The Trade-Ins

"The Trade-Ins"
The Twilight Zone episode
First Scene from "The Trade-Ins"
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 96
Directed by	Elliot Silverstein
Written by	Rod Serling
Production code	4831
Original air date	April 13, 1962
Guest stars
Joseph Schildkraut: John Holt Alma Platt: Marie Holt Noah Keen: Mr. Vance Theodore Marcuse: Farraday Edson Stroll: Young John Holt Terence De Marney: Gambler #1 Billy Vincent: Gambler #2
Episode chronology
← Previous "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" Next → "The Gift"
List of Twilight Zone episodes

"The Trade-Ins" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.

Plot

An elderly couple, John and Marie Holt, realize they haven't much time, so they decide to visit a medical centre specializing in a new technology: body swapping. The centre representative, Mr. Vance, tells them that 98% of couples have been happy with the quality of the swap, but the company offers a return clause if they change their mind afterwards, as the swap procedure can be reversed. The couple decides to trade their aged bodies in for new, young ones, but to their dismay, the swap will cost $10,000 for both and they have only half that. The old man attempts to earn the rest of the money in a high-stakes poker game. The soft-hearted dealer, seeing the old man put all his money on one hand, secretly folds his winning hand to allow him to take his money back. Finally, the old man goes ahead and has himself changed, intending to use his young body to earn the money for his wife. In the end, they realize they can't wait the necessary time for the young Mr. Holt to earn the money for Mrs. Holt's procedure, and would rather be old together than for one of them to be young and the other old. He opts for the return clause. His "old" body restored, Mr. and Mrs. Holt depart towards an uncertain future- but their love for each other is "younger" than ever.

References

• DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1593931360
• Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0970331090

External links

• "The Trade-Ins" at the Internet Movie Database