The second of a total of twelve "Twilight Zone" episodes directed by the masterful but criminally underrated John Brahm, and yet another very intense and macabre story! These are exactly the type of "Twilight Zone" tales I prefer: ominous atmosphere from start to finish, a claustrophobic and inescapable setting, steady but non- stop tension building and a depressing but righteous conclusion. The plot is very familiar and the denouement is fairly predictable, but I can hardly blame the episode for that. All the movies or TV-shows that I've seen with a similar or even downright identical plot were made long after this "Judgment Night" and thus once again this series proves itself to be a trendsetter. During a misty night in the year 1942, a man inexplicably finds himself on board of a ship called S.S. Queen of Glasgow without any recollections whatsoever. He only knows that his name is Carl Lanser and that he was born in Frankfurt. Through contact with the other passengers and the crew, Lanser discovers that he has a vast knowledge of the maritime, particularly U-boats, and he also has increasing premonitions of a tragic event that is about to happen. You'll know quite early in the episode in which direction the plot is heading, but the climax nevertheless still sent cold shivers down my spine, mainly thanks to a couple of breathtaking sequences and a strong performance from Nehemiah Persoff.
28 Reviews
Forever and Ever Repeated
Hitchcoc26 September 2008
This is an archetypal plot. The idea that those who commit horrible acts are punished by being made to live through them for eternity. This has the often used Twilight Zone character who finds himself in a place he can't explain. He knows he has a connection, but he can't figure it out. He is treated with kindness and is, himself, in many ways, kind. But as a commander for the Third Reich he is everything evil. I can think of at least two other episodes (there may be more) where a character finds himself switching locations, the hunter becomes the hunted. This episode is rather bleak and slow moving. The Nazi self is assured and pompous. However, he is made to see what he has done over and over, and the question of God delivered by James Franciscus is what it's all about. Serling placed numerous characters in their own personal hell. This is another. It is well acted and intense, but it doesn't have quite the spark that some others did.
Over & Over
AaronCapenBanner25 October 2014
Nehemiah Persoff stars as Carl Lanser, who finds himself aboard the British ship Glasgow during World War II, unsure of who he is, or how he got there, but has an ever-increasing feeling of dread about the imminent fate of the ship, which he is certain is about to be torpedoed by a German U-boat. Of course, the passengers and crew don't believe him until it is too late, but only then will Lanser discover the truth of his identity, and the reasons behind his ordeal. Patrick Macnee and James Franciscus costar. Reasonably effective tale is not that surprising really, but nicely put across, and has an authentic feel for the sea and its nautical setting.
Flying Dutchman, TZ Style
dougdoepke10 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Man (Nehemiah Persoff) appears mysteriously aboard English freighter at beginning of WWII.
Beautifully mounted cautionary tale that must have cost the producers a bundle, since the effects are much more elaborate than usual. In fact, it's the attention to shipboard detail that lends additional impact to the story line. We believe those aboard are actually at sea and in mortal danger from U-boats. Suspense builds nicely as Persoff's disoriented passenger wanders frantically around the decks in search of own identity. Persoff delivers an energetic and persuasive performance, however, coming close at times to going over the top. The atmospheric touch comes from director John Brahm, who was perfectly at home with fog-shrouded mists as his Gothic-movie career proved. Upshot comes as perhaps no surprise (especially since IMDb has broken their own rule with an Episode List spoiler), but is a satisfying one, nonetheless. This is one of the real winners from that magical first year.
(Why has the site sponsor forced a warning on this blurb when in no way have I implied the ending?)
Beautifully mounted cautionary tale that must have cost the producers a bundle, since the effects are much more elaborate than usual. In fact, it's the attention to shipboard detail that lends additional impact to the story line. We believe those aboard are actually at sea and in mortal danger from U-boats. Suspense builds nicely as Persoff's disoriented passenger wanders frantically around the decks in search of own identity. Persoff delivers an energetic and persuasive performance, however, coming close at times to going over the top. The atmospheric touch comes from director John Brahm, who was perfectly at home with fog-shrouded mists as his Gothic-movie career proved. Upshot comes as perhaps no surprise (especially since IMDb has broken their own rule with an Episode List spoiler), but is a satisfying one, nonetheless. This is one of the real winners from that magical first year.
(Why has the site sponsor forced a warning on this blurb when in no way have I implied the ending?)
A decent episode which picks up considerably in its second half
phantom_tollbooth21 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
It would be impossible for 'The Twilight Zone' to keep up the standard it set with the trio of episodes that preceded 'Judgment Night' and so it falls to this episode to finally end a run of classics. Which is not to say 'Judgment Night' isn't a good episode, it just suffers by comparison.
In common with 'Where is Everybody', 'Judgment Night' features a main character who cannot remember the details of his own life but this time he has more pressing matters to consider. Aside from being the only German on a ship of Brits during WW2, Carl Lanser is also sure that there is an enemy submarine stalking the ship but he can't explain why he is so sure of this fact. The terrible truth is that he was once the commander of that enemy submarine and he is now in hell, reliving the fate of the passengers on a ship he sank for eternity.
