Dad and his brothers were in the Army during WWII. My stepdad was in Navy in the Pacific. Born in 1950 I grew up with their stories and that of their friends. Truely The Greatest Generation.
''They served and defended those lives they did not live. For they in their day were they.'' ~Every American Soldier serving, or having ever served. Former U.S. Paratrooper Sgt. William Gilpin 82nd Abn Div. 1/504 back in '74.
My Dad was in World War two. He fought the Germans. I had two uncles that fought the Japanese. Onewas at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. My Dad was in the Battle of the Bulge.
I'm watching this episode the day after the announcement of James Caan's passing in July 2022. Of interest was the P-38 or F-5 recon version that was used. You can very briefly catch an insignia error on the plane. They use the old USAAF national insignia of Star superimposed over a blue roundel with the red "meatball" on the star. The meatball was removed in early 1942 to avoid misidentification with the Japanese national insignias. But this was an extraordinary episode that portrayed the combat capabilities of the German soldier.
My teacher in sixth grade, had been an F-5 recon pilot, he brought in copies of some of the pictures they had taken. My seventh grade teacher was a Marine captured because they were loading macaurther's furnisher, instead of being gotten out. He spent most of the war in a Jap prisoner of war camp in the Philipines, later served under mac in Korea. He did not like macaurther at all.
One of the best earlier episodes of the series, James Caan was top-notch, speaking fluent German and giving an excellent portrayal of a veteran soldier in the field..........
My dad use watch this every Monday night and as a child I became fascinated with Combat as well. Being able to watch this now some 40 plus years later is indeed a joy. The acting, plots etc were in place well before their time. Combat a great show then and now. There are no commercials and you can watch as many shows until your heart's content. What more could you ask for....
I watched combat as a child and always had a fascination with it, and now seeing it all over again I can plainly understand why. The writing, the acting, and direct are stellar.
When I was a kid we use to play war. I was always Rick Jason and my friend was always Vic Morrow. Sometimes we had like five or six of us playing with our air rifles and Mattie Mattel specials. At one point we had real live Walkie Talkies crawling around in a suburban neighborhood with ditches of dirt and some of concrete. We'd go into these elaborate death scenes when one of us got supposedly shot. This show Combat was the main source of our inspiration along with some of our fathers of whom most had been in WWII. Later I joined the USMC served for 4 years and was honorably discharged at the Rank of Sgt., and I still love watching these old reruns of one of my favorite TV shows.
We did the same thing in a Philadelphia suburb and Vic Morrow is still my hero. One day we hid under a shack and worried about snakes and rats. The shack was near a swamp. one day we had to go into a sewer. It was great fun.
The one thing is when you're a kid playing war at the end of the day you can always go home and take shower. Not so when your in the field in the Military.
AmericanIsraeliJew My brother and boy cousins would only let me play war if I agreed to be the wounded or dead one so I’d stay out of their way! 😂😂. I had to agree to lay on the ground and not move...
This TV series was my main motivation for taking three years of German language classes in High school (1967-1970) a skill set that served me well during my (cold war) tour of duty in Nuremberg (1976-1979)
I was also influenced in that direction by the fact that the "Germans" actually spoke German rather than a phony, heavily-accented English, like Siegfried in "Get Smart" or Sgt. Schultz in "Hogan's Heroes." Took 4 years and also studied German in Germany. This series kicked it off.
Interesting as in the 1960s we liked the fact they actually were speaking German. I would ask my father what did he say? He didn’t speak it but understood basic phrases. I wanted to speak German just to understand. Later I felt this way about Russian and Spanish. I wanted to know what they were saying and enjoyed programs where people spoke their own languages. It motivated me to learn
Great show. My Father used to watch it. I'm sure my Uncles did, too. (All WWII vets.) Vic Morrow was perfect. James Caan was only 23 and had a very prominent role in this episode, considering he was just starting out. You could see, even then, he had a great career ahead of him.
