A Quality of Mercy

A Quality of Mercy was the episode that provided the blueprint for Vic Morrow's segment in The Twilight Zone: The Movie. Dean Stockwell plays U. S. Lieutenant Katell, who arrives in the Philippine Islands at the end of WWII to take command of a war-weary squad of soldiers, led by Sgt. Causarano (Albert Salmi). Keen to prove himself by killing a few of the enemy, Katell instructs his men to launch an attack on a unit of injured Japanese soldiers holed up in a cave. However, before he can lead the assault, Katell suddenly finds himself as a soldier in the Japanese army, part of a unit about to launch an attack on some injured Americans.

Having seen both sides of the coin, Katell realises the error of his ways, and tries to convince his Japanese superior to abort the attack.

This is another one of Serling's anti-war tales, this time showing us how dehumanising the enemy can lead to further meaningless death and destruction. Such idealism is all well and good, until you wind up facing a foe who still sees you as nothing more than a target for their rifle, at which point survival is the name of the game. War is indeed hell.

I think the concept worked much better with the central character as a bigot -- shame that Morrow didn't live to finish the story how it was intended.

If you know your way around "The Twilight Zone" somewhat, it's fairly easy and logical to see why this particular episode got selected - although uncredited - to serve as model for one of the four segments featuring in the 1983 movie remake/tribute. It's a prototype tale, exactly like the great late Rod Serling liked to serve them. A headstrong and obnoxious protagonist, in this case a fanatic army lieutenant, is literally forced to alter his ideologies and prejudices because he's inexplicably transferred into the shoes of an opponent. Young Lieutenant Katell insists on making a few more Japanese causalities on the very last day of WWII, when the surrendering of Japan is practically certain, despite the protest of his new platoon. Something banal, like dropping a pair of binoculars, causes for Katell to suddenly have become a Japanese Lieutenant, in pretty much the same albeit reversed situation, in 1942. Naturally he now wants to spare the lives of the American soldiers trapped in a cave, but he clashes with the same type of stubborn superior that he is. Redemption, the foolishness of warfare, shapeshifting, time travelling... These are all hobbyhorses of Serling and frequently featured in "The Twilight Zone". Competent director Buzz Kulik "A Quality for Mercy" brings them all neatly together in a compelling story, with a sublime double role for Dean Stockwell. Recommended.

Note: the segment in the aforementioned 1983 film, which is based on this episode, became notorious due to the tragic helicopter accident resulting in the death of actor Vic Morrow and two Vietnamese children.

I agree with a poster that telegraphing the date at the beginning was a mistake, right before Hiroshima was bombed.

I also can't see how it was relevant since nobody here knew the war was about to end. This could have been set in April 1945 for the difference it would make to the characters and story.

Anyway, the story's pretty basic, the rookie Lieutenant gets to see the war from the other side, and that's about it.

It was weird how well Stockwell was made up to be Japanese. Like another reviewer, I thought it was a different character in those scenes!

It is a very interesting tale proposed here. A very unusual scheme that only the TWILIGHT ZONE series could show. Certainly not a classic and normal film. The pacifist message is obvious and moving. I was very delighted by this unpredictable tale; the first so far - if I am not wrong - speaking of the war in the Pacific in the TWILIGHT ZONE. The most interesting element is that is shows the Japanese point of view, not for the entire episode, but long enough to remind me Clint Eastwood's LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. Maybe not the most exciting, the most powerful, but still worth the watch. Not the predictable war flick.

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.