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Combat! Season 1
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Combat! Season 4
Combat! Season 5


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Season 4
COMBAT! episodes:

[Season 2 (1963 - 1964)]
[Ambush]
[Bridge at Chalons]
[Doughboy]
[The Long Way Home]
[A Distant Drum]
[Bridgehead]
[Masquerade]
[Infant of Prague]
[The Wounded Don't Cry]
[The Little Jewel]
[Glow Against the Sky]
[The Party]
[Anatomy of a Patrol]
[What Are the Bugles...]
[Barrage]
[Thunder from the Hill]
[The Pillbox]
[Gideon's Army]
[General and the Sergeant]
[The Hostages]
[A Silent Cry]
[Eyes of the Hunter]
[Counter-Punch]
[Mail Call]
[The Hunter]
[Weep No More]
[The Short Day of Pvt Putnam]
[Rescue]
[Command]
[The Glory Among Men]

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Combat!
reviews by Jo DavidsmeyerEpisodes rated from 0 to 4 bayonets


Thunder from the Hill

on location in Bronson Canyon

Rating:

1 bayonet


Picture above: Jack Hogan, Dick Peabody, and Pierre Jalbert between takes filming the episode "Thunder from the Hill" in Bronson Canyon, Los Angeles.

Written by Edward J. Lakso
Directed by John Peyser
First aired 17-Dec-1963 (Episode 14 of Season 2)
Episode #050 in syndication order


SYNOPSIS:

Hanley and men are sent into German-occupied France to meet with the leader of the Free French Guerrillas. But their guide, Massine, refuses to lead them to their rendezvous unless Hanley helps him raid a German depot. Succumbing to the military blackmail, Hanley helps the resistance fighter procure weapons for his own private war.

REVIEW:

One bayonet for this slow-paced episode that saddles Hanley with another irrational outsider (played by Peter Whitney). Hanley 's supposed ally becomes the major obstacle to completing the mission. For the plot to work, the audience must feel sympathy toward Massine, an annoying character behaving irrationally. I get as frustrated as the Hanley character when I watch this episode.

In the technical aspects, the show is adequate. Some of the camera work in the rock quarry is remarkable. The actors and camera crew setup on a hillside, with lots of loose shale and pebbles for effect. These scenes were shot in a rock quarry at Bronson Canyon.

By second season, director John Peyser has yet to hit his stride as a Combat! director. This show needed a firmer hand behind the camera. Edward J. Lakso 's script is atypical for him. His usual strength is squad interactions, but character development is nearly non-existent for the show's regulars in this story.

NOTES, ODDITIES, AND BLOOPERS:

  • One small pigeon makes a meal for four soldiers? Must not be hungry.
  • The World War-II era truck is authentic, including the fuel-burning engine.
  • When Hanley puts his mind to it, he organizes a great midnight requisition expedition.
  • Filmed at Bronson Canyon

CAST:

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

    Peter Whitney as Massine

    Jack Hogan as Kirby
    Pierre Jalbert as Caje
    Dick Peabody as Littlejohn

    Robert Carricart as Diebold
    John Neris as Jean
    Ben Wright as Boulange
    George Sawaya as Pierre
    Jacques Sorel as Andre

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File last updated June 28, 2012

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