"The Twilight Zone" A Quality of Mercy (1961)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Buzz Kulik

Writers:

Sam Rolfe (idea)
Rod Serling (teleplay) ...

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Original Air Date:

29 December 1961 (Season 3, Episode 15)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Hot shot new Lieutanant Katell tries to make his mark on the last day of World War II in the Pacific and gets a unique perspective on his actions. |

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Cave | Uniform | Transformation | Compassion

Cast

Dean Stockwell	...	Lt Katell / Lt Yamuri
Albert Salmi	...	Sgt Causarano
Rayford Barnes	...	Andrew Watkins
Ralph Votrian	...	Hanachek
Leonard Nimoy	...	Hansen
Dale Ishimoto	...	Sgt. Yamazaki
Jerry Fujikawa	...	Japanese Captain (as J.H. Fujikawa)

Runtime:

25 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Cayuga Productions

Trivia:

The title refers to a quote from Shakespeare's play 'The Merchant of Venice': "The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

Suppose I Were You

On eve of WWII's end a war-weary platoon is ordered into combat.

Interesting concept that takes literally the admonition to put yourself in the other man's shoes, in this case an enemy soldier's. Good characterizations. Salmi shines as the battle-hardened grunt who knows when to stop. In fact, the whole platoon exudes a sweaty, dirty battle fatigue that makes their resistance to the fresh-faced lieutenant very believable. Dean Stockwell's gung-ho officer is also well done, the kind of uncaring-about-the-cost glory-hound, who ended up getting fragged in Vietnam. Also, Salmi's dressing down of the lieutenant's selfish ambition amounts to a classic version of the enlisted man's grudge. One real flaw-- did the producers have to cast a racial stereotype as the Japanese major, even down to the buck teeth? Nonetheless, this remains an entry with a humanely worthwhile message well delivered.