Until Recently I watched Vic Morrow as a Juvenile Deliquent in Black Board Jungle with Glen Ford as their Teacher it was ten yrs before Combat yes at 68 I have fond memories watching this duriing the early 60's with my Dad with my Mom and my sister argueing about what they want to watch next hour
This is the first épisode where Sgt. Saunders (Vic Morrow) faces his equal counterpart, Sgt. Beckman (James Caan) who at 23 already shows so much promise. Sergeant Beckman is truly his equal in at least ruse and cunning but Sgt. Saunders instinct tells him this and so plays Sgt. Beckman as Sgt. Beckman plays him. A true classic épisode in Combat. In a previous épisode, we saw and heard Leonard Nimoy speak faultless German as he speaks perfect Yiddish. While not the same by any means they are very close. This is James Caan's first TV appearence. In order to play this German sergeant, James Caan had to call his parents to help him speak German as his parents (Jews from Germany) spoke German. Merci beaucoup pour le téléchargement.
Actually, NOT equal. No, he is not. If he were equal, his ploy would have worked, but Sgt Saunders guessed it. You see, a trick is easy for the trickster who plans it, but for someone to figure it out, now that is intelligence. Caan lost, period. USA up one, Nazi's Zip.
Many thanks for info on James Caan speaking German language. Was wondering because in the episode he sounds so fluent in it. Even Google it but no real info on him speaking the language. It's one of my favorite episodes: the acting, writing, sound track, props, etc. This episode came together n made it a fine addition to Combat !
ombat starred many stars of the past and future in their day..so well produced and directed..one of the best series ever on TV..explored mankind's horros and morals and ethics w/out worry of the woke backlash of today
Woke backlash? Lol, you fucking clown. If calling superimposed assholes and seditionists like Trump, Meadows, Greene and Noem "woke", offense you please GFY. Hate to break the news to you but the guys in the US uniform were actually lots closer to that dreaded "Antifa". They were fighting today's equivalent of The GOP. Do me a favor and FRO.
You were doing good until you brought in current politics and divisions. So what’s wrong with fighting for American freedoms IF YOU CANNOT SPEAK YOUR MIND ??? That’s what that war was about. Democratic freedoms vs Nazi oppression. And now you’re criticizing someone who’s voicing their opinions and beliefs ? Sounds like somebody is in favor of fascist beliefs instead of American beliefs …
We sort of took this series for granted when it first ran. Now I watch these nearly 60 year old Combat! episodes and I'm in awe of the acting, writing, and general production. It's easy to see why this series ran for 5 seasons. "The Gallant Men" series was pretty good also but didn't have all the guest stars that Combat! had. The action scenes in The Gallant Men were as good or sometimes better than Combat! but the regulars weren't as interesting and, of course, they didn't have a Vic Morrow. He's kind of an immortal character in my mind.
I have got about 3 or 4 Gallant men on old video tapes, one of them has Robert Conrad in it. It never re airs, since it was a short run show. I got those episodes video swapping back in the late 80's, probably the originals came from someone's film collection, if the quality was any good I could post them here, And if I knew how to transfer them too. There Might be one on RU-vid. Will have to check.
Both shows were run on ABC, The Gallant Men was cancelled because Warner Brothers produced it and it cost ABC more money then Combat!. I have both shows on DVD, Gallant Men had a real German tank in it, a Panther. It also had multiple sets. Combat! only had half tracks, probably the same one, and they were always in the same woods set.
This such a fantastic series: like 'The Outer Limits',' Twilight Zone', 'One Step Beyond', Beverley Hillbillies', 'The Man from UNCLE' - and the rest. We were spoiled, I mean, look at the crap we get now! Great to see all the 'up coming' stars, too! One thing: these US 7 Wermacht squads sure carry a lot of ammo on their little jaunts!! OUTSTANDING !!!!
