Taking its title from a Shakespearean quotation, this "Twilight Zone" episode, written by series creator Rod Serling, is one of the darker ones I have seen. Set In the American campaign in the Far Eastern theatre of the Second World War, a young army lieutenant starts getting premonitions of the impending death of his platoon members. This takes the form to him of a light shining in the face of the doomed individual or individuals. When he takes his troubles to his friend and commanding officer the latter naturally thinks he is suffering from battle fatigue and refers him to the medics. However when another apparently recovering colleague expires in his hospital bed just after the lieutenant has visited him, he unsurprisingly starts to become paranoid about his condition.
The show continues unflinchingly until its conclusion as we learn the identities of the next-in-line, in so doing strongly asserting its anti-war message.
I don't know if the battlefield settings at the start were from stock footage, but if not, they were convincingly realised and belied the normal budget limitations you see on the show. The acting too was convincing especially William Reynolds as the haunted soldier and a pre-"Bewitched" Dick "Darren" York as the C.O. to whom Reynolds turns for help.
Yet another strong episode from this high quality series.
The show continues unflinchingly until its conclusion as we learn the identities of the next-in-line, in so doing strongly asserting its anti-war message.
I don't know if the battlefield settings at the start were from stock footage, but if not, they were convincingly realised and belied the normal budget limitations you see on the show. The acting too was convincing especially William Reynolds as the haunted soldier and a pre-"Bewitched" Dick "Darren" York as the C.O. to whom Reynolds turns for help.
Yet another strong episode from this high quality series.