The script, despite having some impact, drops in too many obvious clues pointing to what is going on so the twist comes as little surprise. The first half is slow and full of tedious nautical dialogue and most viewers will have probably worked out what is going on by the end of the first act. Despite this, the second act is executed brilliantly with Lanser becoming more and more frantic in his attempts to save those around him. The image of the ghostly crew staring blankly at him as he yells at them to get to the lifeboats is the most enduring moment of the episode and the actual attack is a thrilling little action sequence. However, Serling lays it on a bit too thick with the scene that follows in which a camply evil Lanser discusses damnation with James Franciscus, an actor in possession of the least convincing German accent in the world. Franciscus's dire performance drags down an already unnecessary, time-filling scene which is the equivalent of Serling with a megaphone yelling "Do you get it? It's hell! He's in hell!"
Despite its shortcomings, 'Judgment Night' is still an effective episode, Lanser's chilling fate of an eternity of confusion and death proving a hard-hitting climax despite its predictability. Nehemiah Persoff turns in one of the most over-dramatic performances I have ever seen but thankfully John Brahm's slick direction of everything else overcomes this sometimes hilarious problem. 'Judgment Night' is an episode that sometimes drags and is dogged by poor performances but when it comes to life in its second act all this is easily forgivable. It is an old fashioned ghost story crossed with a war film that works a treat once it quits toying with the viewer and gets to the meat of the story.
In common with 'Where is Everybody', 'Judgment Night' features a main character who cannot remember the details of his own life but this time he has more pressing matters to consider. Aside from being the only German on a ship of Brits during WW2, Carl Lanser is also sure that there is an enemy submarine stalking the ship but he can't explain why he is so sure of this fact. The terrible truth is that he was once the commander of that enemy submarine and he is now in hell, reliving the fate of the passengers on a ship he sank for eternity.
The script, despite having some impact, drops in too many obvious clues pointing to what is going on so the twist comes as little surprise. The first half is slow and full of tedious nautical dialogue and most viewers will have probably worked out what is going on by the end of the first act. Despite this, the second act is executed brilliantly with Lanser becoming more and more frantic in his attempts to save those around him. The image of the ghostly crew staring blankly at him as he yells at them to get to the lifeboats is the most enduring moment of the episode and the actual attack is a thrilling little action sequence. However, Serling lays it on a bit too thick with the scene that follows in which a camply evil Lanser discusses damnation with James Franciscus, an actor in possession of the least convincing German accent in the world. Franciscus's dire performance drags down an already unnecessary, time-filling scene which is the equivalent of Serling with a megaphone yelling "Do you get it? It's hell! He's in hell!"
Despite its shortcomings, 'Judgment Night' is still an effective episode, Lanser's chilling fate of an eternity of confusion and death proving a hard-hitting climax despite its predictability. Nehemiah Persoff turns in one of the most over-dramatic performances I have ever seen but thankfully John Brahm's slick direction of everything else overcomes this sometimes hilarious problem. 'Judgment Night' is an episode that sometimes drags and is dogged by poor performances but when it comes to life in its second act all this is easily forgivable. It is an old fashioned ghost story crossed with a war film that works a treat once it quits toying with the viewer and gets to the meat of the story.
Foreshadowing Star Trek?
barlowralph13 July 2017
I had another look at "Judgment Night" today - and I had to laugh! At one point the captain calls to the engine room and tells the engineer that "we simply have to have more" power from the engines
and if "you can give me maximum speed for 12 more hours
" and the engineer interrupts saying, "Captain, these engines needed an overhaul 2 months ago; instead of that they're getting worked to death!" It reminded me of Captain Kirk (Star Trek) and Scotty: "Scotty, give me more power" and Scotty replies, "Captain, they're gonna blow any moment!" or words to that effect. Then, the captain turns to his first mate and asks, "What do you think, Number One?" which sounded just like Captain Picard and Commander Riker in Next Generation. Maybe Rod Serling had a premonition of new shows to come?
Riding the Ghost
sol-kay24 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Something is playing on the mind of Carl Lancer, Nehemiah Persoff, a passenger on the British freighter USS Queen of Glascow that's sailing across the North Atlantic in German U-Boat infested waters. Lancer feels he's out of place in being on the Bitish ship in that he's from Frankfurt Germany the nation that Britian is now at war with. Lancer also has a premonition of doom in that the ship being separated from its convoy will never make to its port of entry New York in it being targeted and soon to be sunk by a German U-Boat that he's sure is now shadowing it.
Going to the ship's dining room to settle down his nerves Lancer's weirdness soon catches the attention of the boat's Captain Wilber,Ben Wright, and the rest of the passengers and crew there. Lancer not only seems to know that the ship is doomed but knows just when and how it would be sunk by a German U-Boat! At exactly 1:15Am that evening! Captain Wilber is fascinated in what Lancer tells him in that he seems to know a lot about the operations of German U-Boats and how they stalk and sink their prey to the point that he could very well be a U-Boat commander himself! But how did the German born Lancer get on the Queen of Glascow in the first place? Even he doesn't seem to know how he got on the ship with he's certain is soon going to be sunk with all aboard including himself!