Yep...totally agree. Even the Saturday morning cartoons...Space Ghost, Herculoids, Johnny Quest...now they have Sponge Bob and all inclusive homosexual super heros.....blahhh
-Don’t forget the show the Lieutenant 63 -64 , 12 O Clock High , The Rifleman , Rawhide ,The Bounty Hunter , Have Gun will travel , Davy Crockett , early to mid Sixties we’re the best
Morrow played American gangster Dutch Schultz (a.k.a. Arthur Fleigenheimer) in a 1961 movie "Portrait of a Mobster." A fantastic performance---I still miss Morrow's intensity.
I also just watched Vic morrow on two episodes of Bonanza on RU-vid. Also Target Harry starring Vic: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-utenZiP5DUE.html
It's a great show, and most folks in 1963 wouldn't have known this but, the P38's (or more precisely the F5's) were equipped with a self destruct device on the gas line to prevent supercharger technology from falling into enemy hands. It would blow up upon a crash landing. Some other minor things: camera access was through the side hatches; recon pilots carried morphine in their first aid kits , But again, it's a great show.
The F-5's had a different nose also: no guns, so no gun ports & the cameras (multiple) were much larger taking up all of the space occupied by guns in the P-38. Doesn't take a damn thing away from the show, or the storyline, though.
I was right *James Caan* was the German sergeant. This was a tough mission for Saunders and his men. Like the episodes before this one the story presented here was awesome. The acting was top notch.
Did not knew James Caan spoke so well German. Here in Germany he is better known for his role in THE GODFATHER ( DER PATE ) annd in EL DORADO with John Wayne. Me, I liked him too as the American Sergeant in A BRIDGE TO FAR Just a few of the wordinfs are off. like 17:21 ZURÜCKBERGEN such a word does not exist it is either BERGEN or ZURÜCK-HOLEN/-BRINGEN Back in my own Highschoodays in Germany we had a real British English teacher. About our Essays he always said how well he had learned German reading them. Now I understand why. because some of the phrasings and wordings used in German on the show are just 1:! translated abstract English but nt authentic German. The script writers had done the equally the same kind of mistakes we Germans did in our English Class.
Combat episodes virtually always shows a sensible balance of character types found in this world and in the U.S. Army that Sgt. Saunders especially brings together. This episode illustrates the same kind of balance and sensible leadership in the German army -- In combat of course.
I used to rush to my friend's house in 1968 in Saigon, Vietnam to watch the series of Combat films even at the time I did not understand a single word in English. We lived in a military compound where our fathers were Republic of Vietnam soldiers and the US Army stationed there for a while too.
What a great episode! I was especially pleased to see one of the German soldiers firing a Gewehr 43 semi-auto rifle of 7.9mm caliber (8mm caliber). The Germans developed excellent rifle to provide more firepower at the squad level, over the K98 bolt-action rifle. The Gewehr 43 is rarely seen in Hollywood movies or TV shows, mostly the Mauser bolt-action rifle and MP40 submachine gun are shown. Great little piece of authenticity with the Gewehr 43!
The music for this series was created by Leonard Rosenman, who wrote the film scores for Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden, two of James Dean's major film roles before his untimely death. Also known for Star Trek IV, Fantastic Voyage, and Lord of the Rings (1978).
I thought that was Sonny! Great job by James Caan playing a Kraut. (He is Jewish, like Vic Morrow)! Not bad for two guys from the Bronx running around Southern Ca. playing WW2. LOVED this show as a kid and still enjoy it today. Thanks for posting.
@@zacharycat603 Z Cat. I think your Not understanding the magnitude of what we went through when OUR President JFK was Assassinated. . ITs safe to say that Combat was aired on Tuesday evening, in the aftermath. .. Aftermath means [ something that results or follows from an event, especially one of a disastrous or unfortunate nature; consequence: ] JFK was shot Friday Afternoon 1 pm, and aftermath can safely mean a week after. NOT precisely the Same time of the assassination. Bill Both is correct, and thank you for your comments ..
@@calforman thank you for posting your well thought out statement. I actually watch this series with that fact 11/22/63 in mind. our world was forever changed that day. I watch this series within that context. One of the most pivotal days of the 20th century. The most powerful nation in the world had it's leader taken from them. our collective psyches were vulnerable, scared, and depressed. I look for the subtext and metaphors within the writing , directing, and fine acting of these people.
