1.12 --- If She Dies

Directed by : John Hancock Written by : David Bennett Carren Starring : Tony Lo Bianco, Andrea Barber, Jenny Lewis, Nan Martin First aired : 25th of October, 1985. Paul Marano (Tony Lo Bianco, The French Connection, F.I.S.T.) is a widower, taking care of his little daughter Cathy (Andrea Barber) after his wife died in a car crash a year ago. One morning, on his birthday, he is taking Cathy to school when a careless biker forces him to suddenly swerve and crash into a parked car. Paul escapes unscathed, but Cathy is not so fortunate - she lands in coma. Being told by the doctors that hope is slim, he leaves the hospital crushed. Suddenly, Paul sees a little girl (Jenny Lewis) on a roof of a nearby building. He runs towards it, but is confronted by a nun (Nan Martin) who informs him that the building is a former orphanage being torn down, and that there is no little girl on the rooftop. The nun tries to sell Paul some remains from the orphanage, which Paul declines, but after the image of same little girl reappears in a swing and points her finger to an antique children's bed, he reverses his decision and buys it. Back home, Paul places the bed in Cathy's room, and goes to sleep. In the middle of the night, he is awakened by the little girl, whose pale face and cold touch give away the fact she is a ghost. She asks Paul to escort her to her bed, saying how she can't find a certain Toby, and that she can't sleep without him. Paul takes her to Cathy's bedroom and tucks her in, finding out her name is Sarah. He sits next to her, but after briefly turning his head into another direction and then looking back at the bed, she disappears. The next morning, Paul pays a visit to the new orphanage, trying to trace the nun who sold him the bed. She is surprised to hear that he knows of Sarah, who died from tuberculosis many years ago. Nobody wanted to sleep in her bed after she passed away, so it was put down in the old orphanage basement, and resurfaced after the moving. Toby, on the other hand, is a teddy bear Sarah loved so much. Paul asks the nun to give him the teddy, but she refuses, saying she keeps it as a memento. He manages to convince her that Toby might help him somehow, and she eventually gives in. Thinking how Sarah's restless soul might give his own daughter a new shot at life, Paul takes Cathy from the hospital and brings her home, putting her in Sarah's bed. Night passes, and dawn brings no changes - Toby is intact, and Cathy still inanimate. Paul, now completely defeated, stumbles around the room in despair, until he hears Cathy calling him. He looks behind him to the bed and sees his daughter alive and well, smiling. But, before he can say a thing, she asks him to hand her Toby. Paul, realising Sarah's spirit is now laid to rest, happily obliges. *** An interesting, atmospheric little ghost story directed by John Hancock, If She Dies is a worthy Twilight Zone entry, if nothing special. Both child actors do their roles good, especially Jenny Lewis as the ghoulish Sarah. Andrea Barber, who later played Kimmy Gibbler in Full House, is mostly resigned to playing dead, but her speaking parts work as well. Lo Bianco's performance is solid, save for the bit in hospital, where his emotional outburst looks, well...acted. TZ Trivia : Nan Martin is a returning TZoner, having played in a classic TZ episode The Incredible World of Horace Ford (18th of April, 1963.)