***MAJOR SPOILERS*** As the German U-Boat surfaces, at exactly 1:15 Am, and starts pounding away at the British freighter the truth finally hits Lancer as he sees himself through his binoculars as the captain of the attacking sub! Not only that he begins to realize that for his crimes on the high seas he and his crew are cursed to ride the doomed Queen of Glascow every night on the foggy North Atlantic and suffer the same fate as the passengers on it until eternity for what he did to them!
Going to the ship's dining room to settle down his nerves Lancer's weirdness soon catches the attention of the boat's Captain Wilber,Ben Wright, and the rest of the passengers and crew there. Lancer not only seems to know that the ship is doomed but knows just when and how it would be sunk by a German U-Boat! At exactly 1:15Am that evening! Captain Wilber is fascinated in what Lancer tells him in that he seems to know a lot about the operations of German U-Boats and how they stalk and sink their prey to the point that he could very well be a U-Boat commander himself! But how did the German born Lancer get on the Queen of Glascow in the first place? Even he doesn't seem to know how he got on the ship with he's certain is soon going to be sunk with all aboard including himself!
***MAJOR SPOILERS*** As the German U-Boat surfaces, at exactly 1:15 Am, and starts pounding away at the British freighter the truth finally hits Lancer as he sees himself through his binoculars as the captain of the attacking sub! Not only that he begins to realize that for his crimes on the high seas he and his crew are cursed to ride the doomed Queen of Glascow every night on the foggy North Atlantic and suffer the same fate as the passengers on it until eternity for what he did to them!
First there was Tantalus, then there is Sisyphus...
GTeixeira18 December 2013
In 1942, in the middle of WWII, a man finds himself on a ship with no memory of who he is or how he got there. However, he is sure that there is danger coming towards them...
Another excellent episode. This is the kind of thing I had been expecting when I first started with 'The Twilight Zone': an eerie, moody tale that unfolds with a twist that catches the viewer in surprise. Well acted by Nehemiah Persoff, to the point that even when overacting it still comes around as fun instead of amateurish.
If 'Time Enough at Last', another great episode, was an adaptation of the Tantalus myth, 'Judgment Night' skillfully adapts yet another Greek myth; the myth of Sisyphus.
Sisyphus was punished for his acts by the Gods, by being forced to roll a giant rock up a mountain; only for, when reaching the top, the rock to fall back to the base, forcing him to repeat the task for all eternity.
This eternal cycle of repetition as punishment is more used than the Tantalus one, and I liked the way this episode further enhances the metaphor with the 'hunter becomes hunted' trope it also employs. A great, surprisingly intelligent little plot.
Seeing this episode made me remember a recent film, another Sisyphus-based, hunter/hunted duality, twisted mystery/horror that is one of my favorites. If you enjoyed this, check out 2009's 'Triangle' as well.
Another excellent episode. This is the kind of thing I had been expecting when I first started with 'The Twilight Zone': an eerie, moody tale that unfolds with a twist that catches the viewer in surprise. Well acted by Nehemiah Persoff, to the point that even when overacting it still comes around as fun instead of amateurish.
If 'Time Enough at Last', another great episode, was an adaptation of the Tantalus myth, 'Judgment Night' skillfully adapts yet another Greek myth; the myth of Sisyphus.
Sisyphus was punished for his acts by the Gods, by being forced to roll a giant rock up a mountain; only for, when reaching the top, the rock to fall back to the base, forcing him to repeat the task for all eternity.
This eternal cycle of repetition as punishment is more used than the Tantalus one, and I liked the way this episode further enhances the metaphor with the 'hunter becomes hunted' trope it also employs. A great, surprisingly intelligent little plot.
Seeing this episode made me remember a recent film, another Sisyphus-based, hunter/hunted duality, twisted mystery/horror that is one of my favorites. If you enjoyed this, check out 2009's 'Triangle' as well.
Torpedoes -- loss!
rmax30482328 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
One of Serling's message movies but a pretty spooky one at that. Like so many other characters in this series, Nehemiah Persoff finds himself in a strange situation -- he's aboard a small freighter with a couple of other passengers in the middle of the Atlantic in 1942 -- but he can't remember anything much about himself. He knows his name, he knows it's on the passenger manifest, but he doesn't know how he got aboard or why he's there.
The others find Persoff's tentative stumbling around, his eyeballs bulging, his stuttering premonitions of impending doom, a little exotic. Then, too, every once in a while when someone makes a remark about the threat of U-boats, Persoff seems to switch to personality B and make some curt correction regarding submarine doctrine.
He has a right to be worried. A blinding searchlight engulfs the ship. It's a U-boat. The last thing Persoff sees as he rushes frantically to the rail is the captain of the submarine giving the order to fire on the ship. And the Ka El of course is Persoff himself.
