The Last Flight
- Episode aired Feb 5, 1960
- TV-PG
- 25m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
A World War I British fighter pilot lands at an American air base in 1959 France.A World War I British fighter pilot lands at an American air base in 1959 France.A World War I British fighter pilot lands at an American air base in 1959 France.
Paul Baxley
- Driver
- (uncredited)
Jack Perkins
- Ground Crewman
- (uncredited)
Rod Serling
- Narrator
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Richard Matheson
- Rod Serling(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWriter Richard Matheson explained that the title of this episode and its short story referred to both the protagonist's physical journey as well as his departure from cowardice.
- GoofsWhen Decker arrives at the Lafayette Air Base, he is told that he is in an American base. When he sees the 1959 aircraft for the first time, he says, "We had no idea you were so advanced!" However, he should be surprised that there is an American base in France at all as the United States did not declare war on Germany until April 6, 1917, one month after Decker's departure.
- Quotes
Rod Serling - Narrator: [Closing Narration] Dialog from a play, Hamlet to Horatio: There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Dialog from a play written long before men took to the sky: There are more things in heaven and earth and in the sky than perhaps can be dreamt of. And somewhere in between heaven, the sky, and the earth, lies The Twilight Zone.
- ConnectionsEdited into Twilight-Tober-Zone: The Last Flight (2020)
Featured review
I am the cowardly eye in the sky,
looking at you
"The Last Flight" is Rod Serling at his very best, with an episode of "The Twilight Zone" that all millions of fans are guaranteed to list among their favorites or at least generously reward with a high score! It's a fantastic half hour of mysterious entertainment, with a compelling plot (from the pen of genius writer Richard Matheson), honest and identifiable characters and a denouement that – for once – isn't bleak and depressing, but comforting and hopeful. The story opens with the British World War I pilot William T. Decker searching for his base camp through a dense and cloudy sky after having narrowly escaped an air-attack of the German enemy. He lands at an American military airport in France but immediately notices that all the air crafts here look very futuristic. To everyone's amazement, Decker's but also the military staff at the camp; he discovers that the year is now 1959 and that he landed 42 years in the future. Whilst being held in custody, because obviously nobody believes his story, Lt. Decker reveals that he was a cowardly pilot and abandoned his partner right before the Germans ambushed them back in 1917. When he learns that his former partner is now an inspector on his way to the French camp, Decker realizes that he's been granted a unique opportunity to return back and correct his past mistakes. Matheson's terrific script deals with complex themes, like time loops and paradoxes, but serves them in the most straightforward way, so that the focus lies on the main character and his inner struggles. The episode is very talkative but never boring and brought to an even higher level thanks to Kenneth Haigh intense and sincere performance. William Claxton's direction is solid as well. He mainly did TV-work throughout his career, but also directed the offbeat creature-feature guilty pleasure "Night of the Lepus".
helpful•131
- Coventry
- Sep 5, 2016
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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