"The Ledge" is a short story written by Stephen King, originally published in the July 1976 issue of Penthouse, and was later included in King's 1978 Night Shift and the film Cat's Eye.

Plot Summary[]

King employs a first person narrator and opens with the protagonist, a retired pro tennis star named Stan Norris, in the clutches of a wealthy, cruel criminal overlord ("Cressner") intent on exacting revenge on Norris, who has been having an affair with his wife. Instead of killing him outright, Cressner reveals his penchant for striking wagers, and offers a chilling ultimatum: if Norris is able to circumnavigate the titular 5-inch ledge surrounding the multistory building which houses Cressner's penthouse, he can have Cressner's wife, along with twenty thousand dollars, no strings attached. If he refuses to take the bet, he'll be framed for heroin possession and never see his lover again.

Seemingly without any other choice, Norris accepts the wager, and proceeds to carefully make his way around the building's cold, windswept exterior. Norris encounters multiple obstacles, including an obstinate pigeon. The narrator completes the harrowing ordeal, only to discover that Cressner had already murdered his unfaithful wife. Mad with rage, Norris overpowers Cressner and his bodyguard and takes the bodyguard's gun, and turns the tables on him, proposing to spare his life if only he is able to complete a trip around the ledge. However, as Cressner starts out, Norris reveals to the reader that he has been known to "welch" on bets, implying that he will kill Cressner even if he completes the task.

Adaptations[]

The story was adapted into one segment of the 1985 film Cat's Eye, where Kenneth MacMillian played Cressner, Robert Hays played Norris, and Mike Starr played Tony the henchman, a.k.a. "Ducky". The story was changed slightly in that Cressner and Tony harass Norris at different points of the ledge, whereas in the story Cressner generally leaves Norris alone. At one point, Norris nearly falls, but is hanging from a neon sign, which was not seen in the book, and the stray cat General is watching Norris while this happens. Earlier in the film, General had been used by Quitters Incorporated as the cat they used as testing for shocking, but escaped during a scuffle. General makes his way from New York City to Atlantic City, where he is adopted by Cressner, who earlier wins a wager with a married couple whether or not he will be killed running across the street. When Norris successfully circumambulates the ledge, Cressner gives him the money with his wife's severed head in the bag. When Stan attacks Tony, General escapes. Cressner is left alone and made to walk the ledge himself. Unlike the book, the film gave a definite ending. Cressner slips and falls to his death, landing on a toot horn he had once used to tease Stan.