When the ship is blasted to bits and everyone -- man, woman, and child -- are dead, the scene switches to the wardroom of the U-boat where a troubled young man confesses to Persoff, now the captain, that he feels guilty about killing these people without warning. He wonders if there is a special place in hell for people like the U-boat's crew, where they may be doomed forever to make the same voyage aboard the doomed ship for all eternity. Persoff scoffs.
Considering that it's a half-hour television show and everything must be hurriedly sketched in -- the characters and settings -- without becoming to expensive, it's rather gripping. As the anxious passenger, Persoff gives off a convincing odor of sour fear. (When he snaps into his Kapitan Leutenant role, he overplays it and barks out his lines.) The English woman aboard is Dierdre Owens and she's unusually sympatico. Patrick Macnee is the Executive Officer whose career as Mr. Steed, one of "The Avengers", was just about to be launched.
It's a thought-provoking story, as well as a spooky one. Yes, the submariners may be doomed to go through the agony of their victims for all eternity. Fortunately, our bomber crews who blitzed places like Hamburg and Nagasaki will not go to the same place, will they?
The others find Persoff's tentative stumbling around, his eyeballs bulging, his stuttering premonitions of impending doom, a little exotic. Then, too, every once in a while when someone makes a remark about the threat of U-boats, Persoff seems to switch to personality B and make some curt correction regarding submarine doctrine.
He has a right to be worried. A blinding searchlight engulfs the ship. It's a U-boat. The last thing Persoff sees as he rushes frantically to the rail is the captain of the submarine giving the order to fire on the ship. And the Ka El of course is Persoff himself.
When the ship is blasted to bits and everyone -- man, woman, and child -- are dead, the scene switches to the wardroom of the U-boat where a troubled young man confesses to Persoff, now the captain, that he feels guilty about killing these people without warning. He wonders if there is a special place in hell for people like the U-boat's crew, where they may be doomed forever to make the same voyage aboard the doomed ship for all eternity. Persoff scoffs.
Considering that it's a half-hour television show and everything must be hurriedly sketched in -- the characters and settings -- without becoming to expensive, it's rather gripping. As the anxious passenger, Persoff gives off a convincing odor of sour fear. (When he snaps into his Kapitan Leutenant role, he overplays it and barks out his lines.) The English woman aboard is Dierdre Owens and she's unusually sympatico. Patrick Macnee is the Executive Officer whose career as Mr. Steed, one of "The Avengers", was just about to be launched.
It's a thought-provoking story, as well as a spooky one. Yes, the submariners may be doomed to go through the agony of their victims for all eternity. Fortunately, our bomber crews who blitzed places like Hamburg and Nagasaki will not go to the same place, will they?
Doomed to Relive a Tragic Night for the Eternity
claudio_carvalho22 January 2014
In 1942, Carl Lanser (Nehemiah Persoff) is a lonely passenger without recollections that is traveling in the cargo ship "S.S. Queen of Glasgow" from London to New York. Lanser meets the captain and the other passengers and soon he recalls that he is the captain of a U-Boat that will attack the ship in a few moments.
"Judgment Night" is an engaging episode of The Twilight Zone" with the story of a man doomed to relive a tragic night for the eternity. The plot is based on the myth of King Sisyphus, punished for trickery and forced to roll a huge boulder up a steep hill; but before he reaches the top, the rock would always roll back down. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Além da Imaginação: Judgment Night" ("Beyond Imagination - Judgment Night")
"Judgment Night" is an engaging episode of The Twilight Zone" with the story of a man doomed to relive a tragic night for the eternity. The plot is based on the myth of King Sisyphus, punished for trickery and forced to roll a huge boulder up a steep hill; but before he reaches the top, the rock would always roll back down. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Além da Imaginação: Judgment Night" ("Beyond Imagination - Judgment Night")
Hell on water
Calicodreamin26 May 2021
Reap what you sow
Woodyanders13 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
1942. The distraught Carl Lanser (an excellent performance by Nehemiah Persoff) finds himself on a cargo ship, but can't exactly remember who he is or why he's on said ship. However, Lanser has a terrifying premonition that the ship will sunk by a German U-boat in the evening right after one o'clock.
Director John Brahm keeps the gripping story moving along at a steady pace and adroitly crafts a strong gloom-doom mood, with especially effective use of a thick sinister fog. Rod Serling's intriguing script makes a provocative central point on how karma has a way of catching up with a person. Moreover, there are fine supporting contributions from Deirdre Owens as the sweet Barbara Stanley, Ben Wright as the hearty Captain Wilbur, Hugh Sanders as the friendly Potter, Patrick Macnee as First Officer McLeod, and James Franciscus as the guilt-ridden Lt. Mueller. However, it's Persoff's intense portrayal of a tormented man who's haunted by a grim murky past that gives this particular episode a potent additional punch.
