Written by Edward J. Lakso
Directed by Ted Post
Produced by Gene Levitt
Review
A freshly
liberated French town, exuberant villagers, free-flowing wine, lots of young women longing
to express their gratitude to the brave American liberators, and several days off duty --
what could possibly arise to spoil this idyllic picture? A sniper, of course. This
never-say-die German stays behind after the German withdrawal to wage his own private war,
aided by a beautiful but bitter Frenchwoman who has her own reasons to hate the town that
her German lover is terrorizing.
This first Combat story by Edward J. Lakso shows little of his later fire. Though a
solid script, the characterizations are shallow. Saunders' dialog with Gail Kobe (the
embittered French barmaid) is stilted and lacks the usual Saunders conviction. He seems
almost a busybody, prying into affairs that are really none of his business. Saunders is
better off sticking to GIs as the objects of his per talks. He should leave the civilian
lectures to Hanley, who usually gets them. The bit at the top of the show with Hanley
"teasing" the squad about moving forward was a bit oddly out of character.
Hans Gudegast as the sniper is appropriately sly and deliciously sexy as he seduces
Kobe and slithers freely about the village. But we never are offered a look inside this
character, never even hear him speak. Why did he stay in the village? Why is he waging
this one-man war? We never know. We do learn about Kobe's past, but why she fell in love
with Gudegast, and why she later chooses to save Saunders' life over the life of her lover
is unclear. And why, when Saunders is wounded, nearly blinded, and has plenty of help
within easy calling distance, does he stumble off alone in pursuit of the sniper? Saunders
is always heroic, but he's usually not stupid and heroic. Since it was Lakso's first
script, I guess we can forgive him for making Captain Jampel a Major (but Hanley should
have known better).
The "liberation" of the village in the beginning has some charming moments. I
love Littlejohn strutting like a peacock with two tiny girls on his arms. Our hunkly,
blond Fletcher Fist looks mighty fine as he stretches out for some relaxing R&R. Kirby
provides his usual salacious and inappropriate behavior around anything in skirts.
Directed by Ted Post, the episode is peppered with delightful visuals. Director Post
teases his audience in places, putting many characters in the sniper's sights, and making
us guess which will be the next to fall to this predator. But the first "victim"
was a gimme. The moment the GI said he was going to forego the partying and write that
long letter to his wife that he's been putting off, you knew he was a goner.
Notes, Oddities, and Bloopers
- Caje wearing that turtleneck again
- Kirby carries an M1
- Why doesn't anyone fink on the sniper? It's a small village, they know everyone in the
town. Why don't they know about Hans Gudegast?
- Jampel is referred to as a Major in this episode. Later in series he is a captain.
- 1st season squad semi-regulars Brockmeyer and Davis appear in this episode
- The two children at the window in this episode appear later in Combat!: Michel Petit
stars as Bijou in "The Little Jewel" and Phillipe Chappele plays the haunted boy
seeking his sister's murderer in "What Are The Bugles Blowing For?"
Cast Credits
Rick Jason
as Lt. Hanley
Vic Morrow
as Sgt. Saunders
and starring
Gail Kobe
[Note: listed only in the opening credits]
Jack Hogan as Kirby
Pierre Jalbert as Caje
Steven Rogers as Doc
Dick Peabody as Littlejohn
Jordan Grant ..... Marks
Fletcher Fist ..... Brockmeyer
Bill Harlow ..... Davis
Michel Petit ..... 1st Boy
Phillipe Chappele ..... 2nd Boy
John Newton ..... Fisher
Maya Van Horn ..... Woman
Athan Karras ..... Carot
Walter Kohler ..... Man
Guy de Vestel ..... Villager
Alex Dunand ..... Bistro Man
Arlette Clark ..... Old Woman
and
Hans Gudegast as Hans Grubber