The Twilight Zone: Deaths-Head Revisited (1961)
Season 3, Episode 9
10/10
One of my favorite episodes. Still powerful nearly 56 years after it aired.
21 April 2018
Oscar Beregi Jr makes his second of three appearance on the Twilight Zone. Before this he was in season two's The Rip Van Winkle Caper and later he was in season four's Mute. Here he gives an amazing performance as a Nazi SS Captain who was hiding out in South America years after WWII. He decides to pay a visit to Dachau the concentration camp he was assigned to during the war in an attempt to relive his glory days. As he walks around the remains of the camp he takes great joy in reliving horrifying memories of tortures he's inflicted on others. For example he looks back fondly at denying a prisoner water and laughs after reminding the prisoner that he hasn't given him food in days either. While he walks around the camp he suddenly sees a former prisoner named Becker (an amazing performance by Joseph Schildkraut who also appears in season three's The Trade-Ins). After talking with Becker he asks if Becker was a caretaker. After dismissing the hell he put the prisoners through as "a little mistake" the SS Captain runs to the defense "following orders". Becker puts the SS Captain on trial. I don't want to give away where it goes from here. The episode masterfully deals with an extremely sensitive issue. People were put through unimaginable tortures and endured pain and suffering beyond what anyone can imagine. When dealing with that subject matter it is crucial not to downplay what they went through or make light of the situation. Rod Serling wrote this episode and handled it masterfully. The bulk of this episode relies heavily on Oscar Berigi Jr and Joseph Schildkraut and both actors turn out amazing performances. Excellent episode from an excellent series. Highly recommended.
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