Director John Brahm keeps the gripping story moving along at a steady pace and adroitly crafts a strong gloom-doom mood, with especially effective use of a thick sinister fog. Rod Serling's intriguing script makes a provocative central point on how karma has a way of catching up with a person. Moreover, there are fine supporting contributions from Deirdre Owens as the sweet Barbara Stanley, Ben Wright as the hearty Captain Wilbur, Hugh Sanders as the friendly Potter, Patrick Macnee as First Officer McLeod, and James Franciscus as the guilt-ridden Lt. Mueller. However, it's Persoff's intense portrayal of a tormented man who's haunted by a grim murky past that gives this particular episode a potent additional punch.
"I feel as if... I'm in a nightmare".
classicsoncall6 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Here's one of the best interpretations of the concept of Hell as can be put to film - the eternal reliving of that single hateful moment that one inflicts on the innocent. It's a fate worse than death itself, and one that also defines the misery of insanity as that act repeated over and over with an expectation of a different result. It's not entirely difficult to predict where the story is going once under way, especially after the scene revealing Lanser's (Nehemiah Persoff) naval cap. It's at that point however, where one is left wondering how the story will reconcile Lanser's presence on the Glasgow with his intimate knowledge of German submarine warfare. It's a deftly told tale, worthy of Rod Serling's talent, though at times a bit tedious with Persoff's over the top execution of his character's predicament. But the payoff is worth the viewing, condemning Lanser to that looping cycle of torment and justice that could only be meted out by the Twilight Zone.
A Special Hell
bkoganbing14 May 2013
One of the lesser episodes of the Twilight Zone finds guest star Nehemiah Persoff cast as a U-Boat captain stalking the North Atlantic in 1942 for ships who might stray from a convoy. But there's something wrong as Persoff finds himself on the very ship he was stalking one fateful night.
If you've ever seen the fine British film Pursuit Of The Graf Spee you know that some captains of surface vessels gave quarter gave quarter to the enemy. But Germany practiced unrestricted submarine warfare in World War I and Hitler saw no reason to change.
Poor Nehemiah he seems to know what is going to happen and that alarms all the other passengers on the British vessel. It all becomes clear to him when he sees himself giving orders to fire on the British ship.
I'm not sure what kind of message Rod Serling was trying to say other than we make our own special hells given what we do in life. I have to consign this one to one of the lesser Twilight Zone stories as it even doesn't quite come to grips metaphysically speaking.
If you've ever seen the fine British film Pursuit Of The Graf Spee you know that some captains of surface vessels gave quarter gave quarter to the enemy. But Germany practiced unrestricted submarine warfare in World War I and Hitler saw no reason to change.
Poor Nehemiah he seems to know what is going to happen and that alarms all the other passengers on the British vessel. It all becomes clear to him when he sees himself giving orders to fire on the British ship.
I'm not sure what kind of message Rod Serling was trying to say other than we make our own special hells given what we do in life. I have to consign this one to one of the lesser Twilight Zone stories as it even doesn't quite come to grips metaphysically speaking.
Not bad, but far from being inspired...
planktonrules16 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is the first of several role reversal episodes on "The Twilight Zone"--where the tormentor becomes the tormented--literally. In this case, a Nazi sub commander (Nehemiah Persoff) suddenly and inexplicably finds himself on a British ship--a ship about to be sunk by the Germans.
It all begins with Persoff walking about a merchant ship. He's apparently a passenger but has no idea how he got there and his thinking is disjoint. And, as a result, he walks about in a fog--like he just doesn't belong there. And, oddly, he feels as if he's seen all this before...but can't put his finger on it. It all feels a bit like a bad dream--a bad dream without end.
This is an episode with a single idea that probably didn't have enough to it to adequately fill the 25 minutes. As a result, at times, it seems a bit padded and predictable. Not bad--but far from inspired.
By the way, in two brief scenes, look for a young James Franciscus as well as Patrick Macnee in the other.
It all begins with Persoff walking about a merchant ship. He's apparently a passenger but has no idea how he got there and his thinking is disjoint. And, as a result, he walks about in a fog--like he just doesn't belong there. And, oddly, he feels as if he's seen all this before...but can't put his finger on it. It all feels a bit like a bad dream--a bad dream without end.
This is an episode with a single idea that probably didn't have enough to it to adequately fill the 25 minutes. As a result, at times, it seems a bit padded and predictable. Not bad--but far from inspired.
By the way, in two brief scenes, look for a young James Franciscus as well as Patrick Macnee in the other.
The Twilight Zone-Judgment Night
Scarecrow-881 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The haunted look on Nehemiah Persoff's face introduces us to a dilemma his character will forever face, his Lanser caught in a spider's web of foggy amnesia, trying to deduce where he is and why. On board a ship bound for the States, Lanser gets to know the crew and passengers on board before they encounter a U-boat somewhere lost in the mist, danger on the horizon. So the murky plot becomes more and more clear as Lanser pieces together what troubles him and the ultimate mystery is finally unveiled..not to Lanser's delight, however. This episode allowed Rod Serling a chance to critique the German Nazi party by placing one of their own in a unique kind of hell, felt from the victims' side. Thanks to John Brahm, an absolute master in fog and shadow, with an ability to create a mood of doom to match the performance of Persoff, compelling in how the shroud is lifted bit by bit until we see Lanser for the man he really is. The result adds a perspective which changes how we look at Lanser's situation; such a great episode.