Love this series and Combat only came to Singapore in 1973 or thereabout. Luckily, it was shown in the 8.00 pm slot so all of us kids (even my sis) were glued to it ! Of course, our favourite was Sgt Saunders, because when Vic Marrow appears, there will be action ! This is the best episode:- Sgt vs Sgt, Mano-a-Mano, strike and counter-strike.. !
Thanks for your comments. I went to public schools but spoke English at home. Watching English serials like Combat, Bionic Man, Charlie's Angels etc helped a fair bit too. English is the common working language in Singapore nowadays.
You are correct, Ronnie. Singapore's education system is heavily influenced by the British, by virtue of being a colony of the Empire where the sun never sets. Actually, Malay is the official language (political reasons) but in the common day-to-day life, English is the working language. English-speaking tourists find it easy to find their way and communicate in Singapore.
The photography is amazing,. Black and White film show the shadows in such a way to capture a moment in time. This was a professionally ran production team for sure.
Combat had also superb writing. One scene Doc asked Little John: "What did you do...tie it with your toes." Referring to Little John's bandaging skills. Such humor !!! Fantastic TV show ! Thanks for uploading these videos. Been trying to watch each episode.
The guy that played "Blocker" who was translating what the Germans were saying is actually a german-born actor. Remarkable that his English was that good with no accent
I grew up watching Combat! I thought that all NCOs would be like Sgt. Saunders. When I joined the USAF in the early 70’s, after basic training, my first NCO was a burned out Vietnam vet counting down his 20 years. He was more like Kirby than Sgt. Saunders. That was an eye-opening revelation that this was real life; not a TV show.
Doc and Caj' have a backbreaking job lugging the guy on the stretcher. I feel for em'. I've done it and it's tough. The German carrying the two cans of mg ammo, equally a ball buster. Hence the term "GRUNT".
about to watch Anatomy of a Patrol (1963). Thanks to all who made these Combat videos available for all of us who loved the series Semper Fi~ L.A. Wood
Vic Morrow "made" Combat, that is, I think if it was not for him, the show would not have been as successful. He played the epitome of a leader, take it from this old jar head. Others could have played the part, only not as well I think.
That if it was not for him has to be corrected as that if it had not been for in English grammar ?. Because I am a Korean who always thinks that English must be used correctly by a foreigner like me.Have a good day.
Nothing, except in my first firefight in Vietnam, strangle the first thing in my mind was was "Were is Vic Morrow when I need him now! Grew up watching this with my dad a World War II veteran.....
I watched this episode with my father who was a 1st Sargeant in WWII and fought against Germans in Italy and in France. He said they were good soldiers and were difficult to defeat. He also saw German soldiers using MP43 which was much better than his Thompson machine gun. The Russians used this design to produce the AK47. He also said that if the Germans used a semi automatic rifle like the M1 many more of his men would have killed in the war.
Kalashnikov developed the AK using concepts from the STG44/MP43/MP44. The bolt was inspired by that of the Garand. The MP (maschinenpistole) designations were verbal camouflage bcz the Germans did not want the Allies to realize they had developed an early "assault rifle" or Sturmgewehr. The 8mm Kurz was recreated by the Soviets as the 7.62X39 for the SKS and AK, and was the sparkplug of the US morphing the M1 into the M14 and the .30-06 into the 7.62X51. When the soviets decided to replace the long Mosin 91/30 and the short M43/44s, they developed the SKS as a stripper-clip fed quasi-mini-Garand and then the selective-fire AK with its detachable box magazines. In the assault rifle role, the US stuck with the slightly less powerful M1 Carbine until the M14 was developed, with its concept being, "this bad boy is gonna replace the M1, M1C/D, the Carbine, the BAR and apple pie". My peers generally agree that, at that point, Ordnance should have gone the AR10 route, especially since we ended up with its derivative the AR15/M16/M4 anyway, and the AR10 was/is a much better platform for a select-fire, intermediate cartridge battle rifle. The "not invented here" mindset pervaded Ordnance til that batch started dieing out. Yes, we've all been issued match M14s to shoot in Hi-Power and a few of us have fielded XM21s as SWSs, and we love them and bought our own M1As to replace them, but the capabilities of the AR10/M110/SR25/M5 are undeniable. At the same time, the M60, a gas-operated near clone of the recoil-operated MG42, was coming down the pipeline to replace the 1919 and BAR as well. The Germans DID have a parallel to the Garand, the G43, which was a semiautomatic 8mm rifle with a 10-rd magazine. Fortunately for the allies, Germany could not produce enough of the G43 to equip all their troops with it and the K98K remained their primary issue with very few getting the Stg44 or G43. You can see it in use in several episodes of Combat! One of my TXARNG shooting buddies bought one and we all scrounged all the 8X57 we could find to give it a good warming-up for him. We (all competitive shooters & instructors) were very impressed with it and gave each other the spook-eye thinking that it was a good thing they couldn't issue these more widely, because it was pretty much an answer to our beloved Garand.
