The Last Flight

Episode aired Feb 5, 1960
TV-PGTV-PG
25m

IMDb RATING

8.0/10

3.3K

YOUR RATING

S1.E18

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A World War I British fighter pilot lands at an American air base in France 42 years in the future.A World War I British fighter pilot lands at an American air base in France 42 years in the future.A World War I British fighter pilot lands at an American air base in France 42 years in the future.

IMDb RATING

8.0/10

3.3K

YOUR RATING

Director
- William F. Claxton
Writers
- Richard Matheson
- Rod Serling(uncredited)
Stars

Top credits

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See more at IMDbPro

Photos17

Kenneth Haigh in The Twilight Zone (1959)

Kenneth Haigh and Simon Scott in The Twilight Zone (1959)

Simon Scott, Alexander Scourby, and Robert Warwick in The Twilight Zone (1959)

Kenneth Haigh, Simon Scott, and Alexander Scourby in The Twilight Zone (1959)

Simon Scott and Robert Warwick in The Twilight Zone (1959)

Storyline

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Trying to find his way home after a dogfight in World War I, Royal Flying Corps Flt. Lt. William Terrance Decker lands at a U.S. Air Force base 42 years in the future. No one believes him when he claims to be from 1917, thinking someone is trying to put one over on them. Decker himself admits that before suddenly leaping into the future he was actually flying away from an serial encounter and leaving his friend in a lurch. He also realizes that he may have an opportunity to rectify that situation. —garykmcd

pilot

biplane

world war one pilot

nickname

quote from shakespeare's hamlet

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Did you know

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Trivia
Writer 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.

Goofs
Decker speaks of Georges Guynemer's disappearance. For Decker the date is March 5, 1917, but Guynemer disappeared on September 11, 1917.

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.

Connections
References McHale's Navy (1962)

Soundtracks
Twilight Zone Theme
(theme song)
Composed by Bernard Herrmann
(season 1)

User reviews32

Review

Top review

10/10

Fate & Destiny

Kenneth Haigh plays a World War I fighter pilot named Decker who travels through a mysterious white cloud while flying in 1917 France, as he was running away from the Germans, and finds himself in the future on an American Air Force base in France. Both confused and guilt-stricken, Decker tries desperately to get back to his plane, and return to battle, in order to save the friend he deserted, especially when he learns that the man survived the war, and is on his way that day to inspect the base... Imaginative and exciting story deals with the complexities of time-travel in a most clever and effective way, leaving the viewer most satisfied by the result. Quite underrated.

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