Kind monotonous with a great action scene
whatch-179316 January 2021
No, I don't always need action. But for me, this one's taking scenes are so boring. Even the final "reveal" scene.
The action scene is very well done for this era TV, as is all the acting.
Nehemiah Persoff does a great job throughout, with several different emotions. And his literal jaw drop when he realizes who the captain of the other ship is, is extremely effective.
The action scene is very well done for this era TV, as is all the acting.
Nehemiah Persoff does a great job throughout, with several different emotions. And his literal jaw drop when he realizes who the captain of the other ship is, is extremely effective.
Complicated, a bit iffy, but surprisingly satisfying.
mark.waltz18 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Veteran character actor Nehemiah Persoff is pretty much the whole show in this riveting war drama set in 1942 on the open seas. He runs around the ship for nearly three-quarters of the episode worrying profusely about the ship being attacked at sea. His paranoia brings him to the attention of the ship staff and when his prediction turns out to be true, there is a surprising twist that will have you stunned and words from another crew member at the end which bring it all to a perfect conclusion.
After the initial setup, I became concerned that this one would be the first real disappointment but I'm glad I was proven wrong. "The Twilight Zone" episodes are best known for their sudden twists and turns that you do not see coming and veer off the road of the plotline into directions that go high up into the mountains where there are many more twists and turns on the various roads these shows travel in their themes. Keep a close eye on Persoff. You never know where he is going to end up. A great supporting cast includes Patrick MacNee and James Franciscus, but this is a true gem of a performance by Persoff whose character is not who he seems to be. The ending will also be received as a bit of poetic justice for who ironically turns out to be the destructor.
After the initial setup, I became concerned that this one would be the first real disappointment but I'm glad I was proven wrong. "The Twilight Zone" episodes are best known for their sudden twists and turns that you do not see coming and veer off the road of the plotline into directions that go high up into the mountains where there are many more twists and turns on the various roads these shows travel in their themes. Keep a close eye on Persoff. You never know where he is going to end up. A great supporting cast includes Patrick MacNee and James Franciscus, but this is a true gem of a performance by Persoff whose character is not who he seems to be. The ending will also be received as a bit of poetic justice for who ironically turns out to be the destructor.
She carries with her a premonition of...death.
Hey_Sweden5 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The great character actor Nehemiah Persoff (who, as of this writing, is still with us at the age of 102) stars here as Carl Lanser, a German on a British ship (once part of a convoy, now all on its own in a heavy fog) during WWII. He's a haunted man because, although he does have some idea of who he is, he has no idea how he got there. The knowledge that he possesses is chilling: he has a definite feeling that the ship will be targeted and sunk by a German U-boat.
'Judgment Night' resonates rather well because it is dealing with that time-honored theme of a persons' reckoning. While it may not be a truly great episode since it's relatively easy to figure out / predict, it travels a fair distance on the wonderfully effective performance by Mr. Persoff. He's ably supported by Deirdre Owens, Patrick Macnee, Ben Wright, Hugh Sanders, and James Franciscus as a conscientious German soldier named Mueller. The episode also boasts superior atmosphere and a sense of foreboding, with Rod Serlings' narration typically doing a fine job of setting us up for a half hours' worth of the macabre. You just *know* that Lanser is likely on to something.
'Judgment Night' may not add up to a LOT, but it's generally good entertainment.
Written by Mr. Serling, and directed by the great John Brahm, who'd previously guided the more memorable 'Time Enough at Last'. Mr. Brahm would go on to direct 10 more episodes during the series' run.
Seven out of 10.
'Judgment Night' resonates rather well because it is dealing with that time-honored theme of a persons' reckoning. While it may not be a truly great episode since it's relatively easy to figure out / predict, it travels a fair distance on the wonderfully effective performance by Mr. Persoff. He's ably supported by Deirdre Owens, Patrick Macnee, Ben Wright, Hugh Sanders, and James Franciscus as a conscientious German soldier named Mueller. The episode also boasts superior atmosphere and a sense of foreboding, with Rod Serlings' narration typically doing a fine job of setting us up for a half hours' worth of the macabre. You just *know* that Lanser is likely on to something.
'Judgment Night' may not add up to a LOT, but it's generally good entertainment.
Written by Mr. Serling, and directed by the great John Brahm, who'd previously guided the more memorable 'Time Enough at Last'. Mr. Brahm would go on to direct 10 more episodes during the series' run.
Seven out of 10.
A WW II German U-Boat Commander Sees His Shadow
DeanNYC9 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Sometimes, Rod Serling is all about the "morality play," a kind of Aesop's Fable that sets up a situation, then pays it off with that meaning meant to make you think about the story and the end result. This is one of those times.
