I'm old, so I was the same age as Henry the first time The Big Tall Wish was broadcast. It was deeply touching to me, but then I didn't see it again for many decades. It's a sad, melancholy, bittersweet story, very different from Rod Serling's other scripts. Bolie is an aging has-been prizefighter who has nothing but facial scars to show for a courageous life devoted to the fight game. Most of the outside world considers him to be just another insignificant bum, but his 6-yr-old neighbor Henry knows he's someone special and idolizes him. Bolie has a match that night with a young contender, but we find out later that he's just a guaranteed win for the high-ranking fighter to destroy.
But Henry promises Bolie he will protect him with his most special wish, The Big Tall Wish, and Bolie will win without coming to any harm. We then meet Henry's mother Frances, who tells Bolie that Henry believes greatly in his wishes and one recently did in fact come true. But Bolie's too cynical and stubborn to accept or believe in Henry's gift and he heads to the arena.
When he finds out that his sleazy manager has set him up and bet against him, he swings at the manager but misses and hits the cinderblock wall, breaking his right hand. So he marches bravely into the ring with only one hand and absorbs a frightful beating. When he gets knocked to the canvas, Henry hugs the TV screen and makes his Big Tall Wish. A bewildered Bolie suddenly changes places with his opponent and is standing with the referee holding his right hand high in the air in victory. Plus his broken hand now feels fine.
Bolie knows something otherworldly has happened and that Henry holds the answer. He questions the boy, who admits that his wish caused it all. A sobbing Henry then tells Bolie he must believe or the magic won't work. The boy pleads with him with all his heart, but Bolie is too bitter and too disillusioned to believe in magic and accept Henry's wonderful gift.
Suddenly, the spell is broken and Bolie is back in the ring being counted out and his hand is throbbing again. The Big Tall Wish is now gone forever, but Bolie still remembers all of it. He returns to Henry, who tells him he is very proud of him and that he is still Bolie's good and close friend. Then Henry says he is too old for magic and he won't make any more wishes, ever again. Bolie then realizes that Henry has forgotten the results of his wish and it is now his secret alone. He tells Henry that maybe there just aren't enough people who believe in magic, and that's why it doesn't work anymore. An exhausted Henry falls asleep and Bolie leaves.
It's a very heartbreaking ending, but necessary. This episode works on several different levels, and it's partially about the end of childhood innocence and the need to grow up and face harsh reality. But Serling has softened the blow, because we also realize that Bolie still has Henry as his one true friend. So he's really a winner, not a loser.
Serling used black actors and actresses for the three main characters and the people in Bolie's neighborhood. This was a rarity in 1960 and everybody turned in excellent performances, as did the white actors playing the trainer and the manager. Ivan Dixon, Steven Perry, and Kim Hamilton all made the most of their extremely rare opportunity. They provide very moving portrayals.
Anyway, The Big Tall Wish is a sadly overlooked and forgotten Twilight Zone episode, but it clearly deserved a far better fate. Watch it and you'll see for yourself.
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