Combat! reviews by Jo
Davidsmeyer
Episodes rated from 0 to 4 bayonets
(020) The Volunteer
Rating:
2 bayonets
Written by Gene Levitt
Directed by Robert Altman
Produced by Robert Altman
First aired January 22, 1963
Season 1, Episode 16
Syndication Order: 20
Review
In
"The Volunteer," written by Gene Levitt, a young French orphan tries to join the
squad as a soldier, but ultimately finds the game of war not to his liking. Serge Prieur
plays thirteen-year-old Gilbert Barole with angelic earnestness. A strikingly beautiful
young boy with soulful eyes, Prieur conveys the hopes, fears, and desires of a boy left
alone in the world--all without speaking a word of English.
Robert Altman directed and produced this engaging story. The episode has all the visual
hallmarks of the Altman Combat! style: cluttered foregrounds, hand-held camera
work, a lot of play with sunlight and shadow, excruciating close-ups, scenes obscured by
dust and smoke. It's interesting watching "The Volunteer" back-to-back with
"Survival," also directed by Altman. Directorially, "The Volunteer" is
a dry-run for "Survival". The sharp-eyed viewer will note many filming locations
repeated from one episode to the next. Prieur in "The Volunteer" and Morrow in
"Survival" travel the same roads, climb the same hills. Prieur wanders through
charred woods that are still smoking after a barrage. A week later Saunders finds his
"brother" in the same charred forest (freshly smoking). But more than just
locations, Altman repeats camera shots between the two episodes: closeups of shadows of
running feet, dappled sunlight streaming through overhanging trees, the same spinning
point-of-view as both Morrow and Prieuer run through the woods.
Other interesting Altman moments include the drunken, near-orgy with the town women as
the squad "liberates" the village. Portions of this street party footage are
used in "The Sniper" and "Ambush," though the racier moments are not
reused. In later episodes we're not treated to repeated views of Lt. Hanley, surrounded by
his carousing men, carrying a babe in his arms through the streets of the village; or of
Saunders also carrying off a young woman and later familiarly slapping her on the rear as
he leaves town. (For those who read credits, it's interesting to note that two women are
billed in this episode, though no women have any dialog or featured roles. It makes my
salacious little mind wonder what Veronique and Nadine Arlyn did to earn their on-screen
credits.)
Rick Jason has some wonderful moments as Lt. Hanley in this episode. His relationship
with his "volunteer" are delightful as Jason alternately treats this boy with
sympathy, frustration, anger, and finally desperation as he must entrust the lives of the
advance force of the American army into the hands of a child. Hanley doesn't get to behave
often as an officer in the series, Usually we see that side of him in brief flashes, and
less of that as the series progressed. But in this episode (when he's not copping a feel
on the streets of the village), he's definitely the officer struggling to keep his men
alive and accomplish his mission, even after being seriously wounded.
Notes, Oddities, and Bloopers
- The ending is a bit pat, but effective.
- Why do they use a slightly different version of the opening theme music?
- Saunders takes up the rear in all the marches in this episode.
- More Littlejohn/Kirby tension
- Ten Germans encounter Prieur in the woods, but this patrol has twelve men when they take
the village. Did they meet some replacements en route?
- Would have liked Hanley to react in some way to hearing the kid's name. "You're
Gilbert Barole? Gil? That's my name, too, kid. And Barole is the name of my old college
roommate who also lives in France. You any relation?"
Cast Credits
Rick Jason
as Lt. Hanley
Vic Morrow
as Sgt. Saunders
introducing Serge Prieur
Pierre Jalbert as Caje
Steven Rogers as Doc
Jack Hogan as Kirby
Dick Peabody as Littlejohn
Ted Knight ..... Kurt
Kurt Levin ..... Karl
Ed Gilbert ..... Herman
Veronique ..... Hilda
Nadine Arlyn ..... Ilsa
Dialog Excerpts
- LITTLEJOHN:
- You think that's it? You think they've stopped?
- KIRBY:
- They're not gonna stop 'til we're all dead.
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