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Post by Richard Kimble on Sept 5, 2017 11:15:19 GMT
s.3 ep.11: "A Gift of Hope" Directed by Bernard McEveety Written by Anthony Wilson Saunders must help prove a tough-as-nails platoon sergeant didn't desert under fireAnother classic script, with Rip Torn as the accused Sgt. Avery. This episode contains an extraordinary 10 minute section focusing on Saunders and Avery on patrol alone, where Torn gives what are essentially monologues while Morrow has no dialogue at all and must act only with his eyes. Amazing that any show would do it, and even more amazing that any star would agree to it (when regulars on a TV series get a script the first thing they do is count their character's lines -- and if they don't reach a certain quota holy hell will be raised). Props to Vic Morrow for putting the show first. Avery visits Saunders at the aid station. We still don't know if Avery deserted under fire.
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Post by bravomailer on Sept 5, 2017 13:50:19 GMT
He seemed to me like he was pushing 40 even in his early 30s, which is one reason his casting in "Fountain of Youth" works so well. I see that Vic Morrow was 36 in 1965. That's pretty old for a buck sergeant, especially during WW2 when the army expanded rapidly and guys rose up the ranks. I held that rank when I was a mere 19 amid a later conflict.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Sept 5, 2017 14:23:14 GMT
I see that Vic Morrow was 36 in 1965. That's pretty old for a buck sergeant, especially during WW2 when the army expanded rapidly and guys rose up the ranks. Maybe Saunders backtalked a 90 day wonder and lost a stripe. The age thing is more noticeable with officers than NCOs. With an NCO you can make sergeant and that's it -- any higher and you're an officer. And it isn't simply age with Jason. In "Command" his replacement is played 40 year old Joe Campanella, who supposedly has seen lots of action but is still a 2nd Lt. But Campanella is a more versatile actor than Jason and can portray a rough and tumble character. As I said before, Jason always seems like a stockbroker to me. I admit you have to simply accept some Hollywood conventions. Supposedly the average age in a war cemetery is 21. But movie platoons are always made up of 40-year-old character actors.
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Post by bravomailer on Sept 5, 2017 14:30:07 GMT
Yes, depictions of combat units use actors a few years above the age of twenty or so. Hard to get around that. Further, they all look comfortably middle class with excellent teeth. Many of the guys I knew came out of hardscrabble backgrounds and looked it.
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Post by taylorfirst1 on Sept 8, 2017 16:49:12 GMT
I'm trying to watch the entire series but it's very hard because there are so many things I want to watch between new shows, stuff on my DVR, Netflix, HBO, DVDs, etc.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Sept 13, 2017 17:07:09 GMT
s.3 ep.6 "The Hard Way Back" Directed by Bernard McEveety Written by Edward J. Lakso While he and Private Kogan search a building that is being shelled, Saunders is trapped under a falling beam. The frightened Kogan runs away and abandons Saunders, but later comes back. Can Saunders trust the scared soldier to move the beam and get him out, with the Germans in town and getting closer...?Above-average character study, marred only slightly by the inevitably static nature of the situation. Guest star Sal Mineo gives a typically energetic performance as Kogan. Sal Mineo as the frightened GI
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Post by Richard Kimble on Sept 15, 2017 17:10:19 GMT
s.3 ep.29: "Billy the Kid" Teleplay by Esther and Bob Mitchell, story by Bivings F. Wallace Directed by Bernard McEveety Lt. William Benton, the inexperienced son of fighting General "Bull" Benton, is assigned to locate a big German gun, and Saunders takes an uneasy squad along as protection.
Although this character study takes awhile to get going -- just like Lt. Benton's plan -- it's to be commended for its three dimensional portrait of Benton. It must have been very tempting to make the character a spoiled brat martinet, but the writers resisted the temptation. Lt. Benton is portrayed as green but determined to employ his mysterious plan and accomplish his mission. Guest star Andrew Prine always struck me as somewhat cold, but that works to advantage here. This episode contains so much detail about artillery spotting I seriously wonder if the Pentagon ever used it for training purposes. Andrew Prine as "Billy The Kid"Lt. Benton goes over last minute details with Saunders and Hanley
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Post by Richard Kimble on Sept 30, 2017 11:24:03 GMT
s.3 ep.13: "The Long Walk" Written by Peter Barry Directed by Alan Crosland Jr. A griping GI is wounded and the squad must carry him through territory that is rumored to be filled with infiltrators.
OK episode, though its structure doesn't really allow it to take advantage of the cat and mouse possibilities of the premise. Guest star Roddy McDowall is energetic, though his Southern accent is not always totally convincing.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Oct 3, 2017 7:20:16 GMT
s.3 ep.3: "Point of View" Written by David Moessinger Directed by Bernard McEveety Sergeant O'Neill accuses Saunders of negligence resulting in the deaths of two GIs, and an informal tribunal is held to get at the truth.A Rashomon-style trial episode, like the earlier "Hill 256" with Robert Culp. IMO "Point of View" is superior, due to a more interesting situation centering on Saunders (in the previous trial Kirby was the accused). As often occurs on Combat, the episode ends with no true resolution, but an acceptance that circumstances can sometimes dictate disagreeable decisions. Big flaw: the sappy harp music over the flashback dissolves. I can't recall hearing this in any other episode. O'Neill's Lt is played by the imperious H.M. Wynant, whose authoritarian manner would seem to merit Colonel at least. O'Neill is played by Paul Burke, who had recently ended his Naked City run and would eventually end up commanding Twelve O'Clock High. In some shots the 37 year old Burke looks about 20. Like Culp, he comes across as far too Ivy League to be a sergeant. Paul Burke as the vindictive Sergeant O'Neill
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