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Combat! reviews by Jo Davidsmeyer
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Episodes rated from 0 to 4 bayonets
(088) More Than a Soldier
RATING:
3.5
bayonets
Written by Shirl Hendryx
Directed by Bernard McEveety
First aired 26-Jan-1965
Episode 19 of Season 3
SYNOPSIS:
Saunders and a young soldier, Private Carey, are in a fight for their lives the
Germans. But Carey has never killed anything or anybody, and will not defend himself.
Saunders and he become trapped in a mine with a wounded German who pinned beneath the
rubble. When the Americans escape and Saunders is wounded, Carey considers abandoning the
German to a ghastly death in the darkness.
REVIEW:
This story deals with the integral Combat! theme: the
search for how to remain true to your own moral integrity while still being a soldier. In
"More than A Soldier," Tommy Sands first learns the high price to be paid for
failing as a soldier, and then questions the difference between being a murderer and being
a soldier. This episode employs the oft-used device of trapping a soldier under a beam (a
plot used five times in Combat!)
Director Bernard McEveety provides great action scenes: beautifully choreographed and
emotionally riveting. His camera lingers tenderly on the weapons of war and on the men
handling them. But he also brings a light touch to the intimate scenes in the cave as
Saunders and Carey deal with life, death, and morality.
NOTES, ODDITIES, AND BLOOPERS:
· As Saunders is digging, he scrapes his knuckles and seems
to whisper "damn." His knuckles in later scenes are scraped.
· This episode has the shortest
credit list in the series, though the cast is fairly large (the opening battle sequence
uses many extras and stuntmen).
CAST:
Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders
Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley [does not appear]
Guest Star Tommy Sands as Carey
Ron Soble as German Sergeant
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