Nehemiah Persoff (himself a Jewish person born in Jerusalem and who turned 100, August 2, 2019) is the center of this World War II tale of a ship called the S.S. Queen of Glasgow, a military transport from Liverpool to New York. A small group of civilians were aboard the vessel, which lost contact with her escort ships in the thick fog.
We learn the name of the man in question is Carl Lancer, as he seems to learn with us. He has a bit of amnesia. He also doesn't seem to remember his occupation, his purpose of traveling or even getting aboard the ship at all.
There is a serious threat: German U boats are looking for targets and they are potentially a big one, alone in the ocean. In the meantime, The captain and other passengers chat with Mr. Lancer and he starts to remember. He was born in Frankfort (not Kentucky, GERMANY), and he seems to know a whole lot about how the Deutschland Navy works.
The captain, suspicious but not wanting to alarm anyone, called Lancer to the bridge. But again, he could remember nothing and didn't have his passport. The captain sent a steward to Lancer's cabin to check. And it was there we got the confirmation we suspected. The steward found a Nazi Germany U Boat commander's cap in Lancer's belongings. And when Lancer turned the hat over, his own name was inside.
The trouble really started when the ship's engines died from overwork. The other passengers were not concerned (including a pre-"The Avengers" Patrick MacNee) but Lancer was frantic. At 1:15am, something was going to happen.
And with German precision timing, the attack occurred, with no warning and no mercy. Lancer runs and screams through the ship as the bombing continues. That's when he is confronted by the faces of the friends he had made aboard the craft staring silently back at him. And on deck, Lancer finally saw the attacker through binoculars. It was, of course, himself in his cap.
Later, having sunk the ship, and having rescued no one, Commander Lancer chats with a young officer (James Franciscus) who learned that women and children were on the ship and felt guilty about not issuing a warning. Lancer mocks the young man for being too soft, but he goes on to suggest that maybe they are damned and their hell is to relive this night over and over again, to suffer what those people suffered, to die as those people died, for eternity.
As his officer said those words, Lancer drifted into a dreamlike state for a moment, and was standing on the deck of the S.S. Queen of Glasgow, headed from Liverpool to New York on a foggy night.
Knowing what I know about Mr. Serling, and knowing that this message isn't particularly effective against Nazis at that stage of history, I have to believe, in his typically subtle methodology, that the moral was directed at people who treat anyone that is different, be they immigrants, minority members of society or simply people you don't know, with derision or as if they do not matter. It's a "Golden Rule" lesson that still applies in the 2020s as it did in the 1950s.
I give "Judgment Night" an 8 out of 10.
Nehemiah Persoff (himself a Jewish person born in Jerusalem and who turned 100, August 2, 2019) is the center of this World War II tale of a ship called the S.S. Queen of Glasgow, a military transport from Liverpool to New York. A small group of civilians were aboard the vessel, which lost contact with her escort ships in the thick fog.
We learn the name of the man in question is Carl Lancer, as he seems to learn with us. He has a bit of amnesia. He also doesn't seem to remember his occupation, his purpose of traveling or even getting aboard the ship at all.
There is a serious threat: German U boats are looking for targets and they are potentially a big one, alone in the ocean. In the meantime, The captain and other passengers chat with Mr. Lancer and he starts to remember. He was born in Frankfort (not Kentucky, GERMANY), and he seems to know a whole lot about how the Deutschland Navy works.
The captain, suspicious but not wanting to alarm anyone, called Lancer to the bridge. But again, he could remember nothing and didn't have his passport. The captain sent a steward to Lancer's cabin to check. And it was there we got the confirmation we suspected. The steward found a Nazi Germany U Boat commander's cap in Lancer's belongings. And when Lancer turned the hat over, his own name was inside.
The trouble really started when the ship's engines died from overwork. The other passengers were not concerned (including a pre-"The Avengers" Patrick MacNee) but Lancer was frantic. At 1:15am, something was going to happen.
And with German precision timing, the attack occurred, with no warning and no mercy. Lancer runs and screams through the ship as the bombing continues. That's when he is confronted by the faces of the friends he had made aboard the craft staring silently back at him. And on deck, Lancer finally saw the attacker through binoculars. It was, of course, himself in his cap.
Later, having sunk the ship, and having rescued no one, Commander Lancer chats with a young officer (James Franciscus) who learned that women and children were on the ship and felt guilty about not issuing a warning. Lancer mocks the young man for being too soft, but he goes on to suggest that maybe they are damned and their hell is to relive this night over and over again, to suffer what those people suffered, to die as those people died, for eternity.
As his officer said those words, Lancer drifted into a dreamlike state for a moment, and was standing on the deck of the S.S. Queen of Glasgow, headed from Liverpool to New York on a foggy night.
Knowing what I know about Mr. Serling, and knowing that this message isn't particularly effective against Nazis at that stage of history, I have to believe, in his typically subtle methodology, that the moral was directed at people who treat anyone that is different, be they immigrants, minority members of society or simply people you don't know, with derision or as if they do not matter. It's a "Golden Rule" lesson that still applies in the 2020s as it did in the 1950s.
