Free Twilight Zone Companion by Marc Scott Zicree

dont let this give the impression that everyone was bending over backwards for Wynn. On the contrary, it was he who extended himself to the fullest. He was outstanding, says assistant director Edward Denault. He was very prompt, knew his lines. I remember his chair was very close to the camera at all times, so it was never, Ill be in my dressing room, or anything like that. You turned around when you were ready and Ed was sitting right there. He was a real joy to work with, a real pleasure.
    JUDGMENT NIGHT (12/4/59)
    Written by Rod Serling
    Producer: Buck Houghton
    Director: John Brahm
    Director of Photography:George T. Clemens
    Music: stock
    Cast:
    Lanser: Nehemiah Persoff Captain Wilbur: Ben Wright First Officer: Patrick MacNee Lt. Mueller: James Franciscus Mr. Potter: Hugh Sanders Maj. Devereaux: Leslie Bradley Barbara: Diedre Owen Bartender: Kendrick Huxham First Steward: Richard Peel Second Steward: Donald Journeaux Engineer: Barry Bernard Nehemiah Persoff Little Girl: Debbie Joyce
    Her name is the S.S. Queen of Glasgow. Her registry: British. Gross tonnage: five thousand. Age: indeterminate. At this moment shes one day out of Liverpool, her destination New York. Duly recorded on this ships log is the sailing time, course to destination, weather conditions, temperature, longitude and latitude. But what is never recorded in a log is the fear that washes over a deck like fog and ocean spray. Fear like the throbbing strokes of engine pistons, each like a heartbeat, parceling out every hour into breathless minutes of watching, waiting and dreading. For the year is 1942, and this particular ship has lost its convoy. It travels alone like an aged blind thing groping through the unfriendly dark, stalked by unseen periscopes of steel killers. Yes, the Queen of Glasgow is a frightened ship, and she carries with her a premonition of death.
    On board the Glasgow is a German named Carl Lanser, with no memory of how he got there, yet with the feeling that hes met all the passengers somewhere before. Things are made even more mysterious by Lansers certainty that an enemy sub is stalking the ship, and by his premonition that something is going to happen at 1:15 a.m. His fear proves correct: at one-fifteen a U-boat surfaces. Peering through binoculars, Lanser sees that its captain is … himself! The U-boat sinks the helpless freighter, then crew members machine-gun the survivors. Lanser sinks beneath the waters. Later, on board the sub, a lieutenant suggests they might all face damnation for their action. Kapitan Lanser discounts this theorynot realizing that he is, in fact, doomed to relive the sinking of that ship for eternity.
    The S.S. Queen of Glasgow, heading for New York, and the time is 1942. For one man, it is always 1942and this man will ride the ghost of that ship every night for eternity. This is what is meant by paying the fiddler. This is the comeuppance awaiting every man when the ledger of his life is opened and examined, the tally made, and then the reward or the penalty paid. And in the case of Carl Lanser, former Kapitan Lieutenant, Navy of the Third Reich, this is the penalty. This is the justice meted out. This is judgment night in the Twilight Zone
    Judgment Night is a Flying Dutchman variation involving a Nazi submarine commander, persuasively portrayed by Jerusalem-born Nehemiah Persoff. The episode also boasts a pre-Mr. Novak James Franciscus in a bit role as a nervous lieutenant under Persoffs command, demonstrating for all to hear that a convincing German accent is beyond his reach. Numerous sets are employed from The Wreck of the Mary Deare, a film starring Gary Cooper and Charlton Heston that Metro had just completed. Authentic footage of a U-boat crew in action was convincingly integrated into the film, as well.
    This nautical, fog-enshrouded ghost story, well-written by Serling, was the first episode directed by German-born director John Brahm. Previously, Brahm had directed the movie The Brasher Doubloon,