  
Combat! reviews by Jo
Davidsmeyer •
Episodes rated from 0 to 4 bayonets
(021) Survival
Rating:
4 bayonets
Written by John D.F. Black
Directed by Robert Altman
Produced by Robert Altman
First aired 12-Mar-1963 (Episode 23, Season 1)
SYNOPSIS:
Outnumbered and out of ammunition, Hanley, Saunders and the squad must surrender to the
Germans. In the confusion of an artillery barrage, Hanley and the men escape, not noticing
that Saunders is trapped behind in a burning barn. Alone and in agonizing pain, Saunders
wanders helplessly through German-held territory.
REVIEW:
 When Vic Morrow received his emmy nomination for Outstanding Continued Performance by
an Actor in a Series (Lead), he credited his performance in "Survival" for
earning him that honor. Morrow delivers an outstanding performance, as mesmerizing and
terrible as a roadside wreck that drivers can barely stand to view, yet cannot turn away
from. To enhance the realism, Vic Morrow did extensive medical research on burns.
"Survival" is the zenith of Robert Altman's vision of Saunders as a living
martyr to war. Altman heaped harrowing images on an already brutal script by John D.F.
Black. The episode is uncompromising in its look at agony and despair, and flaunts a
shocking grimness, rare even by today's television standards.
Altman offers up some powerful images in this episode, shots that linger in the mind
long after viewing:
- helpless mortals pulled through the dust and dirt, harnessed to the all-powerful symbol
of war and destruction
- a man writhing impotently in pain, bound and abandoned to flames
- a young man struggling to put on boots, looking up into certain death: a completely
pointless death, that didn't progress the plot but merely added another layer of despair
and hopelessness
- shot after shot of help and succor just out of reach — from the moonlit crossing of
Saunders and the squad in the stream, to the agonizing nearness of a golden apple dancing
beyond reach in the sunlight
I am glad this episode is part of Combat! And equally glad that this was a
departure from the usual fare. Altman's vision is rivetting for an episode or two. In the
long run, however, I prefer Kennedy's and McEveety's vision of the show.
ABOUT FILMING THE EPISODE:
"We didn't have a script for it," remembers Altman. "We had the
situation and how he got burned and separated. But then it was just working with Vic and
figuring out the things a man does when he's out of his mind in pain. The surrendering to
a dead German just happened. It seemed right."
This was Robert Altman’s last work on Combat! "They didn't feel we
should make this episode. I got fired over it."
NOTES, ODDITIES, AND BLOOPERS:
- This is the only episode to have music NOT by Leonard Rosenman. Music in this episode is
composed and conducted by George Bassman, music supervision by John Fresco.
- The last appearance of Joby Baker as Kelly. His recurring character, recurs no more,
having given his life in the pursuit of footwear.
- In the opening sequence, Morrow's helmet appears on and off his head in no particular
pattern, and is finally off when he surrenders.
- Tanks were too important to use for prisoner transport. But it makes a great visual!
- After the large explosion involving a "stunned" Sgt. Saunders, the crew found
an 18-inch long shard of real glass sticking out of the ground near Vic; it just missed
him.
- For the night-time shoot in the river, all the actors were wearing wet suits under their
uniforms. Tom Lowell says that "the water out on Lot 3 was always ice cold, even in
the middle of summer."
- Fans who want further information about this episode, read the chapter
about Combat! in the Robert Altman biography, Jumping Off the Cliff
CAST:
Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders
Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley
Pierre Jalbert as Caje
Dick Peabody as Littlejohn
Tom Lowell as Billy
John Seigfried as Kurt
Donald Ein as Sergeant
Mike Murphy as 1st tanker
Matty Jordan as 2nd tanker
and Joby Baker as Kelly
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