I give "Judgment Night" an 8 out of 10.
Damn the torpedoes!
Lejink15 October 2019
I've lately watched three vintage 1940's Hollywood movies directed by this "Twilight Zone" episode's director John Brahm and very good they all were, each of them were tense, atmospheric thrillers which made him a good fit for this tense, doom and gloom mini-drama.
Set in 1942, a German officer turns up on a British boat which has become detached from its convoy on the cold, dark, foggy sea. He sits down and begins to engage with the boat's crew and passengers but has trouble recollecting who he is and how he got there. He also has a sense of impending dread which gradually dawns on him as the journey progresses but is confused further when amongst his personal effects he discovers a German Navy captain's cap bearing his name inside which only adds to his disquiet.
Finally he realises too late that the ship is fated to be torpedoed by an enemy U-Boat and is shocked into full remembrance only at the climactic moment when he looks across at the submarine to see the "Fire!" command given by its commander, without any kind of humane warning given to the target boat to stop or abandon ship. Only then do we learn his own decisive part in the tragedy and the resultant impact on him from that moment on.
I really enjoyed the direction of this episode. You can see the dripping condensation on deck from the night mist, there's a chilling moment as the German officer tries to rouse the boat's passengers only for him to confront them below deck grouped like a still photograph,, facing him like a silent, accusatory jury and then the seeming doppelgänger conclusion are all telling touches inserted by a capable helmsman as Brahm.
Future Avenger John Steed Patrick MacNee is noticeable in the cast of one of the more darkly entertaining entries in this constantly imaginative series.
Set in 1942, a German officer turns up on a British boat which has become detached from its convoy on the cold, dark, foggy sea. He sits down and begins to engage with the boat's crew and passengers but has trouble recollecting who he is and how he got there. He also has a sense of impending dread which gradually dawns on him as the journey progresses but is confused further when amongst his personal effects he discovers a German Navy captain's cap bearing his name inside which only adds to his disquiet.
Finally he realises too late that the ship is fated to be torpedoed by an enemy U-Boat and is shocked into full remembrance only at the climactic moment when he looks across at the submarine to see the "Fire!" command given by its commander, without any kind of humane warning given to the target boat to stop or abandon ship. Only then do we learn his own decisive part in the tragedy and the resultant impact on him from that moment on.
I really enjoyed the direction of this episode. You can see the dripping condensation on deck from the night mist, there's a chilling moment as the German officer tries to rouse the boat's passengers only for him to confront them below deck grouped like a still photograph,, facing him like a silent, accusatory jury and then the seeming doppelgänger conclusion are all telling touches inserted by a capable helmsman as Brahm.
Future Avenger John Steed Patrick MacNee is noticeable in the cast of one of the more darkly entertaining entries in this constantly imaginative series.
Great Emotions Shown By Persoff
twoperksus16 January 2021
As an actor, it is often very difficult to convey a particular emotion to the audience in a very credible way. Here, nehemiah Persoff very successfully transfers the anguish of not being able to remember his past to the audience. Your mind moves with his as he gradually changes from that anguish to the fear knowing that death could could come at any time when the subject of German subs attacking the Glasgow comes up. The viewer can almost feel his righteous indignity when he corrects the 'facts' being cited by Major Devereaux about German subs. Overall, a notably outstanding performance by Mr. Persoff.
A Night Of Judgement
StrictlyConfidential10 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"Judgement Night" (episode 11) was first aired on television December 4, 1959.
Anyway - As the story goes - It's 1942 and a German named Carl Lanser wonders why he is on the deck of a British steamship, with no memory of how he got there and an overwhelming sense of impending doom.
Anyway - As the story goes - It's 1942 and a German named Carl Lanser wonders why he is on the deck of a British steamship, with no memory of how he got there and an overwhelming sense of impending doom.
Sinks without a trace.
BA_Harrison4 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This episode of The Twilight Zone is a little like the segment in the Twilight Zone movie where Vic Morrow is made to pay for his bigotry by repeatedly experiencing irrational hatred himself. Here the man made to suffer his own personal hell is Nazi U-boat commander Carl Lanser (Nehemiah Persoff), who pays the ultimate price for sinking a defenceless ship: every day he arrives on that same ship as a passenger with no idea of how he got there, and is forced to experience the fear and pain that he inflicted on the innocent passengers as the vessel is sunk by his own submarine.
A rather dreary tale, with a glaringly obvious conclusion that is rammed home in an atypically unsubtle style, Judgment Night is one of the few forgettable episodes from Season One—a shame after so many great stories. In fact, the most memorable thing about the whole episode is that it stars a pre-Avengers Patrick Macnee and a young James Franciscus.
A rather dreary tale, with a glaringly obvious conclusion that is rammed home in an atypically unsubtle style, Judgment Night is one of the few forgettable episodes from Season One—a shame after so many great stories. In fact, the most memorable thing about the whole episode is that it stars a pre-Avengers Patrick Macnee and a young James Franciscus.
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