Judgment Night

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")

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.

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.

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.

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.