Combat! episode reviews by Jo Davidsmeyer
Episodes are rated from 0 to 4 bayonets

(106) The Raider

RATING: 32 bayonets

Guest stars: Martin Brooks, Leonard Nimoy

Written by Kay Lenard and Jess Carneol
Directed by John Peyser
First aired 28-Dec-1965
Episode 16 of Season 4

SYNOPSIS:

Hanley is captured by the infamous S.S. Captain Reichhardt. Saunders captures Reichhardt's men, but does not learn the location of Hanley. Corporal MacGowan, anxious to even a score with the Germans, wants to use sterner interrogation methods. He disagrees with Saunders' plan to flush the captain and the information.

REVIEW:

It's Saunders to the rescue in "The Raider," going above-and-beyond to rescue his Lieutenant from the clutches of a Nazi super-man who specializes in collecting American officers.

Scriptwriters Kay Lenard and Jess Carneol get the silliness out of the way up front: the crack SS unit surrenders to a small force of Americans and an SS officer submits to posing as an enlisted man. Accepting the initial premise, viewers are now set for a great episode where Saunders must out-think and out-wit the Nazi superman. And, he does it brilliantly! No patented pep talks in this episode, just cool thinking, good planning, and an indication of just how far Saunders will go to save Hanley.

NOTES, ODDITIES, AND BLOOPERS:

· The scene where the German soldiers are looking to their leader, some of the shots are printed backwards to make the profiles face in the correct direction. The give-away is that the insignia and helmet buckles are on the wrong side.

· When Hanley's jeep crashes, it is upright. When the platoon members arrive, the jeep is on its side.

· Caje is wearing a wedding band and a pinky ring in one scene.

· Opening jeep sequence is lifted from "Vendetta." The jeep wheels in those sequences are striped; the wheels in the jeeps used in "The Raider" are not.

· German uniforms are one-size-fits-all.

CAST:

Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley
Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders

Guest Star
Martin Brooks as Corporal MacGowan

Jack Hogan as Kirby
Pierre Jalbert as Caje
Conlan Carter as Doc

Raymond McGrath as Tim
Don Knight as German Sgt.
George Sawaya as G.I. #1
Gerald Carter as Wounded German
Edgar Winston as German #1
William Mahoney as German #2
Gil Peterson as German #4
Roger Gentry as German #5
Wally Berns as German #6
Peter Church as German Corporal
Raymond Mayo as G.I. Officer #2
John Tarangelo as G.I. Officer #1
Leonard Nimoy as Pvt. Baum
and
George Backman as Capt. Reichhardt

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