My dad and I watched religiously our favorite show!Vic Morrow was my hero!! I'm 68!both my hero's are gone i miss you dad everyday!! my dad's name was Vic Junior I'm Vic lll no joke!🤔😎💪🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Vic, what could one possibly say about this man, that hasn't already been said? To me, in my mind, Saunders, is still out on patrol with the squad, somewhere.........
@Jim Wilkes .........Jim, I also watched COMBAT! with my Dad, Vic is gone and so is my Dad, so much has changed. This is my all-time favorite series, nothing has ever come close to it, over the years. Vic and the squad, are like old friends, they've stood the test of time, better than I have. HBO`s "Band of Brothers", didn't measure up to COMBAT!, in my mind, there was something about this entire series, a chemistry, perhaps, the people involved with the series. Or maybe the period in time, in which it was created, I guess that I'm getting sentimental and feeling my years. There will never be anything like this series again, or another Sgt "Chip" Saunders, thank you Jim, for your reply......
You could see Sarge respected the german sarge's heroism.Sarge always did his duty with compassion.The lieutenant was all by the book.Sarge was a model human being.
I haven't seen an episode of this for over 30 years and back then it was old. James Caan impressed me with his German. Good episode. The only thing about this show was how the Americans won every single time. That alone just defies the Law of Averages. Other than that, it was one of my old favorite shows.
Caan is an interesting choice as a German soldier---his parents were German Jews, and he was born in the Bronx (Vic Morrow was another Jewish kid from the Bronx, and Rick Jason a Jewish NY'er, too).
Johannes, interesting spelling of your name...original Dutch isn't it? My dad was a veteren of 6th Army Signal Corps in the Pacific. He spelled it Vandeventer, But the Army kept getting it wrong, and he kept trying to correct them, until they got close: VanDeventer. That's how I spell it now.
Appears to be a 16mm, Gun Sight Aiming Point, Type M-4A that was actually used as a aerial gunnery capture camera (recording accuracy, hits, and kills). It wasn't actually designed to be a recon/mapping camera. The cartridge that is extracted in the scene is the A-6, that contained 50ft of 16mm film. The camera had a 35mm Bell & Howell f/3.5 lens. Notice too, if you will, the P-38 used as the wreck seems to have radial engines on the wings rather than the authentic inline Allison engines used on that type aircraft.
Probably one of my favorite episodes. That P-38 had markings from 1941. And, the left engine is an air cooled radial rather than an Allison inline water cooled engine.
You were correct about the pre-1942 national roundel (star with red center meatball) but I did not see a radial engine on the port wing. To the best of my knowledge there were no P-38s that used radial engines. They all used in-line V-12s. And the turbo charger was visible in the port nacelle behind the wing. This was filmed in 1963 so they should have known better than to use a pre-WW2 roundel. None of the above detracts, though, from a most excellent episode.
One of my favorite episodes ! Also of note in this episode is William Smith. Body builder, actor n all around bad guy character actor. Noticed him in many TV shows from the 60's, such as Gunsmoke, "Hostage", he was especially vicious; Kung Fu, "The Chalice."
