A Quality of Mercy

Last updated
"A Quality of Mercy"
The Twilight Zone episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 15
Directed by Buzz Kulik
Teleplay by Rod Serling
Based onan idea by Sam Rolfe
Production code4809
Original air dateDecember 29, 1961 (1961-12-29)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Five Characters in Search of an Exit"
Next 
"Nothing in the Dark"
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) (season 3)
List of episodes

"A Quality of Mercy" is episode 80 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone , which originally aired on December 29, 1961. The title is taken from a notable speech in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice , quoted in Serling's closing narration at the end of the episode.

Contents

Opening narration

It's August, 1945, the last grimy pages of a dirty, torn book of war. The place is the Philippine Islands. The men are what's left of a platoon of American infantry, whose dulled and tired eyes set deep in dulled and tired faces can now look toward a miracle, that moment when the nightmare appears to be coming to an end. But they've got one more battle to fight, and in a moment we'll observe that battle. August, 1945, Philippine Islands. But in reality, it's high noon in the Twilight Zone.

Plot

On August 6, 1945, Second Lieutenant Katell arrives in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II and takes command of a seasoned but war-weary infantry platoon led by Sergeant Causarano. Katell promptly orders an attack on a group of sick and wounded Japanese soldiers holed up in a cave. Causarano tries to talk him out of it, as everyone is sick of fighting and attacking the defenseless Japanese soldiers would achieve nothing but unnecessary deaths for both sides. But Katell, intent on proving himself and earning his rank, stands firm on his orders; he berates the platoon for their lack of enthusiasm and tells Causarano he does not care who the enemy is or how much of a threat they pose, only that they will kill all of them until they are ordered to stop killing, simply because they are the enemy. Causarano and the platoon reluctantly prepare for the assault.

As Katell surveils the cave, he accidentally drops his binoculars. When he goes to retrieve them, he suddenly finds himself surrounded by an Imperial Japanese Army company. After a failed attempt to flee in his confusion, Katell is briefed on the situation by Sergeant Yamazaki: he is Lieutenant Yamuri, on Corregidor on May 4, 1942 during the Philippines campaign, and his company is preparing to assault a group of wounded 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment soldiers holed up in a cave. Yamuri tries to dissuade the company's captain from ordering the attack, arguing that the Americans inside the cave pose no threat and can be captured or bypassed instead, but the company's captain bluntly refuses to listen and, suspecting Yamuri has malaria or lost his nerve, "reminds" him that it does not matter whether the enemy is incapacitated or how their deaths will not shorten the war, only that they will kill all of them until they are ordered to stop killing—mirroring exactly what Katell told Causarano. The captain then relieves Yamuri of command and leads the company to attack the cave.

Horrified, Yamuri reaches for his binoculars and finds himself back as Katell in 1945, just as the platoon's radioman relays that the atomic bomb has been dropped and that they have been ordered to fall back and wait to see how Japan responds. As the platoon cheerfully withdraws, Causarano sardonically assures Katell, "Well, I wouldn't fret. There'll be other caves, and other wars, other human beings you can knock off." As Katell somberly stares at the cave, he responds, "I hope not. God help us, I hope not."

Closing narration

'The quality of mercy is not strained, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.' Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice , but applicable to any moment in time, to any group of soldiery, to any nation on the face of the Earth—or, as in this case, to the Twilight Zone.

Cast

Production

This episode was filmed on a sound stage at Hal Roach Studios, instead of the usual MGM facilities. [1]

The episode's writer, Rod Serling, served as a paratrooper in the Philippines during World War II, as part of the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Division.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Serling</span> American screenwriter (1924–1975)

Rodman Edward Serling was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen, and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood, clashing with television executives and sponsors over a wide range of issues, including censorship, racism, and war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where Is Everybody?</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of The Twilight Zone

"Where Is Everybody?" is the first episode of the American anthology television series The Twilight Zone and was originally broadcast on October 2, 1959, on CBS. It is one of the most realistic Twilight Zone episodes, as it features no supernatural elements and is based on fairly straightforward extrapolation of science.

