MovieChat Forums > The Twilight Zone (1959) Discussion > ring-a-ding girl - purpose of bud?

ring-a-ding girl - purpose of bud?


help me sort this out, as i recently re watched ring a ding girl it just struck me how odd the family situation looked, the daddy was not present and no explanation why, and divorce seemed rather rare in television back in those days, that subject isn't really mentioned in the twilight zone if i recall right until the very last episode of the series (the bewitchin' pool), perhaps i'm being a complete boob and there is a clear key role for "bud" in ring-a-ding-girl? i really like this episode but its probably the saddest story, and i'm not criticising it, i just thought the family set up looked strange and the things bud was there for the sisters might as well could have done with each other. i'll tell you something interesting, in the radio adaptation of this (twilight zone radio dramas) bud has a bigger part and he seems to have the hots for his aunt and they exchange some pretty nasty comments with each other throughout, in that way his role at least has more impact on the episode.

πŸ’ƒ πŸŒ‚ β›ˆ 🌬 πŸ’¨ πŸ›© πŸ’Ž πŸ“Ί πŸ“»



heavy load,
about to park by the road,
you came along,
world transformed,
and the grey asphalt,
shine like gold,
as down the journey i roll.

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Working solely with the ages of the actors as a guide (although David Macklin played younger than he was in this episode) Hildy Powell could be: A widow, a divorce`, or a straight-up loose female with less of a moral compass than a broomstick. The possibilities are relatively few. However, if we figure that Bud is 17 in the β€œ1963 present” that would put Hildy in her middle 30s – which the actress actually was then.

If the loose female angle isn’t your thing, I’d go with war widow, with Hildy being pregnant at time of the husband’s death.

By the way, David Macklin apparently passed away only a couple months back, aged 76.

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Regarding the father, I've always assumed that it was one of two things. Since this takes place in the middle of the day, he may simply be at work, or Hildy may be a widow.

Regarding Bud, he's there to go for the prescription the doctor ordered. If there had been no Bud, Hildy would have gone, and she wouldn't have allowed Bunny to go along. Because it's Bud who goes, Bunny is able to talk him into taking her to the high school and television station.

Bud is also there, upon Bunny's arrival, to react to her personality with the comment, "Mom said you were a screwball." This establishes that the behavior we see from Bunny is known to be the personality she has always had, rather than something new or unusual.

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I always found the episode sad. I love to have a free spirit aunt come and visit. I can't believe what happened to Bonny and wish her circumstances were different.

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Everyone else in the town treated Bunny with condescension -- Dr. Floyd -- or hostility -- Mr. Gentry -- so Bud and his mother provided balance as they were more receptive to Bunny's idiosyncrasies.

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