Fans of TV star Jack Lord, the hero of "Hawaii 5-O" and "Stoney Burke", should be interested in seeing him as a surly, truly bad guy, clashing with Vic in this otherwise fairly routine "Combat!" segment.
He's a linesman from Montana, now in the Army on an important mission, to install in enemy territory a telephone line connecting headquarters with Company B. Vic and several of his troops are assigned by Rick to protect Lord and his helpers from the Germans, and as things go wrong, including accidents, Lord keeps exploding against Vic and his men. Insubordination on his part is unforgivable and keeps violating orders, with us waiting to see how long Vic will keep his cool before summarily dealing with this nutty fellow sergeant.
Fine location photography (plus of course the usual studio-shot conversations) highlights this vignette, which generates some suspense as German patrols come close to wiping out heroes. Tom Gries' direction falters at the end, with a hurried anticlimax finish.
All that's missing is Glen Campbell's classic song "Wichita Lineman", but that wasn't written and recorded until three years after this episode aired.
He's a linesman from Montana, now in the Army on an important mission, to install in enemy territory a telephone line connecting headquarters with Company B. Vic and several of his troops are assigned by Rick to protect Lord and his helpers from the Germans, and as things go wrong, including accidents, Lord keeps exploding against Vic and his men. Insubordination on his part is unforgivable and keeps violating orders, with us waiting to see how long Vic will keep his cool before summarily dealing with this nutty fellow sergeant.
Fine location photography (plus of course the usual studio-shot conversations) highlights this vignette, which generates some suspense as German patrols come close to wiping out heroes. Tom Gries' direction falters at the end, with a hurried anticlimax finish.
All that's missing is Glen Campbell's classic song "Wichita Lineman", but that wasn't written and recorded until three years after this episode aired.