Twilight Zone – The Last Flight

★★★★1/2  February 5, 1960 Season 1 Episode 18

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

This is one of my most watched episodes of the Twilight Zone. I love time travel and this one is wonderful. Kenneth Haigh plays Lt. William Terrance Decker a British soldier who took off in his plane in 1917 and landed in 1959 at an American Air Force base. He’s held captive with the Americans believing his actions to be a prank.

I like how this one has a resolution at the end. You find out how the event affected everyone…including old “Leadbottom.”

The show like most of the other episodes is very well written, acted, and executed. This is a great episode. I could have easily given this a 5 star rating. 

Richard Matheson wrote this episodes and he was one of my favorite writers of the show next to Serling. He would write 16 Twilight Episodes and among other things we would write for Star Trek the original series. 

On a side note…My friend Keith posted his 20 top Twilight Zones. 

This show was written by Richard Matheson

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration: 

Witness Flight Lieutenant William Terrance Decker, Royal Flying Corps, returning from a patrol somewhere over France. The year is 1917. The problem is that the lieutenant is hopelessly lost. Lieutenant Decker will soon discover that a man can be lost not only in terms of maps and miles, but also in time – and time in this case can be measured in eternities.

Summary

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.

Rod Serling’s 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.

CAST

Kenneth Haigh … Lt. William Terrance Decker
Alexander Scourby … Maj. Gen. George Harper
Simon Scott … Maj. Wilson
Robert Warwick … A.V.M. Alexander ‘Leadbottom’ Mackaye, R.A.F.
Harry Raybould … Corporal
Jerry Catron … Guard

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

20 thoughts on “Twilight Zone – The Last Flight”

  1. Great episode – watched it again last night. Great acting like you said – love the ending – “ you’d better sit down Old Leadbottom” 😀

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    1. I wish they could have had more stories like this in their 4th season…I could have enjoyed this one stretched out. It’s way up there on my list of favorites.

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      1. Yes would have near to see Decker and MacKaye interacting when they both were younger and then see the older MacKaye react to hearing the story!

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  2. i am a sucker for time travel- and this was a great episode- i am good with 4 1/2 or 5 stars!… off topic yes music docs would count under music- i think I went with Woodstock for mine.

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    1. I’m the same about the Time Travel also.

      Thats right! I forgot about you covering Woodstock. That widens the scope anyway.

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  4. sounds like another winner! Did they ever do any reverses of this story- time travelers from future? I’ve read some (conspiracy?) theories some of the UFOs around are that – earthly craft from a future time when humans can time travel. Far fetched, but hey, who’s to say?

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    1. That is a cool theory…let me think…I’m not sure if there is….there are a few about the future but I’m not sure about the opposite but I’ll keep thinking.

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