obviously).

I reposted in the proper IPOP topic.

If one of our lovely moderators could delete my mistaken reply from this forum, I would be grateful.

Whit

TZFAN, thanks, congrats on 2800+. You are Zone Great

This gets a "4" from me.

It can't decide what kind of story it wants to be. When Steel and Pole were putting "Battling Maxo" through its pre-fight tests, was the episode trying to be funny? The fight itself is such a desperate struggle…a nicely done fight scene.

This episode just plain confused me and the ending did nothing to clear it up. Even Serling's closing narration doesn't work, siting man's capacity to rise to the occasion. But from what I can tell, Steel Kelly got hammered and is going back home to try and scrape together enough to give Maxo another shot. That doesn't seem much like rising to the occasion.

Meet CHUCK HICKS (The Maynard Flash), costar of STEEL, at the 2006 TWILIGHT ZONE CONVENTION. Go to www.tzconvention.com

Seriously???

You took the words right out of my mouth.

this is definetly one of the best

Lee Marvin should be an inspiration to all drinkers. I get drunk before I go on stage at every show in his honor. No joke.

I gave it a 7. This is one of those lesser known episodes that stand up against some of the best.

Always one of my favorites - from any season. Good acting and concept for a story. I love the final narration:

Portrait of a losing side, proof positive that you can't outpunch machinery. Proof also of something else: that no matter what the future brings, man's capacity to rise to the occasion will remain unaltered. His potential for tenacity and optimism continues, as always, to outfight, outpoint and outlive any and all changes made by his society, for which three cheers and a unanimous decision rendered from the Twilight Zone.

8!

okay.. i watched this episode again and a few things fell into place for me. kelly was a fighter and was forced to stop because of the boxing laws, and probably related this to maxo and the development of the newer versions of the boxing androids.

i can see kelly transferring his feelings after losing his job onto maxo. i think kelly's motivations stem from the fact that he was forced to stop boxing.

in other words.. kelly didn't want to see maxo thrown on the junk heap like he was.

That was always my take on it too.

Scene: Kelly beaten and internally bleeding as he lays on the locker room floor staring at Maxo. "A new spring, some oil paste, and you'll be good as new. A lot of good years left in you, Maxo. we'll show'em what a good B2 can do. We'll show 'em."

When Pole is wheeling Steel through the boxing place, there is a sign that says "Showers". Since when do robits shower? Wouldn't they rust?

This is one episode that has an excellent concept, but a "meh" showing. The problem I think is the moral. In Serling's intro, it seems like the moral is that you can't outlaw cruelty. At the end, Serling says the moral is that man can't outdo machinery. Both are good morals, but pick one and stick with it! I think the episode would have improved if both robots were battiling, and then outside the ring a fight starts about something like betting, or someone insults Maxo and Steel attacks him. This would make it more consistiant with Rod's original moral.

I do like the part where people are calling "Maxo" a "rusting pile of junk," Then you realize it is a person under there, that is regarded as a ple of junk. Pretty powerful. I also like the ending, with the machine standing over the defeated man. The music is also great.

My dad thought the twist ending would be that the Manyard Flash would turn out to be a human too.

Not if they're made from aluminum.