I noticed William Smith too, and he was a natural for this part, as he was fluent in German, as well as other languages. Sadly we lost him last July at 88.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE EPISODES...combat was a man's show....but had alot of man to man sentiment(emotional at times in a mans way)...i loved alot of the writing for these shows....
MY father was a medic in WW2 and he did not like the show.. I remember him saying, "No medic would have worn the red cross on their helmets! They would have been first to be killed! He was there, I was not,...I believe 100% what he said!
Also, he took me and my brother to see the big extravagansa show. "Battle of the Bulge" He had been in Bastogne surrounded by Krauts if you remember . After the movie I just remember him saying, "That's not what is was like,at all!" Well, Holliwood...He never talked about the war at all!
Props to them for using the right aircraft. This was a P-38 fighter variant designated as the F-5. Cameras were mounted where the guns were normally installed. In an actual F-5, the gun ports were faired over and there were multiple cameras. Because I am a historical perfectionist, I have to point out that the insignia on the aircraft would have been a pre-Air Force star and bar at this time. The red circle was discontinued early in the war partly due to its similarity with the Japanese "meatball" insignia. Overall, this program's producers did a great job with the military hardware that was available to them.
my brother and I always wanted to watch this show, like many families we had only one tv in the house but later my dad got us a 19" portable for the den. We got our first color tv in 1968, they were rather expensive back then
+Bri G. and now we have a color tv in just about every room in the house, lol. I too watched many a Combat episode with the tv dinner tray in front of the tv. Those were the days,,,,,,,,,
I am not exactly sure but it was Christmas of 1981 82 or 83 when I received my first color TV ever. That same Christmas I also got a Tamiya 1/35th scale M3 Stuart Light Tank model as this was and is my favorite WWII tank. Besides Combat! Rat Patrol and Twelve O'clock High I read SGT ROCK comic books along with the *Jeb Stuart series of the DC line* during the early sixties. I suppose one could say I'm a bit of a WWII history buff.
I remember my father saying that he would buy a color TV when it came down to $400. I do not remember when that was but it was in the 60's He knew that the price would come down. I never saw "A wizaed of Oz"in color until I was in my teens, so I never realized when Dorothy opened the door to OZ it was in color.
MsLilyhorse not at all. The mg42 fired at a high cyclic rate to be sure, but was very inaccurate because of it. It was very frightening though, & it's sound was a psychological weapon of sorts. The 1919 Browning .30 that was standard U.S. issue was a much slower firing weapon, at about 600 rpm compared to the mg42's 1200, but was much more accurate while using less ammo.
stevebrownrocks - There is an episode in which Kirby is court martialed for running away. The issue was whether or not the Germans had a machine gun there. No one blamed a soldier that ran from a machine gun, so it was a hell of a weapon and a definite edge.
For all of you who are nit picking this TV series about errors in combat, remember this is a TV series not a infantry training film. They keep bunching up and talking loud for the cameras and for the audience to enjoy a good viewing experience. Film making considerations have to be taken into account. One candle does not light a whole room or cellar, if reality was done, then we would be staring at a black screen with shadows and whispering. Who would enjoy that?
My dad tried to join the US Navy but had a busted ear drum. So he told us he walked across the street and joined the US Merchant Marine. He never told us about the scary times of convoy duty but did regale us of the fun he had in ports on liberty. Growing up in the fifties and sixties in America was way better I think than now. Kids played outside. We played ball climbed trees played army and cowboys and Indians. The first video game was called Pong and was in black and white in the early 80s. *We had just 1 TV in the living room and me and my sis were the remote as remotes had not been invented yet.* All my uncles save one served in WWII. I imagine most of my pals dads did the same tho it never occurred to me to ask.Television was brand spanking new in 1952-53. When I saw Combat! the first time it was a brand new show.
a platoon leader had 4 rifle squads to deal with and saunders just one of 4 sargents all doing the same missions but we never see the other squads working together...