"Judgment Night" is the tenth episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. In this episode, a passenger aboard a British cargo liner has no memory of how he came aboard, and is tormented by unexpected clues to his true identity and a sense that the ship is headed toward impending doom.

"I Shot an Arrow into the Air" is the fifteenth episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.

"The Purple Testament" is the nineteenth episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It is "the story of a man who can forecast death". It originally aired on February 12, 1960, on CBS.

"A World of His Own" is episode thirty-six of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was the last episode of the show's first season and essentially comedic in tone. It originally aired on July 1, 1960, on CBS.

"King Nine Will Not Return" is the season two premiere episode, and 37th overall, of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on September 30, 1960 on CBS.

"Eye of the Beholder" is episode 42 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on November 11, 1960, on CBS.

"The Passersby" is the 69th episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was written by series creator and showrunner Rod Serling.

"Deaths-Head Revisited" is episode 74 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. The story is about a former SS officer revisiting the Dachau concentration camp a decade and a half after World War II. The title is a play on the Evelyn Waugh novel Brideshead Revisited, and the SS "Death's Head" units who administered the camps. In Germany this episode was never brought to TV.

"The Midnight Sun" is episode 75 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, first shown in November, 1961.

The Bard (<i>The Twilight Zone</i>) 18th episode of the 4th season of The Twilight Zone

"The Bard" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was the final episode of The Twilight Zone to be one hour long. A direct satire of the American television industry, the episode features a parody of Marlon Brando by Burt Reynolds, and concerns an inept screenwriter, who through the use of black magic, employs William Shakespeare as his ghostwriter.

"Probe 7, Over and Out" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. Its plot is a shaggy God story.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a 1961 French short film, almost without dialogue. It was based on the 1890 American short story of the same name by American Civil War soldier, wit, and writer Ambrose Bierce. It was directed by Robert Enrico and produced by Marcel Ichac and Paul de Roubaix with music by Henri Lanoë. It won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Awards. The film was later screened on American television as episode 22 of the fifth season of The Twilight Zone on 28 February 1964.

"A Kind of a Stopwatch" is a 1963 episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. In this episode, a man acquires a stopwatch which can stop time.

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> (1959 TV series) American anthology television series

The Twilight Zone is an American fantasy science fiction horror anthology television series created and presented by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from October 2, 1959, to June 19, 1964. Each episode presents a standalone story in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone", often with a surprise ending and a moral. Although often considered predominantly science-fiction, the show's paranormal and Kafkaesque events leaned the show much closer to fantasy and horror. The phrase "twilight zone" has entered the vernacular, used to describe surreal experiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Speirs</span> US Army officer (1920-2007)

Ronald Charles Speirs was a United States Army officer who served in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. He was initially assigned as a platoon leader in B Company of the 1st Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Speirs was reassigned to D Company of the 2nd Battalion before the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and later assigned as commander of E Company during an assault on Foy, Belgium, after the siege of Bastogne was broken during the Battle of the Bulge. He finished the war in the European Theater as a captain. Speirs served in the Korean War, as a major commanding a rifle company and as a staff officer. He later became the American governor for Spandau Prison in Berlin. He retired as a lieutenant colonel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Scott Zicree</span> American novelist

Marc Scott Zicree is an American science fiction author, television writer and screenwriter. Zicree has written for major studios and networks including Paramount, Universal, Disney, Sony/Columbia Tri-Star, MGM, New Line, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, WB, UPN, Showtime, PBS, Turner, USA Networks, Syfy, Discovery, Nickelodeon, the BBC, Marvel and NPR. His credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, The Twilight Zone, Babylon 5, Beauty and the Beast, Forever Knight, Sliders, Friday the 13th: The Series, Liberty's Kids, Super Friends, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Real Ghostbusters, The Smurfs and many others, as well as pilots for CBS, NBC, ABC and Showtime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence B. Craft</span>

Clarence Byrle Craft was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

"The Shelter" is episode 68 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on September 29, 1961 on CBS. It is one of the few Twilight Zone episodes to feature no supernatural or sci-fi elements.

References

  1. Zicree, Mark Scott (1982). The Twilight Zone Companion . Bantam. p.  242. ISBN   0-7607-5634-1.

Bibliography